Chapter 8: The Brother Nobody Remembered
Michael couldn't breathe.
“What?””
Arthur sat down.
Evelyn began crying.
Vanessa stared at them both.
Michael shook his head.
“You said I was an only child.””
Arthur's eyes lowered.
“I lied.””
Michael backed away.
“No.””
“I had a son before you.””
“Who?””
Arthur swallowed.
“Daniel.””
The name meant nothing.
Michael searched his father's face.
“Daniel who?””
“Daniel Carter.””
Michael shook his head.
“Why have I never heard that name?””
Evelyn wiped her cheeks.
“Because we were told to forget him.””
“By who?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Michael slammed his hand against the desk.
“By who?””
“Calvin.””
Michael stared.
Arthur continued.
“Daniel worked at Redwood with me. He found the first evidence.””
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“You said you found it.””
“Daniel found it first.””
“What happened to him?””
Arthur looked at the floor.
“He disappeared.””
Vanessa whispered, “Disappeared?””
Arthur nodded.
“One night, he called me. He said he had proof. He said he was coming home.””
Michael waited.
“He never arrived.””
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“We searched everywhere.””
Michael looked at his mother.
“And you just… erased him?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“We mourned him.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“You were six.””
Michael froze.
“Six?””
Arthur nodded.
“You were too young to understand.””
Michael's eyes filled.
“Was he my brother?””
“Yes.””
“How old was he?””
“Twenty-three.””
Michael sat down.
The room seemed to tilt.
Memories began surfacing.
A photograph on a mantel.
A young man standing beside Arthur.
A hand-me-down jacket.
A red baseball glove.
A name he had once asked about.
He had been told it was an old friend.
Michael whispered, “I remember him.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“You do?””
“Not clearly.””
He pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“There was a picture.””
Arthur nodded.
“We kept it hidden.””
“Why?””
“Because someone came to our house after Daniel disappeared.””
“Who?””
“Calvin.””
Michael's blood ran cold.
“What did he say?””
Arthur looked toward the window.
“He told us Daniel had stolen money.””
Michael shook his head.
“You believed him?””
“No.””
“But you were afraid.””
“Yes.””
“What did he threaten?””
Arthur's voice became almost inaudible.
“You.””
Michael stared.
“Me?””
“You were six. He said if we went to the police, you'd disappear too.””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“That's why you kept silent?””
Arthur nodded.
Michael looked at the floor.
For years, he had believed his parents had simply been overprotective.
Now he understood.
They hadn't been protecting him from the world.
They had been protecting him from someone who already knew his name.
Michael stood.
“Where is Daniel now?””
Arthur looked at him.
“I don't know.””
“Then how does Calvin know about him?””
Arthur's face changed.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa suddenly whispered, “Maybe I do.””
Everyone turned.
Vanessa looked terrified.
“When I borrowed money from Derek, he asked about Daniel.””
Michael stared.
“What did you tell him?””
“Nothing.””
“You knew the name.””
“I had seen it.””
“Where?””
“In your father's papers.””
Michael walked toward her.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought it was part of the debt.””
“What else did Derek ask?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“He asked if Daniel had ever contacted the family.””
Arthur's face went white.
Michael turned toward him.
“Dad?””
Arthur's lips parted.
“No.””
“What?””
“He couldn't have.””
“Couldn't have what?””
Arthur looked at Evelyn.
She slowly shook her head.
Michael demanded, “What are you hiding now?””
Evelyn whispered, “A letter.””
Michael's heart stopped.
“What letter?””
“One arrived three years ago.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
“We never showed you.””
“From Daniel?””
Evelyn nodded.
Michael took a step backward.
“You have a letter from my brother?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Evelyn walked toward the bedroom.
Michael followed.
Vanessa stayed behind.
Arthur rose and followed them.
Evelyn opened an old wooden jewelry box.
Beneath photographs and letters was a sealed envelope.
Michael's name was written across the front.
Not Michael's father's handwriting.
Not his mother's.
A handwriting he didn't recognize.
He took it.
His fingers shook.
“This is for me?””
Evelyn nodded.
“It arrived without a return address.””
“Why didn't you give it to me?””
Arthur answered.
“Because we were afraid it was a trap.””
Michael stared at the envelope.
“What did you do with it?””
“We kept it.””
“Did you read it?””
“No.””
“Not even once?””
“No.””
Michael looked at the handwriting.
Then at the date.
Three years ago.
He tore it open.
Inside was a single page.
His eyes moved across the first line.
*Michael,*
*If you're reading this, Dad finally told you about me.*
Michael's breath caught.
He read faster.
*I know what happened at Redwood. I know what Calvin did. And I know why he wants the files back.*
His hands began shaking.
Then he reached the final paragraph.
*But the worst part isn't what he did to me. It's what he did to our family.*
Michael's eyes blurred.
The final line was underlined.
*Vanessa knows where the last copy is.*
Michael stopped.
Slowly, he turned toward his wife.
Vanessa was standing in the doorway.
Her face was wet with tears.
Michael held up the letter.
“What does this mean?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know.””
“You're in his letter.””
“I swear I didn't know.””
“How would Daniel know your name?””
“I don't know.””
Michael stepped closer.
“Where is the last copy?””
Vanessa backed away.
“I don't have it.””
“Then why does Daniel say you know where it is?””
“I don't!””
Arthur took the letter from Michael.
He read the final line.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
“Where did you meet Derek?””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“At a hotel.””
“When?””
“Six months ago.””
“Who introduced you?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Michael stared.
“Who?””
She whispered, “A woman.””
“Who?””
“I don't know her name.””
“Describe her.””
Vanessa looked toward the window.
“She had silver hair.””
Evelyn went completely still.
Michael looked at his mother.
“What?””
Evelyn's hand rose slowly to her mouth.
“That can't be.””
Vanessa continued.
“She wore a lavender cardigan.””
Michael turned toward her.
“Mom?””
Evelyn shook her head violently.
“No.””
Vanessa stared at Evelyn.
“That was the woman.””
Michael's eyes widened.
“That's impossible.””
Evelyn's voice trembled.
“I've never met her.””
Arthur looked at his wife.
“Evelyn…”
“I swear.””
Michael's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice spoke immediately.
“Did you read Daniel's letter?””
Michael's blood ran cold.
“Who are you?””
“You already know.””
Michael looked toward the window.
The street was empty.
The voice continued.
“Your mother isn't the only person who wore that lavender cardigan.””
Michael froze.
“What does that mean?””
A pause.
Then:
“Ask Vanessa where she got hers.””
The call ended.
Michael slowly turned.
Vanessa was staring at Evelyn's cardigan.
Her face had gone pale.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“I didn't buy mine.””