Chapter 7: The Grandmother's Confession
“Get me back to the hotel.””
I didn't wait for anyone to answer.
The police officer standing near the door tried to stop me.
“Mr. Hayes, we need to secure this location first.””
“My family is in danger.””
“We have officers responding to the address.””
“Then send more!””
I turned toward Margaret.
“Who is Evelyn Carter?””
Margaret held the handwritten note against her chest.
“I told you. Your father believed she knew where your mother had been taken.””
“That's not an answer. Why would my father write her name on that letter?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“Because Evelyn worked at the hospital where your mother was initially admitted.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“She was a nurse. She left the hospital shortly after your mother's accident.””
I felt a wave of nausea.
Evelyn had been our neighbor. She had brought me sandwiches when I refused to eat after the funeral. She had sat with my father through sleepless nights.
She had watched me grow up.
And she had apparently known something about my mother for more than twenty years.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“Perhaps she was protecting someone.””
“Or perhaps she was involved.””
James stepped closer.
“Marcus, we need to be careful. If Evelyn has been hiding something, she may be working with whoever took your father.””
I turned toward him.
“You don't get to tell me who to trust anymore.””
He nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
“No, you don't.””
I walked out.
The police drove us back to the hotel in two separate vehicles. My wedding guests had mostly left, but several officers remained in the lobby.
Daniel was waiting near the entrance.
The moment he saw me, he hurried over.
“Marcus!””
“Where's Evelyn?””
“Upstairs. She came back about twenty minutes ago.””
“And Lily?””
“With her.””
“Are they safe?””
Daniel hesitated.
That hesitation frightened me.
“What happened?””
“Someone tried to get into their room.””
I grabbed his arm.
“Who?””
“A man wearing hotel security clothes. He said he was there to escort them downstairs.””
“Did they go?””
“No. Lily recognized him from somewhere and screamed. The real security supervisor caught him near the elevators.””
“Where is he now?””
“Police custody.””
I looked toward the elevator.
“Take me to them.””
We rushed upstairs.
Evelyn was standing outside a hotel suite, holding Lily against her chest.
When she saw me, she began crying.
“Marcus.””
I stopped in front of her.
“Who was that man?””
“I don't know.””
“Evelyn, stop lying to me.””
She looked at Lily.
“Not in front of her.””
I crouched.
“Lily, sweetheart, can you wait with Daniel for a moment?””
She looked frightened.
“Are you going to be angry with Grandma?””
“No. I just need to speak with her.””
Lily reluctantly took Daniel's hand.
Once they were inside the room, I faced Evelyn.
“Tell me everything.””
She leaned against the wall.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out an old photograph.
It showed my mother, standing beside a hospital bed.
She was smiling.
She looked exactly as I remembered her.
Young. Beautiful. Alive.
I stared at the photograph.
“Where did you get this?””
“I took it.””
“When?””
“The night your mother was brought into the hospital.””
My fingers trembled.
“Was she alive?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
I stepped backward.
“Why did everyone tell me she died?””
“Because someone made sure the official records said she did.””
“Who?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Your father.””
The words struck me harder than anything Richard had said.
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Marcus, listen to me.””
“My father loved my mother.””
“He did.””
“Then why would he pretend she was dead?””
Evelyn wiped her cheeks.
“Because your mother was in danger. She had discovered that people inside your father's company were using the business to move money illegally. She had copies of the transactions. She wanted to report everything.””
I remembered the arguments.
My parents had fought during the weeks before the accident. My father had told me they were dealing with business problems.
I had believed him.
“What happened that night?””
Evelyn took a shaky breath.
“Your mother was in the passenger seat when the brakes failed. Your father managed to get the car off the road, but she suffered a serious head injury.””
“And?””
“She was conscious when the ambulance arrived. I was working the emergency shift. I recognized her immediately.””
I stared at the photograph.
“You said she survived.””
“For several hours.””
My chest tightened.
“Then why did you say she was alive?””
Evelyn looked directly at me.
“Because she didn't die in that hospital.””
Silence.
“What?””
“Your father arranged for her to be transferred to a private facility. He told me she needed protection. He said there were people watching the hospital.””
“Where did he take her?””
“I never knew.””
I gripped the wall.
“You let me believe my mother was dead.””
“I was told she would never be able to return. I was told that if anyone discovered she was alive, they would come after you.””
“Who told you?””
Evelyn began crying harder.
“Robert.””
I turned away.
I couldn't look at her.
For twenty years, I had visited my mother's grave on her birthday.
I had kept her wedding ring in a wooden box.
I had told my children someday—if I ever had them—how much their grandmother would have loved them.
And now I was being told that the entire story of her death had been a lie.
“Why did you bring Lily into this?”” I asked.
Evelyn looked confused.
“I didn't.””
“Then why did Lily say she saw my father?””
She hesitated.
“Because she did.””
I turned.
“What?””
“Vanessa took Lily to the rehabilitation facility last summer. She told her she was visiting an elderly relative.””
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“Evelyn!””
She flinched.
“Lily told me she saw an old man through a glass door. He was wearing a hospital bracelet. He looked like your father.””
I felt sick.
“Did you tell the police?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Three weeks ago.””
I stared at her.
“And what happened?””
She lowered her voice.
“Two men came to my house that night. They told me to stop asking questions.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a photograph of Lily sitting in the hotel room.
Taken from inside the room.
Below it were seven words.
*YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE WEDDING ALONE.*
I looked up.
The room door was still open.
Daniel was standing inside with Lily.
And behind him, near the curtains, a shadow moved.
“Daniel!”” I shouted.
He turned.
A man stepped out from behind the curtain and grabbed Lily.
She screamed.
I lunged forward.
The man shoved Daniel against the wall and dragged Lily toward the connecting door.
Evelyn screamed her granddaughter's name.
I caught the man's jacket.
He swung an elbow into my face.
Pain exploded across my cheek.
But I held on.
Daniel tackled him from the side.
The three of us crashed into a table.
A lamp shattered.
Lily crawled toward Evelyn.
The man pulled a small knife from his pocket.
“BACK OFF!””
Daniel froze.
I stepped in front of Lily.
“Put it down.””
The man's eyes darted toward the exit.
Then the door burst open.
Two police officers rushed inside.
Within seconds, he was on the floor.
As they handcuffed him, something fell from his jacket.
A photograph.
I picked it up.
It showed a woman standing outside a private medical facility.
An older woman.
Silver hair.
A familiar face.
My mother.
On the back, someone had written:
*SUBJECT ALIVE. TRANSFER APPROVED.*
I looked at Evelyn.
She covered her mouth.
Then she whispered:
“Marcus, your mother has been alive all these years.””
And before I could ask where she was, the officer holding the captured man discovered a second photograph in his wallet.
This one showed me.
Taken outside the hotel.
The date was today.
Someone had been watching me since before the wedding began.
May you like
And beneath my photograph was a handwritten instruction:
*IF HE FINDS OUT, ELIMINATE THE SON.*
