Chapter 7 - The FireEmergency lights flickered on.
Everyone stared at their phones.
My mother was shaking.
“Who sent that?”
“No idea,” I said.
Evelyn looked at me.
“You do.”
I shook my head.
But deep down, I knew.
The message had come from Noah.
And whoever Noah was, he knew things my father had never managed to tell us.
We left the restaurant through the service entrance.
Outside, the night was cold.
My Mustang sat beneath the streetlight.
Sage walked toward it slowly.
She touched the hood.
“This is really mine?”
I smiled.
“It’s really yours.”
She swallowed.
“I don’t care about the car.”
“I know.”
“I care about Grandpa.”
That hurt.
I pulled her into a hug.
“I know.”
She whispered against my shoulder.
“Why did everyone lie?”
“Because people are afraid of what happens when the truth costs them something.”
Behind us, my mother watched.
For once, she looked small.
At home, we opened the final video file.
My father appeared again.
This time he was standing inside an old warehouse.
“This building belonged to my father,” he said.
The image shifted.
A metal box sat on the floor.
“The night of the fire, I was here.”
My breath caught.
“My brother Daniel had discovered documents showing that our father had hidden assets from his business partners.”
My mother looked away.
Robert continued.
“I thought the danger was financial.”
The video cut.
“My father warned me never to investigate.”
Cut.
“Daniel investigated anyway.”
Cut.
“Then the fire happened.”
I stared at the screen.
“My brother was found outside.”
Alive.
I froze.
“What?”
My mother whispered:
“He survived.”
The video continued.
“Daniel survived the fire.”
My heart raced.
“But he disappeared afterward.”
The next frame showed a handwritten note.
DANIEL DID NOT DIE.
Evelyn stood.
“I knew.”
“What?”
“Robert found him.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don't know.”
My mother suddenly laughed.
It wasn't a normal laugh.
It was broken.
“You think Daniel is Noah?”
I turned.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Noah was Daniel’s son.”
The room went silent.
My father’s secret had multiplied.
Daniel, my father’s brother, had a son.
Noah.
That meant Noah was my cousin.
And he was also connected to the trust as a descendant of the family branch my grandmother had erased.
Sage stared at me.
“He’s family.”
“Yes.”
“Then why is Grandma afraid of him?”
My mother whispered:
“Because Daniel found the second ledger.”
“What second ledger?”
She looked at me.
“The one your father never found.”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“Where is it?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“In the old house.”
“What old house?”
“My father’s farm.”
That farm had been sold before I was born.
At least, that was what I believed.
I searched property records.
The parcel still existed.
The deed had never transferred.
It belonged to a holding company.
A company whose registered agent was my grandmother.
Michael stared at the screen.
“She lied about the farm too.”
I called the number on Noah’s card.
He answered immediately.
“You found it.”
“The farm?”
“Yes.”
“What is there?”
“A ledger.”
“What else?”
Silence.
Then:
“A grave.”
My stomach dropped.
“Whose?”
Noah’s voice became quiet.
“Your grandfather’s.”
“But he died in a hospital.”
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
He paused.
“Your grandfather died twice.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Sage whispered:
“Mom?”
I looked toward the window.
A black SUV sat across the street.
May you like
Its headlights were off.
And someone inside was watching our house.
