Chapter 9 - The Boy at the Water)
Mason stood at the end of the old dock watching fog move across Lake Mercer.
Robert remained behind him.
The boy had spent his whole life believing Gregory and Helen Reed were his parents.
Then three weeks earlier he found an envelope hidden inside Gregory's workshop.
His real name.
Daniel Carter.
A photograph of Laura.
A copy of his birth certificate.
His world shattered.
Gregory admitted enough to make everything worse.
"You were taken from your mother."
"Who took me?"
"I can't tell you yet."
"Is she alive?"
Gregory hesitated.
Mason noticed.
That hesitation convinced him she was dead.
Then Robert contacted him.
Your real mother was dangerous.
Gregory took you because he felt guilty.
I am your biological father.
I can prove everything.
Mason did not trust him.
But he wanted answers.
When Gregory disappeared, Robert sent a message.
I know where the truth is buried.
So Mason went.
Now the old man behind him pointed across the water.
"Your mother died near that road."
Mason said nothing.
Robert continued.
"She tried to destroy our family."
"You told me Gregory killed her."
"Gregory helped."
"Why?"
"Money."
Mason turned.
"And you?"
"I tried to save her."
Robert almost sounded sincere.
That frightened Mason more than shouting would have.
"You locked me in North Pines."
Robert's expression changed.
"Gregory told you that?"
"I remember."
"You were sick."
"I was two."
"You had developmental issues."
"You put me behind fences."
"For protection."
"Whose?"
Robert did not answer.
Mason had secretly recorded everything since getting into Robert's SUV.
Gregory taught him that.
When someone powerful wants to tell you a secret, make sure the secret belongs to more than one person afterward.
The phone recording rested inside Mason's jacket.
Robert pointed toward a storage building near the shore.
"There's something inside you need to see."
Mason followed.
Not because he trusted him.
Because before leaving the hospital, Mason had placed the cassette for Ethan.
He had also sent the police his location through an anonymous text.
At least he thought he had.
Robert's men took his phone during the drive.
He did not know whether the message sent.
Inside the building, Robert removed floorboards.
Beneath them sat a steel case.
He unlocked it.
Documents filled the interior.
Mason stared.
"What is all this?"
"Your inheritance."
Robert removed one file.
"The Carter family trust gives you enormous power when you turn eighteen."
"I don't want your money."
"Everyone says that before they understand the number."
"How much?"
"Enough to control thousands of lives."
Mason laughed bitterly.
"Like you?"
Robert studied him.
"You're more like me than you know."
"No."
"You think Gregory saved you because he loved you?"
"He did."
"He saved you because he needed insurance."
Robert tossed a document onto the table.
It contained Gregory's signature.
Mason recognized it.
"What is that?"
"An agreement. Gregory accepted money to keep you hidden."
Mason read the number.
Two million dollars.
His stomach twisted.
Robert watched.
"People disappoint you. Family especially."
Mason knew documents could lie.
But doubt was powerful.
Robert had built his entire life around it.
"Why show me this?"
"Because I need your help."
"With what?"
"Your brother."
Mason looked up.
"Ethan."
"He's trying to destroy everything that belongs to you."
"I've never met him."
"He knows about you."
"I saw him at the hospital."
Robert stepped closer.
"Ethan believes the company belongs to him."
"Does it?"
"No."
Another lie.
Mason could hear them more clearly now.
Robert continued.
"When you turn eighteen, you can stop him."
"How?"
"Sign a declaration recognizing the Carter trust amendments."
"You mean the forged ones?"
Robert's face went completely still.
Mason immediately knew he had said too much.
Robert whispered, "Who told you that?"
Mason stepped backward.
Nobody had.
He had guessed from Gregory's files.
Robert reached for him.
Mason ran.
He reached the dock before one of Robert's security men caught his jacket.
Mason twisted free.
The fabric tore.
His phone fell from the pocket.
Robert saw it.
He picked it up.
The recording screen was still active.
Robert stared at Mason.
"You recorded me."
Mason backed toward the water.
Robert's expression changed.
No warmth.
No performance.
Nothing paternal remained.
"You really are Laura's son."
A vehicle roared somewhere above the lake.
Then another.
Police.
Mason almost smiled.
Robert heard them too.
He grabbed Mason's arm.
Mason fought.
"Let go!"
Robert dragged him toward the storage building.
Before they reached it, a man appeared from the trees.
Ethan.
He had arrived ahead of the first patrol car.
Robert froze.
The two sons faced the man who had spent decades trying to control both of them.
Ethan looked at Mason.
"You okay?"
Mason stared at him.
He had imagined his brother for years without knowing the man existed.
Now Ethan stood twenty feet away.
"Are you Ethan?"
"Yeah."
Robert tightened his grip.
"Don't listen to him."
Ethan looked at his father.
"Let him go."
Robert laughed.
"You don't even know him."
"Neither do you."
Sirens grew louder.
Robert moved backward.
His shoe struck the torn edge of the dock.
For one second his balance failed.
His hand released Mason.
Ethan pulled the boy away.
Police vehicles burst through the fog.
Robert looked toward the road.
Then toward the lake.
Then toward the steel case inside the building.
He made a decision.
He ran for the case.
Detective Ruiz shouted, "Robert, stop!"
Robert ignored her.
He seized the steel box and carried it toward the dock.
Ethan realized what he intended.
"Don't!"
Robert threw the case into the lake.
It struck the water and disappeared.
Robert smiled.
"Now prove it."
Mason slowly lifted his torn jacket.
A tiny action camera was clipped inside the lining.
Gregory had given it to him years ago.
May you like
Mason looked at Robert.
"I already did."
