Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Knew Too Much
Andrew stepped into the room.
He was not tied.
He was not bleeding.
The blood on his shirt was fake.
Nathaniel stared at him.
“You staged the kidnapping.”
Andrew shut the door.
“I needed you to come here without Mother.”
Rebecca looked at him in disbelief.
“You terrified everyone.”
“I’m sorry.”
Nathaniel crossed the room and grabbed his brother by the jacket.
“You sent us a picture of yourself tied to a chair.”
“I had no other way.”
“You could have called me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Andrew looked toward the laptop.
“Because your phone is monitored.”
Nathaniel released him.
“By who?”
Andrew hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
Nathaniel laughed.
“You seem to know a lot when it’s convenient.”
Andrew pulled the flash drive from his pocket.
“I took this during the blackout.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“You said you didn’t.”
“I lied.”
“Clearly.”
Andrew inserted the drive into the laptop.
More files appeared.
Scanned ledgers.
Audio recordings.
Photographs.
Nathaniel saw his father’s handwriting.
Andrew clicked another video.
Charles appeared again.
“If Nathaniel is seeing this, then I’m dead.”
Nathaniel swallowed.
“I spent years trying to contain what I started. I told myself I was protecting the family. I was protecting myself.”
Charles explained the fraud.
He had moved money from Hale Manufacturing through fake vendors because the company was failing faster than Daniel Hale knew.
Charles intended to replace it after a financing deal.
The deal collapsed.
Thomas discovered the scheme.
Daniel threatened to expose Charles.
Then Charles made the worst decision of his life.
He asked Margaret for help.
Nathaniel looked toward Andrew.
“Mom?”
Andrew said nothing.
Charles continued.
“Margaret introduced me to a man who could intimidate Thomas.”
Rebecca stiffened.
“Who?”
Charles said the name.
“Victor Mercer.”
Nathaniel froze.
Mercer.
Caroline’s husband.
A man who had died three years earlier.
Rebecca whispered, “Caroline’s husband?”
Andrew nodded.
Nathaniel sat.
Victor had been part of the family for almost twenty-five years.
Sophisticated.
Charming.
Violent only in ways that never left visible marks.
Nathaniel had never liked him.
But Caroline had adored him.
Charles continued.
“Victor was supposed to scare Thomas. Nothing more. But Thomas’s car went off the bridge.”
Rebecca’s face went pale.
“Victor told us Thomas was dead. Margaret believed him.”
Nathaniel listened.
“Years later, I learned Victor had continued receiving payments. When I confronted Margaret, she claimed they were to keep him quiet.”
The video paused for several seconds.
Then Charles leaned closer.
“I believed her until I found proof Thomas survived.”
Rebecca began trembling.
Nathaniel reached for her.
Charles continued.
“Thomas contacted Victor.”
Rebecca stared.
“Why?”
“He wanted to return for his daughter.”
She closed her eyes.
Nathaniel squeezed her hand.
Charles said, “Victor threatened Rebecca. Thomas disappeared again.”
The video ended.
Andrew closed the laptop.
Nathaniel spoke quietly.
“Victor is dead.”
Andrew nodded.
“So who is threatening us now?”
Andrew looked at him.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.”
Rebecca asked, “Why were you destroying evidence?”
“I wasn’t.”
“You ran with the ledger.”
“Because somebody was watching us.”
“Who?”
Andrew looked toward the warehouse window.
“Caroline.”
Nathaniel stared.
“My sister?”
Andrew nodded.
“She knew Victor wasn’t just Dad’s son-in-law.”
“What was he?”
“Dad’s fixer.”
Nathaniel felt sick.
Andrew continued.
“When Victor died, Caroline found his files.”
“And?”
“She started blackmailing Mother.”
Rebecca whispered, “For money?”
“I thought so.”
“You thought?”
Andrew looked at Nathaniel.
“Then I discovered she was trying to locate Thomas.”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“Why?”
Andrew shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Nathaniel pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Andrew said, “Jammer.”
“Yours?”
“No.”
They looked at one another.
A vehicle approached outside.
Andrew killed the laptop screen.
Nathaniel moved Rebecca behind him.
The warehouse door opened.
Samuel entered.
“It’s police.”
Everyone exhaled.
Officers searched the building.
No intruders.
No jammer was found.
But when Nathaniel checked his phone outside, seven missed calls appeared.
All from Caroline.
He called back.
She answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“At the warehouse.”
Silence.
“How did you know?”
Caroline whispered, “Nathaniel, listen to me.”
His stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Mom disappeared from the hospital.”
Andrew cursed.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“With who?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathaniel looked at Andrew.
Then Rebecca.
Caroline continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“The hospital security camera shows her leaving voluntarily.”
“So?”
“She wasn’t alone.”
Nathaniel’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Who was with her?”
Caroline started crying.
“Nathaniel… it was Dad.”
Nobody spoke.
Nathaniel thought he had misheard.
“Our father is dead.”
“I know.”
“You identified his body.”
“I know.”
“So what are you saying?”
Caroline’s breathing became ragged.
“I’m saying I watched the footage six times.”
Nathaniel looked toward the warehouse.
Toward the laptop containing Charles Carter’s confession.
May you like
Then Caroline said the words that changed everything again.
“The man walking beside Mother looked exactly like Charles Carter.”
