Chapter 4: The Sister Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Marcus stared at the photograph until the edges of the phone blurred.
Victoria.
His younger sister.
The girl who had once followed him everywhere, stealing his baseball caps and demanding that he teach her how to ride a bicycle. The woman who had stood beside him at their father's funeral, promising they would never abandon each other.
The woman who had supposedly died twelve years earlier.
“That's impossible,” Marcus whispered.
Samuel stepped closer.
“What is it?””
Marcus handed him the phone.
“That's my sister.””
Richard looked at the photograph.
“Victoria Carter?””
Marcus nodded.
“She died in a boating accident.””
“According to the official report,” Richard replied, “she disappeared. Her body was never recovered.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“What are you saying?””
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“I'm saying that someone spent a considerable amount of money making sure nobody looked for her again.””
Linda suddenly moved toward the phone.
“Let me see that.””
Marcus pulled it away.
“Why?””
“I want to know what you're looking at.””
“You already know.””
Linda's expression hardened.
“Don't start accusing me of things you don't understand.””
Marcus took another step toward her.
“Then explain how my supposedly dead sister appeared in my hospital room.””
Linda looked toward Jasmine.
Jasmine shook her head.
“Mom, I don't know anything about Victoria.””
“Stay out of this,” Linda snapped.
Marcus noticed the speed of her response.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
He turned toward Samuel.
“Call the hospital. Find out who accessed my room during the night of the accident.””
Samuel immediately began dialing.
Richard approached Marcus.
“There's something else. Victoria contacted Evelyn three months ago.””
Marcus looked up sharply.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because Evelyn wasn't sure whether the message was genuine. Victoria claimed she had evidence connecting Linda to the financial fraud.””
“Where is Evelyn now?””
“At home. Under protection.””
Marcus exhaled slowly.
“Get her here.””
Richard shook his head.
“Marcus, we need to be careful. If Victoria is alive, the people who hid her disappearance may still be watching.””
Marcus looked at the wheelchair behind him.
For years, he had believed he was fighting to recover his body.
Now he understood that he had been fighting against an entire network of people who had decided he should never recover his life.
“Then let's stop hiding,” he said.
Forty minutes later, the mansion's security gates opened.
A black sedan pulled into the driveway.
Marcus stood near the living room window, supported by a cane Samuel had found in his study.
His legs were exhausted, but he refused to sit.
Eleanor entered first.
“Mr. Carter, Mrs. Hayes has arrived.””
A woman in her late fifties walked into the room.
Her silver-blonde hair was tied behind her head, and she carried a leather handbag.
Richard immediately crossed the room.
“Evelyn.””
She embraced him.
Then she turned toward Marcus.
“I'm so sorry.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Where is my sister?””
Evelyn looked at Richard.
Then she removed a small envelope from her handbag.
“Victoria asked me to give you this only if you were able to stand.””
Marcus stared at the envelope.
“Why?””
“Because she didn't trust anyone who knew about your medical condition.””
He opened it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
*Marcus, if you're reading this, it means you finally stood up. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you needed me. I tried to come home twelve years ago, but the people who destroyed our family made sure I disappeared.
I know who ordered the accident. I also know who has been paying your wife.*
Marcus read the last sentence twice.
“Who?””
Evelyn reached into her bag again.
She produced a photograph of a bank transfer.
The payment had been made from Bellmont Strategic Partners.
The recipient was Linda Carter.
The amount was $750,000.
Marcus stared at the page.
“Linda?””
Evelyn nodded.
“There were several payments. This was only the first one we could verify.””
Linda stood near the fireplace.
“You've been fabricating evidence for months.””
Evelyn turned toward her.
“I have bank records, Linda.””
“You have nothing.””
“I have the original payment instructions.””
Linda's jaw tightened.
Jasmine moved closer to her mother.
“Mom, what is she talking about?””
“Nothing, Jasmine.””
Evelyn looked directly at Jasmine.
“Your mother wasn't the only person receiving money.””
Jasmine froze.
“What?””
Evelyn placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Jasmine leaving a private bank in Manhattan.
The photograph was dated six weeks before Marcus's accident.
Beneath it was a transaction record.
A payment of $300,000 had been deposited into an account under Jasmine's name.
Jasmine shook her head.
“That's not mine.””
Evelyn replied quietly, “The account was opened with your identification.””
“I didn't open it!””
Marcus studied her.
“Then who did?””
Jasmine looked at Linda.
Her mother didn't look back.
For the first time, Marcus saw genuine fear in his stepdaughter's eyes.
“Mom,” Jasmine whispered.
“Tell him.””
Linda remained silent.
“Tell him I didn't know what the money was for.””
Marcus's expression changed.
“You knew about the money?””
Jasmine began crying.
“I thought it was an inheritance advance. Mom said you had agreed to give me something because I was helping with the company.””
“Helping with what?””
“Your medical appointments. Your medications. The household accounts.””
Marcus's stomach tightened.
“Did you ever change my medication?””
Jasmine looked down.
“Mom said the doctor wanted you to sleep more.””
Samuel stepped forward.
“Which medication?””
“I don't know. She gave me bottles.””
Marcus turned toward Linda.
“What did you give me?””
Linda lifted her chin.
“You were difficult to manage. You needed rest.””
“You drugged me?””
“Don't exaggerate.””
Evelyn's voice cut through the room.
“Marcus, the hospital toxicology report showed unusually high levels of a sedative in your blood during the first week after the accident.””
Samuel looked sharply at her.
“Do you have a copy?””
“I do.””
She removed a sealed document.
“Victoria found it.””
Marcus accepted the report.
The findings were unmistakable.
The sedative wasn't part of his prescribed treatment.
Someone had administered it without authorization.
He looked at Jasmine.
“Did you know?””
Jasmine covered her face.
“I didn't know what was in the bottles.””
Linda stepped forward.
“Stop questioning my daughter!””
Marcus turned toward her.
“Then answer for yourself.””
Linda's voice dropped.
“You think you're innocent in all this? You built a company that swallowed people alive. You spent your entire marriage working. You left me alone in a house full of expensive things.””
Marcus stared at her.
“So you decided to steal everything?””
“I decided to take what I deserved.””
“You tried to destroy me.””
Linda's eyes filled with tears, but there was no remorse in them.
“You should have died in that accident.””
The words hung in the room.
Jasmine gasped.
Richard stepped forward.
Samuel immediately took out his phone.
Marcus didn't move.
He simply looked at the woman he had shared his bed, his home, and his life with.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
Linda frowned.
“For what?””
“For finally telling the truth.””
Samuel approached her.
“Mrs. Carter, I need you to remain here. We have contacted the authorities.””
Linda's expression transformed.
“You wouldn't dare.””
“I would.””
She looked toward the entrance.
Then she suddenly laughed.
“You still don't understand, Marcus. I'm not the one you should be worried about.””
She reached into her handbag.
Samuel immediately moved between her and Marcus.
But Linda didn't pull out a weapon.
She pulled out a phone.
She pressed one button.
“It's me,” she said.
“We have a problem.””
A muffled voice answered.
Linda listened.
Then she looked at Marcus.
Her expression became strangely calm.
“Yes. He's standing.””
She paused.
Then whispered something that made Marcus's blood run cold.
“Victoria is alive.””
She ended the call.
Marcus stared at her.
“Who did you call?””
Linda slipped the phone into her handbag.
“The man who has been paying me.””
“Who is he?””
She smiled faintly.
“Ask your sister.””
That evening, Marcus moved into the secured guest suite.
Samuel arranged for private security, while Richard and Evelyn stayed in the mansion.
Jasmine was escorted to a separate room, where investigators could question her without Linda interfering.
Marcus sat beside the window, studying Victoria's letter.
He had one question that wouldn't leave his mind.
Why had his sister waited twelve years to come back?
His phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
I'm outside. Please don't let anyone follow me.
Marcus immediately stood.
He took his cane and walked toward the rear entrance.
Samuel saw him leaving.
“Mr. Carter?””
“It's Victoria.””
Samuel reached for his coat.
“Then I'm coming with you.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Stay here. If anyone asks, you haven't seen me leave.””
He opened the rear door.
Cold night air swept into the hallway.
At the far end of the garden, beneath the shadow of the old oak tree, a woman stood.
Her dark hair was shorter than he remembered.
Her face was older.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
“Victoria?””
She stepped forward.
“Hello, big brother.””
Marcus stopped breathing.
Then she ran toward him.
And as he wrapped his arms around her, she whispered something he would never forget.
“Marcus, I didn't come back to save you from Linda.””
He pulled away.
“What?””
Victoria looked toward the mansion.
“I came back because Linda is only working for our father.””
Marcus went completely still.
May you like
Their father had been dead for fifteen years.
Or so he had believed.
