Chapter 7: The Brother Who Pulled the Strings
For a moment, Marcus didn't move.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh. It was the kind of laugh people made when reality became too horrible to accept.
"Daniel Cole?"" he repeated.
Ethan nodded.
"My uncle.""
Marcus shook his head.
"That's impossible. Daniel has been dead for six years.""
Ethan looked at the USB drive in his father's hand.
"That's what everyone believes.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
Daniel Cole had been Marcus's younger brother. A brilliant businessman with a reputation for being charming, generous, and fiercely loyal to his family.
He had supposedly died in a boating accident six years earlier.
I remembered attending the memorial service with Marcus.
I remembered the photographs.
I remembered the tears.
But I also remembered something else.
Three weeks before my wedding, Robert Hale had told me Daniel Cole was the only person who could guarantee my financial future.
I had assumed he was talking about the estate.
Apparently, I had misunderstood.
"Play it," Ethan said.
Marcus inserted the USB drive into Daniel Reeves's laptop.
A video appeared.
The footage was grainy, apparently taken from a security camera inside a hospital corridor.
The date was October 14, seven years earlier.
Eleanor's accident.
A man entered the room.
His face was partially obscured by the camera angle, but his profile was unmistakable.
Marcus leaned closer.
"No.""
Ethan stood beside him.
"Look at his watch.""
Marcus stared at the screen.
A gold watch with a distinctive black face.
He had given that watch to Daniel for his fortieth birthday.
The video continued.
The man entered Eleanor's room carrying a folder.
He spoke to a nurse.
Then he pointed toward the bed.
The nurse nodded.
A few minutes later, two men arrived with a wheelchair.
They moved Eleanor out of the room.
Marcus gripped the edge of the desk.
"Where did they take her?""
Ethan shook his head.
"Keep watching.""
The footage changed.
A second camera showed the hospital's rear entrance.
The same man emerged carrying a baby carrier.
He looked directly toward the security camera.
For a fraction of a second, his face was visible.
Marcus stepped backward.
"Daniel.""
I felt my knees weaken.
The man was unmistakably his brother.
But the video wasn't finished.
A timestamp appeared.
Three hours later.
The same man returned to the hospital.
This time, he wasn't alone.
A woman walked beside him.
She wore a red coat.
I recognized her immediately.
It was me.
Marcus slowly turned toward me.
"Vanessa?""
I couldn't speak.
Ethan paused the video.
"There's more.""
He opened another file.
It was an audio recording.
A man's voice filled the room.
Daniel's voice.
"Robert, the girl is safe. The mother is contained. Now we need Marcus to believe everything happened naturally.""
Robert answered.
"And the wife?""
"She'll cooperate. She has nowhere else to go.""
A short silence followed.
Then Daniel spoke again.
"Once Marcus marries her, the trust will be easier to access. He'll never suspect that the woman sleeping beside him helped us remove his first family.""
Marcus closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
Robert asked, "And if she changes her mind?""
Daniel laughed.
"Then remind her what happens to people who betray me.""
The audio ended.
Nobody spoke.
Marcus looked at me.
"How long?""
I swallowed.
"Marcus...""
"How long have you known my brother was alive?""
I shook my head.
"I thought he was dead.""
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"You thought?""
"I hadn't spoken to him in years!""
Marcus grabbed the edge of the desk.
"Then explain the recording.""
I looked at Daniel Reeves.
"Can we speak privately?""
Marcus stared at me.
"No more private conversations.""
I turned back toward him.
"You don't understand what he did to me.""
"Who?""
"Daniel!""
I was crying now.
"He threatened me. He knew everything about my past. He said if I didn't cooperate, he would destroy my life.""
Ethan stepped forward.
"You helped him destroy ours.""
"I was twenty-six!""
"So was my mother when she trusted your lies!""
His voice cracked.
Marcus raised a hand.
"Enough.""
He looked at the laptop.
"Where is Daniel now?""
Ethan pulled out his phone.
"I found something else.""
He showed his father a photograph of a man entering a private members' club.
The photograph had been taken two days earlier.
Marcus stared.
"Where did you get this?""
"From a contact who works in private security.""
Marcus zoomed in.
The man had gray hair now, but his face was unmistakable.
Daniel Cole.
Alive.
Marcus picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Get the police here. Now.""
I backed away.
Daniel Reeves noticed.
"Mrs. Cole, where are you going?""
"To the bathroom.""
He stepped between me and the door.
"Please remain here.""
I stared at him.
Then my phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown number.
*Daniel:* Don't let them take you alive. You know what happens if you talk.
A second message appeared.
*Daniel:* Check your handbag. I left you something.
My heart pounded.
I looked down.
My handbag was sitting on the chair beside the desk.
I slowly opened it.
Inside was a small black envelope.
I pulled it out.
There was a photograph.
A young woman standing outside a maternity ward.
On the back, someone had written:
*You were never the only one he planned to silence.*
I turned the photograph over again.
The woman was holding a baby.
And standing beside her was Ethan.
But the photograph was dated eleven years earlier.
Ethan stared at it.
His face drained of color.
"That's...""
Marcus looked at his son.
"What is it?""
Ethan took the photograph from my hand.
Then he whispered:
"That's my mother.""
Marcus frowned.
"Your mother?""
Ethan shook his head.
"No. Not Eleanor.""
He pointed to the baby.
"That's me.""
He looked at Marcus.
"And the woman standing beside me isn't Mom.""
The room fell silent.
May you like
Ethan's voice trembled.
"Dad, I think we have another problem.""
