Chapter 6
Daniel had been my best friend since college.
We built our contracting company together.
He knew my passwords.
He had a key to my office.
He knew when I traveled.
He knew how much our house was worth.
He knew my mother.
He knew everything.
And apparently he knew David Mercer.
I called him immediately.
He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, man.”
Normal.
Too normal.
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
I looked at Caleb’s photograph.
“You sure?”
A pause.
“Yeah.”
“Were you at my mother’s house last night?”
Silence.
Rachel watched me.
Anna watched me.
Caleb looked unsurprised.
Daniel finally said, “Michael, what’s going on?”
“Answer.”
“I stopped by.”
“Why?”
“Your mom called me.”
“For what?”
“She was upset.”
“And Mercer?”
Another silence.
“What about him?”
“He was there.”
My jaw tightened.
“You know him?”
“Everybody knows Mercer.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Daniel exhaled.
“We should talk in person.”
I almost laughed.
Every liar eventually says that.
“Fine.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tonight.”
“I’m putting the kids down.”
Daniel had two sons.
That stopped some of my anger.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
I ended the call.
Rachel stared at me.
“You believe him?”
“No.”
Caleb said, “Good.”
I looked at him.
“You enjoy this?”
“What?”
“Watching my entire life fall apart?”
Anna whispered, “Michael.”
Caleb’s jaw hardened.
“You think I wanted any of this?”
“I don’t know you.”
“Exactly.”
He stood.
“You grew up with my mother’s money paying for private school while she worked two jobs.”
“Caleb.”
Anna tried stopping him.
He ignored her.
“You had Thomas at every baseball game.”
I stood too.
“You think I asked for that?”
“No.”
“Then stop talking like I stole something from you.”
“You got a father.”
“I got a father who apparently committed crimes to keep me.”
“At least you got one.”
The words hung between us.
Anna started crying.
Immediately, both of us regretted it.
Caleb looked away.
I sat.
“This isn’t helping.”
“No.”
He sat too.
For the first time, we agreed on something.
Anna wiped her eyes.
“I will not spend whatever years I have left watching my sons hate each other over what other people did.”
Sons.
Plural.
The word felt strange.
Caleb looked at me.
“I’m angry.”
“So am I.”
“Not only at you.”
“I figured.”
“I spent my whole life hearing about Michael.”
I frowned.
“What?”
Anna looked embarrassed.
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“Your birthday.”
“What?”
“Every August seventeenth, Mom disappeared into her room.”
Anna closed her eyes.
“Caleb.”
“You kept baby pictures in a box.”
He looked at me.
“You were a ghost in our house.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I didn’t know you existed.”
“I know.”
His anger weakened.
“That’s the problem.”
The next morning, I met Daniel at a diner near our office.
I arrived early.
So did he.
He looked exhausted.
“I heard about Rachel and your mom.”
My face tightened.
“From who?”
“Evelyn.”
“She tell you I hit Rachel?”
Daniel looked surprised.
“What?”
Good.
At least Mom hadn’t spread that.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
He stared at me.
“You hit Rachel?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell, Mike?”
“I know.”
“No, seriously.”
“I know.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“You’ve never—”
“I know.”
I cut him off.
“I’m handling it. We’re talking about Mercer.”
He leaned back.
“What do you know?”
“Enough to know you lied last night.”
His expression changed.
“I didn’t lie.”
“You said you were home.”
“I was home when you called.”
Fair.
I hated fair.
“Why were you at Mom’s?”
“She called.”
“Why?”
“She needed help moving boxes.”
I almost laughed.
“Try again.”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“Michael.”
I placed Caleb’s photograph on the table.
Daniel stared at it.
“Who took this?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Was someone following me?”
“Why do you care?”
He slid the photograph back.
“Because you have no idea what you’ve stepped into.”
The sentence made my stomach drop.
“You sound like Mercer.”
Daniel immediately regretted it.
I leaned forward.
“How long have you known him?”
“Since I was a kid.”
“What?”
“My father worked for Thomas.”
I stared.
Daniel’s father, Jack Brooks, had died when we were in college.
“He worked for Dad?”
“Bookkeeping.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“Because your father made him sign an agreement.”
“An agreement about what?”
Daniel looked at me.
“You.”
Of course.
Everything eventually came back to me.
“My father’s bookkeeper knew I was Anna’s son?”
“Yes.”
“Who else knew?”
“More people than Evelyn wants you to believe.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“Wonderful.”
“Your father paid people to keep quiet.”
“Did he pay your dad?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did you become my friend?”
Daniel’s face changed.
There it was.
The question he had feared.
“Michael.”
“Answer.”
“We met at college.”
“Was it accidental?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know who I was?”
“No.”
“When did you find out?”
“My junior year.”
“We were roommates.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“My father made me promise.”
I stood.
“You knew for thirteen years before Dad died.”
“Mike.”
“You stood at my wedding.”
“I know.”
“You watched Dad give a speech about being proud of his only son.”
“I know.”
“And you knew.”
“Yes.”
I walked away from the table.
Daniel followed.
“I hated keeping it from you.”
“Apparently not enough.”
“I was twenty-one when Dad told me.”
“And thirty-four yesterday.”
He had no answer.
Outside, the morning air hit my face.
Daniel stood beside me.
“Mercer knows about the old accounts.”
“I know.”
“He called me two months ago.”
“Why?”
“He thought I had copies of my father’s records.”
“Do you?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
My entire body tensed.
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“What records?”
“Payments Thomas made.”
“To who?”
“Mercer. Clerks. A doctor. My dad.”
“Dr. Reed?”
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“The doctor who signed Anna’s death certificate.”
I stared at him.
“Thomas bribed him.”
“Yes.”
“Mercer arranged it.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to your father’s records after Thomas died?”
“I kept them.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
“Against who?”
“Mercer.”
I stepped closer.
“Why were you meeting him?”
“He threatened my family.”
That answer stopped me.
“What?”
“He knows I have the records.”
“What did he say?”
“If I give them to police, he’ll tell investigators I helped move money through our company.”
My chest tightened.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Daniel stared at me.
“Michael, I would never steal from you.”
“Everyone keeps telling me what they would never do right after I learn what they already did.”
He flinched.
Fair.
“Show me the records.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Mercer doesn’t know where they are.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
“Daniel.”
“If those records disappear, he loses the only leverage keeping him away from my family.”
“So you’re protecting yourself.”
“Yes.”
At least he admitted it.
“And my boys.”
I looked away.
Everybody had someone they were protecting.
And every protection created another secret.
Daniel touched my shoulder.
“I’ll give them to law enforcement if your attorney can arrange protection.”
“Fine.”
“You trust your attorney?”
“More than I trust anyone from my childhood right now.”
That hurt him.
I didn’t apologize.
By noon, Janet had contacted investigators.
Forgery became the immediate issue.
The deed.
My signature.
Mercer’s notarization.
Mom agreed to give a statement.
Rachel gave them the kitchen video.
I gave flight records proving I had been in Atlanta.
Caleb provided photographs.
Daniel agreed to surrender his father’s files.
For the first time, it felt like we were moving instead of reacting.
Then Rachel called.
Her voice was shaking.
“Michael.”
“What happened?”
“I’m at your mother’s.”
“Why?”
“She called me.”
I stood.
“Is Mercer there?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Evelyn showed me something.”
“What?”
“She found it in Thomas’s old desk.”
I closed my eyes.
“Another secret.”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“A letter.”
“From Dad?”
“Yes.”
“To who?”
“You.”
My throat tightened.
“Read it.”
“No.”
“Rachel.”
“You need to read this yourself.”
I grabbed my keys.
Twenty minutes later, I was inside Mom’s house.
Rachel stood in the dining room.
Mom sat near the window.
An old wooden box was open on the table.
Inside were photographs, documents, and envelopes.
Rachel handed me one.
My name was written across the front.
Michael.
Dad’s handwriting.
My hands started shaking.
The letter began:
Son,
If you are reading this, then I failed to tell you the truth while I was alive.
I stopped.
Rachel touched my arm.
This time I let her.
I continued.
Dad admitted everything about Anna.
The guardianship.
The money.
The false death certificate.
The threats.
He said Evelyn had begged him to stop when Anna tried returning.
That surprised me.
I looked at Mom.
“You tried to stop him?”
Her eyes filled.
“Eventually.”
“How eventually?”
“When you were fourteen.”
The year Anna came back.
Dad’s letter continued.
He admitted using Anna’s inheritance.
He admitted opening accounts to repay her.
Then came the sentence that changed everything again.
David Mercer has been stealing from those accounts, and I have allowed him to continue because he knows what happened to Samuel Reed.
My pulse jumped.
Dad wrote:
I did not kill Samuel.
But I know who did.
I looked up.
Mom’s face went white.
“You knew about this letter?”
“No.”
I continued.
Samuel confronted Mercer with proof of the false death certificate.
Mercer called me that night and told me Samuel was becoming a problem.
The next morning, Samuel’s car crashed.
I believed Mercer had arranged it.
I had no proof.
Years later, Jack Brooks gave me a copy of an invoice from a mechanic paid by Mercer two days before Samuel’s death.
Daniel’s father.
The records he had kept.
Dad knew.
He had evidence.
Why hadn’t he gone to police?
The next paragraph answered.
I was a coward.
Mercer told me that if I accused him, he would expose everything I had done to Anna.
I chose my reputation over justice for Samuel.
There is no softer way to say it.
I stared at those words until they blurred.
My father had not killed Caleb’s dad.
But he had stayed silent.
For decades.
Then I reached the final page.
There was a sentence underlined twice.
Michael, if Mercer ever tries to take your home, it means he believes Anna has found the second account.
Rachel leaned closer.
“What second account?”
I kept reading.
The money in your name is not the full amount.
There is another account Mercer does not control.
I opened the next page.
It contained a bank name.
An account number.
And a balance handwritten six years earlier.
$1,870,000.
My knees nearly gave out.
Mom whispered, “Thomas never told me.”
I stared at the number.
Almost two million dollars.
Dad’s final line was even more important.
That money belongs to Anna.
Not you.
Not Evelyn.
Not me.
Anna.
And if I die before I can return it, do what I should have done thirty-four years ago.
Give her back what we took.
I folded the letter.
Nobody spoke.
Then Mom started crying.
“I didn’t know.”
I looked at her.
For once, I believed her.
My phone rang.
Caleb.
I answered.
“Michael, where’s my mother?”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“She left the motel two hours ago.”
“Maybe she—”
“Her phone is off.”
Rachel looked at me.
Caleb continued.
“The front desk saw her get into a car.”
“What car?”
“Black Mercedes.”
My chest went cold.
David Mercer drove a black Mercedes.
“Did she go willingly?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Caleb’s voice broke.
“But she left me a message.”
“What did it say?”
He read it.
Caleb, don’t follow me. Mercer says he’ll return what he stole if I meet him alone.
I grabbed my keys.
Caleb shouted through the phone.
“Michael, there’s more.”
“What?”
“He told her to bring Thomas’s letter.”
I looked down at the pages in my hand.
“He doesn’t know I have it.”
Caleb went silent.
Then I heard him understand.
“If Mercer thinks Mom has the letter…”
Rachel’s face went pale.
May you like
I finished the thought.
“He’s going to realize she lied to him.”
