Chapter 2 - The Son Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The first thing Ethan did was move Norah and Sam to a secure residence.
The second was call Avery Coleman.
Avery had handled the Hayes family's legal affairs for more than twenty years. He rarely reacted to anything.
But when Ethan placed Sophia's bottle on his desk, the old attorney stopped breathing for a moment.
“I haven't seen that in a decade.”
“You recognize it?”
“Yes.”
Avery looked at Evelyn.
“You told him?”
“I couldn't.”
“You should have.”
Ethan slammed his palm onto the table.
“Stop speaking around me.”
Avery closed his briefcase.
“All right.”
He looked at Ethan.
“Your sister Sophia was pregnant when she disappeared.”
Ethan stared at him.
“With whose child?”
“Daniel.”
His younger brother.
The same Daniel everyone believed had died eleven months ago.
The truth was becoming impossible to contain.
Norah sat quietly across from them, holding Sam.
Her entire life had become a question.
“Why didn't Daniel tell me?”
Avery looked at her.
“Because he was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Your father.”
Norah glanced at Ethan.
“His father?”
“Yes.”
Ethan leaned back.
“Our father controlled everything through fear. Businesses. Employees. Family members.”
“Why would he care about a pregnancy?”
“Because Sophia found something.”
“What?”
Avery didn't answer immediately.
Ethan's voice sharpened.
“Tell us.”
“A network of companies.”
“Some legitimate.”
“Some not.”
“Money moved through them.”
“People were used as intermediaries.”
“Sophia kept records.”
Norah looked at Sam.
“And Daniel helped her.”
Avery nodded.
“When our father found out, he wanted the evidence destroyed.”
“And Sophia?”
“Disappeared.”
Ethan looked at his mother.
“You knew.”
“I knew something had happened.”
“You watched me bury her.”
“I believed she was dead.”
“You let me believe it.”
Evelyn covered her face.
“I was afraid.”
Ethan turned away.
Norah watched him.
For the first time, she understood the man everyone in Boston whispered about.
He wasn't fearless.
He had simply learned how to hide fear better than everyone else.
Avery opened another file.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Daniel may never have died.”
Norah's head snapped up.
“What?”
“We checked the hospital records.”
“There was no admission under Daniel Hayes.”
“The vehicle involved was registered to a man named David Hale.”
Norah recognized the name.
“David Hale?”
Avery nodded.
“Have you heard it?”
She slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Ethan pushed the file toward her.
Inside was a photograph of the accident.
The car was wrecked.
But no body was visible.
Norah's face went white.
“I identified Daniel through his belongings.”
“What belongings?”
“His watch.”
“His ring.”
“His wallet.”
“Who gave them to you?”
“Two men I thought were hospital staff.”
Ethan and Avery exchanged a glance.
“They weren't.”
Norah's hands began to shake.
“Then who?”
Before Ethan could answer, the door opened.
A security officer entered.
“There was someone outside the gate.”
“Who?”
“He left this.”
A small envelope.
Ethan opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Norah holding newborn Sam.
The picture had been taken from across the street.
On the back:
THE CHILD IS THE ONLY KEY.
Norah pulled Sam closer.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Who has been watching them?”
“No idea yet.”
The security officer handed him another item.
A silver hairpin.
Evelyn stared at it.
“Sophia.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What?”
“That belonged to her.”
Avery took the pin.
“There is a message.”
Etched into the metal were six numbers.
A date.
Ethan recognized it.
The day his father died.
“Why would Sophia leave this?”
Avery looked troubled.
“Because whatever she discovered may have been hidden before your father died.”
Ethan looked at Norah.
“Did Daniel ever mention a trust?”
Norah shook her head.
“A fund?”
“No.”
“A secret?”
“He told me we had to be careful.”
“He told me if something happened, I should never let anyone take Sam.”
Ethan looked toward the child.
“How old was Daniel when you met him?”
“Thirty-three.”
“Three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“That means he was hiding in plain sight.”
Norah suddenly remembered something.
“There was a woman.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“Who?”
“I saw her twice.”
“Where?”
“First at a grocery store.”
“Then?”
“Outside my apartment.”
“What did she say?”
“She handed me an envelope.”
“What was inside?”
“I don't know.”
“I gave it to Daniel.”
“What happened?”
“He burned it.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Do you remember her?”
“A little.”
“She had a scar near her chin.”
Evelyn gasped.
“Sophia.”
Ethan looked at her.
“What?”
“She had that scar.”
Norah's stomach dropped.
“She was alive.”
Avery stood.
“Then we have to assume she still is.”
A phone rang.
This time, it was Norah's.
She answered.
A woman spoke.
“You were never supposed to meet Ethan.”
Norah recognized the voice.
The grocery store woman.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who owes your husband a debt.”
“Where is Daniel?”
A pause.
Then:
“He's coming home.”
The call ended.
Norah looked at Ethan.
“What if Daniel is alive?”
May you like
Ethan reached for his coat.
“Then we're going to find him.”
