Chapter 6: My Mother's Last Secret
I stared at the blank television.
For eleven years, I had believed my mother died peacefully in a hospital room.
I remembered the smell of antiseptic.
The white curtains.
My father's hand resting on my shoulder.
I remembered him telling me she was finally free from pain.
I had been seventeen.
Old enough to understand death.
Too young to question the people explaining it.
Now Camille was telling me the entire story had been a lie.
Vanessa picked up the black ledger.
“We have to leave.””
I didn't move.
“Did you know?””
She shook her head.
“Not about your mother.””
“Then what did you know?””
“That your mother disappeared before the funeral.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
Vanessa looked at the floor.
“Your father told me she had died. But three months later, I received a letter written in her handwriting.””
I stepped closer.
“Where is it?””
“In my apartment.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because the letter said you were in danger.””
I closed my eyes.
The anger was becoming unbearable.
“Everyone has known something about my life except me.””
Vanessa reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
“Don't.””
She lowered her arm.
Then a loud metallic bang echoed through the house.
Someone had reached the front gate.
Vanessa grabbed the ledger.
“We need to move.””
I picked up the birth certificates and shoved them into my jacket.
We ran through the passage and returned to the library.
The sound of footsteps came from outside.
A man's voice shouted.
“Clear the ground floor!””
I looked toward the back entrance.
“Can we get out through the greenhouse?””
Vanessa nodded.
We hurried down the hallway.
Then I heard Camille's voice.
“Darius!””
I stopped.
She was inside the house.
“Darius, I know you're here!””
Vanessa grabbed my sleeve.
“Don't answer.””
But Camille continued.
“I don't want to hurt you!””
I almost laughed.
She had spent eleven years lying to me.
She had forged my signature.
She had arranged a twelve-million-dollar insurance policy.
She had sent armed men into our home.
And now she was pretending to care about my safety.
I stepped toward the library entrance.
Vanessa blocked me.
“Don't.””
“I want to hear what she has to say.””
“She wants the ledger.””
“Then let her ask.””
Vanessa studied my face.
Finally, she stepped aside.
I walked into the hallway.
Camille stood at the end, surrounded by two men.
Her hair was perfectly styled.
Her makeup was flawless.
She held a small black purse in one hand.
When she saw me, her expression softened.
“Baby.””
I stopped several feet away.
“Don't call me that.””
Her smile faded.
“Darius, please. We can still fix this.””
“Fix what?””
She looked toward Vanessa.
Then back at me.
“Everything.””
I pointed toward the men.
“Are they here to help fix things?””
Camille sighed.
“You always make everything harder than it needs to be.””
One of the men stepped forward.
She raised her hand.
“Not yet.””
I looked at her.
“Did you know I was adopted?””
Camille went still.
“Who told you?””
“My father.””
“Which one?””
The question landed between us.
For the first time, Camille looked genuinely unsettled.
I stepped closer.
“Did you know my mother was alive?””
Her eyes shifted toward Vanessa.
Then she looked at me.
“Your mother is dead.””
“That's not what you said on the television.””
“I said she didn't die of cancer.””
“Then how did she die?””
Camille swallowed.
“She was killed.””
The hallway seemed to narrow.
“By whom?””
She looked directly at me.
“By the man you spent your childhood calling Dad.””
I stared at her.
“You're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
I took another step.
“Why would he kill her?””
Camille's expression hardened.
“Because Evelyn wanted to tell you the truth.””
“What truth?””
“That Andre Cole was your biological father. That your entire inheritance was built on stolen money. And that your mother had discovered where the money went.””
I shook my head.
“My father loved her.””
Camille laughed bitterly.
“Your father loved owning things. Your mother was one of them.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Enough, Camille.””
Camille turned toward her.
“Stay out of this.””
“You don't get to tell me what to do.””
Camille's eyes narrowed.
“You really think he wants you? You think Darius will accept a sister who helped hide the truth from him?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Camille looked back at me.
“Give me the ledger.””
“No.””
“Darius, listen to me.””
“No.””
Her voice became colder.
“Then you leave me no choice.””
One of the men raised his hand.
But before he could move, the lights went out.
A loud alarm began sounding somewhere inside the house.
Vanessa grabbed my wrist.
“Run!””
We raced toward the greenhouse.
Behind us, someone shouted.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps.
We reached the service door.
I pulled it open.
Vanessa slipped outside.
I followed.
A hand grabbed my jacket.
I twisted around.
One of the men had caught me.
He pulled me backward.
I stumbled against the doorframe.
Vanessa turned.
“Darius!””
The man tightened his grip.
I swung my elbow backward and struck his arm.
He released me.
I fell outside onto the garden path.
Vanessa slammed the door shut.
We ran toward the car.
A black SUV was already blocking the driveway.
I looked toward the street.
Another vehicle was approaching.
We were trapped.
Then an old silver sedan came speeding around the corner.
It stopped beside us.
The passenger window rolled down.
A man leaned across the seat.
His face was older, thinner, and covered with gray stubble.
But I recognized him immediately.
Marcus.
He looked at me.
“Get in!””
I stared at him.
“Are you insane?””
“Darius, get in the car unless you want to spend the rest of your life in that house!””
Vanessa hesitated.
I looked at her.
“Do we trust him?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Marcus leaned farther out.
“I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to survive!””
A man appeared at the greenhouse entrance.
Vanessa opened the rear door.
“Get in!””
We climbed inside.
Marcus accelerated.
The old sedan shot down the driveway, narrowly avoiding the black SUV.
I turned toward him.
“Where are you taking us?””
“To someone who knows what happened to your mother.””
“Who?””
Marcus glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
“Your father's closest friend.””
I froze.
“Leonard?””
“No.””
“Who, then?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Your mother.””
We drove for almost an hour.
Marcus said very little.
Vanessa sat beside me in the back, holding the ledger against her chest.
Eventually, the car pulled into the parking lot of a private rehabilitation facility outside the city.
A security guard approached.
Marcus lowered his window.
“I'm here to see Evelyn.””
The guard checked a list.
Then he stepped aside.
I looked at Marcus.
“Why would my mother be in a rehabilitation facility?””
He didn't answer.
We entered the building.
The hallway smelled of disinfectant and fresh flowers.
A nurse stood behind the reception desk.
“Can I help you?””
Marcus handed her an envelope.
“Room 214.””
She looked at me.
Then at Vanessa.
Her expression softened.
“She has been waiting for you.””
My heart began pounding.
We walked upstairs.
Room 214 was at the end of the corridor.
The door was slightly open.
I pushed it gently.
A woman sat beside the window.
Her hair was almost entirely gray.
A blanket covered her legs.
She was looking at a photograph.
A photograph of me.
As a child.
She turned when she heard the door.
For several seconds, she simply stared.
Then she placed the photograph on the bedside table.
“Darius?””
My throat tightened.
“Mom?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
She reached out.
I crossed the room and took her hand.
It was warm.
Real.
Alive.
I had spent eleven years mourning a woman who was sitting in front of me.
I couldn't speak.
She began crying.
“Oh, my baby.””
I knelt beside her bed.
“Why?””
She closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry.””
“Why did you let me think you were dead?””
“Because your father told me it was the only way to protect you.””
I looked at Marcus.
He stood near the door, avoiding my eyes.
I turned back toward my mother.
“Did Dad kill you?””
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“No.””
I exhaled.
Then she said something worse.
“Your father killed Andre.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
She nodded slowly.
“Andre discovered that your father had been moving money through the company. He threatened to expose him.””
I shook my head.
“Then why did you stay with him?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She looked toward the door.
“Of what would happen if he learned that you were not his only child.””
I turned toward Vanessa.
My sister looked confused.
My mother continued.
“Darius, there is something else you need to know.””
She reached beneath her pillow and pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed my mother standing between two newborn babies.
One was me.
The other was a little girl.
I stared at the picture.
“Twins?””
My mother nodded.
“Your father took your sister away when you were three months old.””
I looked at Vanessa.
Her eyes were filling with tears.
My mother shook her head.
“Not Vanessa.””
The room went silent.
I looked back at her.
“Then who?””
My mother pointed toward the photograph.
The little girl had a small silver bracelet around her wrist.
I looked at Vanessa's arm.
She wore the same bracelet.
I felt my chest tighten.
My mother continued.
“Vanessa was adopted after Andre disappeared. She isn't your sister by blood.””
I looked at the photograph again.
“Then where is my twin?””
My mother began crying harder.
“She married you.””
I couldn't move.
The woman who had shared my bed for eleven years.
The woman who had kissed me goodbye.
The woman who had signed the insurance policy.
Camille.
My mother squeezed my hand.
“Darius, Camille is your twin sister.””
For several seconds, the world stopped.
Then Marcus spoke from the doorway.
“And that's why she has been trying to kill you.””
I turned toward him.
He was holding his phone.
The screen showed a live video.
Camille was standing outside the rehabilitation facility.
Behind her were three armed men.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then she smiled.
“Hello, brother.””
May you like
My mother screamed.
And the security alarm began ringing.
