Chapter 8: The Man Who Came Back from the Dead
Daniel's house was only twelve minutes away.
It felt like twelve hours.
Detective Brooks drove with the siren on while I called my brother repeatedly.
Finally, Daniel answered.
“Michael?””
“Where are you?””
“I'm outside. I went to check the garage. What's happening?””
“Is Ava with you?””
“Yes. She's inside.””
“Is anyone else there?””
Silence.
Then Daniel whispered, “I think so.””
My blood ran cold.
“Get inside. Lock every door.””
“Michael, there's a car parked across the street.””
“What kind?””
“Black SUV. No plates.””
“Don't approach it.””
The call ended.
Detective Brooks increased speed.
When we reached the house, the front door was wide open.
Daniel stood in the hallway, holding a baseball bat.
Ava was nowhere to be seen.
“Where's my daughter?”” I shouted.
Daniel turned.
“They took her.””
I rushed toward him.
“Who?””
“Two men. One came through the front door while the other entered through the kitchen.””
“Why didn't you stop them?””
Daniel looked devastated.
“I tried. They had a gun.””
I grabbed his shoulders.
“Where did they take her?””
He pointed toward the driveway.
“They left in the black SUV.””
Detective Brooks immediately radioed the vehicle description.
Then I noticed something on the floor.
Ava's pink shoes.
Beside them was a folded piece of paper.
I opened it.
*THE TRUST FOR THE CHILD. THE RECORDING FOR THE MOTHER.*
I looked at Daniel.
“What recording?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Margaret, who had arrived with another officer, suddenly gasped.
“The original recording.””
I turned.
“What?””
She looked at the note.
“Richard wants your father's original recording. The one Laura kept.””
I remembered what Danielle had told me.
Evelyn had the recording.
But now Richard was demanding it.
“Where is Laura?”” I asked.
Margaret looked toward Detective Brooks.
“She knows where it is.””
I immediately called Laura.
She answered on the second ring.
“Michael?””
“They've taken Ava.””
A sharp cry escaped her.
“What?””
“Richard Hayes has her. He wants your recording.””
Laura went silent.
Then she whispered, “Oh, God.””
“What is on it?””
“Everything.””
“Tell me.””
Laura began crying.
“Your father recorded Richard admitting that he had arranged the baby switch. He also recorded Evelyn explaining how she planned to use the children's identities to claim the inheritance.””
“Why didn't you give it to the police?””
“Because the recording contains something else.””
“What?””
A long pause.
Then Laura spoke.
“Richard admitted that he had another child.””
I closed my eyes.
“Who?””
“Your daughter.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Ava.
The little girl who had held Danielle's hand at the funeral.
The little girl who had screamed that her mother wasn't dead.
Richard's biological daughter.
Laura continued.
“He believed Ava was the only legitimate heir to his family's estate. Your father discovered the truth before he died.””
“Where is the recording?””
“I hid it.””
“Where?””
“In the house where you grew up.””
I stared at Margaret.
She looked away.
“Which house?”” I asked.
“The old house on Willow Lane. Your father's study.””
I remembered that house.
The place where I had spent my childhood.
The place Margaret sold after my father died.
“Laura, it's gone. Someone bought it.””
“Not the house,” she said.
“The study.””
“What do you mean?””
“Your father built a false wall behind his bookcase. The recording is inside.””
I turned to Detective Brooks.
“We need to go there.””
He nodded.
But before we could move, Daniel's phone vibrated.
A video message had arrived.
He opened it.
Ava sat on a chair in a dimly lit room.
Her cheeks were wet.
Her little hands were tied loosely in front of her.
A man stood behind her.
Richard.
“Daddy!”” Ava cried.
I leaned toward the screen.
“Baby, I'm coming. I promise.””
Richard placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Such a brave little girl.””
Ava flinched.
“Don't touch me!””
Richard smiled.
“Your grandfather was a very stubborn man, Michael. He refused to understand that blood matters.””
I clenched my fists.
“Leave my daughter alone.””
“Bring me the original recording. Bring the trust agreement. You have one hour.””
“What happens if I don't?””
Richard looked at Ava.
“Then we'll discuss what happens to the last living person who can claim my inheritance.””
The video ended.
I looked at Detective Brooks.
“One hour.””
He shook his head.
“We're not negotiating with him. We're tracking the phone.””
“Then track it faster.””
The old Carter house stood behind a row of oak trees.
I hadn't visited in years.
The windows were dark.
The front garden was overgrown.
But the brass number on the gate was still the same.
I pushed the door open.
The smell of dust and old wood filled my lungs.
Margaret stood behind me.
“Your father used to spend hours in that study,” she whispered.
I didn't answer.
I walked straight toward the bookcase.
The shelves were empty.
I ran my hands along the wood.
Nothing.
Then I remembered something.
My father had always told me never to pull the third book from the left.
I pressed the empty space.
A soft click sounded.
Part of the bookcase shifted.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside lay a black cassette recorder.
And a sealed envelope.
I opened the envelope.
The first page contained a handwritten confession.
The second page contained a photograph.
The third page contained something that made Margaret collapse into a chair.
A copy of an original hospital record.
The names had been handwritten in the margins.
*BABY A: AVA HAYES.*
*BABY B: MICHAEL BENNETT.*
But beneath those names was another entry.
*TRANSFERRED TO: DANIEL CARTER.*
I looked up.
My brother's name.
Daniel.
I read it again.
Then I heard footsteps behind us.
Margaret stood.
“Michael…”
I turned.
Detective Brooks had his hand near his weapon.
A shadow appeared in the doorway.
It was Daniel.
He was holding a gun.
“Put the document down,” he said.
I stared at my brother.
“What are you doing?””
His face was expressionless.
“I'm sorry, Michael.””
Margaret began shaking her head.
“No. Not you.””
Daniel raised the gun.
“I've been waiting forty years for this.””
And suddenly, I understood.
The person who had been helping Richard all along wasn't Evelyn.
May you like
It wasn't Margaret.
It was the brother who had stood beside me at my wife's funeral.
