Chapter 5: The Son Who Came Back From the Dead
Nobody had expected Thomas Carter to appear.
Not Richard.
Not Evelyn.
And certainly not Victoria.
Thomas was fifty-two, broad-shouldered, with neatly trimmed gray hair and a face that had once appeared regularly in business magazines.
He had been the company's former chief financial officer.
Three years earlier, shortly after Daniel's accident, he had resigned and moved overseas.
Richard had told the family that Thomas wanted to pursue independent investments.
Evelyn had believed him.
Now Thomas stood in the middle of the ballroom as if he had never left.
“Uncle Thomas?””
Evelyn's voice was barely audible.
Thomas turned toward her.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
He smiled.
But there was something cold behind it.
Richard stepped forward.
“You have some explaining to do.””
Thomas placed his briefcase on the table.
“I'm sure I do.””
“You were not invited.””
“I heard about the celebration.””
“You heard about the investigation.””
Thomas glanced at the documents.
“Apparently, the family has become very interested in old paperwork.””
Victoria moved toward him.
“Thomas, you shouldn't be here.””
He looked at her.
“Neither should you.””
Brianna watched them exchange looks.
“Mom, you know him?””
Victoria's face tightened.
“Of course I know him.””
Thomas removed his coat and folded it over the back of a chair.
“Let's not pretend we're strangers. We all have history.””
Alexander stepped closer to Brianna.
“Who is this man?””
Richard answered without looking away from his son.
“My oldest child.””
Alexander frowned.
“Your son?””
Thomas extended a hand.
“Thomas Carter.””
Alexander didn't shake it.
“Alexander Hayes.””
Thomas glanced at the paternity documents.
“I know.””
Brianna looked horrified.
“Uncle Thomas, please don't.””
Thomas gave her a thin smile.
“Don't what?””
“Don't make this worse.””
He opened his briefcase.
“I'm not the one who made it worse.””
Inside were several folders, a laptop, and a thick stack of bank statements.
Richard stared at the documents.
“Where did you get those?””
“From the original financial archive.””
“You told me those records were destroyed.””
Thomas looked at his father.
“I told you they were inaccessible.””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“That's not the same thing.””
“No. It isn't.””
Thomas opened the first folder.
He placed several pages on the table.
“Three years ago, Daniel discovered that money was being moved through accounts connected to Carter Development. He confronted Victoria, but he didn't know who had authorized the original transfers.””
Victoria shook her head.
“Thomas, stop.””
He ignored her.
“Daniel came to me because he believed someone inside the company was using his identity.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Did you help him?””
Thomas met her eyes.
“I tried.””
Richard laughed bitterly.
“You tried? You were the financial officer. You had access to every account.””
Thomas turned toward him.
“And you had the final authority.””
The words hit the room like a slap.
Richard's expression darkened.
“What are you suggesting?””
“I'm suggesting that the money didn't move without someone approving it.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“Thomas, you promised!””
He turned sharply.
“Don't bring promises into this.””
Brianna stared at her mother.
“What promises?””
Victoria said nothing.
Thomas removed a document from the folder.
It showed an authorization request for a large transfer.
The account holder was Daniel Carter.
The approval signature belonged to Thomas.
Evelyn looked at it.
“That's your signature.””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
“Did you transfer the money?””
“I approved the transaction.””
Richard's voice became dangerous.
“Why?””
Thomas leaned back.
“Because I believed the money was going into a legitimate investment account.””
“Whose account?””
“Derek Mitchell's company.””
Richard's cane struck the floor.
“You knew about Derek?””
“Yes.””
“And you approved the transfers?””
Thomas looked at him.
“I approved some of them.””
Victoria looked relieved.
But only for a moment.
Thomas continued.
“I didn't know the money was being stolen until Daniel showed me the records.””
Evelyn stared at him.
“What happened after that?””
Thomas took a slow breath.
“Your father asked me to help him recover the funds. He wanted to remove Victoria as administrator and expose the entire arrangement.””
“Then why did you leave?””
Thomas looked toward the windows.
“Because three days later, Daniel died.””
Evelyn's throat tightened.
“You thought the accident was suspicious?””
“I knew it was.””
Richard gripped his cane.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Thomas looked at his father.
“Because I received a message the morning after the funeral.””
He took out his phone.
A photograph of an old text message appeared.
The message contained a warning.
Stay away from the investigation. Your family has already paid enough.
Evelyn stared.
“Who sent it?””
Thomas shook his head.
“The number was unregistered.””
Victoria folded her arms.
“Anyone could have sent that.””
Thomas looked at her.
“That's what I thought.””
He opened another folder.
Inside were printed emails.
One was addressed to Victoria.
Another was addressed to Derek.
The subject line read: Daniel's final transfer.
Evelyn felt cold.
“What's that?””
Thomas slid the email across the table.
Richard read it.
His expression changed.
“Where did you find this?””
“On an archived company server.””
The email was dated the day before Daniel's accident.
It contained a short message.
The original documents are still with him. If he gets them to the bank, the entire arrangement collapses.
There was no sender name visible on the printed copy.
Only an encrypted account identifier.
Thomas continued.
“I spent three years trying to recover the original archive. I finally got access last week.””
Richard stared at him.
“Why didn't you contact me?””
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.””
Richard looked wounded.
“You could have trusted me.””
Thomas gave a bitter laugh.
“Could I?””
Evelyn looked between them.
“Uncle Thomas, what exactly are you saying?””
Thomas closed the folder.
“I'm saying that your father's accident may have been connected to the missing trust documents.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Do you have proof?””
“Not yet.””
“Then why are you here?””
Thomas looked at Evelyn.
“Because I have something that belongs to you.””
He opened the second compartment of his briefcase.
Inside was a small silver key.
Evelyn recognized it.
It was identical to the key her father had once kept on his keychain.
Her eyes widened.
“That's Dad's.””
Thomas nodded.
“He gave it to me the night before the accident.””
Richard stepped closer.
“What does it open?””
“An old safety deposit box.””
Evelyn stared at him.
“Where?””
“First National Bank, Manhattan.””
Richard looked at the key.
“Why didn't you open it?””
Thomas's expression became uncomfortable.
“Because Daniel left instructions.””
“What instructions?””
Thomas turned toward Evelyn.
“Only you can open it.””
Evelyn looked down at her hands.
“Why me?””
“Because he didn't trust anyone else with what was inside.””
Victoria suddenly moved toward the table.
“Give me that key.””
Thomas pulled it away.
“No.””
“Thomas, you don't understand what you're doing.””
“I understand perfectly.””
“You'll destroy this family!””
Thomas looked at her.
“You helped destroy it three years ago.””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“Everything I did was to protect Brianna.””
Brianna looked up.
“Mom, what does that mean?””
Victoria turned toward her.
“Not now.””
“Why does everyone keep saying that? What happened before I got married?””
Alexander moved beside Brianna.
“I'd like to know too.””
Thomas closed his briefcase.
“Maybe it's time everyone stopped hiding behind the word family.””
Richard looked at his son.
“Can you prove that the accident was deliberate?””
Thomas hesitated.
“Not yet.””
“Then what do you have?””
Thomas removed one final photograph.
It showed Daniel's damaged car.
The image had been taken at the impound yard.
The front end was destroyed.
The driver's side door was crushed.
But Thomas pointed toward the rear wheel.
“Look there.””
Richard leaned closer.
A small mechanical component had been circled in red.
“What is that?””
“A brake-line fitting.””
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
Thomas continued.
“The official report said the vehicle lost control because of wet road conditions. But an independent mechanic found signs of possible interference with the braking system.””
Richard's face went pale.
“Who was the mechanic?””
Thomas looked toward the door.
“He's outside.””
A moment later, a man in his sixties entered the ballroom.
He wore a dark jacket and carried a worn leather folder.
Thomas introduced him.
“This is Harold Bennett. He examined Daniel's car before the insurance company destroyed the remaining evidence.””
Harold nodded respectfully.
“Mr. Carter.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Did someone tamper with my son's vehicle?””
Harold opened his folder.
“I can't say who did it. But I can say the damage was inconsistent with a simple mechanical failure.””
Evelyn felt her stomach tighten.
“Could someone have caused the accident?””
Harold looked at her.
“Yes.””
The room fell silent.
Then Alexander spoke.
“Are you saying someone tried to kill Daniel?””
Harold nodded slowly.
“It's one possibility that should have been investigated.””
Richard closed his eyes.
For a moment, the powerful businessman looked like an old father who had just realized he might have failed his child.
Evelyn reached for his hand.
“Grandpa.””
He looked at her.
“I should have looked harder.””
“You didn't know.””
“I should have.””
Thomas looked away.
Victoria suddenly began walking toward the exit.
Marcus noticed.
“Where are you going?””
“Home.””
“Not yet.””
Victoria turned.
“You cannot tell me where I can go.””
Marcus stepped aside but kept his eyes on her.
“Then don't run.””
Victoria glared at him.
She reached for her handbag.
A small envelope slipped from the side pocket and fell onto the marble floor.
Brianna bent down and picked it up.
“Mom?””
Victoria reached for it.
“Give me that.””
Brianna looked at the front.
Her face changed.
The envelope was addressed to her.
In her mother's handwriting.
She opened it.
Inside was a hospital appointment card.
A prenatal laboratory appointment.
The date was nearly eight months earlier.
Brianna stared at it.
“Mom... why do you have this?””
Victoria tried to take it.
Brianna pulled it away.
“What is this?””
Thomas looked at the card.
Then at Victoria.
“That's interesting.””
Alexander took the card from Brianna.
He read the date.
Then he looked at the paternity report.
“This was before our wedding.””
Brianna began shaking her head.
“Alex, I can explain.””
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
“What did you know before we got married?””
Brianna looked toward her mother.
Victoria's face had gone completely white.
Thomas slowly closed his briefcase.
Then he said the words that made Alexander step backward.
“Your wife didn't just hide the possibility that another man fathered her child.””
May you like
He paused.
“She knew about the pregnancy before she agreed to marry you.””
