Chapter 13: The Person Sleeping Under My Roof
I read Victoria's message until the words stopped looking like words.
It wasn't Alexander. It wasn't Eleanor. It was someone who is still living in your house.
I immediately called her.
She answered on the first ring.
“Victoria, where are you?””
“I'm at the apartment.””
“Stay there. Don't open the door for anyone.””
“Marcus, you need to listen.””
“Who killed Thomas Reed?””
She took a shaky breath.
“Richard Hayes.””
I closed my eyes.
“We already know Richard was involved in the accident.””
“No. You don't understand. Richard didn't just arrange the accident. He killed Thomas afterward.””
“Why?””
“Because Thomas discovered something about the third child.””
I looked toward Nia.
She was sitting beside Rose's hospital bed, gently brushing the little girl's hair.
“What did Thomas discover?””
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Thomas wasn't working for your father when he tampered with the car. He was working for someone else.””
“Who?””
“Richard.””
I gripped the phone.
“Explain.””
“Richard had been stealing money from Carter Holdings for years. He knew your grandfather's trust would become difficult to control once you had children. He wanted the inheritance divided, delayed, and eventually transferred into accounts he controlled.””
I looked at David.
He was reviewing the financial documents.
Victoria continued.
“Richard arranged the accident because he wanted Nia removed. But Thomas discovered the plan involved killing her. He refused to cooperate.””
“And Richard killed him?””
“Yes. Then he made it look like a drunk-driving accident.””
I felt sick.
“Why didn't you tell me this before?””
“Because I didn't know until yesterday.””
“How?””
“I found a second recording in Dad's study.””
“Send it.””
“I can't. It's too large. And Marcus, there's something else.””
I waited.
“Richard has been living in your penthouse.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He was given access to your private security system. He has a key to the executive floor. He knows your schedule, your movements, and every person who visits you.””
My blood turned cold.
I looked at David.
“Richard has access to my house.””
David immediately took out his phone.
“Marcus, we need to secure the property.””
I turned back to Victoria.
“Why would he still be there?””
“Because he's been waiting.””
“For what?””
“For the final transfer.””
I glanced at the inheritance documents.
The sixth child's name.
The continuity agreement.
The accounts.
Suddenly, I understood.
Richard wasn't simply trying to protect my father's empire.
He was trying to own it.
“Victoria, don't leave your apartment.””
“I won't.””
“And don't contact Richard.””
She was silent.
Then she whispered, “Marcus, he already knows I found the recording.””
The call ended.
We returned to London before sunrise.
The children remained under temporary protective supervision with Nia's approval. Amelia was being brought to a secure location with a social worker, while Sophia cooperated with investigators.
I wanted Nia to come with me.
But she shook her head.
“I'm staying with Rose.””
I kissed her forehead.
“I'll be back.””
“Marcus?””
I turned.
“Be careful.””
I nodded.
David drove us to my penthouse.
Two police officers accompanied us.
The building looked exactly as it had when I left.
The same marble entrance.
The same reception desk.
The same security guards.
But when we entered the elevator, I noticed something strange.
The camera indicator was off.
I looked at David.
“Did you see that?””
He nodded.
“Someone disabled the internal recording system.””
The elevator opened.
My front door was unlocked.
I slowly pushed it open.
The living room was dark.
A glass sat on the coffee table.
Beside it was a folded newspaper.
Someone had been there recently.
David motioned for the officers to check the rooms.
Then a voice came from the kitchen.
“Good morning, Marcus.””
Richard stepped into view.
He wore a navy suit.
His tie was perfectly straight.
He was holding a cup of coffee.
As though nothing had happened.
I stared at him.
“You have some nerve.””
Richard placed the cup down.
“I was hoping you'd come home.””
One officer approached.
“Richard Hayes, you need to accompany us.””
Richard raised his hands.
“Of course.””
But he wasn't looking at the officer.
He was looking at me.
“You've made a terrible mistake, Marcus.””
“Which one?””
“Trusting your wife.””
I laughed.
“Don't.””
Richard shook his head.
“You really believe everything she says?””
I stepped forward.
“You helped arrange her accident.””
“I was following instructions.””
“You murdered Thomas Reed.””
Richard's expression changed.
For a brief moment, the mask slipped.
Then he smiled.
“Can you prove that?””
David held up his phone.
“We have financial records, medical documents, and a witness statement.””
Richard shrugged.
“None of that proves murder.””
I moved closer.
“Where is the original recording?””
His eyes flickered.
There it was.
He knew exactly what I was talking about.
Richard suddenly reached into his jacket.
The officers reacted immediately.
“Hands where we can see them!””
He stopped.
A small device fell from his pocket.
It hit the floor.
David picked it up.
A recording device.
Richard stared at it.
Then he laughed.
“You don't understand what you've uncovered.””
“Then explain it.””
He looked around my living room.
“Your father wasn't the only person who built the Carter empire. I made that company what it is today.””
“You were paid to do a job.””
“I created opportunities. I moved money. I protected your family.””
“You destroyed mine.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
“Your family was already destroyed. You just didn't know it.””
One of the officers moved behind him.
Richard suddenly turned toward the window.
“Ask Victoria what happened to her mother.””
I froze.
“What?””
Richard looked directly at me.
“Ask her why Evelyn really died.””
The officers restrained him.
As they led him away, he shouted one final sentence.
“Your mother didn't kill Evelyn. Your sister did!””
An hour later, Victoria arrived at the penthouse with a police escort.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw me, she began crying.
“I'm sorry.””
I approached her.
“Richard said you killed Evelyn.””
Victoria closed her eyes.
Then she nodded.
“I did.””
I couldn't move.
“What?””
She sank onto the sofa.
“I was sixteen.””
“Tell me what happened.””
She stared at her hands.
“Evelyn came to the estate one night. She had been trying to take me away from Eleanor. She told me the truth about my birth.””
I sat opposite her.
“What truth?””
“That Eleanor wasn't my biological mother. That Alexander was my father. That she was my aunt.””
I remembered the DNA report.
Victoria continued.
“She told me she had proof that Richard was stealing money. She wanted me to help her take the documents to the police.””
“What happened?””
“Richard arrived before we could leave.””
Victoria began shaking.
“He started arguing with Evelyn. He grabbed her. She fell against the staircase railing.””
I swallowed.
“Did she die?””
Victoria nodded.
“I tried to help her. I called for an ambulance. But Alexander came downstairs and told me to stop.””
“Why?””
“He said if the police came, they would discover everything. He told me Evelyn had attacked me. He said I would be sent to prison.””
I stared at her.
“So he covered it up?””
“He made me believe I had killed her.””
She began crying harder.
“But I didn't push her, Marcus. Richard did.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“Why did you say you killed her?””
“Because Richard told everyone that I had pushed her during an argument. Eleanor believed him. Alexander used the story to control me.””
I moved beside her.
“You were a child.””
Victoria covered her face.
“I've spent years believing I killed my own mother.””
I put my arms around her.
“You didn't.””
For the first time since this nightmare began, my sister allowed herself to cry without trying to hide it.
Then she reached into her coat.
“I found something else.””
She handed me a small envelope.
Inside was a letter written by Evelyn.
It was addressed to me.
Marcus, if anything happens to me, I need you to know that your father has been lying about the inheritance.
I read on.
The children are not the only reason he separated your family. He believes one of them carries evidence of a crime committed before you were born.
At the bottom was a final sentence.
Your father has another son. And that son has been living under your name.
I looked at Victoria.
“What does this mean?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Then David entered the room.
He was holding the recording device taken from Richard.
“We've recovered the audio.””
He pressed play.
Richard's voice filled the room.
“Alexander, the transfer is complete. The boy is ready.””
Another voice answered.
“Good. Marcus will never know.””
Then Richard asked:
“And if the boy starts asking questions?””
A pause.
“Then make sure he never finds his real father.””
The recording ended.
I stared at David.
“Who was the boy?””
David looked down at the document in his hand.
Then he said:
“Marcus, I think we've been looking at the wrong birth certificate.””
He placed a second DNA report on the table.
The results showed that Daniel was biologically related to me.
But the original report had been altered.
Someone had deliberately inserted Richard Hayes's name as the father.
The truth was even worse.
Daniel wasn't the child Richard had been talking about.
The boy in the recording was someone else.
May you like
Someone who had been living under my name.
And according to the newly recovered hospital records, that boy had been registered as my son twenty-nine years ago.
