Chapter 10: My Mother Had Helped My Father Disappear
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
My mother stood beneath the fluorescent lights outside the medical facility, holding a photograph of my father as if it were the last piece of her life she hadn't lost.
“You helped Dad escape?”” I finally asked.
She nodded.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
“Sorry for what? For lying to me for twenty-four years?””
Her eyes filled.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
I stepped away from her.
“Everyone keeps saying that. Richard said it. Patricia said it.
Vanessa said it. Now you?””
Mom reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“Marcus, please listen.””
“No. I spent my entire life believing Dad died in a car accident. I watched you cry every anniversary.
I grew up thinking he was gone. And all this time, you knew he might still be alive?””
She shook her head.
“I didn't know where he was after he left.””
“Then explain.””
Mom sat on a nearby bench.
Her hands trembled as she opened the velvet pouch and placed the brass key on her lap.
“Your father came home on September 30, 2002. It was almost midnight. I was putting away the dishes when someone knocked on the back door.””
She paused.
“When I opened it, Daniel was standing there.””
I closed my eyes.
“Alive?””
“Alive. Injured. His clothes were covered in dirt, and he could barely stand.””
“What did he say?””
“He told me Richard had tried to kill him. He said the accident had been staged to make everyone believe he was dead.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why didn't you call the police?””
“Because he told me the police investigation had been compromised. Richard had friends in the department. He had already arranged the funeral and controlled the medical records.””
Patricia stepped closer.
“That's true. I heard Richard discussing it with a private investigator.””
Mom nodded.
“Daniel said he had evidence of the financial crimes. But he couldn't release it until he knew who else was involved.””
“Who was involved?””
Mom looked at Patricia.
Then she whispered, “Someone inside our own family.””
I frowned.
“Who?””
“Your father's cousin, Thomas Bennett. He worked in the accounting department. He was the person who initially helped Richard move the money.””
I remembered Thomas.
He had attended Dad's funeral and given me a silver watch.
He'd moved to Florida shortly afterward.
Mom continued.
“Daniel told me that Thomas had access to the company records and had been changing the numbers for years. When Daniel confronted him, Thomas arranged the meeting at the hotel.””
I looked at Patricia.
“Were you there?””
She nodded.
“I was supposed to hand Daniel the original bank statements. Richard discovered the plan and followed us.””
“What happened afterward?””
Patricia swallowed.
“I escaped. Daniel didn't.””
Mom corrected her quietly.
“Daniel escaped because someone helped him.””
She turned toward me.
“I drove him to the cabin that night. We stayed there until sunrise. Then he left with the documents and told me never to contact him again.””
“Why?””
“Because Richard was watching me. If he discovered Daniel was alive, he would have come after you.””
I looked at the photograph.
My father was standing beside Mom.
He looked tired but determined.
“Did he ever contact you again?””
Mom nodded.
“Once. About six months later.””
She removed a small folded note from the pouch.
It contained only three sentences.
Elaine, I'm alive. I'm gathering the evidence. Tell Marcus I love him. Don't let Richard become his father.
I read it twice.
Then I looked at Mom.
“Why did you let me grow up believing Richard was a good man?””
She began crying.
“Because Richard was the man who paid your school fees when I couldn't. He attended your graduation. He made sure you had a car when you got your first job.
He knew everything about you, Marcus. He knew where you studied, where you worked, who you dated.””
I felt sick.
“He was monitoring me.””
Mom nodded.
“He told me Daniel was dead and that he was the only person who could protect us.””
Patricia suddenly spoke.
“There's something else you need to know.””
We turned toward her.
“Richard didn't just want the trust. He needed Marcus to turn thirty-five before he could access the entire inheritance.””
I frowned.
“My birthday is next month.””
“Exactly,” she replied.
“That's why everything is happening now.””
I checked the date on my phone.
October 31, 2026.
My thirty-fifth birthday was November 18.
Eighteen days away.
Then my phone vibrated.
A notification appeared from an unknown number.
*Your father is not the only Bennett who survived September 30.*
A photograph followed.
It showed a man sitting in a hospital room.
Older.
Thinner.
With gray hair and a familiar scar above his eyebrow.
I stopped breathing.
It was my father.
But the photograph wasn't recent.
It had been taken inside the same medical facility where Rebecca had disappeared.
And beneath it was a message:
*Room 314. Midnight. Come alone if you want to see him again.*
Mom looked at the screen.
Her knees nearly buckled.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*Don't bring Richard. He already knows.*
