Chapter 7 - The Missing Brother
Claire spent the entire night searching through Mike's old documents.
Marriage records.
School records.
Medical files.
Employment history.
Nothing.
There was no brother.
No half-brother.
No hidden relative.
But the journalist's photograph remained in her mind.
The man looked like Mike.
Too much like Mike.
Claire finally found something inside an old insurance file.
A name had been crossed out.
Daniel Bennett.
Claire searched it.
Nothing.
She searched again using Mike's birth year.
Still nothing.
Then she noticed a handwritten note beside the name.
DO NOT CONTACT.
Claire called the number attached to the old file.
A woman answered.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Claire Bennett.”
Silence.
“I'm looking for Daniel.”
The woman hung up.
Claire called again.
No answer.
Then a text appeared.
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE FOUND THAT NAME.
Claire looked toward the window.
A black sedan was parked across the street.
She grabbed her keys.
By the time she reached the road, the sedan was gone.
That evening, Nathan arrived.
Claire almost closed the door.
“Five minutes,” he said.
She let him inside.
Nathan looked exhausted.
“Harold knows about Daniel.”
“Who is Daniel?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Mike's brother.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Nathan looked down.
“He was involved before Mike.”
“Involved in what?”
Nathan finally spoke.
“The investigation.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“Then why did Mike hide him from me?”
“Because Daniel was the first person Harold tried to silence.”
Claire felt cold.
“Is Daniel dead?”
Nathan didn't answer.
Then someone knocked on the window.
Nathan jumped.
A small object had been thrown through the glass.
A USB drive.
Nathan picked it up.
His face changed.
“What?”
He looked at Claire.
“You need to leave this house.”
“Why?”
“Because this isn't about Mike anymore.”
He plugged in the drive.
One video appeared.
A timestamp.
Two years ago.
The night Mike supposedly died.
Claire watched.
A black car stopped outside a warehouse.
Mike stepped out.
Alive.
Then another man stepped into frame.
Claire couldn't see his face.
But she recognized the coat.
The same coat hanging in the cabin.
Nathan whispered.
“That's Daniel.”
Claire stared at the screen.
May you like
Then Mike turned toward the camera.
And behind him stood Harold.
