Chapter 3 - The Brother Who Came Back Once)
Grant had spent eleven years pretending Daniel Mercer did not exist.
That had been easier than explaining him.
Daniel was five years older.
As children, Grant worshiped him.
As adults, they became strangers.
Their father, Theodore Mercer, built the family's first fortune in commercial real estate.
Daniel inherited Theodore's appetite for risk.
Grant inherited his patience.
By thirty, Daniel had borrowed millions against family assets without permission.
When one investment collapsed, he forged Theodore's signature to hide the losses.
Grant discovered it.
He gave Daniel a choice.
Confess or leave.
Daniel left.
Their mother never forgave Grant.
Amelia did.
"You didn't destroy your brother," she told him. "He made his own choices."
Daniel spent the next decade bouncing between London, Monaco, Prague and Lisbon.
Then Amelia died.
Daniel appeared at the funeral without warning.
He stood at the back.
He spoke to no one except Margaret.
By the time Grant looked for him afterward, Daniel was gone.
Now Detective Ortiz placed the old photograph beneath a lamp.
"You haven't spoken to him since the funeral?"
"No."
"Do you have a current number?"
"No."
"Email?"
"He changes them constantly."
Ortiz nodded.
"We'll locate him."
Grant looked at the photograph.
Amelia appeared angry.
Daniel's expression was impossible to read.
Vanessa stood between them.
"Why didn't Amelia tell me?"
Ortiz answered carefully.
"Maybe she intended to."
Grant looked toward the recorder.
Everything seemed to lead back to what Amelia had never gotten the chance to say.
The next morning, Grant drove Ben and Sophie to Margaret's house.
He no longer trusted the villa.
Police had searched it overnight.
Vanessa had access to everything.
Bedrooms.
Office.
Security system.
Grant's financial records.
His children's routines.
Margaret opened the door before he knocked.
She was seventy-two, elegant, silver-haired and still capable of making Grant feel twelve years old when she disapproved.
She hugged Ben.
Then Sophie.
Then looked at Grant.
"You look terrible."
"Thank you."
"You know what I mean."
They entered.
Ben immediately went toward the den.
Sophie stayed close to Grant.
Margaret noticed.
"What happened yesterday frightened her."
Grant nodded.
"It frightened all of us."
Margaret poured coffee.
Grant placed the photograph on the kitchen counter.
His mother stared at it.
Her face changed.
"Where did you get this?"
"You've seen it before?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Grant watched her.
"Mom."
Margaret looked away.
"Daniel came back before Amelia died."
Grant felt a familiar frustration.
"When?"
"About a week before the accident."
"You told me the funeral was the first time you'd seen him in years."
"I lied."
"Why?"
"He asked me to."
Grant stepped backward.
"Why?"
Margaret sat down.
"He said he needed Amelia's help."
"With what?"
"He wouldn't tell me."
Grant's voice sharpened.
"And you didn't think that was important after she died?"
Margaret's eyes flashed.
"Your brother was frightened."
"So was Amelia."
"I didn't know that."
"You knew he met her."
Margaret's expression collapsed.
For the first time, Grant saw guilt.
"What happened?"
She folded her hands.
"Daniel came here at night. He looked exhausted. He said he had discovered something involving the foundation."
Grant's pulse quickened.
"What?"
"He believed Mason was moving money."
Grant closed his eyes.
Everyone knew except him.
Margaret continued.
"Daniel wanted to warn you."
"Then why didn't he?"
"He said he needed proof first."
Grant laughed bitterly.
"Apparently that was everyone's favorite sentence."
Margaret reached for his hand.
He pulled away.
"What did Amelia have to do with it?"
"Daniel knew she sat on the oversight board. He asked her to examine the accounts."
Grant looked again at the photograph.
"Then why was Vanessa there?"
"I don't know."
"Did Daniel know Vanessa?"
Margaret hesitated.
Grant saw it.
"Mom."
"Daniel mentioned a woman."
"What woman?"
"He said Mason wasn't working alone."
"Did he say Vanessa's name?"
Margaret slowly nodded.
Grant stepped away from the counter.
Eleven years of silence.
Three years of grief.
And the same names were connected to both.
His phone rang.
Detective Ortiz.
Grant answered.
"We found Mason's car," Ortiz said.
"Where?"
"Airport parking."
Grant's heart sank.
"He left?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"What do you mean?"
"The car was unlocked. His phone was inside."
Grant looked at Margaret.
"Anything else?"
"Yes."
Ortiz paused.
"There was blood on the driver's seat."
Grant's mind went blank.
"Is Mason hurt?"
"We don't know."
"Security cameras?"
"We're pulling footage."
Grant turned toward the window.
Then Ortiz said something worse.
"Grant, we also checked Vanessa's accounts."
"And?"
"She didn't exist before seven years ago."
Grant frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"Birth certificate is legitimate but reissued. Social Security records are clean from seven years ago onward. Before that, almost nothing."
Grant lowered his voice.
"Are you saying Vanessa Reed isn't her real name?"
"I'm saying we don't know who she was before seven years ago."
Grant stared at the photograph.
Amelia.
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Three people with secrets.
One dead.
One missing.
One hiding.
Then Sophie appeared in the doorway.
"Dad?"
Grant immediately softened.
"What is it?"
She held something in her palm.
A small folded piece of paper.
"I forgot I had this."
Grant walked over.
"Where did it come from?"
"The shed."
He opened the paper.
There was a sequence of numbers.
Then a handwritten sentence beneath it.
Grant recognized Amelia's writing.
Daniel knows where the second copy is.
Grant looked up.
"Second copy of what?"
Sophie pointed toward the numbers.
Ben came into the kitchen.
"Those aren't numbers."
Grant looked at him.
"What are they?"
May you like
Ben leaned closer.
"They're coordinates."
