Chapter 6
The abandoned property sat forty miles outside the city.
Bell ordered me not to go.
For once, I listened.
I stayed with Emily while police searched it.
Waiting was torture.
Every minute created another question.
Was my father involved in Sarah's death?
Did Grandma know?
Was this why he stole her estate?
Emily sat beside me on the couch.
"You don't have to figure out your whole life tonight."
"I don't even know what my life is."
"You know who you are."
I looked at her.
"Do I?"
"You're the man who came home and protected me."
Her hand moved to her stomach.
"You're our baby's father."
That was the first thing that felt real.
My phone rang.
Bell.
"We found your father."
I stood.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
"He was hiding inside the property."
"Why?"
"We're still questioning him."
"Did you arrest him?"
"On financial charges, yes."
I exhaled.
Bell continued.
"But we found something else."
"What?"
"A locked room beneath the building."
Emily stared at me.
Bell's voice lowered.
"There were files inside. Old files."
"About Sarah?"
"Among other people."
"What kind of files?"
"I'd rather explain in person."
He arrived an hour later.
Bell carried a thick folder.
"Your father kept private records."
"Why?"
"We're trying to determine that."
He placed photographs on the table.
Sarah.
My grandmother.
My father.
A younger version of Chloe's biological father.
I frowned.
"Wait."
Bell noticed.
"What?"
"That's Uncle Michael."
Mom always said Michael was Dad's younger brother.
He'd died when Chloe was four.
Bell pointed to another document.
"According to this, Michael wasn't your father's brother."
"What?"
"He was a business partner."
My family history was collapsing piece by piece.
"Then why did Chloe call him Dad?"
Bell hesitated.
"Because he was her father."
I stared.
"Chloe isn't my sister?"
"Not biologically through your father, apparently."
Emily whispered, "Does she know?"
Bell nodded.
"We believe she learned several years ago."
That explained things I never understood.
Dad treated Chloe differently.
Protected her constantly.
Paid her debts.
Excused every disaster.
"Why?"
Bell opened another folder.
"Michael knew what happened to Sarah."
I stopped breathing.
"He knew?"
"He apparently helped your father cover up evidence after the crash."
My hands shook.
Bell continued.
"Years later, Michael threatened to expose him."
"What happened?"
"He died shortly afterward."
"Heart attack."
"That's what the original record says."
I understood the implication.
"No."
"We are reopening the case."
Emily grabbed my hand.
Bell slid another photograph toward me.
It showed Grandma standing beside Sarah.
"They knew each other?"
"Very well, apparently."
On the back, Grandma had written something.
Sarah, forgive me for not protecting you sooner.
My eyes burned.
"What did Grandma do?"
Bell shook his head.
"We don't know."
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed immediately.
"Where?"
He listened.
"Don't touch anything."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
"Officers found a safe behind a wall."
"And?"
"Inside was a second flash drive."
My pulse jumped.
"Grandma's video?"
"Possibly."
Bell drove us to the station because he wanted witnesses present when the files were opened.
The recovered drive contained one video.
Grandma appeared again.
This time the image was clearer.
"Ryan," she began, "if Thomas has hidden my first recording, this copy contains what matters most."
I leaned forward.
Grandma took a breath.
"Your mother's death was not an accident."
Emily squeezed my hand.
"I know because I was in the car behind her."
I stopped breathing.
Grandma's eyes filled with tears.
"Thomas forced her off the road."
The room became completely silent.
Then Grandma said something none of us expected.
"But Thomas was not alone."
May you like
She looked straight into the camera.
"His passenger that night was your mother, Linda."
