Chapter 6: The Brother
Vanessa came home two hours later.
I was waiting.
She stopped in the doorway.
“You found the envelope.””
“Yes.””
Her face collapsed.
“You weren't supposed to see that.””
“What brother?””
She closed the door.
“Marcus…”
“What brother?””
She looked like she might faint.
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
“Tell me now.””
She sat down.
“There was a man who contacted me six months ago.””
“Who?””
“He said his name was Daniel.””
My heart stopped.
“My father's name was Daniel.””
“I know.””
“What does he want?””
Vanessa looked down.
“He said he was your half-brother.””
I laughed.
“No.””
“He showed me documents.””
“No.””
“He said your father had another child before he met your mother.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What documents?””
“Birth records. Letters. Old photographs.””
“Where are they?””
“Gone.””
“What do you mean gone?””
“He took them back.””
“Why would you keep this from me?””
“Because he asked me not to tell you.””
“You listened to a stranger instead of telling your husband?””
“He threatened me.””
“With what?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“He knew about the money.””
“What money?””
“The money your father left.””
My blood ran cold.
“What money did my father leave?””
She looked at me.
“A trust.””
I didn't move.
“My mother said Dad left us nothing.””
“He didn't.””
“Then who told you?””
“Daniel.””
“Where is the trust?””
Vanessa whispered.
“Your mother knows.””
I felt the room tilt.
“Mom?””
“She knew about him.””
I immediately called her.
She answered after three rings.
“Marcus?””
“Mom, did Dad have another son?””
Silence.
Long enough to become an answer.
“Mom.””
“I wanted to protect you.””
“Did Dad have another child?””
“Yes.””
I sat down.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“He was never part of our lives.””
“What happened to the trust?””
Another silence.
“He found out about it.””
“Who?””
“Daniel.””
My mother began crying.
“He came back years ago.””
“Why?””
“For money.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Did Daniel threaten you?””
My mother didn't respond.
Then she whispered:
“He said he would destroy this family.””
I felt a cold certainty.
The party hadn't been the beginning.
It had been a symptom.
Someone had been manipulating Vanessa.
Someone had known our finances.
Someone had discovered my father's hidden trust.
And someone had made my mother the center of the entire scheme.
“What does he want?”” I asked.
Mom whispered one sentence.
“He wants the house.””
I looked around.
Our house.
The house my father had bought.
The house he had left to my mother.
The same house Vanessa and I lived in.
I suddenly understood why the money had disappeared.
Why the investigator had been hired.
Why Vanessa had been lying.
Why someone wanted me angry with my mother.
May you like
They weren't just trying to steal money.
They were trying to break my family apart first.
