Chapter 8: The Brother Who Was Never a Brother
Daniel insisted on going alone.
Richard refused.
“You're not walking into another trap,” he said.
Daniel put his jacket on.
“Michael specifically told me not to bring you.””
“Then perhaps you should ask yourself why.””
I watched them argue.
For twenty-four years, Daniel had searched for his family. Now, when someone finally claimed to be his brother, he was being forced to choose between trusting a stranger and trusting the man who had kept so many secrets.
“Let me go with him,” I said.
Richard turned.
“Absolutely not.””
“I'm part of this.””
“You're also the person Thomas has been trying to reach.””
I looked directly at him.
“And hiding me hasn't worked very well, has it?””
Daniel almost smiled.
Richard sighed.
“Fine. But security stays close.””
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a small café across from the Carter estate.
The place was almost empty.
A man sat at the back table, wearing a dark coat and a baseball cap.
He stood when he saw us.
His face looked remarkably like Elizabeth's.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“Daniel?””
Daniel nodded.
The man approached him.
Then his eyes moved to me.
“You must be her.””
I swallowed.
“Michael?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he removed a small photograph from his pocket.
It was the same picture Margaret had shown us.
Three children.
Elizabeth.
The hospital.
“I've been looking for you,” he said.
Daniel stared at him.
“Where have you been?””
Michael pulled out a chair.
“Living under a different name.””
He explained that Richard's mother had adopted him shortly after Elizabeth's death. She had raised him as Michael Williams, telling him that his biological parents had died in an accident.
He had grown up believing he was an only child.
Until he discovered a locked box in her attic.
Inside were adoption documents, old photographs, and letters from Elizabeth.
“She wanted me to know the truth,” Michael said.
“But she was afraid Thomas would find out.””
I looked at him.
“Why didn't you contact us?””
“Because I didn't know where you were. And because I wasn't sure whether Daniel was involved in what happened to Elizabeth.””
Daniel frowned.
“What?””
Michael placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a teenage boy standing outside a hospital.
Daniel.
“You were there the night Elizabeth died.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“I was a baby.””
“No. This photograph was taken seven years later.””
I looked at the image.
The date was printed in the corner.
Seven years after my mother's death.
Daniel shook his head.
“That's impossible. I've never been to that hospital since I was a child.””
Michael leaned forward.
“Then explain why your fingerprints were found on the door of the room where Alexander Reed disappeared.””
Daniel went silent.
I turned toward him.
“Daniel?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“There's something I never told you.””
Richard, who had been standing near the entrance, stepped closer.
“What?””
Daniel looked at him.
“When I was seventeen, Thomas took me to a private hospital. He told me that our mother had left something there.””
“What did you find?”” Michael asked.
Daniel swallowed.
“A locked room. Inside were medical records, photographs, and a recording.””
Michael's expression changed.
“Did you listen to it?””
Daniel nodded.
“What did it say?””
Daniel looked at me.
“It said that Elizabeth had not died from childbirth complications.””
Richard gripped the edge of the table.
“What?””
Daniel continued.
“She had been poisoned.””
Michael closed his eyes.
“I knew it.””
Daniel looked at him.
“The recording named someone.””
“Who?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he whispered, “Alexander Reed.””
Michael shook his head.
“No.””
“He was the doctor responsible for her treatment.””
“He loved her!””
“Maybe that's why he did it.””
Michael stood abruptly.
“You're lying.””
Daniel stood too.
“I'm telling you what I heard!””
Their voices rose.
People at nearby tables began looking over.
I raised my hand.
“Stop.””
Both men turned toward me.
I looked at Michael.
“If Alexander poisoned our mother, why did Thomas hide the evidence?””
Michael stared at me.
Then he slowly sat down.
“Because Alexander wasn't the only person involved.””
He opened a folder.
Inside were several bank statements.
The payments had been made to a company registered overseas.
The account holder was listed as *E. Carter Holdings*.
Richard stared at the documents.
“That company belonged to my father.””
Michael nodded.
“And your father died three months before Elizabeth.””
I looked between them.
“What does that mean?””
Michael leaned closer.
“It means the person who ordered your mother's death may have been the man who created the family trust.””
Richard shook his head.
“My father loved Elizabeth.””
“Then why did he transfer millions into an account controlled by Alexander Reed?””
Richard had no answer.
Suddenly, Michael's phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“What is it?”” Daniel asked.
Michael turned the phone toward us.
A message from an unknown number.
*YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD.*
A second message followed.
It contained a photograph of the café.
Taken from outside.
Someone had been watching us.
Daniel immediately moved toward the window.
Across the street, a black SUV was parked near the curb.
The driver's window lowered.
A man lifted a phone and took another picture.
Daniel recognized him.
“Marcus Reed.””
The man who had tampered with my wheelchair.
Before Daniel could reach the door, the SUV accelerated away.
Michael grabbed my hand.
“Listen carefully. We have to leave.””
Richard pulled out his phone.
“Security is on the way.””
Michael shook his head.
“You don't understand. Thomas knows we're together.””
He opened another message.
This one contained a scanned birth certificate.
My name appeared at the top.
But the father's name was not listed as unknown.
It read:
*BIOLOGICAL FATHER: RICHARD WILLIAMS.*
I stared at the document.
Then I looked at Richard.
He looked as though the ground had disappeared beneath him.
“No,” he whispered.
Michael placed another document beside it.
Daniel's birth certificate.
The same father's name.
Richard staggered backward.
I couldn't speak.
Richard had been the man who searched for me.
The man who promised to protect me.
The man who looked at my mother's photograph with tears in his eyes.
And according to the documents, he was not my uncle.
He was my father.
Richard covered his face.
“Elizabeth never told me.””
Daniel stepped away from the table.
Michael looked at me.
“There's something else you need to understand.””
I could barely hear him.
“What?””
He pointed at the birth certificate.
“The three of us aren't siblings.””
My stomach dropped.
“Then what are we?””
Michael looked at Richard.
Then he delivered the words that shattered everything.
“I'm Elizabeth's son. Daniel is Elizabeth's son. But you…”
May you like
He paused.
“You are Richard's daughter.””
