Chapter 10: The Sister Who Never Died
My mother sat down so suddenly that Evelyn rushed to catch her.
"Victoria?"" Mom whispered.
Dad nodded.
"No one told you the truth.""
Mom stared at him.
"My sister died thirty-seven years ago. I attended her funeral. I saw the coffin.""
"I know.""
"Then how can you stand there and tell me she's alive?""
Dad looked toward the hospital window.
"Because I saw her six months ago.""
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Mom pulled her hand away from Evelyn.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know whether she was working with Michael or against him.""
Mom shook her head.
"Victoria was my little sister. She used to sleep beside me whenever there was thunder. She hated being alone. She couldn't have—"
Her voice broke.
"She couldn't have done this.""
Dad reached for her.
"Margaret, people change.""
I looked at the email again.
The amendment had been signed four months before Dad's supposed death. It transferred the entire Northbridge inheritance to Rachel, supposedly under instructions from my father.
But there was another detail.
The witness signature belonged to Victoria Carter.
My mother's supposedly deceased sister.
"How did Rachel meet her?"" I asked.
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Through Michael. He introduced them at a private dinner.""
"Why would Michael know Aunt Victoria?""
"Because he had been searching for her for years.""
Mom stared at him.
"Why?""
Dad hesitated.
Then he opened the leather folder and removed a faded photograph.
It showed three people standing outside a house.
My father.
A young woman who looked remarkably like Mom.
And a little boy.
I recognized Michael immediately.
The photograph was dated twenty-eight years earlier.
I looked at my father.
"Why was Michael with Victoria?""
Dad sat down.
"Because Victoria was the person who helped arrange his first business loan.""
I frowned.
"Michael was barely fourteen.""
"Exactly.""
Mom took the photograph.
Her fingers began trembling.
"That's my sister.""
She pointed to the young woman.
Then she looked at the little boy.
"That's Michael.""
Dad nodded.
Mom's face drained of color.
"Robert, what aren't you telling us?""
Dad looked at Michael's childhood photograph.
Then he said:
"Victoria wasn't just helping your brother financially. She had been secretly communicating with him since he was a child.""
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.
"Why?""
Dad's voice became quieter.
"Because she believed Michael was her son.""
Nobody moved.
Mom stared at him.
"That's impossible.""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Before you and I married, Victoria became pregnant. She was unmarried, frightened, and living with our parents. She gave birth to a boy. The family was told he had died.""
Mom covered her mouth.
"Michael?""
Dad nodded.
I stepped backward.
My brother.
The person who had shared my bedroom during childhood.
The boy who had stolen my toys and blamed the dog.
The man who had stood beside my father's coffin.
He was my cousin.
Not my biological brother.
And Aunt Victoria had spent decades hiding the truth.
"Does Michael know?"" I asked.
"Yes.""
"Since when?""
"Since he was seventeen.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone knew except me?""
Dad looked devastated.
"I wanted to tell you. But your grandfather made me promise to protect the family.""
"By lying?""
"By trying to prevent another tragedy.""
Mom stood.
"Another tragedy?""
Dad looked at her.
"Victoria wanted Michael to inherit the family business. She believed you and I had stolen her future when we raised him as our son.""
Mom shook her head.
"We raised him because we loved him.""
"I know.""
"Did you tell him that?""
Dad lowered his eyes.
"Not enough.""
I paced toward the window.
The entire story was becoming more complicated by the minute.
Rachel had married me.
Michael had been raised as my brother.
Victoria had supposedly died.
My father had been declared dead.
And millions of dollars had been transferred through companies nobody had told me existed.
I turned back.
"Where is Victoria now?""
Dad hesitated.
"At the old Carter property.""
I immediately checked my phone.
There was a new message from an unknown number.
*Your aunt would like to meet you. Come to the house where your father was buried.*
I showed Dad.
He shook his head.
"Don't go.""
"She's the only person who can explain the amendment.""
"She's also the person who spent thirty years manipulating Michael.""
I looked at Mom.
She was staring at the photograph.
"Mom?""
She lifted her head.
"I want to see my sister.""
"Are you sure?""
She nodded.
"I spent thirty-seven years mourning someone who apparently never died. I deserve an explanation.""
The police agreed to accompany us.
We arrived at the old Carter property shortly before sunset.
The house looked exactly as I remembered it.
White curtains.
A cracked flowerpot beside the entrance.
The oak tree Dad had planted when Michael was born.
Except someone had placed a new brass nameplate beside the front door.
*NORTHBRIDGE FAMILY TRUST.*
A woman stood on the porch.
She had silver hair, a long beige coat, and my mother's eyes.
Mom stopped walking.
"Victoria?""
The woman smiled.
"Hello, Margaret.""
Mom's hand flew to her mouth.
Then she crossed the driveway and slapped her.
The sound echoed through the quiet street.
"Thirty-seven years!"" Mom cried.
"Thirty-seven years I believed you were dead!""
Victoria didn't defend herself.
She simply touched her cheek.
"I know.""
"Why?""
Victoria looked at her.
"Because I couldn't bear watching you get everything I was supposed to have.""
Mom began crying.
"Everything? I lost my daughter. I lost years with you. What did I get?""
Victoria's expression hardened.
"You got the life I wanted.""
Then she looked at me.
"Daniel. You've grown into your father's son.""
I stepped forward.
"Why did you sign Rachel's inheritance amendment?""
Victoria smiled.
"Because Rachel promised me something.""
"What?""
"That when the money was transferred, I would finally get my share.""
I stared at her.
"And Michael?""
"He was always my son.""
Mom shook her head.
"He was ours too.""
Victoria looked at her coldly.
"You had him for thirty years. I only got to watch.""
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a photograph.
It showed Rachel standing beside a man I had never seen.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Three days before my wedding.
Victoria looked at me.
"There's one more person you need to meet, Daniel.""
She pointed toward the house.
"Because the man your wife has been sleeping with isn't the only person she has been hiding.""
The front door opened.
May you like
And a familiar voice called my name.
"Daniel? It's time you met your real brother.""
