Chapter 9: My Brother Was the One Who Buried My Wife
I couldn't breathe.
Michael.
My brother.
The man who had carried me out of the cemetery when I collapsed beside Elena's grave.
The man who had told Lily that her mother was watching over her.
The man who had spent Christmas dinner sitting beside me, pretending to mourn a woman he knew was alive.
He had been involved from the beginning.
I looked at Richard.
“How long?””
Richard checked his watch.
“Your brother joined the arrangement eleven months before the boating incident.””
I shook my head.
“Why?””
“Money.””
“That can't be the only reason.””
Richard shrugged.
“Your brother had substantial debts. He was facing bankruptcy. Elena discovered that he had been diverting money from your family's investment accounts.””
I remembered something.
Michael had handled our family finances after our father died.
He had access to everything.
The business.
The properties.
Our joint inheritance.
And my wife's insurance policies.
“Did he arrange the accident?””
Richard smiled.
“He arranged the boat.””
Elena began crying.
“He was there that night.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
She nodded.
“Michael invited me to the marina. He said you wanted to surprise me with an anniversary gift. When I arrived, he told me the boat had been moved.””
I remembered that evening.
I had been at home with Lily.
Michael had called me and said Elena was going out with friends.
An hour later, he had called again.
His voice had been shaking.
He told me there had been an accident.
He told me Elena had fallen overboard.
I had believed every word.
Elena continued.
“He took me to a private dock. Richard was waiting. They told me you had already been informed that I was dead.””
My stomach twisted.
“They told you I knew?””
“Yes. They said you had agreed to the arrangement because Lily needed stability.””
I looked at Richard.
“You told her I agreed to her imprisonment?””
Richard didn't respond.
Elena grabbed my hand.
“I never believed you would abandon me. But they showed me documents with your signature. They played recordings of you saying you wanted to move on.””
My chest tightened.
“What recordings?””
Richard looked uncomfortable.
Vanessa answered.
“They used edited recordings. Conversations taken from your phone.””
I remembered leaving voice messages for Michael after the accident.
Messages in which I said I couldn't live without Elena.
Messages in which I said I wanted to disappear.
They had manipulated every word.
Then the live screen changed.
Michael appeared closer to the camera.
He held a microphone.
“Daniel!””
I stepped toward the screen.
“MICHAEL!””
His face remained calm.
“Brother. You've made this much more difficult than it needed to be.””
“Why did you do it?””
He sighed.
“Because you never understood what Dad left us.””
I stared at him.
“What does that have to do with Elena?””
“Everything. Your wife discovered the investment accounts. She found the transfers to Richard. She threatened to report us.””
I shook my head.
“You stole from our company?””
“Borrowed.””
“You stole millions!””
Michael laughed.
“You always had everything. Dad trusted you. Elena loved you. You had the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect life.””
“So you decided to destroy it?””
“I decided to take back what should have been mine.””
I looked at Lily.
She was holding Sophie's hand.
Both girls were terrified.
“What do you want now?””
Michael's expression changed.
“The children.””
“No.””
“They're the reason this operation exists. Their genetic profiles are valuable.””
“They're seven years old!””
“Then don't make me repeat myself.””
The screen went black.
A heavy metallic crash echoed from the staircase.
Michael had entered the underground facility.
Vanessa looked toward the corridor.
“We have to move.””
Richard smiled.
“There's nowhere to go.””
Vanessa stepped toward him.
“Give me the access code.””
“You don't have the authority.””
“I have the master key.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
Vanessa pulled the silver pendant from beneath her shirt.
She pressed the engraved letter E.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside was a microchip.
Richard stared at it.
“Where did you get that?””
Vanessa looked at Elena.
“Your mother gave it to me before she died.””
Elena's eyes widened.
“My mother?””
“She knew what Richard was doing. She had copied the original medical records and hidden them inside this pendant.””
Richard lunged.
Vanessa threw the pendant toward me.
I caught it.
“Run!””
A security door opened at the far end of the corridor.
I grabbed Lily.
Elena helped Sophie.
We ran.
Behind us, Richard shouted orders.
Michael's footsteps thundered down the stairs.
Vanessa stayed behind.
I turned.
“Come with us!””
She shook her head.
“Someone has to stop them.””
Elena grabbed her hand.
“Vanessa, please.””
Vanessa looked at her twin.
For the first time, neither woman seemed angry.
“I wanted your life,” Vanessa whispered.
“I thought if I could take everything you had, I'd finally feel like I mattered.””
Elena touched her cheek.
“You always mattered.””
Vanessa began crying.
Then she pushed us through the door and slammed it shut.
A second later, something heavy struck the other side.
I heard Vanessa scream.
Then silence.
We reached a narrow service corridor that led toward the garage.
At the end was a small security office.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, I found a computer displaying dozens of files.
I recognized Elena's name.
Vanessa's.
Emma's.
And several others.
I inserted the microchip.
A folder opened.
The first document was a hospital report.
The second was a list of payments.
The third was a video.
I clicked it.
My father appeared on the screen.
He looked older, thinner, and much sicker than I remembered.
The recording was dated three months before his death.
He was speaking directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, Richard has probably told you that the children were switched.””
I leaned closer.
My father continued.
“But there is one thing Richard doesn't know.””
He paused.
“Daniel, you were never supposed to be part of this family arrangement.””
My blood ran cold.
He looked down at something on his desk.
Then he continued.
“Your brother isn't your biological brother. Your mother and I adopted him when he was six. But the woman who gave birth to him was the same woman who gave birth to Elena's mother.””
I stared at the screen.
That meant Michael and Elena's family were connected.
My father continued.
“And there's something else. Richard wasn't working alone. The person who funded the entire operation was…”
The video suddenly froze.
A warning appeared.
*FILE CORRUPTED.*
I tried to reopen it.
Nothing.
Then a small notification appeared.
*REMOTE ACCESS REQUESTED.*
Someone was trying to erase the files.
I pulled out the microchip.
A voice came from behind me.
“Don't bother.””
I spun around.
Michael stood in the doorway.
His shirt was stained with blood.
He held a gun.
And behind him stood Vanessa.
She was alive.
But her hands were tied.
Michael smiled.
“Now, Daniel, let's finish what our father started.””
I stepped in front of Lily and Sophie.
“What did Dad mean?””
Michael's eyes flickered.
“You watched the recording?””
“Who funded the operation?””
He smiled.
Then he pointed the gun toward Elena.
“Your mother.””
I stared at him.
“My mother is dead.””
Michael shook his head.
“That's what Richard told you.””
Elena looked at him in horror.
Then Michael added:
“And she's upstairs, waiting to meet her grandchildren.””
A door opened behind him.
An elderly woman entered the room.
She had silver hair, a walking cane, and a familiar face.
My mother.
The woman whose funeral I had attended nine years earlier.
She looked at me and smiled.
“Hello, Daniel.””
Then she looked at Lily.
“Come here, darling. Grandma has something very important to tell you.””
I pulled my daughter closer.
My mother sighed.
“Still so protective. You really have no idea what your father left behind, do you?””
She raised her cane.
A small red light appeared at its tip.
And every screen in the room switched on simultaneously.
Each displayed the same message.
*PROJECT MERCER: FINAL GENERATION ACTIVATION READY.*
My mother looked at the two girls.
May you like
Then she said:
“It's time to decide which granddaughter survives.””
