Chapter 11 - the second baby)
Margaret refused to answer the phone.
Ryan called three times.
Nothing.
On the fourth attempt, she finally picked up.
"Tell me about Daniel."
Silence.
Ryan's voice hardened.
"Don't lie to me."
Margaret began crying.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Your mother made me promise."
"Promise what?"
"That if Thomas ever died, I would let the past stay buried."
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"The past is trying to kill my daughter."
Margaret whispered, "Daniel was your twin."
Ryan closed his eyes.
Claire gripped his hand.
"When did he die?"
"He didn't."
The room went silent.
Ryan forced the words out.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"What happened?"
"You and Daniel were born seven minutes apart."
Margaret spoke slowly now, as though opening a door that had been sealed for decades.
"Your mother adored both of you. Thomas did too at first."
"At first?"
"When you were four, Theo became obsessed with Daniel."
"Why?"
"He said Daniel reminded him of himself."
Ryan felt sick.
"Theo wanted a child of his own but couldn't have one. He started spending more time with Daniel."
"What did my father do?"
"He forbade Theo from coming to the house."
"And the fire?"
"A year later."
Ryan gripped the table.
"Daniel was at Lake Mercer when the cabin burned."
"Yes."
"With Theo?"
"Yes."
"Was his body found?"
"No."
Ryan whispered, "So everyone assumed they both died."
"Thomas made sure everyone assumed it."
"Why?"
Margaret's answer came quietly.
"Because Thomas knew they had escaped."
Ryan stood.
"What?"
"Your father received a letter two weeks after the fire."
"From Theo?"
"Yes."
"What did it say?"
Margaret paused.
"He said Daniel was his son now."
Claire covered her mouth.
Ryan struggled to breathe.
"My father let someone steal my brother?"
"He tried to find them."
"For how long?"
"Years."
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
"Your mother believed you would never recover from it."
Ryan walked outside with the phone.
Cold air filled his lungs.
"Did Daniel know about me?"
"I don't know."
"Did Theo raise him?"
"I don't know."
"Then why is his name in Meridian files?"
Margaret whispered, "Maybe because he came back."
Ryan ended the call and stood in the field behind the safe house.
Claire joined him.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Finally Claire said, "You have a twin brother."
"Maybe."
"The records match."
"I spent thirty-one years believing I was an only child."
Claire touched his arm.
Ryan did not pull away.
"He could have been the man Lily saw."
Claire nodded.
"He would look exactly like you."
"Why would he threaten Sarah?"
"Maybe he works for Meridian."
"Or runs it."
That possibility hurt more.
A brother he had never known.
A brother raised by Theodore Carter.
A brother tied to the organization Thomas had built.
Ruiz emerged from the house.
"We found Gavin."
Ryan turned.
"Where?"
"Philadelphia."
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Did you arrest him?"
Ruiz hesitated.
"He surrendered."
Ryan frowned.
"Gavin doesn't surrender."
"He says he wants to talk to you."
"No."
"Ryan."
"He used a camera to watch my children."
"He says he didn't put it there."
Ryan laughed.
"Of course."
"He also says he can prove it."
Ruiz handed Ryan a photograph taken during Gavin's arrest.
His face was bruised.
One eye swollen.
"Someone beat him."
"Who?"
"He won't tell us."
Ryan stared.
Ruiz continued.
"He says Sarah was wrong about him."
"The emails had his address."
"He claims someone duplicated his account."
"Convenient."
"He gave us a phrase."
Ryan looked at her.
"What phrase?"
Ruiz checked her notebook.
"Seven minutes."
Ryan stopped breathing.
"That's the difference between my birth and Daniel's."
"Exactly."
"How would Gavin know?"
"He says Daniel told him."
Ryan stared toward the farmhouse.
"Where is Gavin?"
"Federal holding facility."
"I want to see him."
Claire shook her head.
"Ryan."
"If he knows my brother, I'm going."
Ruiz studied him.
Then nodded.
"You won't go alone."
Gavin was waiting behind reinforced glass six hours later.
When Ryan entered, his former friend smiled painfully.
"You look terrible."
Ryan sat.
"So do you."
Gavin leaned closer.
"You found out about Daniel."
Ryan's jaw tightened.
"Where is he?"
Gavin's smile vanished.
"You need to understand something first."
"What?"
"I wasn't watching your family."
"You put the bear in Ethan's room."
"No."
"Ethan said you gave it to him."
"I gave him a bear."
Gavin's eyes hardened.
"That wasn't the bear I bought."
Ryan stared.
"Who changed it?"
"The same person who has been inside your house for months."
"Daniel?"
Gavin did not answer.
Ryan leaned toward the glass.
"Is my brother alive?"
Gavin whispered, "Yes."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know anymore."
"Did he kill Sarah?"
"No."
Ryan's chest loosened slightly.
Then Gavin continued.
"But he knows who did."
"Who?"
Gavin looked toward the security camera in the interview room.
Then lowered his voice.
"The person you need to fear isn't Daniel."
"Then who?"
May you like
Gavin looked directly into Ryan's eyes.
"Claire."
