Chapter 8: The Other Son
Arthur's confession didn't sound like a confession.
It sounded like a sentence he'd been carrying for decades.
“My son,” he said, “was taken from me.””
Michael stared at him.
“You're Nathan's father?””
Arthur nodded.
I couldn't move.
“How?””
Arthur looked at me.
“Your husband knew.””
My voice shook.
“When?””
“Before Michael was born.””
Michael looked horrified.
“You knew about him?””
I swallowed.
“I knew Robert had been involved with Claudia before our marriage.””
Claudia flinched.
I continued.
“But I didn't know Nathan existed.””
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“Robert did.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“And he paid you to disappear.””
Arthur's eyes flashed.
“He threatened to expose me.””
“For what?””
Arthur looked at Michael.
“For stealing from the company.””
Michael stared at him.
“So this entire thing is revenge?””
“No.””
Arthur's voice became quiet.
“This is about what Robert promised my son.””
“What did he promise?””
“A future.””
Arthur looked at me.
“Robert told Nathan he would inherit half of everything.””
I shook my head.
“That isn't possible.””
“It was in the original will.””
David opened the black folder.
He flipped through the pages.
“Evelyn.””
I looked at him.
“There are two beneficiaries.””
My hands trembled.
“Who?””
He turned the document toward me.
*Michael Reed.*
*Nathan Bell.*
I stared at the names.
Robert had divided his fortune between his two sons.
And I had spent eighteen years believing Michael was his only child.
Michael looked at me.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“I never knew.””
“But you said Dad had secrets.””
“I knew about the affair. I knew about Arthur. I didn't know about Nathan.””
Arthur interrupted.
“You knew enough.””
I looked at him.
“What do you want?””
He laughed.
“Nothing.””
“That isn't true.””
“No.””
His expression changed.
“I want what Robert promised his son.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“You already tried to take it.””
Arthur shook his head.
“I didn't.””
“Then who did?””
Arthur looked toward Claudia.
She immediately said, “Don't.””
Arthur smiled.
“You should tell them.””
Claudia's face collapsed.
Michael turned to her.
“What?””
She whispered,
“Nathan isn't the one who shaved your mother.””
I looked at her.
“Then who?””
Claudia stared at me for several seconds.
“You really don't remember?””
“Remember what?””
“The night Robert died.””
My stomach twisted.
She continued.
“You came home from the hospital at three in the morning.””
“Yes.””
“You were crying.””
“Yes.””
“You went upstairs.””
“Yes.””
“And then you called me.””
I frowned.
“I don't remember.””
“You said Robert had told you something before he died.””
My pulse accelerated.
“What did I say?””
Claudia's eyes filled with tears.
“You said, ‘He knows.’”
“Who?””
“You never said.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Evelyn, what happened that night?””
“I don't know.””
Claudia shook her head.
“You do.””
“No.””
“You buried it.””
I stepped backward.
The room began spinning.
A memory surfaced.
A hospital corridor.
Robert's hand gripping mine.
His voice barely audible.
“Evelyn… don't trust…”
Then darkness.
Nothing after that.
I pressed my fingers against my temple.
“Don't trust who?””
Claudia whispered,
“Your son.””
Michael froze.
“What?””
She looked at him.
“Robert believed Michael would eventually find out.””
I shook my head.
“Stop.””
“He was afraid of what Michael would become.””
“That isn't true.””
Claudia's voice cracked.
“Then why did Robert write a second will?””
David immediately looked down at the folder.
“There is no second will.””
Claudia smiled through her tears.
“There is.””
“Where?””
She looked at me.
“In the place where Evelyn has kept it for eighteen years.””
My blood ran cold.
“What place?””
Claudia didn't answer.
Instead, my phone vibrated.
Another message.
This time, it came from a number I recognized.
Michael's number.
I looked at him.
His phone was still in his hand.
But he wasn't holding it anymore.
The message said:
*Mom, come to the cemetery alone. I know what happened to Dad.*
Michael stared at his own phone.
“I didn't send that.””
Then his face changed.
May you like
Because someone had just sent another message.
*Ask your mother why she was the last person your father trusted.*
