Chapter 7 - The Name Written On The Death Certificate
The phone kept ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The screen continued glowing in the darkness.
One name.
One name that shouldn't exist.
Michael stared at it.
My father stared at it.
Emily held my hand tighter.
And I knew.
Whoever was calling...
Everyone in that room was afraid of him.
I looked at my father.
"Answer it."
He didn't move.
"Answer the phone."
My father's face was pale.
For the first time since he walked back into my life, I saw something I never expected.
Fear.
Not the fear of dying.
The fear of remembering.
Slowly, he reached for the phone.
His fingers shook.
He pressed the button.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a voice came through.
A voice that made my father's expression change completely.
"You should have stayed dead."
The phone slipped slightly in his hand.
I stepped closer.
"Who is it?"
My father didn't answer.
The voice continued.
"You brought him back into this."
My eyes moved toward Emily.
The person on the phone knew about me.
Knew about Emily.
Knew about everything.
My father finally spoke.
"Leave my son alone."
A quiet laugh came from the speaker.
"You said the same thing twelve years ago."
Then the call ended.
Nobody breathed.
I looked at Michael.
"What was that?"
He looked away.
"Daniel..."
"No."
I stepped between them.
"I am done hearing half-truths."
My voice echoed through the hospital room.
"My father is alive."
I pointed toward him.
"My brother knew."
Then I looked at Emily.
"My wife knew things she never told me."
My hands shook.
"And now someone who supposedly died twelve years ago is calling my father."
I looked around.
"Someone explain my own life to me."
Nobody spoke.
Then my father walked toward the chair beside Emily's bed.
He looked exhausted.
Like he had finally accepted that running was no longer possible.
"His name was Alexander Reed."
The name meant nothing.
But everyone else reacted.
Michael closed his eyes.
Emily looked down.
"Who is Alexander Reed?"
My father answered quietly.
"The man who built the foundation of everything your family owns."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Before Carter Holdings existed, there was another company."
He paused.
"Reed Capital."
I listened.
"Your grandfather and Alexander were partners."
"And?"
"They discovered someone inside the company was stealing money."
I looked at the folder.
The documents.
The transfers.
"The person stealing was..."
My father looked at Michael.
Michael said nothing.
That silence was enough.
"No."
I shook my head.
"Michael?"
My brother looked broken.
"Not me."
"Then who?"
My father continued.
"The person who betrayed us was someone we trusted."
"Who?"
My father looked at me.
"Your uncle."
I froze.
My uncle had died years ago.
At least that's what I thought.
Another dead person.
Another lie.
I laughed quietly.
"Is anyone in my family actually dead?"
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious.
Nobody knew what was true anymore.
Emily squeezed my hand.
"Daniel."
I looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to blame her.
But seeing her lying there...
Carrying my child...
Almost losing her life...
I couldn't.
Not completely.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because I was trying to protect you."
The words hurt.
Because they sounded exactly like everyone else.
"I don't need protection."
My voice softened.
"I needed you."
She looked down.
"I know."
A tear fell.
"And that's why I hated myself every day."
The room became quiet.
Then the doctor entered.
"Mr. Carter."
We all looked at him.
He looked nervous.
"There's something else you need to see."
He held a tablet.
"What?"
He walked toward me.
"We reviewed Emily's medical records from before the accident."
My stomach tightened.
"And?"
He looked at Emily.
Then at me.
"Her pregnancy records were altered."
Emily's face changed.
"What?"
The doctor handed me the tablet.
"There are two different versions."
I looked at the screen.
The first report.
Sixteen weeks pregnant.
The second report.
Twenty-one weeks.
I stared.
"That's impossible."
The doctor nodded.
"Someone changed the dates."
I looked at Emily.
She looked just as shocked.
"Why would someone change them?"
Nobody answered.
Then Michael slowly spoke.
"Because they needed to know when the baby was conceived."
The room froze.
I looked at him.
"Why?"
Michael's eyes moved toward the door.
"Because the baby isn't just a child to them."
My heart dropped.
"What does that mean?"
He looked at Emily.
"The baby is proof."
"Proof of what?"
Michael swallowed.
"The person behind everything believes this child can expose them."
I felt anger rise.
"My child."
Michael nodded.
"Yes."
I stepped closer.
"And who is this person?"
Michael didn't answer.
My patience disappeared.
"Who?"
Before he could speak, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every screen in the room turned on.
The monitors.
The television.
The security display.
All showing the same image.
A black screen.
Then words appeared.
ONE MORE SECRET, DANIEL.
My blood went cold.
Emily covered her mouth.
Michael stepped back.
My father whispered:
"No."
A video started playing.
A man appeared on the screen.
Older.
Smiling.
Someone I had never met.
But everyone else recognized him.
Michael whispered the name.
"Alexander..."
The man looked directly into the camera.
Like he knew I was watching.
"Daniel Carter."
My entire body froze.
"You spent twelve years believing your father died."
The man smiled.
"But you never asked the most important question."
The video paused.
A new image appeared.
A death certificate.
My father's death certificate.
I stared.
Then I saw the name.
Not my father's.
Someone else's.
Someone who was supposed to have died that night.
The screen changed again.
A birth record appeared.
My name.
My birth date.
And beside it...
A second name.
The same last name.
The same bloodline.
A person I had never known existed.
Emily whispered:
"Daniel..."
I couldn't move.
Because beneath the document was a sentence written in red.
"Your brother is not the only Carter who was replaced."
The hospital room door suddenly opened.
A nurse stood there.
Her face was terrified.
She looked directly at me.
May you like
Then she said the one sentence that made my entire world collapse...
"Mr. Carter, there is someone downstairs claiming to be your real father."
