Chapter 12: The Brother Who Had Been Watching
I couldn't speak.
The voice on the phone sounded young, perhaps twenty-five or twenty-six.
But the words were unmistakable.
Your brother.
I looked at Patricia.
She had covered her mouth.
"How did you get my number?"" I finally asked.
"Rachel gave it to me.""
"Where are you?""
"Outside Atlanta.""
"Why haven't you contacted me before?""
He laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.
"Because I didn't know you existed until six months ago.""
I sat down.
"Six months?""
"Rachel found me through the adoption records. She told me our mother had been trying to locate me for years.""
I looked at the photograph on the table.
The teenage boy with the scar.
"Did you meet Mom?""
"Once. When I was thirteen.""
My breath caught.
"She came to see you?""
"Yes. She didn't tell me everything. She said she had a daughter named Emily and that one day I might be able to meet you.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"Why didn't she take you home?""
"Because I was adopted. And because she was afraid the situation with Marcus would become worse.""
I swallowed.
"Do you know what happened the night she died?""
"I know pieces.""
"Tell me.""
Daniel exhaled.
"Our mother discovered that Marcus and Robert had been using a company to move money between accounts. She found documents proving that the company was being used to conceal illegal transactions.""
I remembered the emails.
The forged signatures.
The missing inheritance.
"Was Vanessa involved?""
"Yes. According to Rachel, she handled some of the transfers.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why would they want Mom dead?""
"I don't know if they planned to kill her. But I know they wanted her to stop investigating.""
I looked at Patricia.
She had moved closer.
"Daniel, I need proof.""
"I have something.""
"What?""
"A recording.""
My heart started pounding.
"Of what?""
"Robert and Marcus discussing the night our mother died.""
I stood so quickly that my chair scraped across the floor.
"Where did you get it?""
"From an old security system at the warehouse where they used to store company records.""
"Can you send it to me?""
"No. I want to meet you.""
I glanced at Deputy Collins.
She shook her head.
"Emily," Daniel continued, "I don't blame you if you don't trust me. But I think we need to see each other before they realize I have the recording.""
Deputy Collins took the phone.
"This is Deputy Collins. Daniel, we need your current location and a safe way to arrange an interview.""
There was a pause.
Then Daniel said:
"I'll meet you at the sheriff's office. But there's something else.""
"What?"" Collins asked.
"The recording isn't the only thing I found.""
He lowered his voice.
"I found the original insurance file.""
My stomach dropped.
"The second policy?""
"Yes. But the beneficiary wasn't Marcus.""
I looked at Patricia.
She had gone completely still.
"Who was it?"" I asked.
Daniel hesitated.
"Someone named Brianna Williams.""
Vanessa's daughter.
My father's stepdaughter.
I couldn't understand.
"Why would Brianna receive the insurance money?""
"Because someone changed the beneficiary three weeks before the accident.""
"But Mom was alive then.""
"Exactly.""
I looked toward Patricia.
"Did you know about this?""
She shook her head.
Daniel continued.
"Emily, I think our mother discovered the beneficiary change and threatened to expose it. That's why Marcus and Robert were desperate to find the original documents.""
Deputy Collins immediately asked him to preserve the file.
He agreed.
Then the call ended.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Finally, Patricia sat beside me.
"Emily, I need to tell you something about Brianna.""
I looked at her.
"What now?""
Patricia folded her hands.
"She wasn't supposed to be your enemy.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"Your mother knew about the affair between Marcus and Vanessa. But she also knew something else.""
"What?""
"Vanessa had been using Brianna's name to move money for years. Brianna was still a child. She may have been involved without understanding what was happening.""
I thought about the recordings.
Brianna laughing while I went hungry.
Brianna wearing my mother's coat.
Brianna watching Vanessa destroy my laptop.
She had known enough to enjoy my suffering.
"That doesn't excuse what she did.""
"No," Patricia said.
"It doesn't.""
Deputy Collins received a message.
She read it twice.
Then she looked at me.
"Emily, Daniel has arrived.""
We drove to the sheriff's office.
A young man stood near the entrance.
He had dark hair, tired eyes, and a small scar above his eyebrow.
The same scar from the photograph.
When he saw me, he froze.
I stopped walking.
For a moment, neither of us knew what to say.
Then he smiled sadly.
"You look like her.""
My eyes filled.
"So do you.""
He opened his arms.
I walked into them.
It was strange hugging someone I had never met.
Strange, but comforting.
For the first time in years, I felt like a piece of my family had been returned to me.
Daniel stepped back and removed a small recorder from his jacket.
"Before we listen, there's something you should know.""
Deputy Collins took the device.
"What is it?""
Daniel looked directly at me.
"Robert knew our mother was planning to change her will. Marcus knew too. But neither of them knew she'd already made arrangements to protect us.""
He pressed a button.
A man's voice filled the room.
It was Robert.
"She has the documents. If she gets to the lawyer, we're finished.""
Then my father's voice answered.
"Just get the car handled. I don't want her driving anywhere with those papers.""
A third voice spoke.
A woman's voice.
Vanessa.
"Then what happens if she doesn't come back?""
Nobody moved.
My brother looked at me.
The recording continued.
My father answered:
"Then Emily will belong to us. And nobody will ever know what Laura was planning.""
The recording stopped.
I felt Daniel's hand close around mine.
Deputy Collins immediately secured the device.
"That's enough. We're opening a formal investigation.""
I looked at my brother.
"Does this prove they killed her?""
He shook his head.
"Not by itself.""
Then he reached into his bag and removed a final envelope.
"There's one more thing. Rachel gave this to me.""
It was addressed to both of us.
*TO MY CHILDREN — WHEN YOU FINALLY FIND EACH OTHER.*
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of my mother holding me as a baby.
Beside her stood Daniel, still a toddler.
On the back, she had written:
I have two children. And I have spent too many years allowing other people to decide whether they deserve to know each other.
But beneath the photograph was another document.
A property deed.
It listed a small house outside Savannah.
The owner was Laura Carter.
And the transfer date was six months before her death.
Daniel stared at it.
"That's impossible.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
He pointed to the bottom of the deed.
The property had been transferred into a trust.
The beneficiary was not my mother.
It was both of us.
Then I noticed the final line.
A handwritten instruction.
If Marcus Carter or Robert Hayes ever attempts to locate this property, contact the original trustee immediately.
Daniel looked at Deputy Collins.
"Do you recognize the trustee's name?""
She read it.
Then her expression changed.
Because the trustee was the same attorney who had supposedly died in a car accident four years earlier.
May you like
And according to the document, he had left behind one final instruction:
*DO NOT OPEN THE PROPERTY UNTIL BOTH CARTER CHILDREN ARE PRESENT.*
