Chapter 5: The Brother in the Shadows
The ambulance arrived twelve minutes later.
Evelyn was conscious by the time the paramedics carried her through the front entrance, but she refused to release Daniel's wrist until he promised to visit her at the hospital.
“Don't trust the first story you hear,” she whispered.
“Who attacked you?””
Her eyes shifted toward Marcus.
“Ask your best man what happened the night your father died.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“She's confused. She's been through a terrible shock.””
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“I balanced your accounts when you were twenty-three, Marcus. I know exactly how much money you received from the offshore company.””
Marcus's face turned white.
Daniel watched him.
“What offshore company?””
Marcus didn't answer.
The paramedics wheeled Evelyn away.
As the front doors closed, Daniel turned to his best friend.
“Start talking.””
Marcus rubbed both hands over his face.
“Not here.””
“You've said that twice now.””
“Because you don't understand what's happening.””
“Then help me understand.””
Marcus looked toward the staircase, where several police officers were interviewing members of the wedding staff.
Finally, he nodded toward the conservatory.
Daniel followed him inside.
The room smelled of damp soil and fresh roses. Rain tapped against the glass ceiling, and the white wedding flowers arranged along the central table looked strangely out of place.
Marcus closed the door.
“I met Victoria before she met you,” he began.
Daniel stared at him.
“How long before?””
“About six months.””
“Where?””
“At a charity auction. She knew who I was. She knew I worked with you.””
“And she approached you?””
Marcus nodded.
“She said she wanted to invest in the company.””
Daniel let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Victoria has never invested in anything except herself.””
“I know that now.””
“No. You knew it then. You just didn't care.””
Marcus looked down.
“She offered me money to introduce her to you. At first, I thought she was just another person looking for access to your wealth.””
“So you took her money?””
“Not immediately.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“When?””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“After my father died.””
Daniel knew the story. Marcus's father had owned a small construction business that collapsed during the financial crisis. His family lost their home, and Marcus had spent years paying off debts.
“How much?”” Daniel asked.
“Two hundred thousand dollars.””
Daniel stared at him.
“You sold me for two hundred thousand dollars?””
“It wasn't like that.””
“Then what was it like?””
Marcus's voice rose.
“She told me she could help me get out of debt. She said she wanted to know you because she loved you. I believed her.””
“You believed a woman who paid you to arrange our introduction?””
“I thought the money was an investment.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“And the meetings behind my back?””
Marcus looked toward the rain-streaked windows.
“Those came later.””
“What were you discussing?””
“Your company.””
“Of course.””
“Daniel, listen to me. Victoria wasn't the person giving the orders.””
The room seemed to grow colder.
“Who was?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then he spoke a name.
“Thomas Hayes.””
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
“My father?””
Marcus nodded.
“He contacted me about two years ago. He said he was alive and needed help recovering what had been stolen from him.””
“What was stolen?””
“His company. His identity. His life.””
Daniel gripped the edge of the table.
“Tell me everything.””
Marcus explained that a man using Thomas Hayes's identity had contacted him through a lawyer in Switzerland. The man possessed private family information and documents that could not have been obtained through public records.
He claimed that the plane crash had been staged.
He claimed someone had arranged for him to disappear.
And he claimed Daniel's mother had been involved.
“That is a lie,” Daniel said.
“That's what I thought.””
“But you continued meeting him.””
“He showed me documents. Bank records. Photographs. He knew things about your childhood that nobody outside your family could have known.””
Daniel thought of the call he had received.
The familiar voice.
The warning about Victoria.
“What did he want?””
“Access to the company's voting shares.””
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“He said he was the rightful owner. He claimed your grandfather had built the company for both sons, not just one.””
“Both sons,” Daniel repeated.
Marcus nodded.
“He told me about David.””
For several seconds, Daniel could hear nothing but the rain.
“Did my father know David was alive?””
“Yes.””
“And you helped him?””
Marcus's expression twisted.
“I helped him investigate. At least, that's what I thought I was doing. But the money started arriving through Victoria's accounts. Every time I asked questions, I was told to wait.””
“Wait for what?””
“The wedding.””
Daniel stared at him.
Marcus took a breath.
“Your marriage contract contained a clause that would have transferred control of your voting shares if you became medically incapacitated within the first year of marriage.””
Daniel remembered the papers in his mother's cabinet.
“Who wrote that clause?””
“Victoria's lawyers.””
“And who was supposed to control the shares?””
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“Me.””
Daniel struck the table with his fist.
“Why you?””
“Because your father didn't trust the Whitmores. He said I was the only person who could protect his interests without being recognized as part of the family.””
“You were going to take control of my company.””
“I was supposed to hold the shares temporarily.””
“While I was incapacitated?””
Marcus didn't answer.
Daniel stepped back.
The man standing before him had attended his mother's funeral, held him together during the worst months of his life, and stood beside him at the altar that morning.
He had been more than a friend.
He had been family.
Now Daniel understood how easily that word could be weaponized.
“Did you know Victoria intended to poison me?””
“No.””
“Did you know she planned to put something in my drink?””
“No!””
Marcus's answer came too quickly.
Daniel stared at him.
“Then why did you tell me earlier that your brother wasn't supposed to come back until after the wedding?””
Marcus went rigid.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Marcus slowly reached into his pocket.
He removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I found this in my car after the ceremony.””
Daniel took it.
The note contained a short message written in black ink.
*The wedding must proceed. If Daniel drinks the champagne, the problem solves itself. If he doesn't, secure the key.*
Beneath the message was a signature.
Thomas Hayes.
Daniel looked up.
“Why didn't you show me this immediately?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of my father?””
“Of what he would do if I betrayed him.””
Daniel crushed the paper in his fist.
“You already betrayed me.””
Marcus's eyes filled with tears.
“I know.””
A sudden pounding came from the conservatory door.
Andre entered without waiting.
“Sir, we've found something.””
“What?””
“The police searched Victoria's dressing room. They found a second phone hidden inside a box of cosmetics.””
Daniel followed him upstairs.
Victoria's dressing room looked as though a storm had passed through it. Dresses hung from open wardrobes. Makeup covered the vanity, and a jeweled hairpiece lay broken beside a chair.
An officer held up the phone.
“We believe this belonged to Miss Whitmore,” he said.
“It's locked, but we recovered several messages from the notification screen.””
Daniel leaned closer.
One message was from an unknown contact.
*The champagne failed. Find the original file before Daniel reaches the cemetery.*
Another had arrived less than a minute later.
*Your father says the brother must be dealt with first.*
Daniel's mouth went dry.
“Which brother?”” he asked.
The officer shook his head.
“We don't know.””
Daniel stared at the screen.
Then another notification appeared.
A photograph.
It showed a man standing beneath the stone archway of a cemetery.
His face was partly obscured by shadow, but the shape of his jaw and the scar beneath his ear were unmistakable.
Thomas Hayes.
Beneath the photograph were six words.
*One son leaves. One son stays.*
Daniel's phone rang.
The number was blocked.
He answered.
“Who is this?””
A woman's voice whispered through the speaker.
“Daniel, don't go to the cemetery.””
“Victoria?””
“Please listen to me. Your father is waiting for you.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“You tried to poison me.””
Silence.
Then Victoria began to cry.
“I didn't put anything in your champagne.””
Daniel clenched his jaw.
“I saw the capsule.””
“Someone wanted you to find it.””
“Who?””
Her voice dropped to a frightened whisper.
“Your brother.””
The line went dead.
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
Across the room, Marcus had gone pale.
“What did she say?”” he asked.
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“She says David wants me dead.””
Marcus swallowed.
Then he shook his head.
“No,” he whispered.
“David isn't the one we should be afraid of.””
May you like
He looked toward the open doorway.
“Because David has been dead for eleven years.””
