Chapter 10: The Brother I Never Knew
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
I stared at the photograph Detective Alvarez had placed on the desk. Chad Mercer stood beside a hospital bed, his younger face tense, his hand resting on the blanket beside a newborn baby.
On the back, my father's handwriting delivered five words that made the room feel unbearably small.
The second child is Chad's.
I read the sentence again.
Then I looked at Isabella.
She had gone pale.
“Chad is your father's son?”” she whispered.
“Apparently,” I replied.
Detective Alvarez folded her arms.
“That's one possible interpretation. We need to establish when this photograph was taken, who the baby is, and whether the handwriting is authentic.””
Richard picked up the picture.
“Charles would never have written something like this without a reason.””
“Your father kept secrets from you,” Isabella said gently.
“Maybe he was trying to protect you.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Chad had spent years beside me. We had started Bennett Holdings' investment division together, celebrated our first major acquisition in a restaurant in Brooklyn, and once spent an entire night in my office trying to rescue a deal that everyone else had abandoned.
I'd trusted him with my business.
I'd trusted him with my home.
I'd trusted him with Brooke.
And now there was a possibility that he had been my father's son all along.
“Detective,” I said, “I need you to find Chad before he disappears.””
“We're already looking.””
“He contacted me. He wants the original trust amendment.””
“Then he may be trying to recover evidence. Don't respond without consulting us.””
I nodded, though my mind was already racing.
The anonymous message had instructed me to come alone.
That meant Chad knew where I was, what I had found, and what I might be willing to do to learn the truth.
He wasn't simply running from the investigation.
He was directing it.
My phone vibrated again.
A second message appeared.
Midnight. Pier 17. Bring the document. If you want to know what your father did to my mother, come alone.
I showed the detective.
She read it twice.
“Absolutely not,” she said.
“I wasn't planning to walk into a trap without you.””
“Good. We'll arrange surveillance.””
Richard glanced at the clock.
“It's nearly eleven. We should get you somewhere secure.””
I looked at Isabella.
She hadn't spoken since reading the message.
“Are you all right?””
She shook her head.
“I keep thinking about my father. If he knew all of this, why didn't he tell me?””
“Maybe he was trying to protect you.””
“From whom? Your mother? Chad? Your father?””
I had no answer.
She turned away and pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“My whole life, I believed my father died in an accident because he was unlucky. Now I'm learning that someone may have deliberately killed him, that my mother might have been connected to your family, and that the man who raised me may have hidden the truth.””
She looked at me.
“How am I supposed to know what was real?””
I reached for her hand.
“You know what your father did for you. You know how he treated you. Whatever the records reveal, those years still happened.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“And what if he lied to me?””
“Then we'll find out why.””
She held my hand for several seconds before pulling away.
“I want to come with you tonight.””
“No.””
“Alexander—”
“Chad specifically told me not to bring you. If he believes you're part of the secret, you could be in danger.””
She stared at me.
“You think I'm safer staying here?””
“I think the police can protect you better if you aren't standing beside me when he decides to do something reckless.””
She didn't like the answer.
But she nodded.
At eleven forty-five, Detective Alvarez drove us to a secure location near the waterfront. Two plainclothes officers were already waiting. Another team had positioned themselves around Pier 17.
The plan was simple.
I would arrive with a decoy document.
The police would monitor the meeting.
If Chad appeared, they would arrest him before he could escape.
But as we approached the pier, my phone rang.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
“Alexander Bennett?””
A woman's voice.
“Who is this?””
“My name is Elena Hayes.””
I stopped breathing.
Isabella's mother.
The woman everyone believed had died years ago.
“Where are you?”” I asked.
“Somewhere safe. For now.””
“Are you alive?””
A bitter laugh came through the phone.
“Apparently, that's still a surprise to your family.””
“Why did my father believe you were dead?””
“Because Victoria paid someone to make sure I disappeared.””
I gripped the phone.
“Did you have a child with my father?””
Silence.
Then Elena said, “Yes.””
My stomach tightened.
“Isabella?””
“No. Isabella is Daniel's daughter.””
The answer left me reeling.
“Then who is Chad?””
“He is Charles Bennett's son. Your father had a relationship with another woman before he married Victoria. Chad's mother died shortly after his birth, and Charles arranged for him to be raised outside the family.””
“Does Chad know?””
“He found out when he was eighteen. He came looking for your father. Victoria convinced him that Charles had abandoned him because he was ashamed of him.””
I closed my eyes.
“And the first accident?””
“Chad arranged it because he wanted revenge. He believed Charles had stolen his inheritance and destroyed his mother's life.””
I heard a faint noise on her end.
“Alexander, listen carefully. Chad didn't know your father had changed the trust until after the accident. When he discovered the amendment, he realized the estate would eventually reveal his identity.””
“So he tried to take the company.””
“Yes. And when Victoria learned that I was still alive, she hired Harlan to silence me. Daniel Hayes discovered the plan and tried to protect Isabella.””
My mind raced.
“What happened to my father?””
“Victoria poisoned him. Chad had already arranged the collision that killed Daniel, but Charles survived the initial impact. Before he died, he recorded a confession.””
“The recording we found was cut off.””
“Because Chad removed the final section.””
“Where is it?””
Elena's voice dropped.
“Chad has it. And he plans to destroy it tonight.””
I looked toward the dark water beyond the windshield.
“Why are you telling me this now?””
“Because I received a message saying you were going to Pier 17. I know what Chad is capable of.””
“Then tell me where you are. The police can protect you.””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because the last time I trusted the police, Victoria found me before they could move me.””
A pause.
Then she said, “There's something else you need to know about Chad.””
“What?””
“He isn't trying to recover the trust amendment.””
“Then what does he want?””
“To make sure you never discover what your father wrote in his final letter.””
Before I could ask another question, the call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Detective Alvarez turned toward me.
“What happened?””
I told her everything.
Her expression hardened.
“We're changing the plan. Nobody approaches the pier until we know whether Chad has someone else with him.””
Then my phone buzzed again.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Isabella sitting in the back seat of a black car.
Her hands were bound.
A message followed.
Forget the police. Bring the original document.
You have twenty minutes, Alexander.
I looked at Detective Alvarez.
“Chad has Isabella.””
May you like
And suddenly, the most important decision of my life had nothing to do with the company, the trust, or my father's inheritance.
It was whether I could save the woman who had shown me kindness when everyone else believed I was worthless.
