Chapter 7 - Daniel Reed Was Supposed to Be DeadMichael spent the next six hours destroying the life he thought he knew.
He searched every file.
Every archive.
Every old family document.
Daniel Reed's death certificate said he had died eleven years ago.
The accident report said his car had gone over a cliff.
No body had ever been recovered.
Michael had never questioned it.
Why would he?
His father attended the funeral.
Evelyn cried beside him.
Everyone said Daniel was dead.
But now a photograph had appeared.
Recent enough to show Daniel older.
Alive.
And standing beside his mother.
Michael drove to the location listed on the old accident report.
It was a stretch of mountain road nearly three hours outside the city.
Nothing remained except a rusted guardrail.
He found the retired sheriff who had investigated the accident.
The old man looked at him for a long time.
"You look exactly like your father."
Michael placed the photograph on the table.
The sheriff stared.
"Where did you get this?"
"In my house."
The sheriff leaned back.
"You need to leave."
Michael's voice hardened.
"Was Daniel Reed ever confirmed dead?"
"No."
Michael stared.
"What?"
"There was no body."
"Then why was he declared dead?"
The sheriff sighed.
"Someone identified personal effects."
"Who?"
"Evelyn Bennett."
Michael's blood turned cold.
The sheriff looked toward the window.
"Your mother came to me two days after the crash."
"What did she say?"
"She said Daniel had been afraid of someone."
"Who?"
The sheriff shook his head.
"She wouldn't say."
Michael placed another photo on the table.
A picture of Daniel and Evelyn.
The sheriff closed his eyes.
"He's alive."
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because two weeks after the accident, your father came to see me."
Michael froze.
"My father?"
"He told me to close the file."
"Why?"
The sheriff looked directly at him.
"Because Daniel wasn't the only person in danger."
Michael felt a cold pressure in his chest.
"Who else?"
The sheriff answered:
"Your mother."
Michael returned home before sunset.
Olivia was waiting.
Ethan was asleep.
She stood in the kitchen holding another envelope.
"I found this inside your father's study."
Michael opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Daniel's handwriting.
Evelyn,
If Michael ever discovers the truth, you must tell him everything.
Not part of it.
Everything.
The child is not the reason I disappeared.
Michael read the next line.
His hands began to shake.
I disappeared because your husband tried to have me killed.
Michael looked up.
Olivia stared at him.
"Your father?"
Michael kept reading.
And if he is still alive...
The sentence ended there.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
Then the doorbell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Michael opened the door.
No one stood outside.
Only a cardboard box.
Inside was a phone.
The screen lit up.
A video began playing.
Daniel Reed looked into the camera.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
May you like
His first words were:
"Michael, your mother is not the person you think she is."
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