Chapter 3 - The Secret My Brother Buried
"Claire..."
That voice.
I hadn't heard it in two years.
But I knew it immediately.
My fingers tightened around the phone in Evelyn's hand.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Colder.
Impossible.
Because the person on the other side of that call was supposed to be gone.
My brother was supposed to be gone.
"Ryan?" I whispered.
There was silence.
A long silence.
Then a shaky breath.
"Claire, you need to listen to me."
My heart started pounding.
I looked at Evelyn.
She looked terrified.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
"Where are you?" I asked.
Another silence.
Then Ryan answered.
"Somewhere Brandon can't find me."
The words hit me harder than the fall.
Because they confirmed what I already feared.
My husband wasn't just hiding something from me.
He was hiding something from everyone.
"Ryan, what happened to you?"
The phone went quiet.
For a moment, I thought the call had ended.
Then his voice came back.
"I should have told you sooner."
My eyes filled with tears.
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I thought I was protecting you."
I almost laughed.
Protecting me.
Everyone kept saying they were protecting me.
But nobody had protected me when Brandon pushed me off that mountain.
Nobody had protected my baby.
"Ryan, I almost died."
His breathing changed.
Like he was fighting back emotion.
"I know."
My blood ran cold.
"You know?"
"I saw the report."
"What report?"
Another pause.
Then he said something that made my entire body freeze.
"The report Brandon created before he pushed you."
I stared at the phone.
"What?"
Ryan continued.
"Claire, Brandon didn't make a mistake on that mountain. He planned everything."
I looked at Evelyn.
She slowly nodded.
Like she had known this was coming.
"How do you know?"
Ryan's voice became quieter.
"Because I helped him."
The room went silent.
I stopped breathing.
My hand moved away from the phone.
For one horrible second, I thought I had misunderstood.
"What did you say?"
"I helped him."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
I looked at her.
"You knew?"
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
My heart shattered again.
Not because Ryan was guilty.
Because my entire life had become a place where everyone knew the truth except me.
"Ryan," I whispered.
My voice broke.
"Did you help my husband kill me?"
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"I helped him disappear."
I didn't understand.
"What does that mean?"
"Claire, you need to hear everything before you decide what I did."
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to throw the phone against the wall.
But I couldn't.
Because Ryan was the only person who could explain what was happening.
"Talk."
His breathing became heavier.
"Two years ago, I discovered something about Brandon."
I sat down slowly.
"What?"
"He wasn't who he said he was."
I looked toward the hospital window.
Outside, people walked by.
Doctors.
Visitors.
Normal people living normal lives.
Meanwhile, my entire world was falling apart.
"What did you discover?"
Ryan answered carefully.
"Before you met Brandon, he was involved with a group of people who moved money through fake companies."
I frowned.
"Money laundering?"
"More than that."
His voice lowered.
"He was helping cover up crimes."
I felt sick.
"How did you find out?"
"Because I was investigating him."
The words shocked me.
"You were investigating my husband?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ryan didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Because I saw him lying to you."
I closed my eyes.
Memories returned.
The late nights.
The secret phone calls.
The sudden business trips.
The passwords.
The locked office.
I had noticed things.
I just didn't want to believe them.
"I tried to warn you," Ryan said.
"No."
My voice became sharp.
"You disappeared."
"I know."
"You left me alone with him."
"I know."
His voice cracked.
And for a second, I heard the guilt.
Real guilt.
"I thought leaving would keep you safe."
I looked down at my hands.
The same hands that had grabbed at the cliff edge.
The same hands that had held my stomach while I fell.
"You were wrong."
"I know."
Silence.
Then Ryan continued.
"Brandon found out I knew."
My eyes lifted.
"What happened?"
"He threatened me."
"With what?"
"He had proof that could destroy my life."
I swallowed.
"Proof of what?"
Ryan didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"Claire, there is something you need to understand."
"What?"
"The person who helped Brandon plan your death wasn't me."
I froze.
"Then who?"
The phone went silent.
Too silent.
"Ryan?"
Finally, he spoke.
"The person who gave Brandon the idea was someone close to you."
A chill went through my body.
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the call suddenly disconnected.
I stared at the screen.
"No."
I pressed call.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Evelyn looked at me.
"He's right."
I turned.
"You knew about this?"
She looked away.
"I knew part of it."
"How much?"
She didn't respond.
I felt anger rising.
"No more secrets."
My voice became stronger.
"No more people deciding what I can handle."
Evelyn nodded slowly.
Then she reached into her bag again.
She pulled out another envelope.
"This belonged to your brother."
I took it.
Inside was a small flash drive.
A tiny black device.
My stomach tightened.
"What is this?"
"The reason Brandon tried to kill you."
I looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because he spent two years searching for it."
I held the flash drive tightly.
"What is on it?"
Evelyn looked at the door.
Like she expected someone to walk in.
"Everything."
I connected the flash drive to the hospital computer.
There was only one file.
No name.
No date.
Just one word.
CLAIRE.
My hands shook as I opened it.
A video appeared.
The screen was dark.
Then a man appeared.
Ryan.
But younger.
Scared.
He looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, it means I failed."
I covered my mouth.
Ryan continued.
"Claire, I need you to know something. Brandon didn't choose you because he loved you."
The video paused.
Then he said the words that made my blood run cold.
"He chose you because of what your father left behind."
I stopped.
My father had been dead for ten years.
"What?"
The video continued.
"Your father didn't die in an accident."
I felt dizzy.
The hospital room disappeared around me.
My father.
The man I had buried.
The man everyone told me was gone.
Ryan looked into the camera.
"Your father discovered what Brandon was doing."
My breathing became uneven.
"And before he died, he hid the evidence somewhere only you could find."
The video glitched.
Then one final message appeared.
A handwritten note.
My father's handwriting.
I recognized it instantly.
The words were simple.
"Claire, trust no one who says they are protecting you."
I stepped away from the computer.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The lies.
The secrets.
The mountain.
Brandon wasn't just trying to kill me.
He was trying to find something.
Something my father left behind.
Something hidden inside my own life.
Evelyn stood up quickly.
"We need to leave."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
Her face changed.
"Because if that video played, someone knows."
Before I could ask what she meant, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire floor went dark.
A backup alarm started.
Doctors rushed into the hallway.
Patients began shouting.
I grabbed the flash drive.
"Evelyn?"
No answer.
She was staring at the door.
The door handle slowly moved.
Someone was outside.
Someone who wasn't supposed to know I was awake.
The door opened.
May you like
And a familiar voice whispered...
"Claire."
