Chapter 9: The Last Lie
The footsteps stopped halfway up the staircase.
Ethan could hear his own breathing.
One step.
Then another.
Sarah pressed herself against the wall.
Marcus stood in front of Ethan.
Daniel stood beside him.
Vanessa lifted her phone.
The woman appeared at the top of the stairs.
She was an older Black woman in a dark coat.
Her silver hair was neatly wrapped.
She looked directly at Sarah.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
Sarah whispered,
“You can't be here.””
The woman smiled.
“That's what everyone said about Daniel.””
Ethan stared.
“Who are you?””
The woman looked at him.
“My name is Lorraine Hayes.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
Ethan frowned.
“Hayes?””
Lorraine smiled.
“Your grandfather's name.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Where have you been?””
“Watching.””
“Why?””
“Because people talk when they think nobody is listening.””
Lorraine looked at Ethan.
“And your family has been talking for eighteen years.””
Ethan stepped around Marcus.
“I want the truth.””
Lorraine nodded.
“Good.””
Sarah grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Ethan pulled free.
“I'm listening.””
Lorraine walked into the bedroom.
She looked at the photographs scattered across the floor.
“Your mother was nineteen when she met Marcus.””
Ethan said nothing.
“Daniel knew the baby wasn't his.””
“I know.””
“No,” Lorraine said.
“You don't.””
She picked up the hospital photograph.
“Daniel didn't simply agree to raise you.””
She looked at Sarah.
“He begged to.””
Ethan turned toward his mother.
“Why?””
Sarah began crying.
“Because I wanted to give you a father.””
Lorraine laughed bitterly.
“You wanted to give him a name.””
Sarah's face tightened.
“That too.””
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“Why did you disappear?””
Daniel took a long breath.
“Because your grandfather made me choose.””
“Choose what?””
“You or my life.””
Ethan stared.
“He threatened you?””
“He threatened to kill Marcus.””
Marcus looked away.
Daniel continued.
“And he threatened Sarah.””
Ethan's voice cracked.
“So you left?””
“I ran.””
“You left your wife and your son.””
“I thought I was protecting you.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Yes.””
Ethan shook his head.
“That isn't protection.””
“No.””
Daniel wiped his face.
“It was cowardice.””
The honesty stunned Ethan.
Lorraine stepped closer.
“There is one thing none of them told you.””
Sarah whispered,
“Lorraine, please.””
“Your grandfather didn't want Marcus dead because he hated him.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Then why?””
Lorraine's expression became grim.
“Because Marcus wasn't the only man who knew about the money.””
Ethan frowned.
“What money?””
Daniel looked at Marcus.
Marcus nodded.
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What money?””
Sarah said quietly,
“Your grandfather had stolen money.””
“From who?””
“The company he worked for.””
“How much?””
“Enough to disappear.””
Lorraine answered.
“Almost four million dollars.””
Ethan stared.
“And Marcus knew?””
“Yes.””
“Daniel knew?””
“Yes.””
“So that's why he disappeared?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“Then why?””
Daniel looked directly at Ethan.
“Because the money was transferred into an account in your name.””
Ethan stopped breathing.
“What?””
Sarah covered her face.
“I never touched it.””
“But it was in my name?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Lorraine answered.
“Because your grandfather needed a legal heir.””
Ethan's phone buzzed.
He looked down.
A bank notification appeared.
*ACCOUNT REACTIVATED.*
His eyes widened.
“Someone just accessed my account.””
Marcus stepped toward him.
“Show me.””
Ethan handed him the phone.
Marcus read the notification.
His expression changed instantly.
“This isn't possible.””
“What?””
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“He knows.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“Who?””
Marcus turned the phone around.
A transfer was pending.
*$3,870,000.00*
Destination:
*ROBERT HAYES TRUST*
Ethan stared.
“Robert Hayes.””
Lorraine nodded.
“Your grandfather.””
“But he's dead.””
Lorraine smiled faintly.
“Is he?””
The room went silent.
Ethan slowly looked at Sarah.
“You told me he died six years ago.””
“I believed he did.””
“You believed?””
“I saw the body.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You saw someone who looked like him.””
Ethan's stomach turned.
“You're saying my grandfather is alive?””
Lorraine's expression hardened.
“Not only alive.””
She pointed toward the window.
“He's the reason Daniel came back.””
A car engine started outside.
Marcus rushed to the window.
Black SUV.
Darkened windows.
It stopped directly in front of the house.
Another vehicle pulled in behind it.
Doors opened.
Several Black men stepped out.
Ethan's phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
*YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO GIVE ME THE ORIGINAL DNA REPORT.*
Then another.
*OR SARAH DIES.*
Ethan looked at his mother.
She had already seen the message.
Her face was white.
Marcus took the phone.
“Where is the original report?””
Sarah shook her head.
“I destroyed it.””
Daniel looked at her.
“No.””
“I burned it.””
“You couldn't have.””
“I did.””
Lorraine stepped forward.
“You didn't.””
Sarah turned.
Lorraine reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small sealed envelope.
Ethan recognized the handwriting.
His mother's.
On the front were three words:
*ORIGINAL PATERNITY RESULT.*
Sarah whispered,
“Where did you get that?””
Lorraine looked at Ethan.
“Your grandfather gave it to me.””
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Why?””
Lorraine's eyes filled with tears.
“Because he wanted you to know the truth before he came for you.””
The SUV door opened.
A man stepped out.
Ethan couldn't see his face.
But Sarah could.
She staggered backward.
“No…”
Daniel looked outside.
His face went rigid.
Marcus whispered,
“Robert.””
The man lifted his head.
May you like
Then he smiled directly at the window.
And Ethan finally understood why everyone had been afraid of his grandfather for eighteen years.
