Chapter 6: The Brother Who Knew Too Much
Andre didn't move for several seconds after the call ended.
Detective Harris watched him carefully.
"What did your brother mean by that?""
Andre stared at the phone.
"I don't know.""
It was the truth, but it sounded like a lie.
Darius had always been the person Andre called when a business deal went wrong, when an investor threatened to walk away, or when he needed someone who understood the pressure of carrying a family name.
They had grown up in a modest house in Atlanta, where their mother worked double shifts as a nurse and their father repaired commercial air-conditioning systems.
Darius, three years older, had been the responsible one.
He helped Andre with homework. He taught him to drive. When their father died, Darius handled the funeral arrangements while Andre sat beside their mother, unable to speak.
For years, Andre had believed that no matter what happened, his brother would never betray him.
Now Darius had just implied that his unborn child was part of a secret he didn't understand.
"Detective," Andre said, "I want to see the original envelope opened.""
Harris shook his head.
"That's evidence. We need to document it properly and determine who has legal authority to review its contents.""
"I'm her husband.""
"I understand, but that doesn't mean you can take possession of evidence recovered during an active investigation.""
Andre's jaw tightened.
"Then how long am I supposed to wait while my wife lies unconscious and my brother tells me my baby shouldn't have been born?""
"We're moving as quickly as we can.""
Andre looked down at the sealed envelope.
"Then tell me what happens next.""
Harris explained that the evidence team would examine the documents, verify signatures, and investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspected poisoning. They would also seek the relevant financial records and determine whether the trust amendment had been submitted fraudulently.
Andre listened, but his thoughts kept returning to Darius's final sentence.
Why Camilla was never supposed to have that baby.
He left the penthouse with an officer and returned to the hospital.
Zoe was awake when he arrived. She sat beside Camilla's room, drawing a picture with colored pencils.
She had drawn three people holding hands beneath a yellow sun.
Andre crouched beside her.
"That's beautiful, sweetheart.""
Zoe pointed to the picture.
"That's Mommy. That's you. That's me.""
"And who's this?""
She pointed to a tiny figure in a purple blanket.
"That's the baby.""
Andre smiled weakly.
"You made the baby very small.""
"I don't know how big the baby is.""
He brushed her curls away from her forehead.
"Neither do I, sweetheart.""
Zoe looked up at him.
"Did you find the blue envelope?""
Andre's smile disappeared.
"Yes.""
"Does it tell us why Mommy got sick?""
"Not yet.""
Zoe lowered her pencil.
"Will Auntie Valeria go to jail?""
Andre took a breath.
"That's for the police and the courts to decide. Right now, they're trying to find out what happened.""
"But she hurt Mommy.""
"We don't know exactly what happened yet.""
Zoe looked toward the closed door.
"Mommy was scared of her.""
Andre didn't argue.
Instead, he pulled Zoe into his arms and held her until she rested her head against his shoulder.
A nurse approached a few minutes later.
"Mr. Mitchell, your wife is showing signs of increased responsiveness. The doctor would like you to remain nearby.""
Andre stood immediately.
"Can I see her?""
"Yes, but please keep the visit calm and follow the team's instructions.""
He guided Zoe into the room.
Camilla lay beneath a white blanket, her curls resting against the pillow. The oxygen support had been adjusted, and a nurse was checking the monitor.
Andre approached slowly.
"Hey, sweetheart.""
Camilla's eyelids fluttered.
"Andre?""
He took her hand.
"I'm here.""
Her eyes opened halfway. She looked at him, then toward Zoe.
"Mommy!"" Zoe cried.
The nurse gently reminded her to use a quiet voice.
Zoe stepped closer to the bed.
"I drew you a picture.""
Camilla's lips curved faintly.
"Pretty," she whispered.
Zoe placed the picture on the bedside table.
"That's our family. The baby is purple because I don't know what color the baby is yet.""
Camilla's eyes filled with tears.
Andre stroked her hand.
"You're going to get to meet the baby, sweetheart.""
Camilla turned her gaze toward him.
"Did you find it?""
"The envelope?""
She nodded.
"Yes. The police found it in a hidden compartment in my office.""
Camilla's expression tightened.
"Not that one.""
Andre leaned forward.
"Then which one?""
She struggled to speak, and the nurse reminded her to conserve her strength.
"Camilla, you don't have to explain everything right now," Andre said.
"Just tell me what I need to know to keep you safe.""
Her fingers trembled around his.
"Darius.""
Andre felt his stomach drop.
"What about him?""
Camilla looked toward the door, then back at her husband.
"He came here.""
"When?""
"Last week.""
Andre frowned.
"You told me he hadn't visited.""
"I didn't want you to know.""
"Why?""
Camilla swallowed.
"Because he asked me to sign something.""
Andre's mouth went dry.
"What?""
"A document about the baby.""
He stared at her.
"What document?""
Camilla closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength.
"He said it was a routine amendment to the family trust. He told me it would protect the baby if something happened to you.""
Andre gripped the bedrail.
"And you refused?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I found out he'd already submitted a version with my signature.""
Andre stared at her.
"Did you sign anything at all?""
Camilla shook her head.
"No. I never signed that amendment.""
Her voice broke.
"Andre, he had a copy of my signature from the documents we signed when we bought this apartment. He used it to make the new papers look real.""
Andre stepped back, stunned.
The fraudulent trust amendment had not been an isolated act.
Darius had been involved from the beginning.
"Why would he do that?"" Andre whispered.
Camilla's eyes filled with tears.
"Because he knew something about the baby.""
Andre bent closer.
"What could he possibly know?""
Camilla looked toward Zoe, who was standing beside the nurse.
"Can she go outside for a moment?""
Andre's chest tightened.
He didn't want secrets between his wife and daughter, but he could see the fear in Camilla's face.
He kissed Zoe's forehead.
"Sweetheart, could you wait with the nurse while Mommy and Daddy talk for a minute?""
Zoe hesitated.
"Is Mommy going to be okay?""
"We're going to keep helping her.""
The nurse led Zoe into the corridor.
Andre returned to Camilla's bedside.
"Tell me.""
Camilla took a shallow breath.
"When we found out I was pregnant, Darius came to see me alone. He told me that the family trust had a provision I didn't know about.""
"What provision?""
"If you died before the baby turned eighteen, the trustee could appoint a guardian and control the inheritance.""
Andre nodded slowly.
"I know that provision. It's standard in the old agreement.""
"But Darius said there was another condition. A condition added years ago, when your father was still alive.""
Andre shook his head.
"That isn't possible. I reviewed every version of the trust.""
"He told me the original document had been amended privately. He said the amendment could make the baby's inheritance dependent on a family designation.""
"What family designation?""
Camilla began crying.
"I don't know exactly. He wouldn't show me the original. He said it was in the blue envelope.""
Andre stared at her.
The hidden envelope in his office might not have been the document Darius wanted.
There could be another one.
"Why did he say the baby wasn't supposed to be born?""
Camilla gripped his hand.
"Because he told me that if the baby was a girl, the trust would pass to someone else.""
Andre's thoughts raced.
"The trust can't discriminate based on the baby's sex. That's not how it works.""
"That's what I told him.""
"Then what did he say?""
Camilla looked at him with desperate eyes.
"He said the baby wasn't yours.""
The room went silent.
Andre withdrew his hand.
For a moment, he could hear nothing but the soft beeping of the monitor.
"What?""
Camilla shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"He said he'd found evidence that the baby wasn't biologically yours. He told me you would abandon us if you knew.""
Andre stared at his wife.
"That's a lie.""
"I know.""
"Camilla, look at me. Is there anything you need to tell me?""
She shook her head desperately.
"No. Andre, I swear to you. I have never been with another man. I never betrayed you.""
He wanted to believe her.
He did believe her.
But he couldn't understand why Darius would invent something so devastating unless he believed it would help him gain control of the trust.
"Did he show you any evidence?""
Camilla nodded weakly.
"A laboratory report.""
Andre felt cold.
"What laboratory?""
"I don't remember the name. He said the test had been arranged before I even knew I was pregnant.""
"Did you see the original report?""
"No. He showed me a photograph on his phone.""
Andre looked toward the window.
He remembered the first prenatal appointment, when he had joked about ordering a DNA test because their baby might inherit Camilla's eyes and his stubbornness.
Camilla had laughed.
Darius had been there that evening.
He had laughed, too.
Now Andre wondered whether his brother had been waiting for that moment.
"Why didn't you tell me?"" he asked quietly.
"Because I knew it was a lie. I wanted proof before I brought it to you. I thought if I confronted him without evidence, he'd destroy everything.""
Andre sat beside her.
"You should have told me.""
"I was afraid.""
"Of Darius?""
"Of what he could do. He told me he had people watching the apartment. He knew when you traveled.
He knew when Zoe was at school. He knew every detail of our lives.""
Andre felt anger rise in his chest, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"Did Valeria know?""
Camilla hesitated.
"Yes.""
"How?""
"She was there when he showed me the report.""
Andre closed his eyes.
His brother and his wife's closest friend had apparently been working together to manipulate the family trust, forge signatures, and threaten Camilla.
But the question of the baby's paternity remained.
He looked at his wife.
"Did Darius ever say who he believed the father was?""
Camilla shook her head.
"No. He said I would find out when the original report was revealed.""
Andre stared at her.
Then his phone rang.
Marcus.
He answered immediately.
"André, we received the first preliminary findings from the document examiner. The trust amendment contains a signature that doesn't match the verified signature samples.""
"Can you identify who signed it?""
"Not yet. But there's another development. The laboratory name on the report Darius allegedly showed Camilla belongs to a facility that closed four years ago.""
Andre felt his heart pound.
"Then the report is fake.""
"Possibly. We need the original to confirm that. Andre, I also found a payment from the family trust to a private investigator six months ago. The payment was authorized using your digital signature.""
"Who was the investigator?""
"His name is on the invoice. A man named Raymond Cole.""
Andre looked at Camilla.
She was staring at him, terrified.
Marcus continued.
"The invoice includes a description of the assignment. It says, 'Verify the biological relationship between Andre Mitchell and the expected child.''"
Andre's grip tightened around the phone.
He had never hired an investigator.
He had never questioned whether the baby was his.
Someone had spent family money trying to manufacture doubt about his unborn child.
Then Marcus added one final sentence.
"The investigator's business records list Darius Mitchell as the person who requested the work.""
Andre looked at his wife.
Camilla began to cry.
He sat beside her and took her hand again.
"I believe you," he whispered.
She pressed his fingers to her cheek.
But before either of them could speak again, a nurse appeared at the door.
"Mr. Mitchell, I'm sorry. There's someone here asking to see your wife.""
Andre stood.
"Who?""
The nurse glanced at the name displayed on her tablet.
"Your brother.""
Andre's entire body went rigid.
"Tell him she can't receive visitors.""
"I already explained that, but he says he has something important to tell you.""
Andre moved toward the doorway.
"What?""
The nurse hesitated.
"He says the laboratory report was real.""
Andre stared at her.
Then he looked back at Camilla.
She was shaking her head, whispering the same words over and over.
"No. No. He can't have it. He can't have the original.""
Andre turned toward the corridor.
May you like
His brother was waiting outside the room.
And in his hand was a sealed white envelope bearing the name of the laboratory that had supposedly closed four years earlier.
