Chapter 9: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Rebecca pushed me behind the metal cabinet.
“Don't move,” she whispered.
The man descended the stairs.
He was tall, with short gray hair and a scar running along his jaw.
I had seen him before.
He was the man who had stood beside Victoria outside my father's house.
He carried a leather folder under one arm.
Victoria followed him.
Her pearl earrings were gone, and her hair was no longer perfectly arranged.
She looked furious.
“Where is the key?”” she demanded.
Rebecca stood between them and me.
“You need to leave.””
The man laughed.
“Still playing the hero, Rebecca?””
“Who are you?””
He smiled.
“That's a strange question coming from someone who used to work for me.””
Rebecca's face drained of color.
Victoria stepped forward.
“Enough. Give me the envelope.””
Rebecca tightened her grip on the papers.
“No.””
Victoria's expression hardened.
“You've already made enough mistakes.””
I stepped out from behind the cabinet.
“Why are you hurting my family?””
Victoria looked at me.
For a moment, she seemed almost surprised.
Then she smiled.
“Lily, sweetheart, nobody is hurting you.””
“You made Daddy die.””
Her smile disappeared.
The man beside her looked amused.
“Children always ask the simplest questions.””
Rebecca stepped toward him.
“Stay away from her.””
He ignored her.
“Your father was a stubborn man, Lily. He refused to understand that money changes people.””
“He loved me.””
“Yes,” the man replied.
“That was his weakness.””
Victoria looked at him sharply.
“That's enough.””
He turned toward her.
“Why? Are we pretending now?””
Victoria's face tightened.
“Give me the documents.””
He opened his leather folder.
Inside were several printed contracts.
He removed one and held it toward her.
“Sign this first.””
Victoria frowned.
“What is it?””
“Your agreement to transfer the remaining trust funds.””
She stared at him.
“You said the money was already secured.””
“Most of it.””
“What about the rest?””
He smiled.
“Your brother moved it before he died.””
Victoria's face twisted.
“That's impossible.””
The man looked toward me.
“Your niece has quite an inheritance.””
Rebecca moved closer.
“Who are you?””
The man sighed.
“My name is Richard Hayes.””
Victoria closed her eyes.
Thomas's voice suddenly came from the staircase.
“That's a name I haven't heard in twenty years.””
Everyone turned.
Thomas stood at the top of the stairs.
Two police officers were behind him.
His face was bruised, but he was standing.
I ran toward him.
“UNCLE THOMAS!””
He caught me in his arms.
“Lily!””
I held him tightly.
“I thought they were going to take you away.””
Thomas kissed the top of my head.
“Not without a fight, sweetheart.””
Richard stepped backward.
“Thomas Cole. How unfortunate.””
Thomas looked at him.
“I thought you were dead.””
Richard laughed.
“That's what everyone was told.””
Victoria turned toward Richard.
“Shut up.””
He ignored her.
Thomas stepped down the staircase.
“Richard Hayes. My father's former business partner. The man who disappeared after millions of dollars went missing from the family company.””
Richard adjusted his jacket.
“Very impressive memory.””
Thomas looked at Victoria.
“And apparently your brother.””
I stared at the man.
“Your brother?””
Victoria didn't answer.
Thomas continued.
“Richard was declared dead in a boating accident twenty years ago. But he wasn't dead. He changed his identity and kept working behind the scenes.””
Richard shrugged.
“People believe what they're told.””
Thomas looked at Rebecca.
“You found the records?””
She nodded.
“Everything is here.””
One of the officers stepped forward.
“Mr. Hayes, we need you to put down the folder.””
Richard smiled.
“On what grounds?””
“Financial fraud, identity theft, and potential involvement in the death of Daniel Carter.””
Victoria suddenly shouted.
“He did it!””
Richard turned toward her.
“Excuse me?””
“You told me Daniel would be frightened into silence. You told me nobody would get hurt!””
Thomas stared at her.
“So you admit you were working together?””
Victoria froze.
Richard slowly turned toward the officers.
“This is ridiculous.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“You used my name to arrange the inspection of Daniel's car.””
Richard laughed.
“You can't prove that.””
Thomas looked toward Rebecca.
She removed the digital recorder from the cabinet.
“Actually,” she said, “we might be able to.””
Richard's smile vanished.
Rebecca pressed play.
A man's voice filled the underground room.
Richard's voice.
“Victoria, Daniel has the original files. If he reaches the police, everything collapses.””
Victoria's recorded voice followed.
“Then stop him.””
Richard answered:
“I've arranged for his vehicle to be inspected. There will be no mistakes.””
Victoria's voice became quieter.
“And Lily?””
A pause.
“Lily stays with you. The money remains under family control.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Thomas looked at Victoria.
“You knew.””
She shook her head.
“No. No, that's not what it sounds like.””
Richard suddenly lunged toward Rebecca.
One officer grabbed his arm.
“Don't move!””
Richard struggled.
His leather folder fell.
Papers scattered across the concrete floor.
Victoria tried to move toward the staircase.
The second officer blocked her.
“Mrs. Hayes, stay where you are.””
She looked at Thomas.
“Please.””
Thomas didn't answer.
“Thomas, listen to me. I can explain everything.””
He shook his head.
“You had years to explain.””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect the family.””
“You threatened a seven-year-old child.””
“I never wanted Lily hurt!””
Thomas's voice rose.
“You took her father's money. You hid her mother. You forged documents. You tried to make me look like a murderer.””
Victoria began crying.
“I did what I had to do!””
Richard suddenly laughed.
“Stop pretending you're innocent, Victoria.””
She turned toward him.
“You promised me everything would be fine!””
Richard's expression turned cold.
“I promised you that I would get the money. I never promised to take the blame.””
Victoria stared at him.
Then she looked toward the police officers.
“He was the one who arranged Daniel's accident!””
Richard lunged again.
“YOU SIGNED THE TRANSFER ORDERS!””
The officers forced him against the wall.
Thomas stepped between them.
“Both of you are finished.””
But I wasn't listening anymore.
I had noticed something inside the leather folder.
A photograph had fallen beneath the cabinet.
I picked it up.
It showed Daddy standing beside Richard.
They were outside the family business.
On the back was a handwritten message.
*BROTHERS BY CHOICE. ENEMIES BY BETRAYAL.*
I looked at Richard.
“Did you know my daddy?””
He stopped struggling.
“Yes.””
“Did you hurt him?””
His eyes moved toward the photograph.
For the first time, he looked genuinely uncomfortable.
“Your father made a choice.””
“What choice?””
“He refused to give me what I wanted.””
Thomas stepped closer.
“Richard, answer her.””
Richard looked at me.
“Your father was supposed to meet me that night. He had the documents. I wanted them back.””
“Did you make his car crash?””
He looked away.
The officer tightened his grip.
Richard finally spoke.
“I didn't touch the car.””
Victoria began shaking her head.
“Richard, stop talking.””
He continued.
“I arranged for the vehicle to be tampered with. I wanted Daniel delayed. I never intended for him to die.””
Thomas's face turned white.
“You killed my brother.””
Richard looked at him.
“I didn't plan the accident.””
“You arranged it!””
Richard said nothing.
Then he added something that changed everything.
“Ask your sister why Daniel was still driving when the brakes failed. She was supposed to have stopped him from leaving.””
Thomas turned toward Victoria.
“What?””
Victoria began sobbing.
Richard continued.
“She called him that night. Told him Elizabeth was in danger. She knew he'd rush to the hospital.””
Thomas stared at his sister.
“Did you?””
Victoria covered her face.
“Richard said it would only frighten him.””
Thomas stepped backward.
“You used his family to lure him into an accident.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I didn't know the brakes would fail!””
The police officers began reading them their rights.
Richard was led upstairs first.
Victoria followed.
As she passed me, she stopped.
“Lily...””
I held Thomas's hand.
She looked at me with tears streaming down her face.
“I'm still your aunt.””
I looked at her.
“Then why did you make Daddy go away?””
She had no answer.
The officers took her upstairs.
Thomas knelt beside me.
“It's over, sweetheart.””
I looked at the open cabinet.
“Not yet.””
He frowned.
“What do you mean?””
I held up the photograph.
“Daddy said there was someone else.””
Thomas stared at the papers.
Rebecca opened the final envelope from the cabinet.
Inside was a sealed letter addressed to Detective Harris.
And beneath it was a handwritten note.
Thomas, if you found this room, it means Victoria and Richard have been exposed.
But there is one final person you must find.
The person who falsified Elizabeth's medical records.
The person who kept her hidden.
The person who signed the first hospital visitor record.
Thomas looked at the name.
His expression changed.
“Margaret Ellis.””
Rebecca nodded slowly.
Then Thomas turned toward the officers.
“Don't let anyone leave the hospital.””
But it was already too late.
His phone began ringing.
The caller was Detective Harris.
Thomas answered.
“Detective?””
The voice on the other end was urgent.
“Mr. Cole, we have a problem.””
“What happened?””
“Margaret Ellis has disappeared.””
Thomas gripped the phone.
“Since when?””
“About twenty minutes ago.””
Then the detective lowered his voice.
“And there's something else. We found a second identity attached to her hospital employment records.””
Thomas looked at Rebecca.
“What identity?””
The detective paused.
“Her real name is Elizabeth Carter's former legal guardian.””
Thomas went completely still.
I looked up at him.
“Uncle Thomas?””
He slowly lowered the phone.
“Margaret wasn't just hiding your mother.””
He looked at the final document.
“She was the woman who originally signed the papers declaring her dead.””
And beneath her signature was another name.
May you like
The name of the person who had paid her.
*Daniel Carter.*
