Chapter 2 - MY FATHER’S LAST WARNING
Nathan pointed the gun directly at my chest.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The little boy’s photograph remained in my hand.
“Put it down,” Nathan said.
“You mean Dad’s letter?”
“All of it.”
I looked at my younger brother.
Nathan had always been the charming one.
At thirty-two, he could walk into a room full of angry investors and leave with half of them wanting to buy him dinner.
Growing up, he had been reckless.
Dad cleaned up his mistakes.
I protected him.
Mom excused him.
Apparently, we had all been preparing him for something worse.
“Did you help put Claire in that coffin?”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”
A cold wave moved through me.
“What was supposed to happen?”
“She was supposed to sleep until you arrived.”
“In a coffin?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain it.”
His eyes moved toward the ledger.
“Claire found things she shouldn’t have.”
“So you drugged her?”
Nathan’s voice cracked.
“Mom handled Claire.”
That sentence told me more than he intended.
Outside the office, an officer called my name.
Nathan immediately lowered the gun.
I stepped toward him.
“You’re finished.”
He smiled strangely.
“No, Ethan. You don’t even know what started.”
The door opened.
Officer Ramirez entered.
Nathan slid the gun onto Dad’s desk.
Ramirez saw it immediately.
“Step away.”
Nathan raised his hands.
My mother appeared behind the officer.
“This is ridiculous. That weapon belonged to my husband.”
I looked at Ramirez.
“He pointed it at me.”
Nathan laughed.
“Because my brother is emotional and making accusations.”
Ramirez took the weapon anyway.
I put Dad’s letter, the ledger, and the photograph into my jacket.
My mother saw me.
For the first time in my life, Evelyn Bennett looked at me with hatred.
Not disappointment.
Not irritation.
Hatred.
At the hospital, Claire was rushed directly into obstetric intensive care.
Dr. Allison Greene met me outside.
“Your wife has a significant amount of a sedative in her system. We’ve stabilized her breathing.”
“What about our son?”
“He’s in distress, but his heart rate is improving.”
“Will you deliver him?”
“If we can safely wait, we will. At thirty-four weeks, every extra day matters.”
I stood beside Claire’s bed.
Machines surrounded her.
Her face looked impossibly pale beneath the oxygen mask.
I took her hand.
“I should’ve listened.”
Her fingers didn’t move.
I opened Dad’s letter.
The pages were written six weeks before his death.
Ethan,
There are things I should have told you years ago.
Your mother has been transferring money from Bennett Development through shell companies Nathan controls. I discovered it eighteen months ago.
When I confronted them, Evelyn told me the money belonged to her because she had “built the family” while I received the credit.
I intended to remove Nathan from the company.
Then she threatened Luke.
My eyes returned to the photograph.
I continued.
Luke is my son.
Your half brother.
His mother, Rebecca Hale, worked as an architectural consultant on one of our projects seventeen years ago.
I made a terrible mistake.
But Luke did not deserve to become collateral damage because of it.
Evelyn discovered his existence three years ago.
Since then, she has been using company money to pay Rebecca in exchange for silence.
Recently, Rebecca refused further payments.
She wants Luke to know who his father was.
There is more.
If anything happens to me, speak to Dr. Alan Moore.
Do not believe Evelyn’s version of my death.
I lowered the letter.
My father had another son.
And he believed my mother would kill him.
A nurse entered.
“Mr. Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“Your wife is waking up.”
I stood so quickly the chair tipped over.
Claire’s eyelids fluttered.
“Claire?”
She opened her eyes.
Confusion came first.
Then terror.
She grabbed my wrist.
“Ethan…”
“I’m here.”
“Your mother…”
“I know.”
Claire began crying silently.
“The baby?”
“He’s alive.”
She closed her eyes in relief.
Then her expression suddenly changed.
“Where’s the key?”
“I have it.”
“And the letter?”
“I found it.”
Claire stared at the door.
“You need to protect Luke.”
My stomach tightened.
“You know about him?”
She nodded weakly.
“I found Rebecca’s address.”
“What happened after that?”
Claire swallowed.
“Your mother caught me reading the documents.”
I waited.
“She told me your father didn’t die from a heart attack.”
The monitor beside Claire quickened.
I squeezed her hand.
“What did she say?”
Claire’s lips trembled.
“She said Nathan switched his medication.”
I felt the room disappear around me.
“And then?”
“Evelyn said your father died because he tried to choose another son over his real family.”
I could barely speak.
“Did she admit killing him?”
“Not exactly.”
Claire’s breathing became shallow.
“But she said something worse.”
“What?”
“She told me your father wasn’t the first person in your family they buried before they were ready.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Claire looked terrified.
“I don’t know.”
Before she could continue, alarms erupted.
The baby’s heart rate dropped.
Doctors rushed into the room.
Dr. Greene shouted for an emergency cesarean.
They pushed me aside.
I watched helplessly as Claire disappeared through double doors.
Forty minutes later, Dr. Greene returned.
Her surgical cap was still on.
My heart stopped.
“Your son is alive.”
I collapsed into a chair.
“And Claire?”
“She made it through surgery.”
I covered my face.
Then Dr. Greene sat beside me.
“There’s something else.”
I looked at her.
“When we examined your wife, we found evidence the person who injected her had medical training.”
“How?”
“The injection was placed precisely where it would be concealed.”
I thought of Dad’s letter.
Dr. Alan Moore.
My father’s longtime physician.
I pulled out my phone.
Before I could search his name, an unknown number called.
I answered.
A man whispered:
“Ethan Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Alan Moore.”
I stood.
“I was your father’s doctor.”
My throat tightened.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t have much time.”
“What happened to my father?”
There was silence.
May you like
Then he said:
“Your father was alive when Evelyn ordered me to sign his death certificate.”
