Chapter 12: The Mother I Buried Twice
I felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath me.
My mother was alive.
The woman whose funeral I had attended at seventeen.
The woman whose photograph I had kept beside my bed.
The woman whose death had supposedly destroyed our family.
"Where is she?"" I demanded.
Richard looked at Victor.
Victor smiled.
"That's the interesting part.""
He walked toward the window.
"Your mother discovered the financial fraud. But she didn't simply disappear. She made a deal.""
Sarah shook her head.
"Victor, stop.""
He ignored her.
"Eleanor agreed to surrender the original ledger in exchange for her son's safety. She believed Richard would protect you.""
I turned toward my father.
"Is that true?""
Richard nodded slowly.
"Your mother wanted to save you. She thought if she disappeared, they'd leave you alone.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she made me promise.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone in this family seems to have a promise that requires lying to me.""
Richard lowered his head.
Victor walked toward the table.
"Unfortunately, Eleanor didn't understand that promises are only useful when both sides intend to keep them.""
Sarah stepped forward.
"Where is she?""
Victor smiled.
"Nearby.""
He gestured toward a second door.
It opened.
An elderly woman entered.
Her hair was completely white.
She leaned heavily on a wooden cane.
But I recognized her eyes.
My mother's eyes.
The same gentle brown eyes I remembered from childhood.
I couldn't move.
She looked at me.
"Michael?""
My lips trembled.
"Mom?""
She began crying.
I rushed toward her.
She dropped her cane and wrapped both arms around me.
For a moment, I was seventeen again.
I was a little boy coming home from school.
I was standing in the kitchen while she kissed my forehead.
I was safe.
Then I remembered the funeral.
The years of grief.
The birthdays she had missed.
The wedding she hadn't attended.
The birth of Lily.
I pulled away.
"How could you?""
She wiped her eyes.
"Michael...""
"How could you let me believe you were dead?""
Her lips trembled.
"I wanted to come back.""
"But you didn't!""
Victor watched us with an expression of amusement.
"Family reunions are always emotional.""
I turned toward him.
"Shut up.""
He raised his glass.
"Careful. Your mother made the same mistake.""
Eleanor stepped between us.
"Leave him alone, Victor.""
Victor laughed.
"You're still trying to protect him.""
She looked at me.
"Michael, listen carefully. Everything you've been told about the ledger is incomplete.""
She reached into her coat and removed a small envelope.
"This is the real reason they wanted you to come here.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"What's inside?""
Eleanor opened it.
A photograph.
It showed four people sitting around a conference table.
Victor Hale.
Robert Hayes.
Vanessa.
And a fourth person.
I stared.
It was Daniel.
My brother.
My best friend.
The man who had helped me investigate Sarah's disappearance.
I turned slowly.
Daniel stood motionless.
"Michael," he said.
My mouth went dry.
"Tell me that's not you.""
He looked at the photograph.
Then at me.
"I can explain.""
Sarah stepped back.
"Daniel?""
He rubbed his face.
"That photograph was taken eleven years ago.""
I shook my head.
"You knew Victor?""
"Yes.""
"You knew Hayes?""
"Yes.""
"And you never told me?""
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"Because I was working undercover.""
Victor began laughing.
"Undercover? Is that what they're calling it now?""
Daniel turned toward him.
"Shut your mouth.""
Victor leaned against the table.
"Tell him what happened to your father, Daniel.""
I stared at my brother.
"What father?""
Daniel looked at me.
Then he said something I never expected.
"Victor Hale is my biological father.""
Silence.
I looked at Victor.
Then Daniel.
Then the photograph.
The pieces began falling into place.
The private investigation career.
His knowledge of Hayes.
His determination to help me.
The way he had always seemed one step ahead of everyone.
"You were investigating us?""
Daniel shook his head.
"No. I was trying to bring them down.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because my father would have killed you if he knew I was working against him.""
Victor placed his glass down.
"Enough.""
He looked toward the two men holding Lily.
"Take the girl.""
I lunged forward.
"NO!""
One of the men pulled Lily toward the hallway.
She screamed.
"DADDY!""
Sarah rushed toward her.
A man grabbed Sarah's arm.
Eleanor struck him with her cane.
He stumbled.
Daniel pulled a small recording device from his pocket.
"Victor, you're being recorded.""
Victor laughed.
"You think I care?""
Daniel pressed a button.
A loud voice suddenly filled the room.
It was Hayes.
"Once the transfer is complete, eliminate the witnesses. The girl first. Then Carter and his wife.""
I stared at Victor.
His smile disappeared.
Daniel held up his phone.
"That's a copy of your conversation from this morning. The authorities have the original.""
Victor's face hardened.
Then he reached into his jacket.
Everything happened at once.
A gunshot shattered the room.
The chandelier flickered.
Sarah screamed.
I dropped to the floor.
When I looked up, Richard was lying beside the table.
Blood was spreading across his shirt.
"Father!""
I crawled toward him.
Victor was gone.
The two men had disappeared through the hallway.
And Lily was no longer in the room.
Sarah grabbed my shoulder.
"Michael!""
I turned toward her.
She was holding something.
A small pink hairbrush.
The one Lily had carried everywhere.
There was a folded piece of paper hidden inside its handle.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
It contained a message in Sarah's handwriting.
*MICHAEL, IF YOU EVER FIND YOUR MOTHER, ASK HER WHO REALLY SIGNED YOUR FATHER'S DEATH CERTIFICATE.*
I looked at Eleanor.
She was standing near the window, crying.
Then she whispered:
"Michael, I didn't sign your father's death certificate.""
She looked toward the hallway where Victor had disappeared.
"Because Richard Carter isn't your biological father.""
My entire world stopped.
And before I could ask another question, a final message appeared on my phone.
It was from an unknown number.
A photograph showed Lily sitting inside a car.
Beside her was Vanessa.
Beneath the photograph were six words.
*THE REAL FATHER WANTS HIS DAUGHTER BACK.*
I looked at Daniel.
He had gone completely pale.
May you like
Because he recognized the car.
It belonged to Victor Hale.
