Chapter 7: The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The wallet sat on my desk for nearly an hour before I touched it again.
Because sometimes your mind refuses to accept something your eyes already know.
Vanessa’s mother was alive.
Or at least, someone wanted me to believe she was.
I called Vanessa.
She answered after one ring.
“Nathaniel?””
“Where are you?””
“At my apartment.””
“Come back.””
Silence.
Then:
“Why?””
“I found something.””
“What?””
I looked at the wallet.
“Something about your mother.””
She arrived twenty minutes later.
The moment she saw the wallet, she covered her mouth.
“No.””
“You know it?””
She stepped closer.
“That’s hers.””
“How can you be sure?””
“Because I gave it to her.””
The room went silent.
“You said she died.””
“I thought she did.””
“When?””
Vanessa sat down.
“When I was twelve.””
She stared at the wallet.
“My father told me she was killed because she discovered the truth about Carter Industries.””
“But she wasn’t dead.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don’t understand.””
Neither did I.
Then my phone received a message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
"Meet me if you want the truth about your father.""
A location followed.
An abandoned warehouse outside the city.
Vanessa saw the message.
“You’re not going alone.””
“I should.””
“No.””
Her voice was firm.
“Your family has spent years hiding things from you. Mine too.””
She looked at me.
“We find the truth together.””
For the first time in days, I believed her.
The warehouse was empty when we arrived.
At least, it looked empty.
Then a light turned on.
An older woman stepped forward.
Vanessa froze.
Her face went completely pale.
“Mom?””
The woman began crying.
“My little girl.””
Vanessa ran to her.
They hugged.
And I watched the woman everyone believed was dead hold her daughter for the first time in fifteen years.
But there was no time for a reunion.
Because someone else entered.
Bennett.
My body immediately tensed.
“What are you doing here?””
The older woman looked terrified.
“Who is that?””
I stared at Bennett.
“You tell me.””
Bennett sighed.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You know my mother?””
Bennett looked at her.
“Yes.””
“How?””
He looked at me.
“Because your father hired me to protect her.””
The answer shocked all of us.
“You weren’t the person who betrayed him?””
“No.””
“Then who were you protecting her from?””
Bennett looked toward the warehouse entrance.
Before he could answer, a car door slammed outside.
His expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“He found us.””
“Who?””
Bennett whispered:
“The man who started all of this.””
The warehouse door opened.
A figure walked inside.
I knew him.
Everyone knew him.
My uncle.
Thomas Carter.
He looked at me sadly.
“Nathaniel.””
I couldn’t move.
“You?””
Thomas sighed.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.””
Vanessa’s mother stepped forward.
“You ruined everything.””
Thomas looked at her.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“She did.””
He pointed.
Not at Vanessa.
Not at her mother.
At Bennett.
My blood went cold.
“What?””
Bennett looked devastated.
“Thomas is lying.””
But Thomas pulled out a folder.
Inside were photographs.
Records.
Proof.
He placed them on the table.
“Nathaniel, the man you trusted to protect this house…”
May you like
He looked at Bennett.
“Was the man who destroyed your father.””
