The discovery changed everything.<\/p>\n
Daniel was not merely a forgotten brother.<\/p>\n
He was connected to the account Matthew had been investigating.<\/p>\n
And if the account still existed, then whatever Matthew had been trying to uncover might not have disappeared with him.<\/p>\n
I called the number Eleanor had given me.<\/p>\n
It was disconnected.<\/p>\n
I tried again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Henry searched through the documents from the shed.<\/p>\n
There was no newer address.<\/p>\n
No phone number.<\/p>\n
No employer.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I wondered whether Daniel was alive.<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then the line went dead.<\/p>\n
I looked at Henry.<\/p>\n
He had heard it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phone rang again.<\/p>\n
Same number.<\/p>\n
This time a man's voice spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to stop looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body stiffened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry reached for the phone.<\/p>\n
I put it on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me who you are,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
The man ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome things happened a long time ago. Leave them there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then the caller said, \u201cYou should think about your child.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
Henry's expression had hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
He immediately wanted to call the police.<\/p>\n
I agreed.<\/p>\n
But before we could, Eleanor entered the room.<\/p>\n
She saw our faces.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
I told her.<\/p>\n
She sat down.<\/p>\n
Her hands began shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think that was Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you recognized the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've been afraid of him for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Matthew died, Victor came to the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA week after the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether Matthew had left anything behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I knew nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew about the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry asked, \u201cDid he mention Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you sure it's him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he said something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me that Matthew should have known better than to interfere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went cold.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cYou never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
That word.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to hate it.<\/p>\n
Not because Eleanor had been cowardly.<\/p>\n
Because fear had been allowed to dictate every decision surrounding Matthew's death.<\/p>\n
I looked at Henry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to find Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
The next morning, we contacted the bank again.<\/p>\n
They could not disclose account information.<\/p>\n
But they confirmed one thing.<\/p>\n
Daniel had accessed the account recently.<\/p>\n
Three months earlier.<\/p>\n
That meant he was alive.<\/p>\n
And he was still watching the money.<\/p>\n
The bank could not give us his address.<\/p>\n
But they offered one piece of information.<\/p>\n
He had made the transaction from a branch across town.<\/p>\n
Henry and I went there.<\/p>\n
The manager recognized the account.<\/p>\n
He couldn't give us Daniel's address, but after hearing why we were looking for him, he agreed to pass along a message.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he contacts us,\u201d he said, \u201cwe'll tell him you're looking for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left.<\/p>\n
Nothing happened for two days.<\/p>\n
Then a letter arrived.<\/p>\n
No return address.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single sheet.<\/p>\n
Do not trust the person who found you.<\/p>\n
I read it twice.<\/p>\n
Henry saw my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I handed it to him.<\/p>\n
He read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho found whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't answer.<\/p>\n
The question had been bothering me.<\/p>\n
Henry had seen me before we met.<\/p>\n
He had recognized me.<\/p>\n
He had eventually approached me.<\/p>\n
He had known something about my life that I didn't know he knew.<\/p>\n
Could the warning be about him?<\/p>\n
I didn't want to believe it.<\/p>\n
But I had learned enough not to dismiss uncomfortable questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Daniel?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Henry stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever met Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched his face.<\/p>\n
He wasn't angry.<\/p>\n
He looked hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why you're asking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have told you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You haven't.\u201d<\/p>\n
He fell silent.<\/p>\n
I regretted saying it as soon as I saw his expression.<\/p>\n
But trust had become fragile.<\/p>\n
The next evening, someone broke into the shed.<\/p>\n
We returned to Daniel's old house and found the door hanging open.<\/p>\n
Boxes had been thrown across the floor.<\/p>\n
The notebook was gone.<\/p>\n
So were the photographs.<\/p>\n
Whoever entered had searched only the places where we had found Matthew's clues.<\/p>\n
They knew exactly what to take.<\/p>\n
I called the police.<\/p>\n
This time, the officer took the situation seriously.<\/p>\n
He asked whether anyone had threatened us.<\/p>\n
I told him about the phone call.<\/p>\n
I told him about Victor.<\/p>\n
The officer wrote everything down.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, he said, \u201cDon't investigate this yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
I promised.<\/p>\n
But promises had become complicated in our house.<\/p>\n
That night, Henry and I sat in silence.<\/p>\n
Finally he said, \u201cI want you to know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you decide you can't stay married to me after all this, I'll accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't use the baby to keep you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought you would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at his hands.<\/p>\n
He was wearing the same wedding ring I had placed on his finger.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I wanted the old life back.<\/p>\n
The simple one.<\/p>\n
The one where the greatest sadness was missing Matthew.<\/p>\n
Then my phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
A message.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
There was an address.<\/p>\n
And beneath it:<\/p>\n
Come alone.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
I showed Henry.<\/p>\n
His face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told you to come alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can't go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tell the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
But before I could call, another message arrived.<\/p>\n
If Henry comes, you will never learn why Matthew died.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
Henry read it over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
For the first time, the person behind the mystery had drawn a line between us.<\/p>\n
And whoever stood on the other side knew exactly how to use our secrets against us.<\/p>\n
The discovery changed everything. Daniel was not merely a forgotten brother. He was connected to the account Matthew had been investigating. And if the account still existed, then whatever Matthew … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6689"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6705,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6689\/revisions\/6705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}