Chapter 5: The Brother Who Came Back From the Grave
I wanted to punch him.
I wanted to hug him.
I wanted to ask where he had been for fifteen years.
Instead, I stood there holding a photograph of a child I had never known existed.
Nathan looked at me with tired eyes.
"You're going to have questions.""
"Fifteen years' worth.""
"I know.""
"Then start talking.""
He glanced toward the shattered windows.
"Not here.""
I grabbed his jacket.
"You're not leaving again.""
He didn't fight me.
"Marcus, listen. Those men outside weren't sent to kill you.""
I tightened my grip.
"Then why were they shooting?""
"They were trying to destroy the case.""
"Why?""
"Because it contains the names of everyone who helped build Bluebird.""
I looked at the black metal box.
"And?""
Nathan's expression darkened.
"Every person who has ever been erased by it.""
Evelyn approached us.
"Where is your wife?""
Nathan looked at her.
"She's alive.""
"Where?""
"Safe for now.""
I stepped between them.
"Don't give me that answer. Tell me where she is.""
Nathan sighed.
"She's at the old railway station in Millbrook.""
"Why?""
"Because that's where the first Bluebird transfer took place.""
Daniel came closer.
"That station was demolished years ago.""
"Not the underground section.""
Nathan turned toward him.
"There's an entire facility beneath it.""
I stared at my brother.
"How long have you known?""
"Since the night of the fire.""
"Fifteen years?""
"Yes.""
I released his jacket.
"Fifteen years, Nathan. I visited your grave every year.""
He looked down.
"I know.""
"You let me believe you were dead.""
"I had no choice.""
"You always had a choice!""
My voice echoed through the church.
Evelyn covered Lucy's ears.
Nathan stood still.
Then he slowly rolled up his left sleeve.
A thick, irregular scar ran from his wrist to his elbow.
"Do you remember the warehouse fire?"" he asked.
I stared at the scar.
"Of course.""
"I was inside when the explosion happened.""
"You were supposed to be alone.""
"I wasn't.""
He reached into his jacket and removed a folded newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
*MASSIVE WAREHOUSE FIRE CLAIMS SEVEN LIVES.*
Beneath it was a photograph of the building.
Nathan pointed toward a small figure visible near the rear entrance.
"That was me.""
I looked closer.
He continued.
"There were six other people in that building. Five employees and one little boy. The company had brought them there to erase their identities.""
"Why a child?""
"Because he had been born inside the Bluebird program.""
I glanced at the photograph in my hand.
The boy standing beside my wife.
The scar above his eyebrow.
My scar.
"Was that him?""
Nathan nodded.
"Your son.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"What was his name?""
"Daniel.""
I looked at my club's treasurer.
He shook his head immediately.
"Don't look at me, boss. That's not my name.""
Nathan gave a humorless laugh.
"Not you.""
He turned back to me.
"The boy was named Daniel after our grandfather.""
I stared at him.
"How old is he?""
"Fifteen.""
Fifteen.
The same age Nathan had disappeared.
The same number of years I had spent believing my brother was dead.
I sat down on the nearest pew.
Nathan crouched in front of me.
"Your wife became pregnant shortly before you left for a six-month security assignment overseas.""
I shook my head.
"She told me she had lost the baby.""
"She was told the baby had died.""
"By whom?""
"Our father.""
I looked up.
Nathan nodded.
"John knew about Bluebird. He helped design the system, but he discovered what Edward Voss intended to do with it. When your son was born, he secretly moved the child into the program to protect him.""
"That makes no sense.""
"It wasn't supposed to.""
Nathan pulled another photograph from his pocket.
It showed my father holding a newborn baby.
On the back, written in blue ink, were four words.
*My grandson. My greatest mistake.*
I stared at the photograph.
My father had been holding my son.
While I was thousands of miles away.
And I had never known.
"Why didn't he tell me?""
"Because your father believed you were being watched.""
"By whom?""
"Edward Voss.""
Nathan stood.
"Blackstone wasn't just a company. It was a network. Hospitals, police departments, funeral homes, government offices. They had people everywhere.""
Evelyn stepped closer.
"Then why did your mother join them?""
Nathan looked at her.
"Because she thought she could control them.""
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"She was wrong.""
Daniel checked the church doors.
"We need to move.""
Nathan nodded.
"There's a safe route through the cemetery.""
I stood.
"Where's my wife?""
"At Millbrook.""
"Then we're going there.""
Nathan shook his head.
"Not yet.""
I grabbed his shoulder.
"What now?""
He looked at the black case.
"We need to unlock the original archive.""
"How?""
Nathan pointed to the silver key Lucy had given me.
"That key opens the first layer. But the second layer needs something else.""
"What?""
"Your father's voice.""
I frowned.
"His voice?""
Nathan nodded.
"Bluebird was designed so that no single person could access the entire archive. Your father divided the authorization into three parts.""
He held up three fingers.
"One belongs to you. One belongs to me. And the final one belongs to him.""
I looked at the photograph on the case screen.
My father.
In a hospital bed.
"Then we go get him.""
Nathan hesitated.
"There's a problem.""
"What?""
"He isn't being held at Blackstone Medical Facility.""
I stared at him.
"Then where?""
Nathan looked toward the church entrance.
"He's at home.""
I frowned.
"Home?""
"Our old family house.""
The house where I grew up.
The house that had been sold after my father's funeral.
The house that had supposedly been empty for years.
Nathan continued.
"And someone has been living there under your mother's name.""
Before I could respond, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yeah?""
His expression changed.
"Who?""
He turned toward me.
"Boss, it's your wife's number.""
I took the phone.
"Hello?""
For a moment, there was only breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
My wife's voice.
"Marcus?""
I closed my eyes.
"Evelyn?""
"No. It's me.""
I nearly dropped the phone.
"Where are you?""
"Listen carefully. You need to get away from Nathan.""
I looked at my brother.
He was watching me.
"Why?""
My wife began crying.
"Because he's not the brother you remember.""
Nathan's face went completely still.
I tightened my grip on the phone.
"What does that mean?""
My wife whispered something that changed everything.
"Marcus, the real Nathan died in that warehouse fire.""
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Nobody spoke.
Then Nathan reached inside his jacket.
He pulled out a photograph.
It showed two men standing outside a warehouse.
One was Nathan.
The other was an exact copy of him.
Nathan looked at me.
"Your wife finally told you.""
May you like
He swallowed.
"Now you need to know which one of us you're looking at.""
