Chapter 9: The Woman Who Started the Fire
Vincent slowly lowered his phone.
His mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who had taught him to read, held his hand through childhood illnesses, and sat beside him when his father died.
The woman whose funeral he had attended seven years earlier.
According to Detective Reed, she had ordered the fire that supposedly killed Elena.
Elena looked at him.
“What happened?””
Vincent didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“My mother signed the original fire authorization.””
Rebecca covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at the table.
Victoria, who had been standing near the dining-room entrance, slowly lifted her head.
“And the second signature?”” she asked.
Vincent looked at her.
“Yours.””
Victoria's face crumpled.
Thomas smiled.
“Well, I suppose the family history is finally becoming interesting.””
Vincent turned toward him.
“Get out.””
Thomas shook his head.
“I'm not leaving until I have the key.””
“Then you'll be waiting a long time.””
Vincent looked toward Daniel.
“Call the police.””
Daniel immediately took out his phone.
Thomas reached inside his jacket.
Vincent noticed the movement.
“Don't.””
Thomas froze.
For several seconds, the two men stared at each other.
Then Thomas slowly removed a folded document instead of a weapon.
He placed it on the table.
“Before you have me arrested, read this.””
Vincent didn't move.
Thomas opened the document himself.
“It's a medical authorization.””
Rebecca frowned.
“What medical authorization?””
Thomas looked at Grace.
“The hospital record from the night she was born.””
Grace began breathing faster.
Vincent took the document.
It was an old hospital form.
The date matched Grace's birth.
Under the section marked Final Outcome, someone had written:
Infant declared deceased. No surviving child transferred to next of kin.
But the form had been altered.
The ink around the signature was different.
Vincent examined the name.
“Dr. Samuel Harris.””
Elena looked up.
“Dr. Harris?””
Vincent felt his stomach tighten.
The same doctor who had examined Grace that afternoon.
The same family physician who had treated the Sterlings for years.
Thomas nodded.
“He signed the false record.””
Grace stared at the paper.
“So I was reported dead?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Thomas shrugged.
“Because your grandmother's trust was worth a fortune.””
Rebecca stepped toward him.
“You were a child. How could you do this?””
Thomas's expression hardened.
“I was a child too, Rebecca. Nobody protected me.””
“You had a father.””
“I had a man who visited twice a year and sent money to make himself feel better.””
Vincent placed the document down.
“Whatever happened to you doesn't justify what you've done.””
Thomas laughed.
“Spoken like a man who inherited everything.””
Vincent looked at him.
“I inherited a house full of lies.””
Detective Reed arrived twenty minutes later with two officers.
He entered the dining room carrying a large evidence folder.
“Vincent.””
Vincent shook his hand.
“What did you find?””
Marcus opened the folder.
“The original fire investigation file was stored in a sealed archive. It was never included in the final police report.””
Elena stepped forward.
“Why?””
“Because someone requested that the original documents remain confidential.””
“Who?””
Marcus looked at Victoria.
“Your mother-in-law.””
Vincent's jaw tightened.
Marcus continued.
“She submitted a signed authorization for the fire inspection. The stated reason was an electrical emergency at the Morgan property.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“That property had no electrical system.””
Marcus nodded.
“Exactly.””
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a woman standing beside a vehicle outside the property.
Vincent recognized her immediately.
His mother.
Beside her stood Victoria.
A third person was partially visible in the background.
Thomas.
Marcus placed another photograph beside it.
“This was taken forty minutes before the fire.””
Elena stared at it.
“That's me.””
She pointed to a woman standing near the rear entrance.
“I was waiting for Victoria.””
Marcus nodded.
“According to the original report, you entered the building at 8:12 p.m. At 8:46 p.m., the fire began.””
Vincent looked at Victoria.
“You told me you weren't there.””
Victoria lowered her head.
“I was.””
“Why?””
“Your mother asked me to help her.””
“Help her do what?””
Victoria's voice broke.
“She wanted the Morgan documents destroyed.””
Elena stepped forward.
“And me?””
Victoria began crying.
“I was told you would be taken out before the fire started.””
“You knew I was inside.””
“I thought someone would come back.””
Elena shook her head.
“You keep saying that.””
Victoria looked at her.
“Because it's the truth.””
“No. It's your excuse.””
Marcus placed another photograph on the table.
It showed the rear exit of the Morgan property.
The door was secured with a heavy chain.
Vincent stared at it.
“Who locked it?””
Marcus looked toward Victoria.
She closed her eyes.
“I did.””
Elena took a step backward.
Daniel caught her arm.
For three years, Elena had lived with the memory of smoke filling the hallway, the heat pressing against her face, and the desperate attempt to escape through a door that wouldn't open.
Now she knew exactly who had locked it.
Victoria.
Her husband's wife.
The woman who had later stood beside Vincent at the memorial.
The woman who had watched him cry.
Elena looked at Victoria.
“Did you ever feel guilty?””
Victoria nodded.
“Every day.””
“Then why did you marry Vincent?””
Victoria looked toward him.
“Because I fell in love with him.””
Vincent let out a bitter laugh.
“You don't love someone and spend three years helping people erase their wife.””
Victoria's tears fell freely.
“I thought you would eventually forget her.””
Vincent stared at her.
“Forget Elena?””
“Yes.””
“You stood beside me while I mourned her.””
“I know.””
“You watched me visit her grave.””
“I know.””
“You told me she was gone forever.””
Victoria lowered her face.
“I know.””
Vincent turned away.
There was nothing left to say.
Marcus closed the evidence folder.
“Victoria, I'm going to need you to come with us.””
She nodded weakly.
But before the officers could approach, she looked at Vincent.
“There's something you should know.””
He didn't turn.
“Not another lie.””
“It's about your mother.””
Vincent stopped.
Victoria continued.
“She didn't die naturally.””
Everyone turned toward her.
Marcus stepped closer.
“What are you saying?””
Victoria looked at the detective.
“Your mother was poisoned.””
Vincent's face tightened.
“By whom?””
Victoria looked toward Thomas.
Thomas's expression remained calm.
Then she whispered:
“Thomas.””
The officers immediately moved toward him.
Thomas laughed.
“You can't possibly believe that.””
Victoria nodded.
“I saw him in the hospital room.””
Thomas's smile faded.
“You're confused.””
“I saw you remove the medication from her bedside table.””
Thomas looked at Vincent.
“Your wife is desperate.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I have proof.””
She reached into her handbag and removed a small silver USB drive.
“I recorded our conversation the night your mother died.””
Marcus took it.
“What's on this?””
Victoria looked at Thomas.
“His confession.””
Thomas suddenly lunged.
He grabbed the USB drive and knocked a chair sideways.
One officer caught his arm.
The second officer pushed him against the wall.
“Hands behind your back!””
Thomas struggled.
“Let go of me!””
Vincent stood frozen.
His half-brother had apparently murdered their father.
And perhaps their mother too.
Marcus secured the USB drive.
“Thomas Sterling, you're being detained in connection with the original fire investigation and the suspected murder of Eleanor Sterling.””
Thomas looked directly at Vincent.
“You think this ends here?””
Vincent stepped closer.
“It's over.””
Thomas laughed.
“No, brother. You haven't even discovered what your father did to you.””
The officers led him toward the entrance.
At the doorway, Thomas turned one final time.
“Ask your mother why she gave you away.””
Vincent frowned.
“What?””
Thomas smiled.
“Ask Rebecca.””
Rebecca's face went white.
Daniel turned toward her.
“Mom?””
Vincent looked at Rebecca.
“What is he talking about?””
Rebecca slowly sat down.
For several seconds, she stared at her hands.
Then she whispered:
“Your father wasn't your biological father, Vincent.””
The room fell silent.
Elena looked at Rebecca.
“What?””
Rebecca began crying.
“Richard raised you as his son, but your mother had an affair before she married him.””
Vincent felt the floor shift beneath him.
“Who was my father?””
Rebecca looked at him.
Her eyes filled with something that resembled shame.
“Eleanor knew.””
Vincent shook his head.
“Who?””
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Then she answered.
“Your biological father was Daniel's father.””
Daniel stood abruptly.
“What?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Richard knew the truth. He knew Vincent was not his biological son. That's why he kept the Morgan family so close.””
Vincent looked at Daniel.
Then at Elena.
Then at Grace.
Every relationship in the room suddenly seemed different.
But Rebecca wasn't finished.
She reached into her handbag and removed another envelope.
“This was left for me by Eleanor. She told me to give it to Vincent when he discovered the truth.””
Vincent took it.
On the front were five words.
For my firstborn grandson.
He opened it.
Inside was a DNA report.
The result was unmistakable.
Vincent's biological father was not Richard Sterling.
It was Daniel's father.
And beneath the report was a final handwritten note.
The real Sterling heir is not the man wearing the ring. He is the man who has spent his entire life believing he doesn't belong.
Vincent slowly looked at Daniel.
Daniel was staring back at him.
Then Rebecca whispered:
“Vincent, you and Daniel are brothers.””
Elena reached for Vincent's hand.
But before either could speak, Grace suddenly cried out in pain.
Her knees buckled.
Maria rushed toward her.
“Someone call the doctor!””
Grace grabbed the edge of the table.
Her face was pale.
Then she looked at Vincent and whispered:
“There's something wrong.””
A dark stain appeared on the floor beneath her.
And from the front entrance, the sound of a car engine roared to life.
Thomas was escaping.
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But the person driving the car wasn't Thomas.
It was Dr. Harris.
