Chapter 10: The Stranger Who Looked Like Our Father
Bear didn't sleep that night.
He sat at the kitchen table of the safe house Duke had arranged, staring at the photograph of Thomas.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
The same crooked smile.
The same broad shoulders.
The same small scar above the right eyebrow that their father had gotten falling off a ladder when he was seventeen.
Bear had spent forty years believing he had one brother.
Then he had spent fourteen years believing he had none.
Now he was looking at a man who might complete a family he barely recognized.
Michael sat across from him, turning Emily's little drawing over in his hands.
"Do you think he'll believe us?"" Michael asked.
Bear rubbed his eyes.
"Would you?""
Michael smiled sadly.
"If two strangers walked into my garage and told me I was the missing son of a dead businessman, I'd probably throw them out.""
"Then we'll start with something he can't deny.""
Michael looked at the photograph.
"What?""
Bear reached into his pocket and removed the old compass.
It was identical to Emily's.
His father had given one to each son.
But Thomas's compass had something different engraved on the back.
A tiny letter T.
"Where did you get that?"" Michael asked.
"Dad's desk. It was inside the hidden drawer.""
Michael examined it.
"Thomas's?""
Bear nodded.
"There's another thing.""
He opened the leather notebook to a page he had marked earlier.
Their father's handwriting covered the paper.
*THOMAS — ADOPTION FINALIZED. FAMILY NAME: MILLER. ORIGINAL RECORDS SEALED.*
Below that was an address.
The same address Duke had given them.
Michael stood.
"Let's go.""
Before they left, Bear called Laura.
She answered immediately.
"Bear?""
"How's Emily?""
"She's asleep.""
"Good. Keep the doors locked.""
Laura hesitated.
"There's something I haven't told you.""
Bear stopped.
"What?""
"Emily remembers something about the man who came to her school.""
"Daniel?""
"No. The other man. The driver.""
Bear looked at Michael.
"What about him?""
"He had the same necklace as Emily.""
Bear frowned.
"Are you sure?""
"Emily says she saw it when he reached for the car keys.""
Michael took the phone.
"Laura, did she describe the necklace?""
"She said it looked like a little compass.""
Michael closed his eyes.
Bear felt his stomach tighten.
The man following Emily might have been Thomas.
Or someone wearing a compass deliberately.
"Keep her safe," Bear said.
He ended the call.
Forty minutes later, Bear and Michael arrived at the repair shop.
The sign above the building read:
*MILLER AUTO REPAIR — FAMILY OWNED SINCE 2008.*
A bell rang as they entered.
A man in dark work clothes stood beneath the hood of an old pickup truck.
He looked up.
"Can I help you?""
Bear stopped.
The man looked exactly like their father.
Not similar.
Exactly.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same way of tilting his head when listening.
Bear felt Michael move beside him.
"Thomas?"" Michael asked.
The man frowned.
"That's not my name.""
Bear swallowed.
"What's your name?""
"Matthew Miller.""
Bear exchanged a glance with Michael.
"We need to talk to you.""
Matthew wiped his hands on a rag.
"About what?""
Bear placed the photograph on the counter.
Matthew stared at it.
"Where did you get this?""
"Someone sent it to us.""
Matthew picked it up.
His expression changed.
"Who took this?""
"We don't know.""
Matthew looked toward the garage entrance.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Get out.""
Michael frowned.
"What?""
"I said get out.""
Bear didn't move.
"My name is Benjamin Bennett. This is my brother Michael.""
Matthew dropped the rag.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he laughed.
A short, uncomfortable laugh.
"That's impossible.""
Bear placed the compass on the counter.
Matthew stopped laughing.
His eyes fixed on the tiny T engraved on the back.
"Where did you get that?""
"From our father's desk.""
Matthew reached for it but stopped halfway.
"Who was your father?""
Bear answered quietly.
"Benjamin Bennett Sr.""
Matthew stepped backward.
The wrench in his hand slipped and hit the concrete floor.
"No.""
Michael took a photograph from his pocket.
It showed the three brothers' parents standing outside the hospital.
Matthew stared at Eleanor's face.
His expression crumpled.
"I know that woman.""
Bear felt his heart jump.
"How?""
"She came to my house when I was eighteen.""
Michael's voice softened.
"What did she tell you?""
Matthew shook his head.
"She said I was adopted. She said she had been looking for me.""
Bear stepped closer.
"Did you believe her?""
"No.""
"Why?""
"Because my parents told me my birth mother had died.""
Matthew walked toward the workbench.
He opened a drawer and pulled out an old envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Eleanor holding a baby.
On the back were the words:
*My Thomas. Forgive me.*
Matthew sat down.
"I thought she was trying to steal me.""
Bear crouched in front of him.
"She never stopped looking for you.""
Matthew's eyes filled.
"Where is she?""
"Alive.""
Matthew looked up sharply.
"What?""
"She's alive, Thomas.""
The name seemed to hit him harder than anything else.
He covered his face.
For a moment, the three brothers sat in the garage without speaking.
Then Matthew asked the question Bear had been dreading.
"Why did you wait thirty-eight years?""
Bear didn't have an answer.
Michael leaned forward.
"We didn't know you existed.""
Matthew looked at him.
"Then who kept sending money to my parents?""
Bear and Michael exchanged glances.
"What money?"" Bear asked.
Matthew opened another drawer.
He pulled out several bank statements.
Every month, a deposit had appeared in his adoptive parents' account.
The payments began when he was a baby.
They stopped nine years earlier.
The month their father died.
Bear examined the account holder.
*F. SHAW HOLDINGS.*
Franklin.
Michael shook his head.
"He paid to keep Thomas quiet without ever telling him who he was.""
Matthew stood.
"Who's Franklin Shaw?""
Bear looked toward the garage entrance.
"Someone who doesn't want this family reunited.""
A black SUV suddenly appeared across the street.
Matthew saw it.
His face went pale.
"That's him.""
Bear turned.
"Who?""
"The man from yesterday.""
The SUV's passenger door opened.
A woman stepped out.
She was wearing a dark coat and carrying a small leather handbag.
Matthew stared at her.
Then he whispered:
"That's my adoptive mother.""
Bear looked again.
The woman was walking toward the garage.
But she wasn't alone.
A second man emerged from the driver's side.
And when he turned toward the sunlight, Bear recognized him.
Franklin Shaw.
Michael grabbed Bear's arm.
"Get Thomas out of here.""
But Matthew was already walking toward the door.
"Mom?""
The woman stopped.
She looked at him.
Then she looked at Bear and Michael.
Her face collapsed.
"Thomas, please," she whispered.
"Who are these men?""
She began crying.
"Your brothers.""
Matthew turned.
May you like
And Franklin smiled.
"Well," he said, "I suppose the family reunion is complete.""
