Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH ABOUT BRENDAThe federal agents secured the factory.
Don was taken to a hospital.
Maria survived the shooting.
But Kane escaped.
Shawn couldn't stop thinking about what he had said.
Brenda was his sister.
Or was she?
Evelyn found him outside the hospital.
“It's true.”
Shawn looked at her.
“What?”
“Brenda is Kane's biological daughter.”
“How?”
“Kane had an affair with Maria's sister.”
Shawn frowned.
“My mother?”
“No.”
“My father?”
“No.”
“Then why did she live with us?”
“Because Don protected her too.”
Shawn closed his eyes.
His whole family history was built on lies.
Evelyn continued.
“Brenda was five when Kane first realized she could be useful.”
“She worked for him.”
“He threatened her child.”
“And she helped him.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she begged me not to.”
Shawn stared through the hospital window.
“Where is she?”
“She disappeared.”
Shawn turned.
“What?”
“She left before dawn.”
A nurse approached.
“There was someone asking for you.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn't give her name.”
“Where?”
“She left this.”
The nurse handed him an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Brenda's daughter.
And another image.
Kane.
A message was written on the back.
HE HAS HER.
Shawn looked at Evelyn.
“Kane took her.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Then we find him.”
“But where?”
Evelyn pointed to the photograph.
“There.”
Shawn looked closely.
Behind the little girl was a building.
A red sign.
MERCER TEXTILES.
An abandoned textile plant outside town.
They drove there.
The building was empty.
Except for one room.
A light flickered beneath a steel door.
Shawn entered.
A chair sat in the center.
Nobody was inside.
A speaker crackled.
Kane's voice.
“You're getting closer.”
Shawn looked around.
“Where's the girl?”
“Safe.”
“Let her go.”
“Give me the final trust.”
“I don't have it.”
“You do.”
Shawn frowned.
A video appeared on the wall.
Brenda sitting in a room.
She looked exhausted.
Kane stood behind her.
“Tell him.”
Brenda stared at the camera.
“Shawn…”
“Where is the trust?”
“Under the house.”
Shawn froze.
The Miller house had been destroyed.
“Where?”
“Under the original foundation.”
Kane smiled.
“Your grandfather built a second vault beneath the first.”
Shawn looked at Evelyn.
She nodded.
“He did.”
“But it's gone.”
“No.”
She looked toward him.
“The house collapsed around it.”
“So we go back.”
They returned to the ruins.
Snow covered the wreckage.
Shawn found the old cellar staircase.
Beneath the rubble was a steel hatch.
The brass key opened it.
They descended.
The vault was untouched.
Inside were boxes.
Cash.
Gold.
Documents.
And one final recording.
Shawn pressed play.
His grandfather's voice filled the room.
“My dear grandson.”
Shawn's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew Kane would come for you.”
The recording continued.
“You must never trust anyone completely. Not your father. Not Maria. And not even your sister.”
Brenda's name made Shawn look at Evelyn.
His grandfather continued.
“Brenda is not your sister by blood.”
Shawn closed his eyes.
“I allowed the lie because it was safer.”
Then the recording changed tone.
“There is something else.”
A pause.
“Kane did not kill your mother.”
Shawn froze.
“Evelyn is alive because someone else saved her.”
The recording ended.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a photograph.
Three people.
Thomas Miller.
Evelyn.
And another man.
Shawn recognized him.
Don.
But the date was from before Shawn was born.
Written beneath the photograph:
THE FOURTH PARTNER.
Shawn stared.
“Four?”
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
“Your grandfather.”
“Evelyn.”
“Don.”
“Kane.”
“And the fourth.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“The man who runs everything.”
Before Shawn could ask, the vault lights turned red.
A timer appeared.
03:00
Evelyn grabbed him.
“We have to go.”
“Who is the fourth partner?”
She looked terrified.
“Your uncle.”
“Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“But he's dead.”
“No.”
“He died four years ago.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“That was Kane's story.”
The timer reached 02:21.
Then a phone began ringing inside the vault.
Shawn answered.
May you like
A man's voice spoke.
“Hello, nephew.”
