Chapter 11 - Melissa's BargainI found Melissa at a coffee shop in Scottsdale.
She looked exactly like the woman I had spent years imagining in my nightmares.
Calm.
Elegant.
Perfectly dressed.
She saw me walk in.
Instead of looking surprised, she smiled.
“I wondered when you'd come.”
I sat opposite her.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“About the USB?”
“Yes.”
“About my mother?”
“Yes.”
“About Richard?”
“Yes.”
I clenched my hands.
“Did you teach Jason and Alyssa to hate me?”
She looked down.
“I taught them to distrust you.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed Daniel afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Losing his children.”
“So you used them.”
“Yes.”
At least she was honest.
“Did you tell them lies?”
“Some.”
“Which ones?”
“That you were trying to replace me.”
“I never did.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because truth wasn't necessary.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“People believe what they're repeatedly told.”
My jaw tightened.
“You ruined my family.”
Melissa looked sad.
“No.”
“You did.”
“Richard did.”
I froze.
“You worked for him.”
“I did.”
“You still do?”
“No.”
“Then why protect him?”
“I don't.”
She leaned closer.
“I want the same thing you do.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
She took a small envelope from her purse.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
Richard Vale.
And another woman.
I knew her.
A woman from my childhood.
My mother's best friend.
“Who is she?”
Melissa whispered:
“Your real father.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“The woman in the photo is not your father's wife.”
I looked at the image again.
Melissa continued.
“Your father wasn't who you thought.”
“Who was he?”
She wrote a name on a napkin.
Thomas Vale.
Richard's older brother.
I stopped breathing.
“That's impossible.”
“He died twenty-two years ago.”
“My father died when I was six.”
“That's what they told you.”
I looked at her.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because Richard killed my daughter.”
The room went silent.
“Lily?”
Melissa nodded.
“You said she died before sunrise.”
“She did.”
“Richard killed her?”
“Not directly.”
“Then how?”
Melissa looked at the window.
“Lily was proof that Richard had ordered an illegal operation.”
“What operation?”
“Children's medical records.”
I frowned.
“He used vulnerable families to create false identities.”
“For what?”
“Financial transfers.”
I felt sick.
“Ethan?”
“Ethan was one of the children placed at risk.”
My hands trembled.
“Why?”
“Because someone needed a clean medical identity.”
“Whose?”
Melissa looked directly into my eyes.
“Yours.”
I stared at her.
“My identity?”
“Yes.”
“Why would anyone need my identity when I was a child?”
“Because your mother was hiding something.”
“What?”
Melissa leaned forward.
“Your mother knew Richard wasn't your father's real brother.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He was Thomas's biological son.”
I felt dizzy.
“Then Richard isn't my uncle.”
“No.”
“Then what is he?”
Melissa's voice dropped.
“He is your half-brother.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Impossible.
But she wasn't finished.
“Your mother and Thomas had you.”
“Then why was Richard involved?”
“Because Richard wanted the inheritance.”
I stared at her.
“What inheritance?”
Melissa pushed another photograph across the table.
An old legal document.
At the bottom was a familiar family name.
Vale Family Trust.
And next to it:
Beneficiary: Rachel Carter.
I looked up.
“How much?”
May you like
Melissa's expression was grim.
“Enough money to make people kill.”
