Chapter 4 - The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The engine came from the far side of the courtyard.
A dark sedan shot through the service gate.
Police officers shouted.
Two patrol cars immediately followed.
But I barely noticed the chase.
Because the name Richard Whitmore meant something.
I'd seen it on a portrait in the upstairs gallery.
Two young boys stood beside their parents.
One was Arthur.
The other had the same sharp eyes and confident smile.
Beneath the portrait, a small silver plaque read:
Richard Whitmore, 1981–2019.
Arthur's brother was supposed to be dead.
I looked at Detective Brooks.
“Richard died seven years ago.”
Daniel studied my face.
“How do you know?”
“There's a memorial portrait upstairs.”
He said nothing.
A stretcher appeared at the mansion entrance.
Arthur walked beside it, holding an elderly woman's hand.
Evelyn Whitmore.
She looked pale and exhausted, but her eyes were alert.
The moment Noah saw her, he broke away from me.
“Grandma!”
Evelyn lifted her arms.
The paramedics slowed.
Noah climbed carefully beside her.
“My brave boy,” she whispered.
Then she began crying.
Arthur reached them and wrapped an arm around his son.
I saw him press his forehead against Noah's curls.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered.
Noah looked up.
“For what?”
“For not being here.”
The simple words broke my heart.
Arthur had missed more than a party.
He'd missed the danger growing inside his own home.
Evelyn spotted me.
Her tired eyes widened.
“You're Grace?”
I nodded.
“Noah told me about you.”
She held out her hand.
I stepped closer.
Her fingers were cold.
“Thank you for opening that fireplace.”
I swallowed hard.
“Anyone would have done it.”
She shook her head.
“No. Not everyone.”
Her gaze moved toward the mansion.
“I screamed for days. People heard me. They walked away.”
I couldn't speak.
Then she pulled me closer.
“Listen carefully. Richard is alive.”
Arthur stiffened.
“Mom, the doctors said—”
“The doctors never saw his body.”
Her voice was weak but determined.
“You only saw a sealed coffin.”
Arthur stepped backward.
“No.”
Evelyn began shaking.
“He came back six months ago.”
Arthur looked devastated.
“My brother?”
“He wanted everything your father left you.”
Daniel moved closer.
“Mrs. Whitmore, we need details.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Richard believed the company should have been his. Your father knew he was stealing money before the accident.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“What accident?”
Evelyn looked directly at him.
“The accident that supposedly killed him.”
Arthur rubbed his face.
“I don't understand.”
“Because it wasn't an accident, Arthur.”
A sudden silence settled around us.
Evelyn continued.
“Your brother planned his disappearance after your father discovered the fraud. He wanted the investigation to stop.”
Daniel made a note.
“Who helped him?”
“Marcus Bell.”
I thought of the silver ring.
“And Vanessa?” I asked.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Vanessa knew.”
Arthur looked as though someone had struck him.
His wife.
The woman he'd trusted with his son.
“She helped Richard get into the mansion,” Evelyn whispered.
Arthur shook his head.
“No. Vanessa and Richard barely knew each other.”
Evelyn opened her eyes.
“They knew each other before you met her.”
Arthur stared.
“What?”
“They were involved.”
His breathing changed.
I could see anger battling disbelief.
“Mom, are you saying my wife had a relationship with my brother?”
“Yes.”
The word hung in the cold night air.
Arthur turned away.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he asked the question I knew was tearing him apart.
“Did Vanessa marry me because of him?”
Evelyn's silence answered.
I watched Arthur close his eyes.
All the money in the world couldn't protect a man from that kind of betrayal.
Daniel's phone rang.
He listened briefly.
Then his expression changed.
“The sedan crashed near the east gate. Driver fled into the wooded property.”
“Richard?” Arthur asked.
“We don't know yet.”
A paramedic approached Evelyn.
“We need to transport her.”
Evelyn grabbed Arthur's hand.
“One more thing.”
“Mom, please rest.”
“No. You must listen.”
She looked terrified again.
“They wanted you to sign control of the company into a family trust tomorrow.”
Arthur nodded slowly.
“I was supposed to sign updated estate documents.”
“The papers were forged.”
His face went pale.
“Vanessa arranged the meeting.”
Evelyn squeezed his hand.
“Your brother wanted the money, but there was something else.”
“What?”
“The original trust your father created.”
Arthur frowned.
“What about it?”
Evelyn looked toward Noah.
“Your father changed it before he died. Richard never found the original.”
“Where is it?”
She shook her head.
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
Her eyes moved toward me.
Then toward Noah's hoodie.
“The golden key was only the first part.”
I looked at Noah.
He still held the key tightly.
Evelyn whispered.
“The clock holds the second.”
Before anyone could ask another question, she suddenly struggled to breathe.
The paramedics moved immediately.
Arthur stepped aside as they placed an oxygen mask over her face.
I watched the ambulance doors close.
Noah began crying.
“Grandma's going to die.”
Arthur dropped to his knees.
“No, buddy.”
He hugged him.
“We're getting her help.”
Noah looked at me.
I knelt beside them.
“Your grandma is strong.”
He nodded uncertainly.
Daniel approached us.
“Mr. Whitmore, we need you to come inside.”
Arthur rose.
“Why?”
“We found the clock.”
My heart skipped.
“And?”
Daniel looked troubled.
“There was a concealed camera inside.”
Arthur glanced toward the mansion.
“Did it record anything?”
“Yes.”
“Then we have proof.”
Daniel didn't smile.
“We may have something much worse.”
He lowered his voice.
“The recording shows Vanessa opening the basement room three nights ago.”
Arthur nodded.
“Okay.”
“Richard was with her.”
Arthur's face hardened.
But Daniel wasn't finished.
“There's a third person in the recording.”
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Your family attorney, Samuel Price.”
Arthur stepped backward.
“No. Samuel handled my father's estate.”
Daniel nodded.
“And according to the recording, he was carrying a document with your forged signature.”
Arthur stared at the mansion.
The betrayal was bigger than his marriage.
Bigger than his brother.
It reached into every part of his life.
Then Daniel spoke again.
“One of the men in that recording said something unusual.”
Arthur looked at him.
“What?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He said the first person who discovered the missing trust would have to disappear.”
I felt Noah squeeze my hand.
Then a memory struck me.
Three days earlier, I'd found a torn envelope beneath the library desk.
Someone had written two words across it.
Find Grace.
At the time, I'd thought it was a housekeeping instruction.
Now I wasn't so sure.
May you like
Because Evelyn had known my name before meeting me.
And suddenly, I wondered whether my employment at this mansion had ever been an accident.
