Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO DISAPPEAREDDaniel Cross had been missing for twenty-six years.
That was the first thing Harrison told me.
The second was worse.
He had disappeared forty-eight hours after my grandmother died.
No body.
No bank activity.
No passport records.
Nothing.
He had simply vanished.
“Then how can an unknown number tell me he's alive?” I asked.
Harrison looked toward the windows.
“Because someone has been watching our family.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You're my grandfather. You know everything.”
He smiled sadly.
“No. That's what powerful families want their children to believe.”
He handed me a file.
Inside was a list of names.
Doctors.
Bankers.
Lawyers.
Former employees.
One by one, people connected to my grandmother's final days.
Most were dead.
Two had disappeared.
Three had gone bankrupt.
One had fled the country.
And one was still alive.
Dr. Samuel Reed.
My grandmother's physician.
“Where does he live?”
Harrison gave me an address.
“Long Island.”
I called Julian.
Then stopped.
No.
I couldn't trust him.
I called my friend instead.
Sophie.
She answered immediately.
“Vivienne?”
“I need help.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
I told her everything.
She was silent for several seconds.
Then:
“I'm coming.”
“Don't.”
“I'm already in my car.”
I smiled despite myself.
“Fine.”
We drove to Long Island before sunrise.
Dr. Reed lived alone in a small white house overlooking the ocean.
He opened the door before we knocked.
When he saw me, he went pale.
“You're Eleanor's daughter.”
“Yes.”
He stared at me.
“Then she finally told you.”
“She didn't.”
His expression changed.
“Your grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Dr. Reed stepped aside.
“Come in.”
He locked the door behind us.
“You need to leave New York.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother didn't die because of your mother.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your mother helped.”
“Then who killed her?”
He looked toward the windows.
“The Vance board.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Your grandmother was going to expose a financial fraud involving several of New York's wealthiest families.”
“How many?”
“Eleven.”
He named them.
I recognized every family.
Banks.
Real estate.
Politics.
Media.
They weren't just wealthy.
They were untouchable.
“Why would they kill her?”
“Because she had evidence.”
“Where?”
Dr. Reed looked at me.
“She gave it to your mother.”
I felt sick.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would my mother kill her?”
“Because Eleanor didn't want the truth exposed.”
I shook my head.
“She wanted the money.”
“That's only part of it.”
“What else?”
Dr. Reed hesitated.
“Your grandmother discovered that you weren't biologically Jonathan's daughter.”
The room went silent.
Sophie whispered:
“What?”
I couldn't breathe.
“What did you say?”
Dr. Reed looked directly at me.
“Your father isn't your biological father.”
I laughed.
A broken, disbelieving sound.
“No.”
“Your grandmother found out when you were born.”
“Who is my father?”
He looked away.
“I don't know.”
“Then why tell me this?”
“Because your grandmother did.”
He walked to a cabinet.
He removed an old envelope.
My name was written across it.
VIVIENNE.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
A man I had never seen.
And my grandmother.
On the back were five words.
Your father knows the truth.
I stared.
“Who is this man?”
Dr. Reed didn't answer.
Sophie stepped closer.
“Vivienne…”
Then we heard a car outside.
Dr. Reed's face went white.
“They found me.”
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Your parents.”
The front door exploded inward.
Two men entered.
Sophie screamed.
Dr. Reed pushed me toward the back door.
“Run!”
I grabbed the envelope.
We ran through the kitchen.
Behind us, glass shattered.
Someone shouted my name.
“Vivienne!”
I recognized the voice.
My father.
I ran faster.
We escaped through the backyard.
Snow covered the grass.
My phone rang.
I answered while running.
My mother's voice whispered:
“Come home, darling.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
“Because you need to hear the truth.”
“What truth?”
She began crying.
“Your father didn't kill your grandmother.”
I stared into the darkness.
“Then who did?”
She whispered:
May you like
“I did.”
The line went dead.
Related Stories
