Chapter 3: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nobody spoke.
Naomi stared at James.
“Say that again.””
James looked uncomfortable.
“There's a man downstairs. He gave the attorney his identification. He says his name is Daniel Carter.””
Naomi shook her head.
“No.””
Edward stepped toward her.
“Naomi…”
“No. My father is dead.””
Her voice grew louder.
“I saw his photograph at the funeral. I watched them lower the casket. I remember the flowers. I remember everyone telling me he was gone.””
Edward didn't try to interrupt.
Daniel Reed stood near the doorway, visibly shaken.
“Could it be someone pretending to be him?””
James shook his head.
“The attorney says the man has documents and a medical identification record.””
Naomi looked toward the door.
“Take me to him.””
Edward hesitated.
“Are you sure?””
“No,” she whispered.
“But I need to know.””
He nodded.
James opened the door.
The three of them moved back toward the ballroom.
The party had become a courtroom without a judge.
Guests stood in small groups, whispering. Several had already taken out their phones, although James's security team was asking them to put the devices away.
The orchestra had stopped playing.
The champagne glasses remained untouched.
At the center of the ballroom stood Victoria.
She was speaking urgently to a gray-haired man in a navy suit.
Beside them stood a stranger.
He was tall and lean, with short silvering hair and a faint scar near his left temple.
He wore a dark overcoat over a simple gray suit.
His face was older than the photographs Naomi remembered.
But his eyes—
Those eyes were unmistakable.
Naomi's breath caught.
The stranger turned.
Their gazes met.
For one impossible second, the entire ballroom seemed to disappear.
“Naomi?””
The voice was rougher than she remembered.
But it was his.
She gripped the armrests of her wheelchair.
“Daddy?””
The man took one step toward her.
Then another.
He stopped a few feet away, as though afraid that getting closer might frighten her.
“It's me, sweetheart.””
Naomi began crying.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
Seven years of grief came rushing out of her.
She covered her mouth with both hands.
“You're alive?””
Daniel Carter nodded.
“I am.””
Naomi stared at his face.
“Why didn't you come home?””
His expression crumpled.
“I tried.””
“Why didn't you call me?””
“I couldn't.””
“You let me think you were dead!””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I know.””
Naomi shook her head.
“No. You don't know. You weren't there when I woke up.
You weren't there when they told me I would never walk again. You weren't there when I begged them to find you.””
Daniel lowered himself onto one knee.
“I know, sweetheart.””
He reached toward her hand but stopped before touching it.
“I wanted to come back every single day.””
Naomi looked at him.
“Then why didn't you?””
Daniel glanced toward Victoria.
The older woman immediately stepped forward.
“This is absurd. Edward, you cannot seriously believe this performance.””
Daniel slowly stood.
“Hello, Victoria.””
Victoria's jaw tightened.
“You should be dead.””
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The ballroom fell silent.
Daniel looked at her.
“That's an interesting greeting for someone who spent seven years telling people she had no idea what happened to me.””
Victoria recovered quickly.
“I mean, we were told you were dead.””
“You were told?””
Daniel reached into his coat and removed a folded document.
“Or did you tell everyone?””
Edward stepped forward.
“Victoria, I want you to explain yourself.””
She laughed sharply.
“I have nothing to explain. This man is clearly disturbed.””
Daniel placed the document on a nearby table.
“Then perhaps you'd like to explain this.””
It was a police statement dated seven years earlier.
Naomi leaned forward.
The name of the reporting witness was clearly visible.
Victoria Whitmore.
Underneath it was a declaration stating that Daniel Carter had died in a vehicle fire.
But the document contained another detail.
The body had never been positively identified.
Naomi looked up.
“You told everyone he was dead without identifying the body?””
Victoria's face tightened.
“Your father was involved in dangerous business dealings. I was trying to protect this family.””
“From what?”” Daniel asked.
“From you!””
The answer came too quickly.
Edward's cane struck the floor.
“Enough.””
Victoria turned toward him.
“You want the truth? Fine. Daniel was destroying everything we built. He was threatening to expose the company's financial structure, and he was dragging everyone into his paranoia.””
Daniel stared at her.
“I found $18 million transferred into accounts controlled by companies you created.””
Victoria's face changed.
“You cannot prove that.””
Daniel removed a second document.
“I can.””
He handed it to Edward.
The patriarch studied the pages.
His expression hardened.
“Victoria…”
She stepped backward.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
Victoria's voice became desperate.
“Daniel was going to ruin us. He wanted to take control of the company. He wanted to leave you with nothing.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I wanted to stop you from stealing from your own family.””
Brianna, who had been standing near the staircase, suddenly stepped forward.
“This has nothing to do with me.””
Everyone turned.
Her gold gown still sparkled beneath the chandeliers, but her face looked completely different now.
The confidence was gone.
She had one hand over her stomach.
Daniel Reed looked at her.
“Actually, I think it has everything to do with you.””
Brianna shook her head.
“Daniel, please. We can discuss the baby privately.””
He lifted the paternity report.
“I've been discussing this baby with you for months. Every doctor's appointment. Every ultrasound. Every time I bought something for the nursery.””
His voice trembled.
“I was planning to raise a child I believed was mine.””
Brianna looked toward Victoria.
“Mom, say something!””
Victoria remained silent.
Daniel Reed continued.
“Who is the man in those pictures?””
Brianna's lips parted.
“He's nobody.””
“Then why does the report say the probability that I'm the biological father is zero?””
Brianna began crying.
“It's complicated.””
Daniel laughed without humor.
“No. It's a yes-or-no question.””
She looked toward the ballroom doors.
For a moment, Naomi thought she might run.
Instead, Brianna turned toward Victoria.
“You promised me this would never come out.””
The words echoed across the ballroom.
Edward's expression changed.
“What did you just say?””
Brianna froze.
Victoria grabbed her arm.
“Stop talking.””
But it was too late.
Daniel Reed stepped closer.
“What did she promise you?””
Brianna pulled away.
“You told me the documents were destroyed! You said nobody could trace the hotel payments!””
Naomi looked at her.
“The hotel payments?””
Brianna's eyes darted around the room.
Victoria's face had become almost expressionless.
“Brianna,” she said quietly, “think very carefully about what you're doing.””
But Brianna was already unraveling.
“You made me do it!””
Victoria slapped her.
The sound cracked through the ballroom.
A woman near the fireplace gasped.
Edward moved forward, but Daniel Carter raised a hand.
“Don't.””
He turned toward Victoria.
“Let her speak.””
Brianna held her cheek.
“You told me the company would be mine. You told me Daniel Reed was the perfect husband because he had the right connections. You said the baby would make sure Edward never questioned us again.””
Daniel Reed stared at her.
“Make sure?””
Brianna lowered her eyes.
Victoria's voice became dangerously calm.
“Not another word.””
Daniel Carter reached into his coat again.
This time, he produced a small digital recorder.
“I think we should all listen to what happened seven years ago.””
Victoria went completely still.
Edward stared at the device.
“Is that the recording your letter mentioned?””
Daniel nodded.
“Part of it.””
Naomi's eyes widened.
“Where did you get it?””
“From the bank. Your father and I arranged for it to be stored with the original documents.””
He looked at her.
“I was supposed to give it to you when you turned twenty-one.””
Naomi swallowed.
“Why didn't you?””
Daniel's face darkened.
“Because I couldn't reach you.””
He pressed a button.
A burst of static filled the room.
Then a woman's voice emerged.
Victoria's voice.
Clear.
Unmistakable.
“The girl is already in the car. Don't worry about her. By tomorrow, everyone will believe Daniel was responsible.””
Naomi stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
A man's voice answered.
“And what about the father?””
Victoria replied.
“Make sure he never reaches the police.””
A sharp metallic sound followed.
Then the recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Edward looked as if someone had struck him.
Daniel Reed slowly turned toward Brianna.
Victoria stared at the recorder.
Her carefully constructed composure finally shattered.
“You have no idea what you're doing,” she whispered.
Daniel Carter stepped closer.
“Oh, I think I do.””
He looked at Naomi.
“There's one more thing you need to know.””
Naomi wiped her tears.
“What?””
Daniel took a breath.
“The accident that put you in that wheelchair wasn't supposed to happen to you.””
The room went silent again.
Naomi stared at her father.
“What are you saying?””
Daniel looked toward Victoria.
“She wasn't supposed to be in that car.””
Naomi's hands began trembling.
“Who was?””
Daniel's eyes moved toward Brianna.
And for the first time that night, Brianna looked genuinely terrified.
Because she knew the answer.
May you like
And she knew that the next recording contained her own voice.
*It contained the words she had spoken before the accident—and the reason Naomi had been in that car in the first place.*
