Chapter 6 - THE DEAD BROTHER'S BANK ACCOUNT
There are things a man accepts because the alternative is madness.
For six years, I had accepted Daniel was dead.
I had identified his body.
I had buried him.
I had stood beside his grave every anniversary.
So when a wounded assassin claimed my brother was alive, I did not believe him.
Jenna did.
Not blindly.
Logically.
“Bodies can be misidentified.”
“I saw him.”
“After a crash?”
“Yes.”
“Fire?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“Then you didn’t see him. You saw what was left.”
I hated that she was right.
We traced the attacker’s payment.
Cryptocurrency.
Three shell accounts.
Then a bank in Wyoming.
The final account holder was listed as Daniel James Blackwood.
My brother’s full legal name.
Victor stared at the screen.
“That’s impossible.”
I looked at him.
“You seem very invested in that word today.”
He ignored the accusation.
Jenna sat beside my analyst.
“Can we see account activity?”
“Yes.”
Monthly withdrawals.
Hotels.
Medical payments.
Private flights.
Six years of movement.
Someone had been using Daniel’s identity continuously since his supposed death.
Then Jenna noticed a merchant.
“Evan.”
She pointed.
Mountain View Neurological Rehabilitation Center.
Colorado Springs.
Three payments in the past year.
My pulse changed.
We drove there immediately.
The administrator refused to discuss patients.
Then I placed Daniel’s photograph on the desk.
She looked at it too long.
“You’ve seen him.”
“I can’t confirm that.”
“You just did.”
Jenna touched my arm.
“Evan.”
I forced myself to step back.
Jenna spoke gently.
“We’re not here to hurt anyone. His family thinks he died six years ago.”
The administrator’s expression softened.
“He used another name.”
“What name?”
“David Grant.”
“Is he here?”
“No.”
“When did he leave?”
“Four months ago.”
“Condition?”
She hesitated.
“Traumatic brain injury. Memory loss. Severe nerve damage.”
I sat down.
For the first time in years, my hands were unsteady.
“Did he ever remember his family?”
“Pieces.”
She opened a drawer and removed an envelope.
“He left this in case someone named Evan came looking.”
My name was written across it.
Inside was one sentence.
I REMEMBER WHO CUT MY BRAKES.
Below it was a Denver address.
Jenna read it.
Then looked up.
“That’s Ryan’s office.”
I thought that was the secret.
It wasn’t.
On the back, Daniel had added three words.
JENNA KNOWS WHY.
She stared at the handwriting.
May you like
“I have no idea what that means.”
But I could tell from her face that something had just returned to her memory.
