Chapter 9: The Man Behind the Hospital Records
Madeline grabbed my arm.
"Did you hear that?""
I nodded.
The sound had come from downstairs.
A heavy object hitting the floor.
Then footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Mr. Bennett immediately moved toward the bedroom door.
"Both of you stay here.""
I shook my head.
"No. We're not separating.""
He looked at me.
"Nia, this isn't a game.""
"I know. That's why I'm not letting you walk into whatever is down there alone.""
Another crash echoed through the house.
Then a man's voice.
"Mrs. Carter?""
I froze.
It was Daniel.
Madeline's face went pale.
Mr. Bennett quietly closed the bedroom door.
I looked at the music box.
The brass key was still in my hand.
"How did he know we'd come here?"" I whispered.
Mr. Bennett shook his head.
"Someone told him.""
My thoughts immediately went to Richard.
Then I remembered the photograph.
Richard standing beside Daniel outside my father's hospital room.
A cold feeling spread through my chest.
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom.
Daniel knocked.
Three times.
"Nia, open the door.""
I didn't move.
"I know you're in there.""
Madeline whispered, "Don't answer.""
Daniel knocked again.
"Madeline, I know you're with her.""
There was a pause.
Then his voice changed.
"Your mother wouldn't want you involved in this.""
Madeline stepped toward the door.
"Don't talk about my mother.""
Daniel laughed softly.
"You always were stubborn.""
I looked at Madeline.
She was shaking, but her chin was raised.
"Go away, Daniel.""
He sighed.
"You're making a mistake.""
Then we heard another voice.
A woman's voice.
"Daniel, we don't have time for this.""
I recognized it immediately.
Patricia.
Mr. Bennett looked at me.
"They're not alone.""
I tightened my grip on the brass key.
Daniel's voice came again.
"Give me the music box, Nia. We can still settle this.""
I stepped toward the door.
"Why do you want it?""
"Because it belongs to me.""
I almost laughed.
"My mother owned it.""
"Your mother took something that wasn't hers.""
I looked at Madeline.
She looked equally confused.
"What are you talking about?"" I asked.
Daniel's voice became colder.
"Open the door.""
"No.""
A pause.
Then he said:
"Your father stole the company from my family.""
I felt my blood run cold.
"What?""
"Thomas Whitmore built his fortune on money that belonged to my father. Eleanor knew it. She helped him hide it.""
Mr. Bennett shook his head.
"He's lying.""
Daniel heard him.
"Ah, Bennett. Still pretending you're the honest one?""
Mr. Bennett moved closer to the door.
"Thomas built Whitmore Properties from nothing. Your father was dismissed from the company for fraud.""
Daniel laughed.
"That's what they told you.""
"That's what the records show.""
"Then perhaps you should have looked harder.""
The silence that followed was unsettling.
I looked at the music box.
The folded paper.
The key.
The photograph.
My father had left a message for me.
The truth was in the original file.
And Daniel knew exactly what that meant.
"What's inside the music box?"" I asked.
Mr. Bennett glanced at the brass key.
"Perhaps it's connected to the file.""
I examined the wooden interior again.
The velvet lining seemed slightly loose near the back.
I carefully lifted one corner.
There was a small metal compartment beneath it.
My heart began pounding.
I inserted the key.
It turned.
A tiny click sounded.
Inside was a folded document and a small black memory card.
Madeline leaned closer.
"What is it?""
I unfolded the document.
It was a letter from Thomas.
To my daughters,
If this letter has reached you, it means someone has finally discovered what happened to me.
My eyes blurred.
I continued reading.
Daniel Carter's father, Edward, was once my business partner. I trusted him with the company's finances. He betrayed that trust and attempted to transfer company assets into a private account.
I looked at Mr. Bennett.
He nodded.
"Edward Carter was Daniel's father.""
I continued.
When I discovered the fraud, I reported it. Edward threatened me. He claimed that if I destroyed his reputation, he would destroy everything I loved.
My hands began shaking.
I refused to negotiate. A week later, I was admitted to the hospital. I knew someone had followed me.
I stopped reading.
Daniel's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Nia, don't open that file.""
I looked at Mr. Bennett.
He stared at the document.
"Keep reading," he whispered.
I continued.
I believe Edward was responsible for what happened to me. But I also believe his son knows more than he admits.
The letter ended with a sentence written in larger letters.
Do not trust anyone who tells you my death was an accident.
I looked at Madeline.
She was crying silently.
Then I picked up the memory card.
"What's on this?""
Mr. Bennett took it.
"Possibly the original hospital footage.""
A loud bang shook the bedroom door.
Daniel shouted.
"Open this door!""
Mr. Bennett quickly slipped the memory card into his jacket.
"There's a second exit through the bathroom.""
I stared at him.
"How do you know?""
"I used to visit this house with your mother.""
We moved toward the bathroom.
But before we could reach it, the bedroom door burst open.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
His face was red with anger.
Behind him was Patricia.
And behind Patricia stood Richard Cole.
I froze.
Richard looked directly at the music box.
Then at the document in my hand.
His expression changed.
"Give me that," he said.
I stepped backward.
"Why?""
He looked at Daniel.
Daniel gave him a small nod.
Richard reached into his coat.
Mr. Bennett immediately moved between us.
"Don't even think about it.""
Richard sighed.
"Please don't make this harder than it needs to be.""
I stared at him.
"You were with my husband the night my father died.""
Richard's expression hardened.
"That photograph is misleading.""
"Then explain it.""
He looked at Patricia.
She lowered her eyes.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Enough. Give me the letter.""
I held it against my chest.
"No.""
He moved closer.
"Nia, listen carefully. Your father wasn't the man you think he was.""
"Then why are you so desperate to hide what he left me?""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Because he was a liar.""
I looked at him.
"And what does that make you?""
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then Richard spoke.
"Your father signed a confidential agreement before his death.""
"What agreement?""
Richard looked at Daniel.
Daniel slowly nodded.
Richard continued.
"Thomas agreed to transfer controlling ownership of Whitmore Properties to Edward Carter in exchange for financial protection.""
I stared at him.
"That's impossible.""
"It's documented.""
"Then why did my mother establish the trust?""
"Because she refused to honor the agreement.""
I shook my head.
"Do you have proof?""
Richard held out his hand.
"Give me the original file, and I'll show you.""
I looked at Mr. Bennett.
He gave the smallest shake of his head.
Something was wrong.
Richard wasn't behaving like an attorney trying to resolve a legal dispute.
He was behaving like a man desperate to retrieve evidence.
I looked down at the memory card in Mr. Bennett's jacket.
Then I looked at Daniel.
"Why didn't you just ask me for the documents?""
Daniel laughed.
"Because you would never have given them to me.""
"Maybe because they weren't yours.""
His expression turned vicious.
"Do you know how much money I've lost because of you?""
I stared at him.
"Because of me?""
"Your mother destroyed my father's company. Then she left everything to you. You walked into a fortune you never earned, while I spent years trying to rebuild what was taken from us.""
I finally understood.
Daniel hadn't married me because he loved me.
He had married me because I was Thomas Whitmore's daughter.
He wanted access to the company.
He wanted access to the property.
And when my mother refused to give him what he wanted, he had started stealing it.
I felt tears slide down my cheeks.
"Did you ever love me?""
For the first time, Daniel looked uncertain.
"Nia—"
"Just answer.""
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
Madeline suddenly stepped forward.
"You used both of us.""
Daniel turned toward her.
"Stay out of this.""
"No. You found me, lied to me, and tried to steal my inheritance.""
"I was offering you a way out.""
"You were offering me a lie.""
Patricia began crying.
"Daniel, please. We need to stop.""
He turned toward her.
"Mother, not now.""
"Your father would never have wanted this.""
Daniel's face changed.
"Don't bring Dad into this.""
Patricia shook her head.
"He made you promise.""
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"Promise what?""
Patricia looked at me.
Then she whispered:
"Edward Carter made Daniel promise to find the original hospital recording.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Why?""
Patricia's tears fell.
"Because Edward was the person who changed the medication.""
Daniel spun toward her.
"Mother!""
She flinched.
But she continued.
"And he left a confession before he died.""
I looked at Richard.
He had gone completely still.
Patricia pointed at him.
"Richard knows where it is.""
I turned toward my mother's attorney.
"Where?""
Richard didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his coat and removed a folded document.
It was a copy of my father's original medical report.
He placed it on the dresser.
Then he looked directly at me.
"There's something your mother never told you, Nia.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
Richard swallowed.
"Your father didn't die from the medication he was given.""
My heart stopped.
"Then what killed him?""
Richard looked at Daniel.
And Daniel closed his eyes.
"Your father was still alive when someone disconnected his heart monitor.""
The room went silent.
I couldn't move.
Then Richard delivered the final blow.
"The person who entered Thomas Whitmore's room after Daniel left was your mother.""
I stared at him.
"No.""
Richard nodded.
"She was the last person to see him alive.""
Madeline began shaking her head.
"That's not possible.""
Richard looked at me.
"Your mother was investigated. The hospital records were altered, the footage disappeared, and the case was closed.""
I felt as though the floor had vanished beneath me.
My mother had spent years protecting us.
But what if she had also been hiding something terrible?
I looked at the letter in my hands.
Then at the memory card.
"Why would she do that?"" I whispered.
Richard lowered his eyes.
"Because Thomas told her something before he died.""
"What?""
He took a breath.
"He told her that one of his daughters wasn't biologically his.""
Madeline gasped.
I looked at her.
Then at Richard.
"What are you saying?""
He placed another document on the dresser.
A DNA report.
My name was printed at the top.
And beneath it was a result that made the entire room spin.
*Paternity probability: 0%.*
I stared at the paper.
Thomas Whitmore wasn't my biological father.
May you like
But if that was true, then why had my mother spent eighteen years protecting his legacy?
And whose blood was actually running through my veins?
