Chapter 4: The Brother Who Carried The Blame
The paper shook in my hand.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I was angry.
Eight years.
Eight years of believing my father’s death was a tragic accident.
Eight years of replaying that final race in my head.
Eight years of wondering if there was something I could have done differently.
And now a stranger had left me a note saying my brother was responsible.
I looked at Ryan.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us spoke.
That silence told me more than words could.
“Say something,” I whispered.
Ryan looked down.
“Emma…”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“Don’t say my name like that.””
He closed his eyes.
“I knew this day would come.””
The sentence made my chest tighten.
“You knew?””
He didn’t answer.
“You knew someone would tell me?””
“Yes.””
I stepped away from him.
“So you’ve been waiting for me to find out?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
Ryan looked around the old garage.
At our father’s tools.
At the photographs on the wall.
At the place where our family had once been happy.
“I was trying to find proof before you learned the truth.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Proof of what? That you didn’t kill him?””
His face changed.
Pain.
Not anger.
Pain.
“I never said I didn’t blame myself.””
The words stopped me.
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Ryan walked to the workbench and picked up the old photograph from the box.
The one of our father.
The one with the message.
“You remember the night Dad died?””
I swallowed.
Of course I remembered.
I remembered every second.
The phone call.
The hospital.
The empty chair at the dinner table afterward.
The funeral.
The way my mother cried silently because she didn’t want us to see her break.
“I remember,” I said.
Ryan nodded.
“I was there.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“I was at the track.””
The room felt smaller.
“You told me you weren’t.””
“I lied.””
My heart sank.
“Why?””
“Because Dad told me to leave.””
I stared at him.
“Why would he tell you to leave?””
Ryan looked at the floor.
“Because he knew someone was coming.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Someone?””
Ryan nodded.
“Dad found evidence that someone inside the team was stealing his designs. He thought he knew who it was.””
“Daniel?””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“Someone closer.””
The words echoed in my mind.
Closer.
Someone inside our family.
Someone who knew everything.
Someone who knew how to hurt us.
“Who?””
Ryan stayed silent.
“Who, Ryan?””
Before he could answer, headlights appeared outside.
We both turned.
A black SUV stopped beside the garage.
Ryan immediately moved in front of me.
“Stay back.””
The door opened.
A woman stepped out.
She wore a dark jacket and carried a folder.
I recognized her instantly.
Chloe.
Again.
My anger returned.
“What are you doing here?””
She ignored me and looked at Ryan.
“You found the garage.””
Ryan’s expression hardened.
“How did you know?””
“Because Daniel wanted you to.””
That name made both of us freeze.
Chloe walked closer.
“He knew you would come here after the race.””
I stepped forward.
“You’ve been talking to him.””
She looked at me.
“I told you. I didn’t know who he was.””
“Then why are you here?””
Chloe opened the folder.
“Because I know who paid him.””
She handed the papers to Ryan.
He didn’t take them.
“Why should I believe anything you say?””
“Because I saved your sister’s life.””
My jaw tightened.
“You tried to stop my race by attacking me.””
“Yes.””
She didn’t deny it.
“Because I knew someone had changed your car.””
The honesty surprised me.
Chloe looked at me.
“I saw Daniel near your garage the night before.””
Ryan grabbed the folder.
“What else did you see?””
Her expression changed.
“He wasn’t alone.””
My stomach dropped.
“Who was with him?””
Chloe looked away.
“I don’t know.””
Ryan opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Surveillance images.
One showed Daniel entering the speedway.
Another showed someone standing beside him.
The person’s face was hidden.
But their clothes were familiar.
A racing jacket.
Our family team jacket.
My breathing stopped.
“No.””
Ryan looked at me.
“You recognize it?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because I did.
Everyone who worked with my father had worn that jacket.
But one person still owned an original.
One person who had been there the night my father died.
My mother’s former business partner.
A man who disappeared after the accident.
Victor Hale.
I whispered his name.
Ryan looked at me.
“You know him?””
“He worked with Dad.””
Chloe’s eyes widened.
“Victor Hale?””
“You know him?””
She nodded slowly.
“He’s the reason Daniel came back.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
Chloe took a deep breath.
“Daniel wasn’t trying to destroy you.””
Ryan looked confused.
“Then what was he doing?””
“Trying to expose Victor.””
The room went silent.
I looked at the photographs again.
The hidden person beside Daniel.
The mysterious message.
My father’s warning.
Everything pointed in the same direction.
But something still didn’t make sense.
“If Daniel was trying to help us,” I said, “why sabotage my car?””
Chloe looked at me.
“He didn’t.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
She shook her head.
“Daniel never touched your brakes.””
Ryan grabbed the photograph.
“But the camera showed him under the car.””
“Yes.””
“Then explain that.””
Chloe looked at the image.
“Because someone wanted us to believe it was him.””
The silence afterward was terrifying.
Someone had used Daniel’s face.
Someone had planned everything.
Someone wanted Daniel blamed.
Someone wanted me dead.
And someone wanted Ryan to take the blame.
A sound suddenly came from outside.
A loud crash.
We all turned.
The SUV’s window shattered.
Ryan pushed me down.
A bullet struck the wall behind us.
Chloe screamed.
“Get away from the windows!””
Another shot.
The old garage exploded with noise.
Ryan grabbed my arm.
“Back door!””
We ran.
Dust filled the air.
Wood splintered.
The person outside wasn’t trying to scare us.
They were trying to finish what they started.
We reached the back exit.
Ryan pushed the door open.
The three of us ran into the desert.
Behind us, the garage lights flickered.
Then the entire building went dark.
We hid behind an old storage container.
My heart was pounding.
Chloe was breathing heavily.
Ryan looked toward the road.
“Whoever it is, they knew we were here.””
I looked at him.
“How?””
Nobody answered.
Then Chloe slowly reached into her jacket.
She pulled out a small object.
A phone.
Ryan immediately grabbed it.
“Where did you get this?””
Chloe looked at me.
“From Daniel.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What’s on it?””
She hesitated.
“Something he recorded before he disappeared.””
Ryan unlocked the phone.
There was only one video.
Recorded three days earlier.
We pressed play.
Daniel Cross appeared on the screen.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, then Victor found out I survived.””
Ryan’s face changed.
Daniel continued.
“But there’s something you need to know.””
He paused.
Then looked directly into the camera.
“Ryan Carter did not cause your father’s death.””
I felt my brother freeze.
The next words were barely a whisper.
“Because the person who caused it was standing beside him that night.””
The video cut off.
Ryan stared at the blank screen.
I looked at him.
“Who was standing beside you?””
He didn’t answer.
Because before he could…
His phone rang.
The caller ID appeared.
A number I didn’t recognize.
Ryan answered slowly.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
A voice that made Ryan’s face lose all color.
A voice from our past.
A voice that should have been impossible.
“Ryan.””
The voice paused.
“You were never supposed to let Emma find out.””
Ryan dropped the phone.
May you like
And I knew from his expression…
He knew exactly who was calling.
