Chapter 8: The Brother Who Knew Too Much
I read the name three times.
Hoping my eyes were wrong.
They weren’t.
Nathan Carter.
My older brother.
The person who stood beside me at Emma’s funeral.
The person who told me, “You’ll never have to face anything alone.””
The person who helped me raise Lily after losing her mother.
I pushed the laptop away.
“No.””
Robert watched me carefully.
“Michael.””
“No.””
I stood up.
“That’s impossible.””
Mason looked between us.
“Who is Nathan?””
I didn’t answer immediately.
How could I explain that the man I trusted most after losing Emma might have helped destroy everything?
“Nathan is my brother.””
Mason went quiet.
“And he worked with Daniel?””
Robert nodded.
“The records show a transfer from Daniel’s company account to Nathan’s personal account.””
“When?””
“The day before Emma died.””
My hands became cold.
I remembered that day.
Nathan had called me.
He told me Emma was stressed.
He told me she needed rest.
He told me not to argue with her.
At the time, I thought he was protecting my marriage.
Now I wondered if he was protecting himself.
My phone rang.
Nathan.
Everyone looked at me.
I answered.
“Hello?””
“Michael.””
His voice sounded calm.
Too calm.
“I heard something happened with Claire.””
I stared at the screen.
“How did you hear that?””
A pause.
“Nobody told me. I just know things.””
I felt anger rising.
“You always do.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means you always know things before everyone else.””
Silence.
Then Nathan sighed.
“You need to be careful.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Funny. Everyone keeps saying that.””
“Michael, listen to me.””
“No. You listen.””
My voice hardened.
“I found the account.””
The silence afterward was different.
Heavy.
Nathan knew exactly what I meant.
“You shouldn’t have looked into that.””
Those words confirmed everything.
My chest tightened.
“What did you do?””
“Michael—”
“What did you do to Emma?””
He didn’t answer.
And that hurt more than a confession.
Because my brother was silent.
Nathan finally spoke.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“By helping Daniel?””
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain!””
His voice rose.
“Emma was going to destroy everything!””
I froze.
“What?””
“She didn’t know who she was dealing with.””
I gripped the phone.
“You knew.””
“Yes.””
The word came quietly.
“Yes, I knew.””
Mason looked at me.
I could barely speak.
“You knew Daniel was stealing?””
“Yes.””
“And you helped him?””
“I helped you.””
I almost dropped the phone.
“You call this helping?””
Nathan’s voice became desperate.
“Michael, Emma wasn’t innocent.””
The room went silent.
My first instinct was anger.
My second was fear.
“What are you saying?””
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Emma found something about Daniel. Something bigger than the fraud.””
“What?””
“She was going to expose him.””
“That’s not a crime.””
“No.””
A pause.
“But she also found out what happened before you met Daniel.””
My heartbeat increased.
“What happened?””
Nathan didn’t answer.
Instead, he said:
“You need to ask yourself why Daniel became your friend in the first place.””
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Mason spoke softly.
“Michael?””
I looked up.
“Something’s missing.””
Robert nodded.
“I agree.””
“Everyone keeps talking around the truth.””
I looked at the documents.
Emma’s death.
Daniel’s fraud.
Nathan’s secret.
Claire’s betrayal.
There was one connection.
One thing they all shared.
Me.
My phone buzzed again.
A message.
From an unknown number.
This time, it wasn’t a threat.
It was a photograph.
A picture of Emma.
But not an old family photo.
A surveillance photo.
Emma standing outside a building.
A building I recognized.
The old office where Daniel and I started our company.
And underneath the picture was a message.
*Your wife didn’t die because she knew too much. She died because she was about to find out who you really were.*
I stared at the screen.
The words made no sense.
Who I really was?
I had spent years believing I knew myself.
A husband.
A father.
A businessman.
But someone was telling me that my entire life had been built on a lie.
May you like
And then another message appeared.
*Meet me alone tonight if you want the truth about Emma.*
