Chapter 9: The Secret Behind Michael's Father's Death
Michael didn't move.
He stared at the photograph as if the people inside it might suddenly begin speaking.
"My father was alive?"" he whispered.
Detective Bennett nodded.
"According to Richard Hale's statement, your father survived the initial accident. He was taken to the hospital and remained conscious for several hours.""
Michael gripped the edge of the chair.
"Then how did he die?""
"We're still investigating. Richard claims he was prevented from speaking to your father shortly before his death.""
"By whom?""
Detective Bennett didn't answer immediately.
"Your mother.""
Michael stood.
"That's impossible.""
"Mr. Carter, we're not asking you to accept his statement as fact. We're telling you what he reported.""
Michael turned toward the window.
"My mother told me my father died instantly. She said there was nothing the doctors could do.""
I watched him struggle to breathe.
"Michael, sit down.""
He shook his head.
"I was twenty-four. I was at work when she called. She said I shouldn't come to the hospital because Dad was already gone.""
His voice cracked.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye.""
I reached for his hand.
He took it, but his eyes remained fixed on the photograph.
Detective Bennett continued.
"Richard also claims your father had discovered a fraudulent insurance arrangement involving a woman who was not yet part of your life.""
I frowned.
"Me?""
"Possibly.""
Michael looked at the detective.
"Why would my father be investigating Emily before we met?""
"We don't know. But Richard says your father believed someone had been using your identity.""
My skin went cold.
Detective Bennett placed another document on the table.
It was a copy of an old insurance application.
My full legal name appeared at the top.
The date was four years before Michael and I married.
But there was something even stranger.
The application listed my previous address.
An apartment I'd lived in during college.
"How did they get that information?"" I asked.
Detective Bennett studied the document.
"We're trying to determine that.""
Michael looked at the signature.
"That's not Emily's handwriting.""
"No," I whispered.
"It isn't.""
The detective pointed to a second section.
"There's a medical authorization attached to this application.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"What kind of authorization?""
"It allowed the insurer to request certain medical records.""
I shook my head.
"I never signed that.""
Detective Bennett nodded.
"We suspected as much.""
Michael sat down again.
"Who received the policy benefits?""
"The original beneficiary was listed as Richard Hale.""
Michael stared.
"My father's business partner?""
"Yes.""
I looked at the document.
"Then Diane wasn't trying to create a policy for Sophie. She was trying to revive something that had existed for years.""
The detective nodded.
"That's one possibility we're investigating.""
That evening, Michael returned to the hospital with a small box.
"I found something else in the attic.""
He placed it carefully on the bedside table.
Inside were several photographs, a pocket watch, and a stack of old letters.
He removed the top envelope.
It was addressed to his father.
The return address belonged to a law firm.
Michael opened it.
His eyes moved quickly across the page.
Then he stopped.
"What?"" I asked.
He handed it to me.
The letter was dated six years ago.
It stated that an investigation into suspected insurance fraud had been reopened after new evidence emerged.
At the bottom was a handwritten note from Michael's father.
If anything happens to me, make sure Michael knows the truth about the woman he will eventually marry.
I stared at the sentence.
"Eventually marry?""
Michael looked confused.
"That doesn't make sense.""
"Maybe your father knew something about me.""
"How could he?""
I turned the letter over.
There was a second page.
And at the bottom was a name.
*Emily Carter.*
My hands began shaking.
I looked at Michael.
"Why would your father know my name?""
He shook his head.
"I don't know.""
I remembered the photograph of Diane and Richard outside the hospital.
I remembered the fraudulent insurance application.
I remembered the mysterious eighty-thousand-dollar transfer.
And suddenly, another memory surfaced.
Four years ago, when Michael proposed, Diane had looked at me with an expression I hadn't understood.
She hadn't smiled.
She hadn't congratulated us.
She had simply said, "So it finally happened.""
At the time, I'd assumed she meant the engagement.
Now I wasn't sure.
Michael picked up another letter.
This one was sealed.
His father's handwriting appeared across the front.
*To be opened only if Emily Carter becomes part of this family.*
Michael looked at me.
"Emily, I think my father knew we would get married.""
He carefully broke the seal.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
The first line read:
Michael, if you are reading this, then the woman you married is the same Emily Carter whose identity was stolen years ago.
I stopped breathing.
Michael continued.
She was never supposed to be involved in this family's financial affairs. But Diane has been searching for her for years.
He turned the page.
There was a handwritten address.
And beneath it, one final sentence.
Take Emily there. The truth about her biological father is waiting.
I stared at the paper.
"My biological father?""
Michael looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
I had been raised by my mother, who told me my father had died before I was born.
I had never questioned it.
I had never even seen a photograph of him.
Michael slowly turned the letter over.
A name was written at the bottom.
*Richard Hale.*
The same man who had supposedly died six years earlier.
The same man who had been Diane's business partner.
And the man who, according to my husband's dead father, might actually be mine.
Then Michael's phone rang.
It was Detective Bennett.
He answered immediately.
"Detective?""
Her voice came through the speaker.
"Mr. Carter, Richard Hale has agreed to meet with us tomorrow morning.""
Michael looked at me.
Detective Bennett continued.
"There's one condition.""
"What condition?""
"He refuses to speak unless Emily is present.""
I felt my blood run cold.
May you like
Then the detective added:
"He's also told us something else. He says Diane knows Emily is his daughter, and she's been trying to keep the two of them apart since before Emily was born.""
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