Chapter 7: The Brother Nobody Knew Existed
The front door shook again.
“Police! Open the door immediately!””
I barely heard the detective.
I was staring at the photograph on the kitchen table, trying to understand how a single image could destroy everything I thought I knew about my family.
My father stood outside a hospital, wearing the brown coat he had been buried in. Beside him was a young woman with dark hair and tired eyes. In her arms lay a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.
On the back, in his unmistakable handwriting, were the words:
*Daniel is not my only son.*
I looked at Michael.
“You know this woman?””
Michael nodded slowly.
“Her name was Evelyn Cross. Dad told us she was a family friend who helped him with some business paperwork.””
“Us?””
“Me and you. We met her when I was about fourteen. She came to the house a few times, but Dad always sent us outside when they talked.””
I searched my memory.
There had been a woman who visited our father occasionally. I remembered her bringing a chocolate cake one Christmas and sitting alone in the kitchen while Dad spoke to her in a low voice.
I had never thought anything of it.
“Why would Dad hide a child?”” I asked.
Michael rubbed his trembling hands together.
“Because Evelyn was married to someone else when they met. Dad told me the situation was complicated.””
“And you knew she had a baby?””
“No. I found out much later, when I discovered some old financial records. There were payments to a trust fund under the name Cross. Dad had been sending money for years.””
Vanessa stood beside the table, twisting the empty pendant between her fingers.
“Richard found out about the child before your father died,” she said.
I turned toward her.
“How?””
“My father was investigating the company accounts. He discovered the payments and realized your father had been supporting someone secretly.””
“So Richard knew about his illegitimate child?””
“He knew there was another heir. He didn't know who the child was at first.””
Michael's face tightened.
“That's why he needed the original records. They didn't just prove the theft. They identified the person who had been receiving the money.””
The detective struck the door again.
“Mr. Mercer! This is your final warning!””
I grabbed the photograph.
“We're not opening that door until I know who that child is.””
Vanessa looked at Michael.
“Tell him.””
Michael shook his head.
“I can't.””
“Michael, you have to.””
He stared at the floor.
“Because the baby wasn't a boy.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“The child in the photograph was a girl. I saw the birth certificate years later. Her name was Catherine Cross.””
Vanessa's face had gone completely white.
I looked between them.
“What does Catherine have to do with Richard?””
Michael swallowed.
“Catherine was adopted. Evelyn died when the girl was very young, and Dad arranged for her to be raised by a family he trusted. He continued supporting her through the trust.””
“Who adopted her?””
Michael's eyes met mine.
“Richard and his wife.””
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Vanessa's mother had died when Vanessa was a teenager. Richard had raised her alone. I had always believed that was the reason she was so fiercely loyal to him.
Now I wondered whether there was another reason.
“Catherine,” I repeated.
“Who is Catherine?””
Vanessa backed away from the table.
“Don't.””
I stared at her.
“Catherine is your name.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Your full name is Vanessa Catherine Hale.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Please, Daniel.””
Michael gripped the edge of the table.
“Your father didn't just hide a second child. He gave her to Richard to raise because he believed Richard could protect her from the scandal.””
I looked at my wife.
“You're my father's daughter?””
Vanessa began to cry.
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
The room seemed to shrink around me.
I stumbled backward, knocking a chair against the wall.
For six years, I'd believed I had married a woman who had entered my life by chance. Now I was discovering that she was my half-sister, the daughter my father had hidden, and the woman who had helped imprison my brother.
“No,” I whispered.
“That's not possible.””
Vanessa wiped her face.
“My father told me when I was seventeen. He said my biological father was a wealthy businessman who had died before I could know him. He never told me your name until after you and I met.””
“After?””
She nodded miserably.
“Richard recognized your name at the charity auction. He told me who you were afterward. He said you were the key to everything.””
I felt sick.
“You knew I was your brother when you married me?””
“I knew you were my half-brother. I swear I didn't understand what Richard intended until later.””
Michael slammed his hand against the table.
“Don't pretend you were innocent!””
Vanessa flinched.
“You knew about the records. You knew what Richard did to me. You visited the farmhouse. You stood outside that door and listened to me beg for help.””
“I was trying to stop him!””
“You were trying to stop yourself from losing everything!””
The detective outside shouted something to the uniformed officer.
Then the sound of splintering wood filled the hallway.
“They're coming in!”” I shouted.
I grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her toward the back entrance.
Michael followed, stumbling.
Vanessa remained beside the table, staring at the photograph.
“Come on!”” I yelled.
She looked up.
“Daniel, wait.””
I turned.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver key.
“There's another copy of the records. Richard doesn't know I kept it.””
I stared at her.
“Where?””
“In the old farmhouse. Beneath the floorboards in the room where Michael was held.””
Michael shook his head.
“That's impossible. I searched every inch of that room.””
“Not the room itself,” Vanessa said.
“The passage behind the furnace. My father built it years ago. I hid the records there when I realized he planned to destroy them.””
“Why didn't you tell me before?””
“Because I was afraid.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You keep saying that as if it erases everything you've done.””
“It doesn't.””
The front door crashed open.
“Police! Nobody move!””
I pulled Lily behind me as Detective Brooks entered the kitchen with her weapon drawn.
Her eyes immediately settled on Michael.
“There you are,” she said.
Michael began shaking.
The detective lowered her weapon slightly.
“Michael, come with us. We can protect you.””
He stared at her.
“You said that seven years ago.””
Her expression hardened.
“You're confused.””
“No. I'm finally remembering everything.””
Brooks glanced at the photograph on the table.
Then she looked at Vanessa.
For one brief moment, the two women exchanged a glance that told me more than any confession could.
They knew each other.
Not as strangers.
As accomplices.
I stepped between the detective and my brother.
“Put the weapon away. You're not taking him anywhere.””
Brooks raised it again.
“Move aside, Mr. Mercer.””
“No.””
She looked toward the uniformed officer.
“Secure the child. Take the photograph and every document in this room.””
The officer moved toward Lily.
My daughter screamed and grabbed my leg.
Then Vanessa did something I never expected.
She stepped in front of the officer.
“Don't touch her!””
Brooks stared at her.
“Move, Vanessa.””
“No.””
“Your father has already made arrangements. Don't throw your future away now.””
Vanessa's face changed.
“My father doesn't get to decide my future anymore.””
She snatched the photograph from the table and shoved it into my hand.
“Run!””
The officer lunged toward us.
I grabbed Lily and bolted through the back door, with Michael close behind me.
We ran across the garden, through the narrow gap between the fence and the neighboring property, and into the darkness beyond.
Behind us, Detective Brooks shouted orders.
Michael stumbled near the end of the alley, and I caught him before he fell.
“Keep going,” he gasped.
“We need a car.””
“My old truck is at the farmhouse.””
“You're not going back there.””
Michael gripped my shoulder.
“Daniel, the records are the only thing that can expose them all.””
I looked down at Lily, who was clutching my hand with both of hers.
I had to protect her.
I had to save Michael.
And I had to find out why my father had hidden the truth about Vanessa for so many years.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.
*YOUR WIFE HAS BEEN ARRESTED. IF YOU WANT HER ALIVE, COME TO THE FARMHOUSE ALONE.*
Beneath it was a photograph.
Vanessa was kneeling on the floor of a dark room, her hands bound behind her back.
May you like
Standing behind her was Richard.
And beside him was Detective Brooks.
