Chapter 3: The Man Who Had Been Watching Me
Richard didn't move.
He stared at the photograph as though it were a ghost.
I leaned forward.
“Who is he?””
The photograph showed a man in his late twenties. He had dark hair, broad shoulders, and a small scar running along his right eyebrow.
Something about his face seemed strangely familiar.
Richard slowly turned the picture toward me.
“His name is Daniel Carter.””
I frowned.
“Is he my brother?””
Richard nodded.
“According to the records, yes.””
Ethan stepped closer.
“That's impossible.””
Richard looked at him sharply.
“Why?””
“Because Daniel died.””
“When?””
“Twenty-four years ago. That's what the hospital told us.””
I examined the photograph again.
The man was standing outside St. Mary's Hospital.
The same hospital where my mother had died.
The same hospital where I had supposedly been born.
I noticed something else.
He was holding a newspaper.
The date was from three weeks earlier.
“Richard,” I whispered.
“Someone took this photograph recently.””
“I know.””
“Then he's alive.””
Richard nodded.
And for the first time, a strange mixture of hope and fear crossed his face.
He immediately called his security director.
“Find out who delivered this envelope. Check every camera at the main gate.””
Then he looked at Ethan.
“Don't leave this house.””
Ethan laughed nervously.
“You can't keep me here.””
Richard placed the photograph on the desk.
“No. But I can make sure you don't destroy another piece of evidence.””
Ethan's expression changed.
I noticed it.
So did Richard.
“What did you do?”” I asked.
Ethan looked at me.
“Nothing.””
“Then why does he keep accusing you?””
Richard opened the black folder again.
He removed a document with several signatures.
“This is the original hospital transfer authorization.””
I looked at the paper.
My name appeared near the bottom.
Except it wasn't my current name.
It read:
*Baby Girl Elizabeth Carter — Temporary Transfer Authorization.*
Below it was a signature.
Thomas Carter.
Richard's older brother.
I looked at him.
“Why would he sign a transfer document?””
Richard's voice was quiet.
“Because he was supposed to take custody of the twins after Elizabeth died.””
“Where did he take them?””
“We don't know.””
Ethan suddenly spoke.
“He took the boy.””
Richard turned.
“What?””
Ethan looked terrified.
“I saw him leave with the baby.””
The room fell silent.
Richard walked toward him.
“You told me you didn't know where the boy went.””
“I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Thomas told me that if I ever spoke about that night, he'd make sure my father lost everything.””
Richard stared at him.
“You let us believe both children were dead?””
“I was seventeen!””
“And you've been lying for seven years since I asked you about the hospital!””
Ethan lowered his head.
I felt sick.
“Why did you never tell me?””
Ethan looked at me.
“Because I didn't know who you were until three weeks ago.””
My stomach tightened.
“What happened three weeks ago?””
Richard answered.
“I received your medical records.””
He explained that the Carter family foundation had recently funded a rehabilitation program at the hospital where I received treatment.
During a routine review, an employee noticed that my medical file contained an unusual historical note.
My emergency contact information listed James and Margaret as adoptive parents.
But an old archived record contained a different maternal name.
Elizabeth Carter.
Richard had requested a confidential investigation.
The results had arrived only days before the engagement party.
“That's why you invited me,” I whispered.
Richard nodded.
“I wanted to meet you before telling you something that could change your life.””
I looked at the photographs on the wall.
My mother.
My family.
My entire history had been hidden from me.
Then I noticed a small photograph sitting beside Richard's desk.
It showed Elizabeth holding two newborn babies.
One was wrapped in a pink blanket.
The other wore blue.
I reached for it.
On the back, a handwritten message read:
To my beautiful children. Wherever life takes you, remember that you belong together.
My eyes filled.
I had never seen my mother.
I had never heard her voice.
And now I was holding proof that she had loved me before I ever knew she existed.
Richard placed a hand gently on my shoulder.
“She never stopped fighting for you.””
I wiped my tears.
“Then why was I abandoned?””
Richard looked toward the fireplace.
“Because someone wanted the Carter inheritance.””
The words landed heavily.
He explained that Elizabeth's trust had been established by their father. It was divided equally between her two children.
Neither child could access the money before turning twenty-five.
My twenty-fourth birthday was only four months away.
The same applied to my brother.
But there was another condition.
If one child died, the surviving child would inherit the entire trust.
I stared at him.
“So someone made us disappear to get the money?””
Richard nodded slowly.
“That's what I believe.””
A sudden vibration came from the desk.
Richard's phone lit up.
An unknown number.
He answered.
“Williams.””
A man's voice came through the speaker.
“It's been a long time, Richard.””
Richard went rigid.
“Thomas?””
I looked at him.
His older brother.
The man whose signature appeared on the hospital document.
Thomas laughed softly.
“I see you've finally met the girl.””
Richard's grip tightened around the phone.
“Where is Daniel?””
A pause.
Then Thomas replied, “You should stop looking for him.””
“Why?””
“Because he's not the only one who knows what happened that night.””
Richard stood.
“Tell me where he is.””
Thomas ignored the question.
Instead, he said something that made my blood run cold.
“Ask the girl what happened during her accident.””
I looked at Richard.
My accident?
Thomas continued.
“June 17 wasn't the first time someone tried to kill Elizabeth's daughter.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
I felt the room closing around me.
“What did he mean?””
Richard didn't answer.
Ethan looked at the floor.
I turned toward him.
“Ethan. Look at me.””
He slowly raised his head.
“Did you know something about my accident?””
His silence was enough.
“Tell me!””
Ethan stepped backward.
“I'm sorry.””
I felt my hands trembling against the wheelchair.
“Were you there?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
“Then what are you sorry for?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was the one who told Thomas where you would be that night.””
My heart stopped.
I stared at him.
The man who had watched Brianna humiliate me.
The man who had stood beside her without defending me.
The man who had known about my mother, my brother, and the hospital.
He had known where I would be on the night my life changed forever.
Richard grabbed Ethan's collar.
“You told him?””
Ethan began crying.
“I didn't know what he was going to do!””
I couldn't speak.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
There was no greeting.
No explanation.
Just one sentence.
*If you want to know why your mother died, meet me tomorrow at St. Mary's Hospital. Come alone.*
A second message arrived immediately afterward.
It contained a photograph.
A young man stood beside a hospital bed.
His face was unmistakable.
Daniel Carter.
But the woman lying in the bed wasn't Elizabeth.
It was me.
The photograph had been taken during my accident.
May you like
And beneath it was a message that made my blood run cold:
*Your brother was there when they tried to finish what they started.*
