Chapter 6: The Last Ride
Thomas couldn't breathe.
The photograph trembled in his hand.
For eleven years, he had believed the hospital incident was an unfortunate family secret. For six months, he had watched Daniel become increasingly frightened. And now, standing in a hidden room beneath his own family's library, he was discovering that his brother's death might have been connected to something he himself had unknowingly touched.
“Henry,” Thomas said into the phone, “tell me exactly what you found.””
The attorney's voice was strained.
“I don't have time to explain everything over the phone.””
“Then start with the important part.””
“Daniel contacted me the night before he died. He said he had found evidence that someone had altered the original hospital records.””
Thomas looked at Victoria.
She was staring at him.
“Who altered them?””
“I believe it was someone inside the Carter Foundation.””
“Victoria?””
Henry paused.
“Not necessarily.””
Thomas lowered his voice.
“What about the watch?””
Another pause.
“Daniel told me he had recovered something from the vehicle involved in the accident.””
Thomas's heart began pounding.
“What?””
“A broken watch clasp.””
Thomas looked at his wrist.
He wasn't wearing a watch.
He had removed it that morning.
“Why would that matter?””
“Because the police report stated that Daniel's car had been struck from behind. But the damage to the vehicle suggested something different.””
“What?””
“Someone had tampered with the brakes.””
Thomas gripped the desk.
“Are you saying someone sabotaged the car?””
“I'm saying Daniel believed someone had.””
Victoria suddenly moved toward the phone.
“Henry, stop.””
Thomas turned.
“Don't.””
Victoria reached for the receiver.
“Listen to me. You're making a mistake.””
Henry's voice came through.
“Victoria? Are you there?””
She froze.
“Henry, you need to leave this alone.””
“I think you've had enough time to explain yourself.””
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
“You don't know what Daniel was doing.””
“I know what he was trying to stop.””
“And what was that?””
Henry's answer was immediate.
“Someone was trying to erase the evidence of Sarah Hayes's death and the disappearance of her second child.””
Mrs. Bennett covered her mouth.
Thomas looked at the old woman.
“Sarah died in childbirth. What does he mean?””
Mrs. Bennett shook her head.
“I don't know.””
But her expression suggested otherwise.
Henry continued.
“Thomas, I found a medical report in Daniel's private files. Sarah didn't die from childbirth complications. She died from a drug overdose administered while she was unconscious.””
Thomas stared at the phone.
“Who administered it?””
“I haven't confirmed that.””
Victoria whispered:
“That's a lie.””
Thomas looked at her.
“You knew?””
“No.””
“Then why are you defending whoever did it?””
Victoria's face crumpled.
“I was there.””
The words fell into the room like a stone.
Thomas lowered the phone.
“What?””
Victoria looked at him.
“I was at the hospital that night.””
Mrs. Bennett stood.
“Victoria…”
“I went to see Daniel. He had told me there was another woman involved in the foundation investigation. I wanted to know who she was.””
Thomas stared.
“And?””
“Sarah was in a private room. She was frightened. She kept asking for her baby.””
Victoria began crying.
“She told me Daniel had promised to help her. She said she had evidence against someone at the foundation.””
Thomas's voice became cold.
“Who?””
Victoria shook her head.
“I never found out.””
“Did you see anyone near her?””
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She looked at Thomas.
“Your father.””
Thomas stopped breathing.
Their father, Richard Carter, had died when Thomas was nineteen.
He had been a respected businessman, a philanthropist, and the founder of the Carter Foundation.
But he had also been a controlling man who believed his family name was more important than anything else.
“That's impossible,” Thomas whispered.
“He was alive then,” Victoria said.
“He was standing outside Sarah's room.””
Thomas shook his head.
“Why would my father be involved?””
“Because Sarah had discovered that the foundation was being used to move money through fake charities. She had proof that your father had been stealing from it for years.””
Thomas looked at the financial papers.
His father had died before Lily was born.
But his business partners remained.
His legacy remained.
And so did the money.
“Did you tell Daniel?””
Victoria nodded.
“He confronted Richard. They argued. Two days later, Sarah was dead.””
Thomas turned toward the housekeeper.
“Margaret, is this true?””
The older woman looked devastated.
“I was told Sarah had died naturally.””
“By whom?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Richard.””
Thomas stepped backward.
His father had built their fortune on secrets.
And his brother had died trying to expose them.
The telephone rang again.
This time, Henry's voice was more urgent.
“Thomas, are you still there?””
“Yes.””
“Listen carefully. I found something else in Daniel's files. A security recording from the night of his accident.””
Thomas straightened.
“What recording?””
“Footage from a gas station near the road where he crashed. It shows another vehicle following him.””
“Can you identify it?””
“Not yet. But the driver stopped beside Daniel's car after the collision.””
Thomas looked toward Victoria.
“Who was driving?””
Henry hesitated.
“That's the problem.””
“What?””
“The driver got out wearing a Carter Foundation security uniform.””
Thomas felt his stomach tighten.
“Send me the footage.””
“I can't. The original file was stolen from my office yesterday.””
Thomas closed his eyes.
“Henry, where are you now?””
“In my office.””
“Stay there. I'll come to you.””
“No. You need to get Lily somewhere safe.””
“Why?””
Henry's voice dropped.
“Because whoever killed Daniel knows about the key.””
The line went dead.
Thomas lowered the phone.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he looked at Lily.
“Sweetheart, we need to leave.””
Lily shook her head.
“Can we take Daddy's letter?””
“Yes.””
“And the key?””
“Especially the key.””
Victoria stepped between them.
“You're not taking her anywhere.””
Thomas stared.
“Move.””
“She belongs with me.””
“Then start acting like her mother.””
Victoria's eyes filled.
“Thomas, please. You have no idea what I've sacrificed.””
Thomas gathered Daniel's letters and documents.
“You sacrificed the truth.””
Mrs. Bennett took Lily's hand.
“Come, darling.””
But as they approached the staircase, a loud crash echoed from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Thomas switched off his phone flashlight.
Another sound followed.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming toward the library.
Victoria whispered:
“Someone's here.””
Thomas moved Lily behind the desk.
“Stay here. Don't make a sound.””
He grabbed a heavy brass fireplace poker.
Mrs. Bennett crouched beside Lily.
The footsteps stopped outside the hidden entrance.
Then a man's voice called out.
“Thomas?””
Thomas recognized it.
He lowered the poker slightly.
“Who is it?””
A familiar voice answered.
“It's me. Open the door.””
Thomas climbed the stairs.
He reached the library entrance and pulled open the concealed panel.
Standing there was Henry Whitmore.
His suit was soaked from the rain, and his face was pale.
Thomas stared.
“You said you were staying at your office.””
Henry looked over his shoulder.
“I couldn't.””
“Why?””
Henry stepped inside.
“Because someone broke into my office ten minutes after our call.””
Thomas closed the panel.
“What did they take?””
“Daniel's original medical file.””
Thomas's stomach tightened.
“Was anything else missing?””
Henry nodded.
“The second birth certificate.””
Thomas looked toward the blue room.
“Why would someone want that?””
Henry removed his glasses.
“Because the second child wasn't simply adopted.””
He opened his briefcase and removed a photograph.
It showed a young woman standing outside a small coffee shop.
She had dark hair, pale skin, and a distinctive crescent-shaped birthmark beneath her left eye.
Thomas stared.
“Is that Ava?””
Henry nodded.
“Taken three weeks ago.””
Victoria approached.
“Where did you get that?””
Henry looked at her.
“From a private investigator Daniel hired.””
Thomas examined the photograph.
The woman looked about twenty years old.
“She's alive?””
“She was when this photograph was taken.””
Lily moved closer.
“Is that my sister?””
Henry knelt.
“Yes, sweetheart.””
Lily studied the image.
Then she pointed to the woman's left hand.
“Why is she wearing Daddy's ring?””
Thomas took the photograph.
A silver ring rested on Ava's index finger.
He recognized it immediately.
It had belonged to Daniel.
He had given it to Sarah Hayes eleven years earlier.
Thomas looked at Henry.
“Where was this taken?””
“Boston.””
Victoria suddenly shook her head.
“No.””
Thomas turned.
“What?””
Victoria pointed at the photograph.
“That's not Ava.””
Henry frowned.
“What are you talking about?””
“I've seen her before.””
Thomas stared.
“Where?””
Victoria backed away.
“Six months ago. At Daniel's office.””
Henry's expression changed.
“Six months ago?””
Victoria nodded.
“She came to see him. They argued. Daniel told her to leave.””
Thomas looked at the photograph again.
“Why would he tell his own daughter to leave?””
Victoria's voice became almost inaudible.
“Because she wasn't asking for money.””
Henry stood.
“What was she asking for?””
Victoria looked at Lily.
Then at the photograph.
“She wanted to know who killed her mother.””
A sudden noise came from upstairs.
Glass breaking.
Thomas grabbed the poker again.
Henry turned toward the staircase.
“Stay here.””
But before anyone could move, the lights in the library went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Lily screamed.
Thomas reached for her.
“I'm here, sweetheart!””
A flashlight beam appeared at the top of the staircase.
Then another.
Someone was coming down.
A man's voice echoed through the hidden hallway.
“Mr. Carter?””
Thomas raised the poker.
“Who are you?””
The man stepped into the blue room.
He wore a black security uniform.
His face was hidden beneath a baseball cap.
But his voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
“I was told there wouldn't be any children here.””
Thomas's blood ran cold.
He recognized the man.
It was the former head of security at the Carter estate.
The same man who had driven Daniel home on the night of the accident.
“Frank?”” Thomas whispered.
Frank smiled faintly.
“Hello, Mr. Carter.””
Thomas moved in front of Lily.
“What are you doing here?””
Frank glanced toward the safe.
“I'm here for the key.””
Thomas tightened his grip on the poker.
“Who sent you?””
Frank looked at Victoria.
Then at Henry.
Finally, his eyes settled on Lily.
“Your father should have left that little girl alone.””
Lily clutched the brass key.
Thomas stepped forward.
“Don't come near her.””
Frank slowly reached inside his jacket.
Henry shouted:
“THOMAS, GET DOWN!””
A gunshot exploded through the blue room.
The glass cabinet behind Thomas shattered.
Lily screamed.
Thomas threw himself over her.
And as the sound faded, Frank's voice emerged from the darkness.
“Now give me the key, or the next bullet won't miss.””
Thomas looked up.
Frank wasn't pointing the gun at him.
He was pointing it at Victoria.
And Victoria, trembling beneath the blue light of the emergency exit sign, whispered:
“Don't shoot me.””
Frank smiled.
“I wasn't planning to.””
May you like
He turned the gun toward Lily.
“I'm here for the other daughter.””
