Chapter 4: The Son Vivian Claimed Was Dead
For several seconds, I couldn't take my eyes off the photograph.
The young man standing beside Richard Caldwell looked remarkably like Marcus.
Same dark hair. Same sharp jawline. Same deep-set eyes.
But there was something else.
The man was wearing a construction helmet and holding a set of architectural drawings.
On the back, my father's handwriting was unmistakable.
*He knows what Richard did.*
I looked at Marcus.
"You have a brother?""
His jaw tightened.
"Had.""
"What does that mean?""
Marcus closed the laptop halfway.
"Ethan died when I was seventeen. At least, that's what Mom told me.""
"How?""
"Car accident.""
"Where?""
"Outside Savannah. He was driving back from a construction site when his car went off the road.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Was he working with your father?""
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Ethan studied civil engineering. He wanted to join the family business, but Dad didn't approve of his decisions.""
"What decisions?""
Marcus rubbed his face.
"He questioned some of Dad's financial arrangements. They fought constantly.""
I felt a chill.
"About Westbridge?""
"I don't know.""
"Marcus, look at this.""
I turned the laptop toward him.
The email containing my investigation report had been forwarded to Ethan's address.
Marcus stared at it.
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because Ethan's email account was closed after his death.""
I looked at the timestamp.
The message had been sent three years ago.
"Someone was still using his account.""
Marcus stood.
He walked toward the kitchen window and stared into the darkness.
"Mom told us Ethan's belongings were destroyed after the accident.""
"Us?""
He turned.
"My father and mother. They said the police had released everything. Mom handled the arrangements.""
I studied his expression.
"Did you see his body?""
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Then he shook his head.
"No.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why not?""
"I was in the hospital.""
"What?""
Marcus looked down.
"I was seventeen. Ethan and I had argued that morning. He was supposed to pick me up after school, but he never came. A few hours later, Mom told me he'd been in an accident.""
He swallowed.
"She said the body was too badly damaged for an open-casket funeral.""
I covered my mouth.
"Marcus...""
"I believed her.""
He returned to the laptop and opened the email properties.
The sender address was still active.
Marcus clicked on the forwarding details.
A second address appeared.
He read it aloud.
"Ethan.Caldwell... at Caldwell Holdings.""
I frowned.
"That's a company email.""
"Yes.""
He picked up his phone.
"I'm calling the old IT department.""
The following morning, Marcus received a call from a former Caldwell Holdings employee named Robert Hayes.
Robert had worked in the company's technology division for almost twenty years.
Marcus put him on speaker.
"Robert, I need you to answer something honestly.""
"Of course, Mr. Caldwell.""
"Was my brother's email account ever reopened?""
There was a long silence.
Then Robert spoke.
"Which account?""
"Ethan's.""
Another silence.
"Sir, that account was never permanently closed.""
Marcus gripped the phone.
"What?""
"Your mother requested that it remain active after the accident.""
"Why?""
"I was told it was needed for historical company records.""
"Who accessed it?""
Robert hesitated.
"I can't provide that information without checking the archived logs.""
"Check them.""
"I'll need a little time.""
Marcus's voice hardened.
"Robert, my brother supposedly died twelve years ago. Someone has been using his email address for at least three years. I need to know who.""
Robert exhaled.
"I understand.""
The call ended.
I looked at Marcus.
"Someone wants us to believe Ethan is alive.""
"Or someone is using his identity.""
"Could it be your mother?""
He shook his head.
"She wouldn't need to use his email to send herself documents.""
"Unless she wanted to make it look like someone else was involved.""
Marcus stared at the screen.
"There's only one person who could know for sure.""
"Who?""
He looked at me.
"My mother's former assistant. Evelyn Price.""
Evelyn Price lived in a modest brick house outside Buckhead.
She had worked for Vivian for twenty-two years before suddenly resigning the previous winter.
Marcus had barely spoken to her since.
When we arrived, she opened the door wearing a navy cardigan and reading glasses.
"Marcus?""
She looked past him and saw me.
Her expression changed.
"Oh, my goodness.""
She placed one hand over her mouth.
"Naomi Ellis.""
I frowned.
"Have we met?""
Evelyn nodded.
"Once. Years ago. You were at the Caldwell Christmas dinner. You helped me carry a tray when one of the guests spilled wine.""
I remembered.
She had been the only person in the house who had thanked me.
"Please come in," she said.
We sat in her small living room.
Marcus didn't waste time.
"Mrs. Price, I need to ask you about Ethan.""
Her hands trembled.
"I wondered when you would come.""
Marcus leaned forward.
"What do you know?""
Evelyn looked toward the window.
Then she quietly locked the front door.
"Your brother didn't die in a car accident.""
Marcus went completely still.
I felt my heart pound.
"What?""
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know what happened to him after that night. But I know he was alive when your mother told everyone he was dead.""
Marcus stood so abruptly that his chair scraped across the floor.
"You're lying.""
"I'm sorry.""
"You're telling me my brother was alive?""
Evelyn nodded.
"I heard him arguing with Richard in the study. Two days before the accident.""
"What did they argue about?""
"Your father had discovered something. Ethan had been helping him.""
I looked at Marcus.
"My father?""
Evelyn nodded again.
"Mr. Ellis had come to the Caldwell house several times. He was trying to recover documents connected to the Westbridge project.""
Marcus's voice dropped.
"And Ethan helped him?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't anyone tell me?""
"Because your mother ordered everyone to remain silent.""
Evelyn reached into a drawer and removed a small photograph.
It showed Ethan standing outside a building.
He looked older than in the photograph we had found, perhaps twenty-eight or twenty-nine.
On the back was a handwritten message.
*For the people who still believe I'm gone.*
Marcus took it with shaking hands.
"Where did you get this?""
"Ethan gave it to me shortly before I left the Caldwell estate.""
"Was he alive then?""
Evelyn nodded.
"He came to see me last year.""
I stared at her.
"Last year?""
"Yes.""
Marcus looked as if he might collapse.
"Where is he now?""
Evelyn opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, a loud knock sounded at the front door.
All three of us froze.
A man's voice came from outside.
"Mrs. Price? It's Detective Miller. We need to speak with you.""
Evelyn's face drained of color.
She stood and walked toward the window.
May you like
Then she whispered something that made my blood turn cold.
"They found me.""
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