Chapter 11 - the dead man on camera)
The man in the security footage was not Robert Mercer.
That was the official conclusion after forty eight hours of facial comparison.
Daniel had been wrong.
But only partly.
The stranger shared enough features with Robert to resemble him from a distance.
The same height.
Similar jaw.
Same unusual indentation near the left eyebrow.
Detective Hart found something else.
The man had used a credit card issued to Jonathan Mercer.
Daniel stared at the name.
"I don't know any Jonathan."
Evelyn did.
She sat in Claire's living room with Rebecca beside her.
They were still learning how close to sit.
"Jonathan was Robert's older brother."
Daniel turned.
"I thought Dad was an only child."
Margaret, apparently, had edited another branch off the family tree.
Evelyn explained.
"Jonathan left when he was twenty."
"Why?"
"Your grandfather disowned him."
"For what?"
"He accused your grandfather of selling babies."
The room became silent.
Claire whispered.
"When?"
"More than forty years ago."
Daniel looked toward the ledger copy on the table.
"Before I was born."
Evelyn nodded.
"Jonathan worked at St. Matthew's for one summer. He saw documents he wasn't supposed to see."
"What happened?"
"William called him unstable. Said he had stolen money. Jonathan disappeared."
"Did Robert ever mention him?"
"Not to me."
"Margaret?"
"No."
Rebecca looked at Evelyn.
"Did Patricia know him?"
"I don't know."
Daniel searched public records.
Jonathan Mercer.
No recent address.
No death certificate.
One old photograph from a college yearbook.
The resemblance to the convenience store image was strong.
He would now be sixty nine.
Claire crossed her arms.
"So Robert had a brother who accused William of trafficking infants before Daniel was born, and now someone using Jonathan's credit card threatens us after we find a ledger proving infant transfers."
Hart nodded.
"That's where we are."
Daniel looked at the photograph.
"Why threaten Lily?"
No one knew.
That question bothered Claire more than everything else.
The paternity scheme was Margaret's.
The hidden adoption was William's.
Peter's disappearance connected to old evidence.
But Lily?
Lily belonged to the present.
Someone was not merely protecting history.
Someone wanted to control what Daniel did now.
That night, Claire walked into Lily's bedroom and found her packing a small backpack.
"What are you doing?"
Lily froze.
Inside the bag were pajamas, three crayons, her stuffed rabbit and two granola bars.
"Nothing."
Claire sat on the bed.
"That looks like something."
Lily stared at the floor.
"Grandma said bad children get sent away."
Claire's chest tightened.
"When?"
"At the party."
"What exactly did she say?"
Lily's eyes filled.
"She said when the test came back, Daddy would know I wasn't his and then nobody would want me."
Claire closed her eyes.
Margaret had not merely accused Claire.
She had weaponized abandonment against a child.
Claire pulled Lily close.
"Listen to me. Nobody is sending you anywhere."
"Even if I make Daddy mad?"
"Even then."
"Even if I break something?"
"Yes."
"Even if I lie?"
Claire smiled sadly.
"We might be very unhappy if you lie. But you still belong here."
Lily whispered.
"Grandma said families only keep the right children."
Claire held her tighter.
There it was.
The philosophy Margaret had inherited from William.
Children as correct or incorrect.
Acceptable or disposable.
Claire kissed Lily's hair.
"We don't believe that."
Lily touched her cheek.
The turtle had faded.
"Can Daddy draw another one tomorrow?"
"Absolutely."
When Claire left the room, Daniel was standing in the hallway.
He had heard everything.
His face was wet.
"She said that to her."
Claire nodded.
Daniel walked downstairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To my mother."
"No."
He turned.
"Claire..."
"No."
"She told Lily we would abandon her."
"I know."
"I need to..."
"Do what? Yell? Break something? Give Margaret another opportunity to call you unstable?"
Daniel stared at her.
Claire approached.
"You beat her by becoming the parent she isn't."
His breathing slowed.
"Stay here."
He looked toward Lily's room.
Then nodded.
At nine seventeen, the doorbell camera activated.
Not Michael.
Not police.
Margaret.
She stood outside the gate alone.
Daniel did not answer.
She pressed the intercom.
"I know you can see me."
Silence.
"I need to talk to Claire."
Daniel frowned.
Claire stepped toward the monitor.
Margaret looked directly into the camera.
"Claire, the man threatening Lily is Jonathan Mercer."
Daniel grabbed the intercom.
"How do you know?"
Margaret looked tired.
"Because he threatened you first."
"When?"
"The day you were born."
Daniel went still.
Margaret continued.
"He said if Father moved one more baby, he would expose everything."
Claire activated the speaker.
"Then why threaten Lily now?"
Margaret's answer came immediately.
"Because Jonathan doesn't want the truth exposed."
Daniel shook his head.
"That makes no sense."
"It will."
"When?"
Margaret looked over her shoulder toward the dark street.
"When you understand he wasn't trying to stop the transfers."
Claire felt cold.
Margaret whispered.
"He was trying to take them over."
A vehicle appeared behind her.
Headlights off.
Moving slowly.
Margaret saw it on the monitor.
Her face changed.
She turned.
The vehicle accelerated.
Daniel opened the gate.
"Mom!"
Margaret ran.
The SUV passed without striking her and disappeared around the corner.
Daniel reached her first.
Margaret was shaking.
Claire arrived seconds later.
Margaret grabbed Daniel's sleeve.
"Now do you believe me?"
Daniel stared after the vehicle.
"I believe someone wanted to scare you."
Margaret looked at Claire.
"No."
Her voice dropped.
"They wanted me inside your house."
Claire understood.
Margaret had been driven toward them.
Daniel looked toward the security cameras.
"Why?"
Margaret looked at the front door.
Then whispered.
"Because while you were watching me, someone else was already inside."
The alarm began screaming.
May you like
Upstairs.
Lily.
