Chapter 9: The Family Secret
“Your grandfather.””
The words barely left Vanessa's mouth.
Nia stared at her.
“My grandfather is dead.””
“I know.””
“Then how can that be his ring?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“It isn't his ring.””
Arthur looked at her sharply.
“Then whose?””
Vanessa's eyes moved to Nia.
“Your uncle's.””
Nia frowned.
“I don't have an uncle.””
“You did.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“Vanessa.””
“No.””
She wiped her face.
“She deserves to know.””
Nia looked at her father.
“Who was my uncle?””
Arthur's voice was almost inaudible.
“Marcus.””
Nia waited.
Nothing else came.
“Marcus who?””
“My brother.””
Nia stared at him.
“You had a brother?””
“Yes.””
“Where is he?””
Arthur looked away.
“Dead.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“He was supposed to be.””
Arthur's head snapped toward her.
“Don't.””
“You lied about him too.””
“Vanessa.””
“He disappeared twenty years ago.””
Nia felt the room spinning.
“How?””
Arthur said nothing.
Vanessa continued.
“Marcus was your father's older brother. He had a gambling problem. He owed people money. Your grandfather disowned him.””
Nia looked at Arthur.
“And then?””
“He vanished.””
“Did he die?””
Arthur hesitated.
“We were told he did.””
“We?””
“My father.””
Nia looked at the hospital photograph again.
The gold ring.
The hidden face.
The man beside Arthur.
“Mom knew he was alive.””
Arthur shook his head.
“No.””
Evelyn spoke quietly.
“She did.””
Arthur turned.
“You weren't supposed to tell her that.””
“She already knows more than you intended.””
Nia looked at Evelyn.
“What did my mother discover?””
Evelyn opened her briefcase again.
This time she removed a thin ledger.
“Your mother found a series of transfers from an account belonging to your grandfather's estate.””
Nia flipped through the pages.
Dates.
Amounts.
Names.
Then she saw one name repeated.
*M. Carter.*
“Marcus.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Your mother discovered he had been receiving money for years.””
Arthur shook his head.
“That doesn't prove anything.””
“It proves he was alive.””
Nia looked at him.
“Why would you hide that?””
Arthur's eyes filled.
“Because Marcus threatened your mother.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Now we're getting somewhere.””
Arthur glared at him.
“Stay out of this.””
“No.””
Daniel pointed at the ledger.
“Your wife found out your brother was alive. She was going to expose him.””
Nia looked at Arthur.
“And you stopped her?””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
Arthur took a breath.
“Marcus came to the house.””
“When?””
“The night before your mother died.””
Nia felt cold.
“He was the man in the photograph.””
Arthur nodded.
“He demanded money.””
“How much?””
“Everything.””
“Why?””
“Because your mother had discovered the concealed estate.””
Nia looked at Evelyn.
“The second property.””
“Yes.””
“What was it?””
Evelyn's expression tightened.
“A commercial building in Chicago.””
Nia blinked.
“Mom owned a building?””
“Through a private trust.””
“How much was it worth?””
“Several million dollars.””
The foyer seemed to tilt.
Nia looked at the house around her.
All those years, she had believed her mother had left behind a modest suburban home.
But there had been another fortune.
A hidden one.
And apparently everyone had been fighting over it.
“Who owns it now?””
Evelyn said, “Technically, you and Daniel.””
Daniel stared at her.
“My name was on the trust.””
“Yes.””
“But I never received anything.””
“Because the transfer was never completed.””
Nia looked at Vanessa.
“And you tried to sell this house to get to it?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know about Chicago.””
“Then what did you know?””
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“I knew your mother had hidden something.””
“What?””
“A key.””
Nia remembered the brass key.
“B-12.””
Vanessa nodded.
“Your mother gave it to me.””
Arthur looked stunned.
“You had it all these years?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she told me not to.””
Nia stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“She said if Arthur ever asked for the key, I should lie.””
Arthur went completely still.
Nia noticed.
“Why would she say that?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Because she believed your brother was working with you.””
Arthur's face hardened.
“That is insane.””
“Is it?””
Vanessa pointed at him.
“You were the only person who knew where Marcus would be.””
Arthur stared.
“You're accusing me?””
“I'm telling her what Margaret believed.””
Nia's chest tightened.
“Did Mom think Dad was working with Marcus?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She thought they had planned to take the money together.””
Arthur slammed his hand against the table.
“That's enough!””
The sound echoed through the foyer.
Nia flinched.
Arthur immediately stepped back.
“I'm sorry.””
But Nia wasn't looking at him.
She was looking at the ledger.
A handwritten note had appeared beneath one of the transfer records.
She leaned closer.
The ink was faded.
The handwriting was her mother's.
*Arthur knows where the key is.*
Nia's pulse raced.
Then another line.
*Marcus knows where the money is.*
And beneath that—
*But neither of them knows what is inside Box B-12.*
Nia looked up.
“What's inside the box?””
Evelyn answered.
“We don't know.””
“Then let's find out.””
Arthur shook his head.
“Not tonight.””
Nia turned toward him.
“Why?””
“Because whoever sent that message knows we're here.””
Her phone buzzed again.
Everyone froze.
Another message.
Nia opened it.
A photograph loaded.
It showed the front of their house.
Taken from across the street.
Taken moments ago.
Underneath it was one sentence:
*You have ten minutes to bring me Box B-12, or the truth about your mother's last eleven hours goes public.*
Nia looked toward the windows.
The curtains were open.
Somewhere outside, someone was watching.
Daniel took the phone from her.
“Don't answer.””
Arthur's voice was quiet.
“They already know we have the key.””
Vanessa suddenly grabbed Nia's wrist.
“There is something else.””
Nia turned.
“What?””
Vanessa's face was wet with tears.
“The key doesn't open Box B-12.””
Nia stared at her.
“Then what does it open?””
Vanessa looked toward the sewing room.
“The door to the second property.””
Evelyn's face went pale.
“That isn't possible.””
Vanessa whispered, “Your mother showed me the map.””
Arthur stepped closer.
“What map?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“The one hidden inside your wedding photograph.””
Arthur froze.
Nia immediately looked at the framed wedding picture hanging on the wall.
Then she saw the glass.
It had been removed recently.
And behind the photograph was a thin black envelope.
Her mother's handwriting was visible across the front.
*For Nia. Only after Arthur tells her the truth.*
Nia slowly reached toward it.
May you like
Arthur whispered her name.
But this time, she didn't stop.
