Chapter 5
I heard the words.
But my mind refused to understand them.
Daniel wasn’t my cousin.
He was my half brother.
And somehow he was also Charles Carter’s son.
“That makes no sense.”
Charles didn’t answer quickly enough.
I looked at him.
“Explain it.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“Dad, you better start talking.”
Charles glanced toward Detective Bennett.
She folded her arms.
“Nobody’s leaving.”
He finally exhaled.
“Daniel’s mother was Rebecca Warren.”
“My aunt.”
“Yes.”
“My mother’s sister.”
“Yes.”
“You had an affair with her?”
Charles looked ashamed.
“It wasn’t an affair.”
“What does that mean?”
“We were together before I married Ryan’s mother.”
I stared at him.
“Rebecca got pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And you abandoned another child.”
The words cut him.
Good.
He deserved them.
“I didn’t know she was pregnant until years later.”
“Convenient.”
“It’s true.”
“How old was Daniel when you found out?”
“Fourteen.”
“And what did you do?”
“Rebecca refused my help.”
“So he grew up believing his father was someone else?”
“She told him his father had died.”
“Like my mother told me certain things about my father.”
Charles looked down.
That told me he knew more.
“Did Daniel know you were his father?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“At twenty-one.”
“So ten years ago.”
“Yes.”
Around the same time Marcus had approached me.
Nothing felt accidental anymore.
“Did Marcus know about Daniel?”
Charles hesitated.
“Yes.”
Ryan cursed under his breath.
I looked at Detective Bennett.
“Can Sophie’s father be Daniel?”
Ryan flinched.
The detective remained calm.
“We don’t know.”
“I never slept with Daniel.”
“I understand.”
“He’s my brother.”
“I understand.”
“So how could—”
My voice broke.
The memory of that missing night came back.
Drugged.
Unconscious.
Marcus trying to wake me.
Jessica somewhere inside my house.
I felt nauseous.
“No.”
Bennett immediately understood.
“We are not making assumptions.”
“But the DNA…”
“The report sent to Ryan may be altered.”
“You said it looked real.”
“I said it contained genetic data. That doesn’t mean its conclusion is authentic.”
I grabbed onto that.
“Then test Sophie again.”
“We can.”
“Do it now.”
Bennett nodded.
“We’ll arrange an independent legal test.”
Ryan stood quietly.
Then asked the question nobody wanted to ask.
“What if it’s Daniel?”
I stared at him.
“If it is, then something was done to me without my consent.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
I saw guilt destroy his face.
He had believed I cheated.
He had used that belief to justify his affair.
Now he had to face something far worse.
“Emily.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say it yet.”
He nodded.
I looked at Charles.
“Where is Daniel?”
His eyes shifted.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“You saw him?”
“Not recently.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
“After I got pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“Did you ask him about me?”
“Yes.”
My pulse jumped.
“What did he say?”
“That he hadn’t seen you in months.”
“Was that true?”
“I thought so.”
I stared at Ryan.
“The restaurant picture.”
Ryan took out his phone.
“Two weeks before Chicago.”
I remembered.
Daniel had asked me to lunch.
He told me he needed advice about his mother.
My Aunt Rebecca had been ill.
Or that was what he said.
“Why was Daniel meeting me?”
Charles answered quietly.
“He wanted to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That you were siblings.”
My stomach dropped.
“He never did.”
“I told him not to.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca was dying.”
I stared.
“She died three months later.”
“Yes.”
“She made you promise?”
Charles nodded.
“She didn’t want the family destroyed.”
“What family?”
I snapped.
“The family built on lies?”
Charles said nothing.
Detective Bennett’s phone rang.
She stepped away.
I turned toward Ryan.
He looked worse every minute.
“Did you know Daniel was Dad’s son?”
“No.”
“Did you know he wasn’t my cousin?”
“No.”
“I believe you.”
His eyes lifted.
“For now.”
He nodded.
I looked at Charles again.
“Why would Jessica care about any of this?”
“That’s the part I don’t understand.”
“Her father worked for you.”
“Yes.”
“He followed me.”
“Yes.”
“And Jessica had his files.”
“Yes.”
“What else did Thomas Monroe investigate?”
Charles looked uncomfortable.
“Marcus.”
“And?”
“Linda Hale.”
“And?”
Charles hesitated.
“My father.”
“Your father was dead.”
“Thomas investigated events before his death.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus accused my father of murder.”
My heart stopped.
“Whose murder?”
Charles’s eyes met mine.
“Your father’s.”
Nobody spoke.
Even the NICU sounds seemed distant.
“My dad died of a heart attack.”
“That was the official cause.”
“You think your father killed him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop saying that.”
I couldn’t control my voice.
“You keep saying you don’t know, but you hired investigators and paid people and hid children and followed me. You knew enough to be afraid.”
Charles took the words without defending himself.
Then he said, “Your father was planning to go to federal investigators.”
“With the ledgers.”
“Yes.”
“The ledgers everyone wants.”
“Yes.”
“And then he died.”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
“I never found them.”
“Maybe my mother has them.”
“I’ve wondered that for twenty years.”
I immediately reached for my phone.
My mother.
Susan Warren.
She lived forty minutes away.
She hadn’t answered when I called after the accident.
I tried again.
No answer.
I called twice.
Three times.
Nothing.
My skin prickled.
“Mom always answers.”
Ryan looked worried.
“When did you talk to her last?”
“This morning.”
“What did she say?”
“That she was coming by tonight.”
“Did she know about Jessica?”
“She knew Ryan had an affair.”
Ryan looked away.
I kept calling.
Nothing.
Then Detective Bennett returned.
Her expression had changed.
“What?”
“We sent officers to Jessica’s apartment for another search.”
“And?”
“They found a recording device.”
“What recording?”
“Audio files.”
My heart pounded.
“Of what?”
“Jessica and Marcus arguing.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
Bennett hesitated.
“Marcus accused Jessica of drugging you.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“So Marcus didn’t do it.”
“According to the recording, he claims he didn’t.”
“Does Jessica admit it?”
“Not directly.”
“What does she say?”
Bennett opened a transcript on her phone.
“She says, ‘You were supposed to take her and disappear. That was the deal.’”
My mouth went dry.
“Take me?”
“Marcus responds, ‘Not like that. I never agreed to hurt her.’”
I stared at the wall.
“What else?”
“Jessica says, ‘You wanted her away from Ryan.’”
My breath caught.
“Marcus says, ‘I wanted the truth exposed. I didn’t want her unconscious.’”
Ryan whispered, “Jesus.”
Bennett continued.
“Then Jessica says, ‘It didn’t matter. Once Ryan saw you beside her, he believed exactly what I needed him to believe.’”
I looked at Ryan.
He went completely pale.
It had all been staged.
Jessica had drugged me.
Called Marcus.
Then called Ryan through whatever message convinced him to come home.
She wanted him to see Marcus in our bedroom.
To believe I betrayed him.
And he had.
“What did she gain?” I asked.
Bennett looked at Ryan.
“Access.”
Ryan frowned.
“To me?”
“Possibly.”
I laughed without humor.
“So she destroyed our marriage to become his mistress.”
“Maybe that was part of it.”
“Part?”
Bennett looked troubled.
“There’s another line.”
“Read it.”
“Marcus asks, ‘Did Charles give you the money?’”
I stared at Charles.
He immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Bennett continued.
“Jessica says, ‘Charles doesn’t even know I exist.’”
“Then who paid her?”
“That’s what Marcus asks next.”
My hands tightened.
“And?”
“She says, ‘The man who should’ve inherited everything.’”
Charles went rigid.
Ryan stared at him.
“Your father?”
“He’s dead.”
“Then who?”
Nobody answered.
A thought hit me.
“The family company.”
Charles looked at me.
“What?”
“Who would inherit it if Ryan disappeared?”
Charles’s expression changed.
“Ryan owns thirty percent. I own forty percent.”
“And the remaining thirty?”
He was silent.
“Charles.”
“Held in a trust.”
“For who?”
He swallowed.
“For an unrecognized heir of my father.”
Ryan stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“My father’s will included a private trust.”
“For Marcus?”
“We assumed so.”
“Assumed?”
“The trust never names the heir directly.”
“Then how is it claimed?”
“DNA.”
My heart started pounding.
“How much is it worth?”
Charles looked at the floor.
“Approximately eighty million dollars.”
Ryan let out a shocked laugh.
“You hid an eighty-million-dollar trust?”
“I was legally required to keep it private.”
“For whom?”
“We don’t know.”
Detective Bennett looked interested.
“Could Marcus claim it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“His DNA was tested twelve years ago.”
“And?”
“He was not the designated beneficiary.”
Ryan’s face tightened.
“What about Daniel?”
Charles looked at him.
“No.”
“You tested him too?”
“Yes.”
“And he isn’t the beneficiary.”
“No.”
I stared at Charles.
“Then there’s another child.”
He didn’t answer.
“There has to be.”
“Possibly.”
“Your father had another child?”
“I never found proof.”
“Jessica did.”
Everyone looked at me.
I continued.
“That’s why her father investigated the family.”
Charles’s expression changed.
Maybe he had reached the same conclusion.
“Thomas Monroe found the missing heir.”
Ryan whispered, “And Jessica inherited his files.”
Detective Bennett nodded slowly.
“If true, that could explain the money.”
My phone suddenly rang.
Mom.
Relief hit me so hard I almost cried.
I answered immediately.
“Mom?”
No response.
“Mom?”
I heard breathing.
Then a man’s voice.
“Emily.”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it in the bedroom video less than an hour earlier.
Marcus.
“Where is my mother?”
“She’s safe.”
Ryan stepped closer.
I put the phone on speaker.
“Marcus,” Detective Bennett said. “This is Detective Laura Bennett.”
“I know who you are.”
“Where are you?”
“Not important.”
“It’s very important.”
“Emily.”
His voice softened.
“Don’t believe Charles.”
I looked at Charles.
“What did you do with my mother?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you answering her phone?”
“Because she called me.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
His voice trembled.
“She finally decided to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
Marcus took a breath.
“The truth about Sophie.”
My entire body tightened.
“What about my daughter?”
“She isn’t Daniel’s.”
Relief and fear collided.
“How do you know?”
“Because I paid for the first test.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“Stop saying people are protecting me while lying to me.”
“I know.”
“Who is Sophie’s father?”
Silence.
“Marcus.”
“I can’t tell you over the phone.”
“Then tell me where you are.”
“No.”
“Where is my mother?”
“With me.”
“Put her on.”
A pause.
Then my mother’s voice came through.
“Emily?”
I started crying immediately.
“Mom.”
“Baby, I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You’re with Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She began crying.
“Because I should have told you years ago.”
“Told me what?”
There was a long silence.
Then Mom said something that made Charles grab the nearest chair.
“Emily, your father didn’t die from a heart attack.”
My chest stopped moving.
“What?”
“He was murdered.”
Charles whispered, “Susan.”
My mother heard him through the speaker.
Her voice changed.
“You’re there.”
Charles closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then tell her, Charles.”
“Tell me what?”
My mother began to sob.
“Tell her who killed Michael.”
Charles said nothing.
I looked at him.
“Who killed my father?”
His face crumpled.
But before he could answer, a loud crash exploded through the phone.
My mother screamed.
Marcus shouted something.
The call went dead.
“Mom!”
I called back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Detective Bennett was already moving.
“Trace that call now.”
I stared at the dark phone screen.
Then a new text arrived from my mother’s number.
A photograph.
My mother tied to a chair.
Blood at her temple.
And behind her stood Jessica.
She was supposed to be in police custody.
But there she was.
Smiling.
May you like
The message beneath the photo contained one sentence.
BRING CHARLES TO THE OLD CARTER HOUSE ALONE, OR YOUR MOTHER DIES.
