Chapter 7: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Vanessa's eyes locked onto the cabinet.
For one terrible second, I wondered whether she could actually see us through the narrow gap.
Then Adrian reached inside his jacket.
"Come out, Marcus," he said.
"I know you're down here.""
Sarah squeezed my wrist.
"Don't move," she whispered.
Adrian walked toward the cabinet, holding something metallic in his right hand.
A gun.
My stomach tightened.
Vanessa stepped behind him.
"Adrian, don't do anything stupid.""
He didn't look at her.
"You said nobody knew about this place.""
"They weren't supposed to.""
"Well, someone clearly does.""
I glanced toward the narrow staircase. There was no way we could reach it without crossing the open floor.
Then Sarah leaned toward my ear.
"There's another door behind the furnace.""
I followed her gaze.
A narrow wooden door was partially hidden by an old shelving unit. I remembered it from childhood. My father used it to access a storage passage connecting the cellar to the detached garage.
I nodded.
We moved slowly.
One step.
Then another.
A floorboard creaked.
Adrian spun around.
"Who's there?""
Sarah grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the hidden door.
"Run!""
The gunshot exploded behind us.
Wood splintered above my shoulder.
We stumbled through the doorway and slammed it shut. I heard Adrian shouting as we raced through the narrow passage.
At the other end, Sarah pushed open a rusted metal hatch.
We emerged behind the garage.
Daniel was waiting beside his car.
"What happened?"" he shouted.
"Adrian has a gun!""
Daniel immediately pulled us behind the vehicle.
"Get inside!""
Before we could move, two police vehicles turned onto the street.
Detective Laura Mitchell stepped out, her hand resting near her holster.
"Nobody move!""
Adrian appeared at the cellar entrance.
He looked toward the police cars, then toward us.
For a moment, I thought he might run.
Instead, he raised both hands.
"There's been a misunderstanding," he called.
Detective Mitchell approached him.
"Put whatever you're holding on the ground.""
Adrian dropped the gun.
Vanessa emerged behind him, clutching the wooden box.
"Officer, thank goodness you're here," she said.
"My husband has been acting irrationally.""
I almost laughed.
She was standing beside the man who had helped sabotage my car, holding documents stolen from my father's house, and still pretending she was the victim.
Detective Mitchell ordered them both to separate vehicles.
As an officer escorted Vanessa past me, she stopped.
"Marcus, please.""
I looked at her.
"Don't do this.""
"Do what?""
"Destroy our marriage over a misunderstanding.""
I stared at her for several seconds.
"Which part was the misunderstanding? The forged signatures, the stolen money, or the attempt to make sure I never saw again?""
Her face changed.
Then she whispered something I hadn't expected.
"You don't understand what your father did.""
Before I could ask what she meant, the officer moved her away.
Daniel approached with a worried expression.
"Are you all right?""
I nodded.
Sarah was holding the brass key so tightly that it had left a mark in her palm.
"Did you see the document?"" she asked.
"Yes.""
"What does it mean?""
I looked toward the house.
"Apparently, we need to find out why a dead woman is listed as a beneficiary.""
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"There's something I haven't told you.""
I turned.
"What?""
He hesitated.
"My mother didn't die when I was twelve.""
I stared at him.
"What are you talking about?""
Daniel looked toward the police vehicles.
"She disappeared. My father told everyone she had died because he didn't want people asking questions.""
"Why?""
"I don't know. I was too young to understand.""
He looked at the photograph Sarah had taken of the trust document.
"But now I think I know where she went.""
Sarah whispered, "Where?""
Daniel looked directly at me.
"She went to work for your father.""
An hour later, we were inside Detective Mitchell's office.
Adrian had been taken into custody for questioning. Vanessa was being interviewed separately.
The police had recovered the wooden box, the trust documents, and the weapon Adrian had dropped.
But the most important discovery was still waiting.
Inside the box was an envelope addressed to me.
My father's handwriting was unmistakable.
I opened it carefully.
The letter contained only a few paragraphs.
Marcus,
If this letter has reached you, then the people I feared have finally returned.
There is one person you must find before making any decisions about the trust.
Her name is Evelyn Hayes.
She knows the truth about the company, about your birthright, and about the person who has been protecting your family from the shadows.
Do not assume the people closest to you are the ones who love you most.
Your father.
I read the final sentence twice.
Then Daniel received a phone call.
He listened silently.
His face gradually lost its color.
When he ended the call, he looked at me.
"They found something in Adrian's phone.""
"What?""
"A recent photograph of a woman entering a private medical clinic.""
He showed me the image.
The woman was older, with silver hair and a familiar pearl necklace.
Daniel's hands trembled.
"That's my mother.""
Sarah leaned closer.
"When was this taken?""
"Yesterday.""
Daniel swallowed.
"She's alive.""
Then Detective Mitchell entered the room carrying another photograph.
"Mr. Bennett," she said, "there's something else you should see.""
It showed Vanessa standing outside the same clinic.
And she wasn't alone.
She was speaking to a man whose face I recognized from the incomplete audio recording.
The mysterious third person.
The person who had helped plan my accident.
Detective Mitchell placed the photograph on the table.
"Do you recognize him?""
I shook my head.
Daniel looked at the man's face.
May you like
Then he whispered:
"That's my father.""
