Chapter 2 - THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE ROAD
The private car drove Mabel through a quiet coastal town outside Santa Barbara.
No reporters.
No security guards.
No familiar faces.
Only eucalyptus trees, winding roads, and the Pacific Ocean appearing between the hills.
Phoebe had arranged everything.
The house belonged to a retired judge who had once represented the Carmichael family.
Mabel entered carrying her suitcase.
She expected silence.
Instead, she heard a voice from the library.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
Mabel stopped.
Her entire body went rigid.
The man standing beside the window turned around.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
He was older than the man in the photograph.
Thinner.
His hair was almost completely gray.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
“Dad?”
Edward Carmichael closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Mabel’s suitcase slipped from her hand.
She crossed the room slowly.
“You’re alive.”
“I am.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You had eight years.”
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let me think I was alone.”
Edward looked away.
“I thought keeping you ignorant was the only way to keep you alive.”
Mabel laughed bitterly.
“You failed.”
“I know.”
She wanted to hit him.
Instead, she asked the question that had haunted her since the plane.
“Why?”
Edward walked to the desk and opened a locked drawer.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Corporate agreements.
And a folder bearing Flynn’s name.
“Your husband wasn’t the architect.”
Mabel looked up.
“Of what?”
“The plan.”
Edward placed another photograph on the desk.
It showed Flynn much younger, standing beside Selina.
Behind them was another man.
Mabel recognized him immediately.
Richard Vance.
Flynn’s father.
“He recruited Flynn,” Edward said.
“For what?”
“To marry you.”
Mabel’s face hardened.
“So the diary was right.”
“Partly.”
“What does that mean?”
Edward pointed to the documents.
“Your mother discovered that Richard had been siphoning assets from Vance Global through offshore entities.”
“And she told you?”
“She confronted him.”
Mabel’s breath caught.
“My mother knew?”
“She knew everything.”
“Then why did she die?”
Edward looked at her.
“She didn’t.”
Mabel stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Your mother is alive.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.”
Edward nodded slowly.
“She has been hiding under another identity.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Mabel backed away.
“My mother died when I was seventeen.”
“That is what everyone was told.”
“Who told me?”
“Richard.”
Mabel’s mind raced.
Richard had attended the funeral.
Richard had sent flowers.
Richard had comforted her.
And Flynn had later become her husband.
A perfect chain.
A perfect trap.
Edward opened another file.
Inside was a hospital photograph of a newborn.
Mabel stared at it.
“Who is that?”
“Flynn.”
She frowned.
“That's impossible.”
“He wasn't raised by his biological parents.”
Mabel looked closer.
On the bottom of the photograph was a handwritten note.
Transferred under sealed guardianship.
Her blood ran cold.
“Who was his mother?”
Edward hesitated.
“Your mother.”
Mabel stared at him.
“What?”
“Flynn is your mother’s son.”
Mabel stepped backward.
“No.”
“That makes him your half brother.”
The words hung between them.
Mabel covered her mouth.
“No. Flynn and I were married.”
“I know.”
“He slept beside me.”
“I know.”
“We were trying to have a child.”
Edward’s expression broke.
“I know.”
Mabel’s knees nearly gave out.
Then Edward caught her arm.
“There’s more.”
She looked at him.
“Selina isn’t Flynn’s mistress.”
“Then what is she?”
“His sister.”
Mabel stared at the man she had spent eight years grieving.
Her father had returned from the dead.
Her husband had been hiding an identity.
Her mother might still be alive.
And the baby inside her was connected to all of them.
Then Edward whispered:
“Flynn doesn't know you discovered the truth.”
Mabel looked toward the locked front door.
“Does he know I'm here?”
Edward didn't answer.
A car engine sounded outside.
May you like
Edward’s face changed.
“They found us.”
