The car smelled faintly of rain and old leather.
Nobody spoke for several blocks.
Rachel drove with both hands fixed on the steering wheel. Maya sat beside her, scrolling through messages and making notes. Caroline and I were in the back seat, separated by a narrow space that felt strangely formal.
Jessica's last sentence remained between us.
I chose you because my father told me to marry you.
I looked at Caroline.
She was staring through the window.
“Did you know?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“No.”
I believed her.
For the first time that day, I was grateful for one uncomplicated answer.
My phone rang again.
Jessica.
I let it go.
Then another call.
Nathan.
I answered.
“What?”
His voice was low.
“You shouldn't be with Rachel.”
“Why?”
“She'll turn this into a case before you understand what happened.”
“It already is a case.”
“You don't know what you're holding.”
“I know my wife married me because your father told her to.”
There was silence.
Then Nathan said, “That's not the whole reason.”
“What is?”
“I'll tell you when you're alone.”
“No.”
“Ethan—”
“You don't get to keep asking me to trust people who have spent years lying to me.”
He exhaled.
“Then listen carefully. Samuel didn't choose Jessica because he wanted her to spy on you.”
“Then why?”
“He wanted access to something Arthur had.”
“The birth certificate?”
“No.”
“What?”
Nathan hesitated.
“The trust.”
Rachel glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
“What trust?” I asked.
“The one Margaret created before you were born.”
Caroline leaned forward.
“My mother created a trust?”
“Yes.”
“For Daniel?”
“For you.”
Her voice caught.
“What was in it?”
“Land.”
“How much?”
Nathan gave a humorless laugh.
“Enough that my father believed your son would eventually control it.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Rachel said, “Don't call him back yet.”
“Why?”
“Because he just gave you a motive.”
“For Samuel.”
“And possibly for himself.”
Maya turned around.
“There is another issue.”
“What?”
“The company that received the eighteen thousand dollars is not registered to Nathan personally.”
“Then who owns it?”
She showed me the corporate filing.
The owner was a trust.
The beneficiary was listed as Samuel Hayes.
I read the name twice.
“Hayes?”
Nathan's surname was different.
So was Jessica's.
Rachel looked at me.
“Samuel isn't her biological father.”
The car went silent.
“What?”
Maya nodded.
“We assumed the name because of the records, but the company documents use Samuel Hayes.”
Caroline looked at me.
“Arthur's surname.”
I felt a chill.
“Why would he use my father's name?”
Nobody answered.
Then Rachel said, “That's what we need to find out.”
We returned to the hospital.
Dad was awake.
His breathing had improved, but his face looked exhausted.
When he saw Caroline, he gave the smallest smile.
“You came back.”
“I wasn't going anywhere.”
He looked at me.
“Good.”
I pulled a chair closer.
“Dad, I need to ask you something.”
His eyes moved toward Rachel.
“Who is Samuel Hayes?”
His expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Fear.
“You found him.”
“Who is he?”
Dad swallowed.
“He used my name.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to hide.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
I sat down.
“Is he your brother?”
Dad shook his head.
“My father had a second family.”
I looked at Caroline.
Dad continued.
“Samuel was born to my father's first wife.”
Rachel leaned closer.
“So he is Arthur's half-brother.”
“Yes.”
The room seemed to shift.
“Then why did he become involved with Caroline's family?”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Because he wanted what my father left me.”
“What?”
“The trust.”
Caroline whispered, “My mother created it for Daniel.”
Dad nodded.
“She did.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew her family was fighting over the land.”
He looked at me.
“She wanted it protected for you.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“And Samuel wanted it.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“Because I didn't know how deep it went.”
I thought of Jessica.
“Did you know she was involved?”
Dad looked at me.
“I knew she was Samuel's daughter.”
I froze.
“Your earlier answer said Samuel wasn't her biological father.”
Dad frowned.
“What?”
Rachel showed him the company filing.
He stared at it.
“That isn't the same Samuel.”
“Then who is he?”
Dad shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Maya stepped forward.
“Could there be another man using the name?”
Dad stared at the paper.
“Yes.”
He looked frightened.
“There was.”
“Who?”
“Samuel's son.”
I felt a knot form in my stomach.
“What's his name?”
Dad hesitated.
“Daniel.”
Caroline went completely still.
My birth name.
Daniel.
The same name she had given me.
Dad noticed her expression.
“That's why they used it.”
“Used what?”
“The name.”
He struggled to sit higher.
“The adoption records were altered after you disappeared.”
“Why?”
“To create another Daniel.”
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
“Why would anyone do that?”
“So if you ever came looking, there would be another person with the same name.”
I stared at him.
“A decoy.”
Dad nodded.
The word felt absurd.
Until I remembered the investigator's search.
The mismatched birthday.
The false lead.
Jessica telling the investigator to contact her first.
Someone had been building confusion around my identity.
Not just hiding me.
Replacing me.
Caroline covered her mouth.
“I named him Daniel because it was my father's name.”
Dad reached for her hand.
“And they knew that.”
She looked at him.
“How?”
“Your family records.”
Rachel wrote quickly.
“Arthur, who had access to those records?”
“Samuel.”
“Anyone else?”
“The attorney.”
“Anyone in Jessica's family?”
Dad's eyes closed.
“Her mother.”
I looked at Caroline.
“My wife's mother knew?”
“Yes.”
The room was quiet.
Then Dad whispered, “There is something else.”
“What?”
“Jessica wasn't the first person Samuel sent.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Who was?”
“Someone who worked for the attorney.”
“Why?”
“To make sure I never searched for you.”
“What did he do?”
Dad looked at me.
“He told me you were dead.”
“That was Samuel.”
“No.”
Dad shook his head.
“Samuel arranged it. But someone else delivered the lie.”
“Who?”
He looked toward Caroline.
“Her brother.”
Caroline stood abruptly.
“My brother?”
Dad nodded.
“He came to me with the papers.”
She sat again.
“My brother was twenty-two.”
“He was young.”
“He was also scared.”
“Scared of Samuel?”
“Yes.”
Caroline stared at the floor.
“He told me my brother had betrayed me.”
Dad's voice softened.
“He regretted it.”
“Did he ever tell you?”
“He tried.”
“When?”
“Years later.”
“What happened?”
“He was killed before he could finish.”
Caroline's face went pale.
“Killed?”
Dad nodded.
“The official report said it was an accident.”
Rachel looked at Maya.
Maya was already writing.
“Do you know what happened?”
Dad's voice became weaker.
“I know Samuel was there.”
The monitor beside him beeped.
I stood.
“That's enough.”
Dad caught my wrist.
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“You need to know why Jessica stayed.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed she could control Samuel.”
My chest tightened.
“She couldn't.”
“No.”
Dad's eyes filled.
“She was trying to keep you alive.”
I thought about the lies.
The money.
The stolen letters.
The hospital photograph.
I wanted to reject the sentence.
But something about his expression stopped me.
“She did terrible things,” Dad whispered.
“I know.”
“But Samuel did worse.”
Rachel stepped toward the bed.
“Arthur, did Samuel ever threaten Ethan directly?”
Dad nodded.
“Many times.”
“Do you have proof?”
Dad looked toward the door.
“Under the floorboard.”
I frowned.
“Which floorboard?”
He gave a weak smile.
“The one you always complained squeaked.”
I remembered his hallway.
One board near the study.
The one he had never allowed me to repair.
I squeezed his hand.
“I'll find it.”
“Don't.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
“Because Jessica already knows where it is.”
The room went silent.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Jessica.
You finally understand why I stayed.
Another followed.
Please don't open the floor.
The third came immediately after.
Because your father isn't the only person who knows what's underneath.
I stared at the screen.
Rachel took a breath.
“We're not going there tonight.”
I nodded.
Then another message appeared.
If you want the truth about why Samuel chose you, come alone.
The location was my father's house.
And the time was midnight.
Click Here to continue read next: PART10: I Went to My Father’s House Expecting a Trap, but What I Found Beneath the Floor Proved My Wife Had Been Protecting One Secret From Everyone
My Father Came Asking for Money, but the Question My Wife Asked Him Made Me Realize Something Was Terribly Wrong
Part 9 of 16
