Chapter 9 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadDaniel thought the anonymous caller was trying to manipulate me.
I wanted to believe him.
Then investigators found old records.
Six years earlier, my father had supposedly died in a private hospital after complications from surgery.
But the hospital record contained a discrepancy.
The attending physician had signed two versions.
One stated death occurred at 3:14 a.m.
Another listed 4:02 a.m.
A death certificate amendment had been filed three weeks later.
The body had been cremated.
No independent identification had been completed.
I sat in silence.
“You think my father faked his death?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I think we need to verify everything.”
We contacted the physician.
He had retired.
But when he heard my father's name, he refused to speak.
That refusal was louder than an answer.
Meanwhile, the police discovered the vehicle connected to Skylar.
It had been abandoned outside a rural property.
Inside was one of her shoes.
Nothing else.
Then investigators found a trail camera nearby.
The footage showed Skylar entering the property.
She was walking beside Brandon.
No restraints.
No visible injuries.
That confused everyone.
Then the footage showed another person.
An older man.
I couldn't see his face.
But I recognized the way he walked.
One hand slightly lowered.
Right shoulder tilted.
My father had walked that way after an old injury.
I covered my mouth.
“It can't be.”
Daniel enlarged the image.
The face remained hidden.
But there was a moment when the man turned.
Just enough.
Enough to make me remember.
My father.
Alive.
We tracked the man's vehicle.
It led to an abandoned farmhouse.
Inside we found no one.
Only a kitchen table.
Two plates.
A child's cup.
And a note.
Charlotte, I am sorry.
I read the next line.
I never died. I disappeared because I discovered what Gertrude and Victor were doing.
My knees nearly gave out.
The letter explained that my father had uncovered a network targeting vulnerable property owners.
He had tried to expose it.
Then someone threatened his family.
Instead of fighting openly, he disappeared.
He believed the only way to keep me safe was to make everyone think he was dead.
But six years later, he had returned because Brandon had joined the same network.
My father had been watching.
Protecting me from a distance.
Until Skylar was kidnapped.
Then he intervened.
The letter ended with:
Skylar is with me. She is safe. But we have very little time.
I collapsed into the nearest chair.
My daughter was alive.
With my father.
Then the final sentence changed everything.
Your husband is not the villain you think he is.
I stared at it.
Daniel said:
“That's impossible.”
But the letter continued.
Brandon agreed to help Victor because he believed it was the only way to get Skylar away from the network. He sabotaged some transactions so you would discover them.
I shook my head.
“No.”
The instant noodles.
The dinner.
The cards.
The threats.
All of it.
Could Brandon really have been playing both sides?
I didn't know anymore.
Then another page slipped out of the envelope.
A photograph.
Skylar.
My father.
Brandon.
Together.
Taken three days earlier.
They weren't enemies.
They were working together.
On the back of the photo was one sentence.
We need you to trust us for forty-eight hours.
I stared at the photograph.
Then my phone rang.
Brandon.
From jail.
I answered.
His voice was barely audible.
“Charlotte.”
“Where's Skylar?”
“She’s with your father.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Victor had someone inside the police department.”
I froze.
“What?”
Brandon whispered:
“There's an informant.”
Then the line suddenly went silent.
Someone had entered the interrogation room.
A minute later, the investigator came rushing toward me.
“Charlotte.”
“What happened?”
His face was pale.
“Brandon has been transferred.”
“Transferred where?”
He didn't answer.
He handed me a document.
The transfer order had been signed by a senior officer.
But there was one problem.
The officer didn't exist.
May you like
Someone had forged the transfer.
And Brandon was gone.
