Chapter 6 - The Brother I Thought I Knew
The photograph slipped from my fingers.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that room was looking at the same impossible thing.
My brother.
Standing across from my father.
After my father’s funeral.
The date on the back of the photograph was clear.
One week after Richard Cole was buried.
That couldn’t be real.
It couldn’t be possible.
I picked it up again, hoping my eyes had made a mistake.
They hadn’t.
The date remained.
The image remained.
Evan remained.
"What is this?" I whispered.
My voice sounded smaller than I expected.
Everyone looked at my brother.
Not me.
Him.
Evan stared at the photograph.
The color drained from his face.
"I don't understand."
I looked at him.
"You don't understand?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"That's you."
"I know."
"Then explain."
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was the first moment I realized something.
My brother was not shocked because the picture was fake.
He was shocked because it existed.
Daniel slowly took the photograph from my hand.
"Mr. Cole."
Evan looked at him.
"Have you seen this picture before?"
"No."
"Have you met your father after his funeral?"
"No."
The answers came quickly.
Too quickly.
I watched him carefully.
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to believe the person standing in front of me was still the brother who used to sneak into my room when we were kids because he was afraid of thunderstorms.
The brother who cried harder than I did when our mother passed away.
The brother who held my hand at our father's funeral.
But the truth had become complicated.
Because people could love you and still betray you.
They could be family and still hurt you.
Daniel placed the photograph on the table.
"Then someone is using your identity."
Evan nodded immediately.
"Yes."
But the auditor interrupted.
"Maybe."
Everyone turned.
He looked at the photograph.
"The image quality is high enough to confirm the person."
He paused.
"But we need more information."
Daniel frowned.
"What are you suggesting?"
The auditor looked at Evan.
"I'm suggesting we find out where Mr. Cole was that night."
Evan stepped back.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm guilty?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
That was the worst part.
The possibility existed.
And once a possibility entered your mind, it was almost impossible to remove.
Madison suddenly spoke.
"Maybe this is exactly what Olivia wanted."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
She smiled slightly.
"Think about it."
Daniel looked at her.
"Careful, Mrs. Cole."
But she continued.
"Your father left everything to her. Now she discovers evidence that makes Evan look suspicious."
She looked at me.
"Convenient."
My anger rose.
"Are you accusing me of creating this?"
"I'm saying you benefit from it."
The room became tense.
I stepped toward her.
"You tried to take over my father's company before the funeral was over."
"And you inherited it."
"I earned his trust."
"You inherited his power."
The words hit harder than I wanted them to.
Because a small part of me had wondered the same thing.
Did my father choose me because he truly believed in me?
Or because everyone else failed him?
I hated that Madison could put that doubt in my head.
Then Grace spoke.
Quietly.
But clearly.
"Mrs. Cole, that's enough."
Everyone looked at her.
Grace had worked for my father for twenty years.
She was not someone who spoke without thinking.
Madison stared.
"You want to defend her?"
Grace shook her head.
"No."
She looked at me.
"I want to defend him."
She pointed toward my father's empty chair.
"Richard Cole spent his entire life making decisions based on what was right. Not what was easy."
The room became silent.
Grace looked at Madison.
"He knew exactly who people were."
Madison looked away.
For the first time, she seemed uncomfortable around someone.
Not because Grace had authority.
Because Grace knew my father better than she did.
Daniel gathered the documents.
"We need to continue this investigation privately."
Evan looked at him.
"Am I suspended too?"
The question surprised me.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he nodded.
"Until we determine what happened, yes."
Evan closed his eyes.
A painful expression crossed his face.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Because my father had trusted him.
And trust was not something you could repair with one apology.
As people began leaving the conference room, Evan stayed behind.
I noticed.
He was waiting.
For me.
I didn't want to talk.
But I knew we had to.
"You have five minutes."
He looked at me.
"Olivia."
"Tell me the truth."
He swallowed.
"I don't know what happened with that picture."
"That's not enough."
"I know."
He ran his hand through his hair.
"I should have told Dad about Victor."
"Yes."
"I should have questioned Madison."
"Yes."
His eyes became red.
"I was stupid."
I looked away.
"No."
He looked surprised.
"You were comfortable."
That hurt him.
Because it was true.
"You trusted someone because trusting them was easier than admitting something was wrong."
He looked down.
"I never wanted this."
"Neither did Dad."
Silence.
Then he said something that made me look back at him.
"There's something else."
My heart tightened.
"What?"
He reached into his jacket pocket.
And pulled out a small key.
I stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"My father gave it to me."
"When?"
"Two days before he died."
Everything inside me froze.
"You said you didn't know anything."
"I didn't know what it opened."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He looked ashamed.
"Because Dad told me not to."
That answer made no sense.
"My father told you to keep a secret from me?"
He nodded.
"He said if anything happened to him, I should only give this to you when you knew the truth."
I stared at the key.
"What truth?"
Evan looked toward the empty hallway.
Then lowered his voice.
"He said someone close to us was going to try to take everything."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"I don't know."
I studied his face.
For the first time all day, I believed him.
Because he looked scared.
Not guilty.
Scared.
"What does the key open?"
He handed it to me.
"I never found out."
I turned it over in my fingers.
A small engraving was carved into the metal.
C.T.
ColeTech.
My father's company.
But there was something else.
A number.
I looked at Evan.
"Do you know what this is?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Before I could respond, my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered immediately.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was tense.
"Where are you?"
"I'm still in the conference room."
"Do not move."
My body went still.
"Why?"
A pause.
Then:
"Because someone just accessed your father's private office."
I looked toward the hallway.
"What?"
"The security system sent an alert."
"Who?"
Daniel's voice lowered.
"Olivia..."
I heard something in the background.
Footsteps.
A door opening.
Then Daniel said the words that made my blood run cold.
"The person inside your father's office is using your access code."
I looked at Evan.
Neither of us moved.
Because my access code was known by only three people.
My father.
Me.
And the person who helped him set it up.
May you like
Then Daniel whispered:
"Olivia, someone is opening the hidden room behind your father's bookshelf."
