Chapter 6: The Second Beneficiary
Arthur slammed the document onto the desk.
"Watch your mouth, Sebastian.""
His nephew didn't flinch.
"Why? Because I'm telling the truth?""
"You're accusing a man who has been missing for twenty years.""
Sebastian adjusted his cufflinks.
"Then perhaps you should ask yourself why he suddenly reappeared.""
I stared at the document.
Grace's name.
A date from three weeks after her death.
And an authorization bearing my father's signature.
It made no sense.
"How could he sign something after Grace died?"" I asked.
Sebastian looked at me.
"Because Daniel was never missing.""
Arthur stepped forward.
"Enough.""
Sebastian continued.
"He was living under another identity, watching the company from a distance. He knew everything that was happening. The money transfers.
The land. Alejandro.""
I shook my head.
"Why would he let Alejandro steal from me?""
Sebastian shrugged.
"Perhaps because he needed Alejandro to do something.""
"What?""
"Move the property.""
Arthur grabbed his nephew by the collar.
"Tell us what you know.""
Sebastian pushed his hands away.
"Careful, Uncle. You don't want to make another mistake like the one you made with Grace.""
Arthur froze.
I looked between them.
"What does that mean?""
Sebastian's expression softened into something almost sympathetic.
"Didn't he tell you?""
Arthur looked away.
I turned toward him.
"Tell me what?""
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the grandfather clock.
Then Arthur spoke.
"Grace and I argued the night before she died.""
My stomach tightened.
"About what?""
"She wanted to release the financial records immediately. I asked her to wait until I could verify Daniel's involvement.""
"Why?""
"Because if she was wrong, the entire company could collapse.""
"And if she was right?""
Arthur's eyes lowered.
"Then I was protecting the wrong people.""
I took a step back.
"You delayed her.""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
Sebastian laughed quietly.
"Uncle always believed money could be more important than people.""
Arthur turned on him.
"Get out.""
Sebastian picked up his glass.
"Gladly.""
He walked toward the door, then stopped beside me.
"One piece of advice, Valeria. Don't trust anyone who suddenly wants to make you rich.""
He leaned closer.
"Especially not a man who has already lost one daughter.""
Then he left.
I turned toward Arthur.
"Is he telling the truth?""
Arthur sat heavily in his chair.
"I don't know.""
"That's not good enough.""
He rubbed his face.
"Valeria, I've spent six months trying to understand what happened to Grace. I believed the company records were manipulated by Alejandro. I never imagined my own family was involved.""
I looked at Rebecca.
"Can we verify the document?""
She nodded.
"I'll contact the registry office first thing tomorrow.""
"Tomorrow?""
"There's no point rushing into a confrontation without evidence.""
I looked back at the paper.
A strange detail caught my attention.
The document had been printed on company letterhead.
But the signature at the bottom wasn't handwritten.
It was a digital certificate.
I leaned closer.
"Rebecca, can you zoom in?""
She brought up the document.
I pointed toward a tiny string of numbers beneath the signature.
"What's that?""
Rebecca examined it.
"An authorization code.""
"Can it tell us who signed it?""
"Possibly.""
She typed the code into her laptop.
A verification window appeared.
Then she stopped.
"What?""
She looked at Arthur.
"The certificate belongs to Valeria.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?""
Rebecca turned the screen.
The digital signature was registered to my personal identity.
The same identity Alejandro had used on the fraudulent transfers.
But I had never created a digital certificate.
I had never authorized one.
Someone had stolen my identity years ago.
Arthur stared at the screen.
"Can you trace when it was created?""
Rebecca nodded.
"Eight years ago.""
The year I married Alejandro.
My stomach twisted.
I remembered signing the marriage documents.
The bank forms.
The insurance paperwork.
The land trust.
He had been collecting my signatures from the beginning.
"Can you trace where it was activated?""
Rebecca clicked another window.
A location appeared.
A law office in Mexico City.
I recognized the address.
It was the office where Alejandro had arranged our divorce.
I stared at the screen.
"He planned this before we even got married.""
Rebecca nodded slowly.
"That appears to be the case.""
I sat down.
For eight years, I had believed I was building a life with a man who loved me.
But the truth was much worse.
He had chosen me.
Not because of who I was.
Because of what I owned.
Arthur placed a hand on the table.
"Valeria, I'm sorry.""
I looked at him.
"Don't be. Just help me find the truth.""
At eleven that night, Rebecca received a call.
She stepped into the hallway to answer it.
When she returned, her face was pale.
"What happened?"" Arthur asked.
"The police recovered a vehicle registered to Alejandro.""
"Where?""
"Near the old airport.""
"Was he inside?""
"No.""
She looked at me.
"But they found blood on the passenger seat.""
My stomach tightened.
"Whose blood?""
"They're testing it.""
Arthur stood.
"Camila?""
Rebecca shook her head.
"She's still at the police station. She hasn't been released.""
"Then who?""
Rebecca hesitated.
"Daniel Bennett.""
I grabbed the edge of the table.
"How do they know?""
"They found his identification card in the vehicle. There was also a photograph of him and Grace.""
Arthur reached for his coat.
"We're going.""
Rebecca blocked the doorway.
"Not without police authorization.""
"He's my brother's business partner.""
"That doesn't make you a detective.""
Arthur looked furious.
But he stopped.
I picked up my phone.
There was a new message from an unknown number.
This time, it contained a photograph.
A man sat in a dimly lit room.
His face was bruised.
His hands were tied behind a chair.
But the scar above his left eyebrow was unmistakable.
My father.
Under the photograph were two lines.
*YOU WANT TO MEET DANIEL BENNETT?*
*COME ALONE. BRING THE ORIGINAL LAND DEED.*
I showed Arthur.
His expression turned murderous.
"Absolutely not.""
I stared at the photograph.
"He's alive.""
"We don't know that.""
"He's breathing in this picture.""
"Valeria, this could be a trap.""
I looked at the message again.
Then I noticed a small detail in the background.
A red metal door.
A white sign.
And a number painted on the wall.
214.
The same storage unit.
I looked at Arthur.
"They have him.""
Rebecca immediately called the police.
Arthur grabbed his keys.
"Nobody goes anywhere alone.""
I nodded.
But my eyes remained fixed on the photograph.
Because there was something else.
A small handwritten note taped to my father's shirt.
I zoomed in.
Three words became visible.
*ASK ABOUT YOUR BROTHER.*
My breath caught.
I looked at Arthur.
"Brother?""
He went silent.
I stepped closer.
"Arthur, do I have a brother?""
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, I thought he would refuse to answer.
Then he spoke.
"Yes.""
My legs nearly gave way.
"Who?""
Arthur looked at me with an expression filled with regret.
"Sebastian.""
I stared at him.
"That's impossible.""
"Your mother and Daniel had another child. He was born before you.""
I shook my head.
"Why would he be Daniel's son?""
Arthur's voice dropped.
"Because your mother never left Daniel alone.""
I felt sick.
"Then why did she raise me without him?""
Arthur looked toward the photograph.
"Because your mother knew what Daniel had done.""
"What had he done?""
He took a long breath.
Then he gave me the answer I had been dreading.
"Your father didn't abandon your family, Valeria.""
He paused.
"He abandoned your brother.""
And suddenly, the man who had warned me not to trust anyone seemed to be hiding the biggest secret of all.
May you like
Because if Sebastian was my brother, why had he spent the entire evening trying to destroy me?
And why had he been the last person to visit Grace before she died?
