Chapter 7 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadRichard stared at the photograph.
The man in the background wore a dark suit.
Silver hair.
A distinctive scar above his eyebrow.
Richard knew that face.
Marcus Vale.
His younger brother.
Dead.
At least officially.
Marcus had died six years ago in a boating accident.
Richard had identified the body himself.
Or thought he had.
Mark looked over his shoulder.
“Who is that?”
Richard didn't answer.
His brother had been the only person who knew every detail of the family accounts before Daniel ever worked for them.
He had also been the only person who knew Richard's private signing certificate.
The photograph was dated eight months after Marcus's supposed death.
Richard sat down on the dusty floor.
“No.”
Mark crouched beside him.
“Dad, what's wrong?”
“My brother died six years ago.”
Mark looked at the photograph again.
“That isn't him?”
Richard stared.
“It is.”
Noah wandered toward the wooden shelves.
He picked up a small toy truck.
Then he looked at Richard.
“Uncle Marcus.”
Richard's heart stopped.
“How do you know that name?”
Noah shrugged.
“Mommy said.”
Mark looked horrified.
“Mommy talked about him?”
Richard suddenly understood.
Elena had known.
She had discovered that Marcus wasn't dead.
And she had been hiding evidence.
Richard stood.
“We have to find her notes.”
They searched the barn again.
Under a broken floorboard, they discovered an old notebook.
Elena's handwriting filled every page.
One sentence appeared repeatedly:
Marcus is alive.
Then:
He has someone inside the police.
Then:
Claudia is only a messenger.
Richard's eyes moved faster.
The final pages were torn out.
Only one sentence remained:
THE PERSON HE CANNOT CONTROL IS NOAH.
Richard's blood ran cold.
Mark looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Before Richard could answer, the ranch gate slammed outside.
Vehicles.
Three black SUVs.
Mark looked through the window.
“They found us.”
Richard grabbed the notebook.
“Take Noah.”
Mark lifted his son.
They moved toward the rear exit.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Noah screamed.
Richard pushed them behind a wall.
Another shot struck the barn door.
Mark whispered:
“Dad, we're trapped.”
Richard looked toward the floor.
The old barn had one feature everyone forgot.
A storm cellar.
He kicked aside a metal hatch.
“Down.”
They crawled inside.
The hatch closed above them.
Footsteps entered the barn.
Men searched the room.
One voice spoke.
“Find the notebook.”
Another replied:
“They must have taken it.”
Then a familiar female voice entered.
Claudia.
Richard looked at Mark.
Claudia spoke calmly.
“Richard was here.”
Mark's expression collapsed.
“She knows.”
Richard held up one finger.
Stay silent.
Claudia continued:
“Tell Marcus the boy is still alive.”
Richard's eyes widened.
Not Noah.
The boy.
As if Noah were evidence.
A man asked:
“What about Mark?”
Claudia answered:
“He's expendable.”
Mark closed his eyes.
His father saw the pain on his face.
Then Claudia said something that changed everything.
“Elena left something else.”
Richard held his breath.
“What?”
Claudia spoke to someone on the phone.
“The original birth certificate.”
Richard felt his stomach drop.
Original birth certificate?
Why would Elena's birth certificate matter?
Unless...
Noah wasn't the only child connected to the secret.
Unless someone had been hiding the truth about who his mother really was.
The cellar became silent.
May you like
Then footsteps stopped directly above them.
A metal hatch began to open.
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