Chapter 6 - Nathan’s Return
Connor called the police.
Teresa objected immediately.
“You will destroy your brother’s life.”
Connor stared at her. “So it was Nathan.”
“I did not say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The relatives began whispering.
Some claimed Nathan had always been jealous. Others reminded Connor that Nathan had disappeared after their father’s funeral.
Amy had met Nathan only twice.
He and Connor resembled each other strongly, but their personalities were opposite. Connor was controlled and practical. Nathan was impulsive, charming, and constantly in debt.
Four years earlier, Nathan had asked Connor to invest in a development company.
Connor refused after discovering false financial records.
Nathan accused him of betrayal.
Teresa sided with Nathan.
Soon afterward, Nathan disappeared.
At least, that was what Connor had believed.
“Has he been here before?” Connor asked Teresa.
“No.”
Amy saw the lie.
Connor saw it too.
The police arrived, but the stolen sedan was registered to Connor and there was no evidence Nathan had taken it. Teresa claimed Connor had willingly lent the vehicle to his brother.
Dylan confirmed her statement.
Several relatives did the same.
Connor’s anger turned cold.
They had rehearsed this.
An officer asked Connor whether he had experienced recent memory problems.
Teresa answered before he could.
“He has been under terrible stress.”
Connor turned toward her.
The officer looked at the medical declaration Teresa quietly produced from her handbag.
Amy recognized it.
Dr. Voss had signed the document.
Connor read it with disbelief.
“This is false.”
The officer did not accuse him, but his attitude changed.
He began speaking slowly.
He asked whether Connor had taken any medication.
He asked whether Connor remembered authorizing Teresa to manage the house.
Connor’s jaw tightened.
Amy stepped forward.
“His signature was forged.”
“Do you have evidence?”
“I saw Dylan copying documents.”
Dylan laughed. “She also thought the baby’s medicine was poisoned.”
Amy held up the bottle.
“Test it.”
Teresa’s eyes narrowed.
The officer sealed the bottle in an evidence bag.
For the first time, Teresa appeared genuinely concerned.
Connor noticed.
When the officers left, they took the medicine for analysis but refused to remove Teresa or Dylan because both claimed they had been invited.
Connor stood in the foyer surrounded by relatives who had just questioned his sanity.
“Everyone out,” he said.
An aunt protested.
Connor pointed at the door.
One by one, they left.
Dylan remained beside Teresa.
Connor approached him.
“You have ten seconds.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you walk out or I carry you.”
Dylan’s smile faded.
Teresa placed a hand on Connor’s arm.
He pulled away.
“Do not touch me.”
She looked wounded.
Connor felt nothing.
Dylan left through the front door.
Teresa followed him slowly.
At the threshold, she turned toward Amy.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
Connor stepped between them.
Teresa smiled at her son.
“When the police call tomorrow, remember that I tried to protect you.”
The door closed behind her.
Connor locked it manually.
The house became silent except for Frederick’s coughing.
Amy sat on the stairs and began to cry.
Connor knelt in front of her.
“Tell me everything.”
She told him about the office, the scanner, Northstar, the medical declaration, and the wireless jammer.
She told him about the medicine.
She told him what Teresa had called Frederick.
Connor’s weakness.
Connor listened without interrupting.
When Amy finished, he took her hand.
“I should have seen it.”
“You trusted your mother.”
“I left you here with her.”
“You came back.”
He looked toward the empty hallway.
“Nathan came back too.”
Connor’s phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent a photograph.
It showed Nathan standing beside Teresa and Dylan in a parking garage.
The timestamp was from six weeks earlier.
The same day Connor’s life insurance policy had been activated.
May you like
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Your mother is not in charge.
