Chapter 6: The Man Who Changed the Passenger List
The fire alarm continued to scream.
Guests crowded toward the ballroom exits while security officers moved in the opposite direction, trying to keep everyone away from the main entrance.
Naomi looked at the folded note in her hand.
Ask about Brianna.
She read it again.
Then she looked up.
“Where's my father?””
Edward gripped the handle of his cane.
“James!””
The assistant hurried over.
“Sir?””
“Find Daniel Carter. Lock down the building.””
James spoke into his radio.
“Security team, report to the east and west corridors. Locate Mr. Carter immediately.””
Naomi looked toward the staircase.
“Who left this note?””
Edward examined it.
“I don't know.””
“It was placed beside my wheelchair.””
“Someone wanted you to find it.””
Naomi turned toward Brianna.
The young woman stood near the fireplace, trembling.
“Brianna, what does this mean?””
Brianna shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I'm not!””
Naomi held up the note.
“Why does it say your name?””
Brianna looked at Victoria.
Her mother was no longer beside her.
Naomi followed her gaze.
Victoria had disappeared.
“Where is she?”” Naomi asked.
James turned toward the ballroom doors.
“Sir, Mrs. Whitmore is not in the building.””
Edward's face darkened.
“Find her.””
Daniel Reed approached Naomi.
“I'm going with the security team.””
She nodded.
“Find my father.””
Daniel paused.
“Naomi, listen. If Victoria is involved in this, she may have someone waiting outside.””
“I don't care.””
“You should.””
Naomi looked at him.
“I've spent seven years believing my father was dead. I'm not losing him again.””
Daniel nodded.
Then he disappeared through the double doors.
Edward moved beside her.
“We'll find him.””
Naomi looked down at the note.
“Edward, I need you to tell me something.””
“Anything.””
“Why was Brianna supposed to be in the car?””
Edward didn't answer.
Naomi raised her eyes.
“You knew something.””
The old patriarch lowered himself into a nearby chair.
“I knew your father had arranged a meeting with Brianna.””
Naomi stared.
“Why?””
“Because Brianna had discovered something about Victoria's financial dealings.””
Naomi frowned.
“She was helping my father?””
Edward nodded slowly.
“Initially, yes.””
Naomi looked toward the empty doorway.
“Then what happened?””
Edward took a breath.
“Brianna was working as an assistant in the company's legal department. She found several transactions that didn't match the official records. She contacted Daniel and agreed to meet him.””
Naomi's expression hardened.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because the meeting ended with your father missing and you in the hospital.””
Edward looked down.
“And because I was told Brianna had died.””
Naomi froze.
“What?””
Edward nodded.
“Victoria claimed Brianna had been involved in the accident. She said the police couldn't locate her after the fire.””
Naomi stared at him.
“But she's standing right there.””
Edward looked toward the fireplace.
Brianna had moved away.
She was speaking to one of the waiters near the service corridor.
Naomi noticed something.
The waiter handed her a small object.
Brianna slipped it into her purse.
“Brianna!””
The young woman spun around.
“What?””
“What did he give you?””
“Nothing.””
Naomi looked toward the waiter.
He immediately walked away.
James returned and blocked the corridor.
“Miss Brianna, please remain here.””
She raised her voice.
“You cannot detain me!””
“No one is detaining you. We simply need to speak with you.””
Brianna laughed nervously.
“You people are unbelievable.””
Naomi looked at her.
“Seven years ago, you were supposed to meet my father. What happened?””
Brianna's expression changed.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she looked at Victoria's empty chair.
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
“Your father had proof that my mother was stealing from the company.””
Naomi nodded.
“I know.””
“No. You don't understand. Mom told me she would go to prison. She said the whole family would lose everything.””
“So you helped her?””
Brianna shook her head.
“I tried to stop her.””
Naomi's voice sharpened.
“Then why were you involved in the car?””
Brianna looked toward the windows.
“I was supposed to get into the car with you.””
“Why?””
“Because your father had a copy of the trust agreement. He wanted me to bring it to the meeting.””
Naomi frowned.
“What trust agreement?””
Brianna hesitated.
“The one that gave you control of the company shares.””
Naomi looked at Edward.
He nodded.
Brianna continued.
“Mom wanted me to take the agreement before Daniel could show it to Edward. She said it was just a matter of signing a few documents.””
“And the accident?””
Brianna began crying.
“I wasn't supposed to be there when it happened.””
Naomi leaned forward.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
Brianna looked at her.
“Your father called me that night. He said he had discovered that Mom was using your inheritance to finance another company. He wanted me to bring the original documents to him.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“An underground parking garage near the medical center.””
Naomi felt her stomach tighten.
The same parking garage from the footage.
Brianna continued.
“When I arrived, Victoria was already there. She told me you had changed the meeting location. Then she told me to wait in the car.””
Naomi's fingers tightened around the armrests.
“You knew I was there?””
Brianna nodded.
“I saw you.””
“And you left me?””
Brianna started sobbing.
“I thought Mom would just scare you. I didn't know she would tell Marcus to drive away with you inside.””
Naomi stared at her.
“Why didn't you call the police?””
Brianna wiped her face.
“Because Mom showed me something.””
“What?””
“A document.””
Naomi waited.
Brianna lowered her voice.
“An adoption record.””
Edward straightened.
“What adoption record?””
Brianna looked toward him.
“She told me Naomi wasn't Daniel's biological daughter.””
The words landed heavily.
Naomi blinked.
“What?””
Brianna continued.
“Mom said your father had been lying about your identity. She said you were adopted and that the inheritance wasn't legally yours.””
Naomi looked at Edward.
He appeared genuinely shocked.
“That's impossible.””
Brianna shrugged helplessly.
“That's what she told me.””
Naomi shook her head.
“My father raised me. He never mentioned an adoption.””
Edward stood.
“Because there wasn't one.””
Brianna looked at him.
“How do you know?””
Edward's expression became complicated.
“Because I was there when Daniel brought you home from the hospital.””
Naomi's eyes filled.
“Then why would Victoria say that?””
Edward looked toward the empty doorway.
“Because she wanted Brianna to believe she had a legal reason to help her.””
Naomi stared at the note.
Ask about Brianna.
Suddenly, the message seemed more complicated.
Someone wanted Naomi to question the young woman.
But why?
Before she could ask, James returned.
“Mr. Whitmore, we found something.””
Edward turned.
“What?””
“A vehicle is parked outside the loading entrance. The license plate belongs to Marcus Bell.””
Naomi's heart began racing.
“Is my father inside?””
James shook his head.
“No. But we found his coat in the back seat.””
Edward gripped his cane.
“Take me there.””
Naomi insisted on following.
James pushed her wheelchair through the service corridor while Edward walked beside them.
The corridor smelled of cleaning chemicals and damp concrete. The fire alarm had finally stopped, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence.
They reached the loading entrance.
A black sedan stood beneath a security light.
Its rear door was open.
Inside lay Daniel Carter's dark overcoat.
Naomi immediately recognized the small tear near the left sleeve.
Her father had caught it on a metal railing during their last family vacation.
She reached toward it.
“That's his.””
James examined the front seats.
“There is something else.””
He pointed toward the passenger seat.
A small envelope lay beneath a folded newspaper.
Edward picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Naomi recognized herself.
It had been taken outside the rehabilitation center six years earlier.
She was sitting in her wheelchair beside a nurse.
Someone had circled her face in red ink.
On the back was a handwritten message.
She must never learn who paid for her treatment.
Naomi looked at Edward.
“What does this mean?””
Edward stared at the photograph.
Then he looked toward James.
“Call the police.””
James nodded.
Naomi's voice trembled.
“Edward?””
He didn't answer.
“Who paid for my treatment?””
Edward finally looked at her.
“Your father did.””
Naomi frowned.
“But he was supposed to be dead.””
Edward closed his eyes.
“He wasn't the only person who knew you were alive.””
Naomi felt cold.
“Who else knew?””
Edward looked toward the sedan.
“The man who arranged the accident.””
A noise came from the other side of the loading bay.
James immediately turned.
“Who's there?””
A figure stepped out from behind a parked delivery truck.
It was Marcus Bell.
He was older now, with a gray beard and a deep scar running from his cheek toward his jaw.
His hands were raised.
“Don't shoot,” he said.
Edward stepped forward.
“Marcus.””
The former driver looked at Naomi.
Then he looked at the photograph in her hand.
“I didn't know they were going to take you.””
Naomi's voice shook.
“You were driving the car?””
Marcus nodded.
“I was told to take you somewhere safe.””
“Safe?””
He lowered his eyes.
“I was supposed to leave you at a private clinic. Your mother—”
Naomi froze.
“My mother?””
Marcus looked confused.
Then he seemed to realize what he had said.
Edward's cane struck the concrete.
“Marcus. Choose your next words carefully.””
Marcus took a shaky breath.
“Victoria wasn't the only person who arranged that night.””
Naomi stared at him.
“What are you saying?””
Marcus looked directly at her.
“Your biological mother was there.””
Naomi's mouth went dry.
“My mother died when I was a baby.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No, Miss Carter.””
He looked toward the dark corridor.
“Your mother is alive.””
And before anyone could ask another question, a car engine roared outside.
Marcus turned toward the sound.
His face filled with terror.
“Get down!””
A black SUV burst through the loading entrance.
James lunged toward Naomi's wheelchair.
Edward shouted her name.
The vehicle slammed into the parked sedan, sending metal crashing against concrete.
When the smoke cleared, Marcus was gone.
And on the floor where he had been standing lay a second photograph.
This one showed a young woman holding a newborn baby.
May you like
On the back, in faded handwriting, were four words:
*Naomi. Her real mother.*
