Chapter 6: The Brother I Was Never Meant to Meet
I pulled my wrist away.
"That makes no sense.""
Thomas looked at Marcus.
"Can you give us a minute?""
Marcus shook his head.
"Not until I know who you are.""
"I'm her father.""
"That doesn't give you permission to put her in danger.""
Thomas looked exhausted.
"Then perhaps you should ask your employer why the Callaway family has been paying for Grace Carter's private medical care since 1991.""
Marcus froze.
I stared at him.
"What?""
Thomas opened his briefcase and removed several documents.
"Your mother has been living under an assumed identity at a private facility called Willow Creek. Every bill has been paid through a company owned by Richard Callaway.""
I grabbed the papers.
The payment records were clear.
Monthly transfers.
Medical expenses.
Security fees.
And one signature appeared repeatedly.
*NATHANIEL CALLAWAY.*
I felt sick.
"Why would Nathaniel pay for her?""
Thomas shook his head.
"Because he knows she's alive.""
I immediately called Nathaniel.
He answered.
"Rose, I've been trying to reach you. Marcus said your father appeared.""
I looked at Thomas.
"Did you know my mother was alive?""
Silence.
"Rose, listen—"
"Answer me!""
Nathaniel sighed.
"Yes.""
My entire body went cold.
"You knew?""
"I discovered the payments six months ago.""
"And you didn't tell me?""
"I didn't know whether the woman receiving them was actually your mother.""
"Then why didn't you investigate?""
"I did. The records were sealed.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You're a billionaire. You own half of Manhattan. And you couldn't find one woman?""
"Rose, it isn't that simple.""
Thomas suddenly stepped forward.
"Ask him who signed the transfer papers.""
Nathaniel heard him.
"Is that Thomas?""
"Yes," I replied.
Nathaniel's voice hardened.
"Put him on the phone.""
Thomas shook his head.
I ignored him and placed the call on speaker.
Nathaniel spoke immediately.
"Thomas Carter. Where have you been?""
"Trying to keep your father from destroying another child.""
"You know where Grace is?""
Thomas didn't answer.
Nathaniel continued.
"I've been paying those bills because I thought I was protecting someone who might be my sister's mother.""
Thomas laughed without humor.
"Protecting her? Your father put her there.""
Nathaniel's voice dropped.
"What?""
"Richard had her declared mentally incompetent after she tried to expose the hospital fraud.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"She isn't mentally ill?""
Thomas shook his head.
"Your mother was perfectly healthy when they took her.""
I looked at the documents again.
One transfer authorization carried a date from thirty years earlier.
The signature belonged to Richard Callaway.
But there was another signature beneath it.
A witness.
Eleanor Callaway.
I stared at the name.
"Your mother signed this too.""
Nathaniel went silent.
"That's impossible.""
I showed Thomas the document.
He nodded.
"She signed it.""
I couldn't understand.
"Eleanor told me she wanted to protect us.""
"She did," Thomas replied.
"But she made a terrible decision.""
My phone buzzed.
A message from Eleanor.
Rose, please call me immediately. I need to tell you something about Thomas.
I showed him the screen.
His expression changed.
"Don't call her.""
"Why?""
"Because Eleanor knows what happened to your mother.""
Nathaniel interrupted.
"Enough. I'm coming to Queens.""
The call ended.
Marcus stepped toward Thomas.
"You're coming with us.""
Thomas didn't resist.
But before he walked out, he turned toward me.
"There's something I need you to understand, Rose.""
"What?""
"Daniel Mercer isn't just your brother.""
I looked at him.
"Then what is he?""
Thomas hesitated.
"He's the reason your mother agreed to disappear.""
I stared at the old photograph.
Three names.
Three babies.
Three lives separated before we could even open our eyes.
Thomas continued.
"When Richard discovered the third baby wasn't his, he wanted him sent away. Grace refused to let another child be abandoned.""
"Then why was Daniel given to another family?""
"Because Grace believed that family could protect him.""
I swallowed.
"Who adopted him?""
Thomas looked down.
"The Mercers.""
I waited.
Then he said:
"Daniel was adopted by a wealthy couple in Pennsylvania. They raised him as their own son. He became a successful businessman.""
"Where is he now?""
Thomas looked toward Marcus.
"He's in New York.""
My phone rang.
Nathaniel.
I answered.
"Rose, I'm outside your building.""
I looked through the window.
A black SUV had stopped near the curb.
Nathaniel stepped out.
But he wasn't alone.
A man in a gray suit stood beside him.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and a familiar expression.
My heart began racing.
Thomas looked through the window.
His face went completely white.
"That's him," he whispered.
"Who?""
"Daniel.""
The man outside looked up toward my apartment.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
I watched him listen.
Suddenly, he looked directly at my window.
Even from three floors above, I could see the expression on his face.
Shock.
Then anger.
Then something that looked dangerously close to fear.
Nathaniel pointed toward the building entrance.
Daniel shook his head.
He said something into the phone.
And then my phone rang again.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice came through.
"Rose Carter?""
"Who is this?""
"This is Daniel Mercer.""
I looked at the man outside.
He was still staring up at me.
"How do you know my number?""
His voice cracked.
"Because I've been looking for you for twenty years.""
I couldn't breathe.
Then he said something that made Thomas collapse into the nearest chair.
"Your mother didn't disappear because Richard Callaway threatened her.""
I gripped the phone.
"Then why?""
Daniel paused.
"Because she discovered that one of the three babies had been switched at birth.""
I looked at Nathaniel.
Then at Thomas.
"Which baby?""
Daniel's answer came quietly.
"Rose, the DNA records say Nathaniel Callaway isn't Richard Callaway's biological son.""
The room went silent.
Then Daniel delivered the final blow.
"And there's a reason your mother spent thirty years trying to keep the three of us apart.""
He paused.
"Because the man who raised Nathaniel isn't our real father.""
Thomas covered his face.
And somewhere downstairs, the elevator doors opened.
I heard footsteps approaching my apartment.
Then someone knocked three times.
A familiar woman's voice came from the other side.
"Rose? It's Eleanor.""
I opened the door.
She stood there holding a sealed envelope.
Her eyes moved from Thomas to Daniel's photograph on my phone.
Then she whispered:
"Please tell me you haven't spoken to the third child yet.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
May you like
Eleanor began to cry.
"Because Daniel Mercer was never supposed to survive.""
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