Chapter 9: The Fourth Person
The photograph shook in my hands.
I couldn't make sense of it.
The face circled in red belonged to a man I had not seen in decades.
Michael leaned closer.
"Who is that?""
I swallowed.
"My brother.""
Richard's expression changed.
"Daniel?""
I nodded.
"My younger brother.""
I hadn't spoken his name in twenty years.
Daniel had disappeared from my life shortly after Richard's supposed death.
At the time, I believed he had chosen to leave.
Now I wasn't so sure.
Michael looked at Richard.
"Was Uncle Daniel involved?""
Richard shook his head.
"I don't know.""
Thomas had left one word written on the back of the photograph.
*ASK HIM.*
Michael stared at it.
"Where is he?""
"I don't know.""
"Mom.""
"I told you. We lost contact.""
Richard stepped closer.
"When?""
"The week after your father's funeral.""
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"That isn't what he told me.""
I turned.
"What?""
Richard hesitated.
"He came to see me.""
The world seemed to stop.
"When?""
"After the accident.""
Michael stared.
"You saw Uncle Daniel after Dad supposedly died?""
Richard nodded.
"He found me in the hospital.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I couldn't.""
"Why?""
"Because Daniel was terrified.""
Michael stepped forward.
"Terrified of Thomas?""
Richard nodded.
"What did he know?""
Richard looked at Eleanor.
She answered.
"Daniel was the person who discovered the second account.""
Michael looked confused.
"The account Dad mentioned?""
"Yes.""
Richard continued.
"He discovered money being transferred out of the company.""
"And Thomas?""
"He suspected him.""
I sat down.
All those years.
All those years I had believed my brother had simply abandoned me when I needed him most.
Michael crouched beside me.
"Mom.""
I looked at him.
"I thought Daniel didn't care.""
"He did.""
Richard sat across from me.
"He cared enough to risk his life.""
I stared at him.
"What happened to him?""
Richard's expression darkened.
"He disappeared.""
"Like you?""
"Yes.""
"Because of Thomas?""
"We don't know.""
Eleanor reached into her handbag.
"I may know.""
She pulled out a small key.
Michael stared.
"What's that?""
"Daniel left it with me.""
My heart raced.
"Why?""
"He told me that if Richard ever returned, I was to give it to his family.""
Michael took the key.
"What does it open?""
Eleanor shook her head.
"I was never told.""
Richard examined it.
"It's a safe-deposit key.""
Michael looked at me.
"Do you know which bank?""
I nodded slowly.
"Daniel used First National.""
Eleanor's eyes widened.
"That's where Richard kept the original policy.""
Michael looked at his father.
"And the evidence?""
Richard nodded.
"Possibly.""
We drove there together.
Michael insisted on driving.
I sat in the passenger seat, the white roses lying across my lap.
They were bruised now.
Some petals had fallen.
But I couldn't throw them away.
They had started the day as symbols of pride.
Now they felt like evidence of everything that had changed.
At the bank, we were led into a private room.
A manager examined the key.
Then his expression changed.
"You're Denise Carter?""
"Yes.""
He looked at Michael.
"And you're Michael Carter?""
"Yes.""
He took a sealed envelope from a cabinet.
"This was left here twenty-two years ago.""
My hands trembled.
"By Daniel?""
The manager nodded.
"With strict instructions.""
"What instructions?""
"That it could only be opened by Denise Carter and her son.""
Michael looked at me.
"Together.""
We opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
I recognized Daniel's handwriting immediately.
*Denise,*
*If you're reading this, then Richard failed to come home.*
My eyes blurred.
Michael read beside me.
*I need you to know something. Richard did not abandon you.*
I covered my mouth.
The next line made my heart pound.
*But he also wasn't the man you thought he was.*
Michael stopped.
"What does that mean?""
I kept reading.
*The money wasn't stolen by Thomas alone. Richard helped move it.*
I looked at Richard.
He closed his eyes.
"No.""
Michael turned toward him.
"You knew.""
Richard nodded.
"I did.""
"Then why?""
Richard's voice broke.
"Because Thomas threatened your mother.""
Daniel's letter continued.
*Richard agreed to move the money temporarily to protect Denise. He believed he could put everything back. He was wrong.*
I felt sick.
*The person who ultimately controlled the account was not Thomas.*
A final line appeared beneath it.
*It was someone inside your own home.*
Michael looked up.
"Who?""
I stared at the letter.
Then I noticed something.
There was a second sheet folded beneath it.
Michael opened it.
It contained a bank statement.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Transfers.
Withdrawals.
Payments.
And beside every transaction was the same account holder.
Michael whispered:
"Mom...""
I looked at the name.
My blood turned cold.
Because the account wasn't under Richard's name.
It wasn't under Thomas's.
It wasn't under Daniel's.
It was under mine.
I shook my head.
"I never opened that account.""
Richard stood abruptly.
"That's impossible.""
Michael looked at the manager.
"Can you verify the signature?""
The manager examined the document.
His face went pale.
"Mr. Carter...""
"What?""
"This signature matches the original account application.""
I stared at the page.
It looked like my handwriting.
Perfectly.
Every curve.
Every letter.
Michael whispered:
"Someone forged Mom's signature.""
The manager shook his head.
"No.""
He pointed to the bottom.
"Because this account was opened in person.""
My heart stopped.
"When?""
He checked the date.
"The day after Richard Carter's funeral.""
I felt the room spinning.
Michael grabbed my shoulders.
"Mom, stay with me.""
I looked at Richard.
He was staring at the document as if he'd seen a ghost.
Then he whispered:
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because Denise was with me that day.""
I turned toward him.
"What did you say?""
Richard's face went white.
Michael stared.
"How could Mom have been with you?""
Richard didn't answer.
I stood slowly.
"Richard.""
He looked at me.
And then he said the sentence that destroyed the last piece of the story I thought I knew.
"The woman who signed that account wasn't you.""
I couldn't speak.
"Then who was she?""
Richard looked toward the door.
"Someone who looked exactly like you.""
Michael's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
*YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG WOMAN.*
May you like
Then another.
*ASK YOUR MOTHER ABOUT HER TWIN.*
