Chapter 5: The Man Who Came Back From the Dead
The detective asked us to remain at the restaurant until officers arrived.
Daniel immediately objected.
"This is ridiculous. I'm leaving.""
Robert appeared in the doorway.
"Sir, the restaurant manager has asked everyone to remain in the private dining area until the officers arrive.""
Daniel pointed at him.
"Do you know who I am?""
Robert remained calm.
"Yes, sir. You're the gentleman who celebrated his engagement here using another person's business account.""
Vanessa looked away.
I almost smiled.
For the first time that evening, someone had said exactly what needed to be said.
Evelyn sat beside me.
Her hands were shaking.
"Olivia, there's something I should have told you years ago.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"Michael contacted me two years after the funeral.""
I stared at her.
"You knew he was alive?""
"Not immediately. I received a letter. He said he was safe but couldn't come home.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
She lowered her eyes.
"Daniel threatened to cut me off. He told me Michael was dangerous and that contacting him would put Sophie at risk.""
I felt another wave of disbelief.
"He used our daughter to silence you?""
Evelyn nodded.
"I was frightened. I had already lost one son, or so I believed. I couldn't bear the thought of losing the other.""
"Did Michael explain what happened?""
She reached into her handbag.
"I kept everything he sent.""
She placed a small stack of envelopes on the table.
The first was dated four years earlier.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Michael.
I opened it.
Mother, I didn't die in that accident. Daniel arranged for me to disappear after our business collapsed. He said it was the only way to keep both of us alive.
I read the sentence again.
Then continued.
I made mistakes. I trusted the wrong people. But Daniel has taken the money we built together and used my disappearance to convince everyone that he owns everything.
I looked up.
"Why didn't he return?""
Evelyn wiped her cheeks.
"He said he was trying to collect evidence.""
"Against Daniel?""
"Yes.""
I picked up another letter.
This one contained a photograph of Michael standing beside a woman outside a Miami apartment building.
Vanessa.
She was holding a suitcase.
On the back, Michael had written:
She knows everything.
I looked toward Vanessa.
"How long have you known Michael?""
She stared at the floor.
Daniel immediately interrupted.
"She doesn't know him.""
Vanessa looked up sharply.
"Don't lie for me anymore!""
Daniel turned toward her.
"Vanessa.""
"No! I'm tired of this!""
She wiped her face.
"Michael contacted me first. He told me Daniel was stealing money from both of them.""
I stood.
"Then why are you with Daniel?""
Vanessa's voice cracked.
"Because Michael disappeared again.""
Evelyn looked confused.
"What?""
Vanessa continued.
"Michael told me to stay close to Daniel. He said Daniel had documents proving what happened eight years ago. He promised he'd come back for me.""
Daniel grabbed the edge of the table.
"You were working with him?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"I was trying to protect myself.""
I looked at her pregnant stomach.
"Does Michael know about the baby?""
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
"He knows.""
The room went silent.
Daniel looked as though someone had punched him.
"You're telling me that child is Michael's?""
Vanessa began crying.
"I never said that.""
"Then whose is it?""
She looked at me.
"Michael is the father.""
Daniel slammed his fist against the table.
"YOU LIED TO ME!""
Vanessa flinched.
"You lied to everyone!""
He stepped toward her, but Robert immediately moved between them.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
The pregnancy had been the weapon Daniel used to humiliate me.
He had brought Vanessa to our anniversary dinner and announced that they were having a son.
But the child wasn't his.
He had known his vasectomy had been successful.
He had simply hoped I would never question the dates or the medical records.
"Why did you let him believe the baby was his?"" I asked.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
"Because Daniel promised to marry me. He said he'd take care of me and the baby. I thought if I stayed with him, I'd be safe.""
"And the engagement party?""
"He wanted everyone to believe we were getting married.""
I shook my head.
"So you both used my money to celebrate a fake engagement.""
Vanessa didn't answer.
Then she looked directly at me.
"There's something else. Michael told me Daniel was planning to sell your company before the police found out about the missing money.""
My phone vibrated again.
Rachel.
I answered immediately.
"Olivia, you need to come to the office.""
"What happened?""
"Someone just entered the building using an executive access card.""
"Who?""
"I don't know. But he left something on your desk.""
"What?""
Rachel's voice dropped.
"A photograph of you and Daniel on your wedding day. On the back, someone wrote, 'Ask your husband what happened to the original owner of Bennett Events.''"
I looked at Daniel.
He had stopped moving.
"Daniel, what does that mean?""
He stared at me.
Then Evelyn whispered:
"Olivia, your company didn't originally belong to you.""
I turned toward her.
"What?""
She opened her handbag and removed an old business registration certificate.
My father's name appeared at the top.
THOMAS REED.
My father had died eleven years earlier.
He had been a small-business owner who spent his entire life teaching me that a person's word mattered more than their money.
I had always believed he left me a modest inheritance.
But the document showed something else.
He had owned a substantial share of a company that eventually became Bennett Events.
And the remaining shares had been transferred shortly before his death.
I looked at the signature.
It was Daniel's.
My husband had signed as a witness.
I looked up.
"Why was Daniel involved in my father's business?""
Evelyn's voice trembled.
"Because your father discovered something about him before you got married.""
Before I could ask another question, the private dining room door opened.
A tall man stood there.
Dark hair.
Broad shoulders.
A familiar scar above his left eyebrow.
He looked directly at Daniel.
Then at me.
"Hello, Olivia.""
My knees nearly gave way.
Michael Bennett was standing in front of me.
May you like
Alive.
And he was holding a document with my father's name on it.
