Chapter 4: The Voice From the Dead
Marcus stared at the name glowing on Darius's phone.
*ADRIAN CROSS.*
The screen went dark.
For three seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Marcus reached for the phone.
“Call him back.””
Darius didn't move.
“Call him.””
“Marcus—”
“Call him!””
Darius's thumb pressed the number.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then someone answered.
No greeting.
Just breathing.
Marcus's entire body went rigid.
Darius put the phone on speaker.
A man's voice filled the bedroom.
Older.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Marcus.””
Marcus grabbed the edge of the dresser.
He knew that voice.
He had never heard it before in his life.
And yet some part of him recognized it instantly.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then the voice said, “You already know.””
Marcus's mouth went dry.
“Adrian Cross?””
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
“So your father finally told you.””
“Which father?””
The laughter disappeared.
“That's the question, isn't it?””
Marcus stared at Darius.
Darius looked equally shaken.
Marcus leaned toward the phone.
“You're supposed to be dead.””
“I am dead.””
“What?””
“My name is still dead. My records are dead. My old life is dead.””
Marcus felt a chill move up his spine.
“You faked your death.””
“I disappeared.””
“You left my mother.””
“No.””
The answer came sharply.
“I was taken away from her.””
Marcus frowned.
“By who?””
Silence.
Then Adrian said, “Daniel.””
Darius stepped closer.
Marcus shook his head.
“My father died eleven years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then explain how you're talking to me.””
“Your mother can explain.””
“She doesn't know you're alive.””
A longer pause followed.
“She knows.””
Marcus's eyes widened.
“What?””
“She has always known.””
The bedroom door suddenly creaked.
Marcus turned.
Nobody stood there.
He looked back at the phone.
“Where is my mother?””
Adrian answered immediately.
“Not where Alicia thinks she is.””
Marcus froze.
“What does that mean?””
“It means you're asking the wrong questions.””
“I'm done with riddles.””
His voice cracked through the room.
“My wife has been moving money. She has documents hidden in my house. You're apparently alive after twenty-three years. My dead father may have stolen my identity or my inheritance, and you're telling me I'm asking the wrong questions?””
Adrian was quiet.
Then he said, “Your wife isn't the person who started this.””
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
“Who did?””
“You did.””
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“I'm sorry?””
“You have spent your entire life walking inside a story written by other people.””
Adrian's voice softened.
“Tonight, the story stopped being able to protect you.””
Marcus looked at the papers scattered across the bed.
“What do you want from me?””
“Nothing.””
“Then why call?””
“Because you are about to make a decision that will put you in danger.””
Marcus glanced at Darius.
“What decision?””
“Going after Alicia.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Where is she?””
“I can tell you.””
“Then tell me.””
“She went to Cedar Lane.””
Marcus looked at Darius.
Darius whispered, “The old property.””
Adrian continued.
“She believes the trust is the prize.””
“What is it, then?””
“The trust is bait.””
Marcus's heart thudded.
“Bait for what?””
“To see whether you would come looking.””
“Who is watching?””
Another pause.
“Everyone who has been waiting for you to become the man you were supposed to become.””
Marcus nearly shouted.
“Stop talking like that!””
Adrian's voice changed.
“Marcus, listen carefully. Do not go to Cedar Lane alone.””
“Why?””
“Because Alicia isn't the only person going there.””
The line went silent.
Marcus looked at Darius.
“Who else?””
No answer.
“Adrian?””
Nothing.
The call had ended.
Marcus stood motionless.
Darius took the phone from him.
“He hung up.””
Marcus barely heard him.
His mind was racing.
Then a thought struck him.
“Where's the second car?””
Darius frowned.
“What second car?””
“The driveway. Alicia's car.””
Darius looked toward the window.
“She didn't take it.””
Marcus walked downstairs.
Darius followed.
The house was silent.
Marcus opened the front door.
Alicia's car was parked in the driveway.
Keys missing.
He checked the kitchen counter.
Her purse was gone.
Her phone was gone.
But her car remained.
“She took another vehicle,” Marcus said.
Darius looked toward the garage.
They rushed inside.
The silver pickup stood where it had been.
But against the far wall was Marcus's old black sedan.
He had forgotten about it.
Darius walked around the driver's side.
“No.””
Marcus came closer.
“What?””
“The trunk.””
He pointed.
The trunk wasn't completely closed.
Marcus lifted it.
Inside sat two large duffel bags.
One contained clothes.
The other contained stacks of documents.
Marcus pulled out the top folder.
Cedar Lane.
Every page was marked with dates.
Property transfers.
Corporate filings.
Wire instructions.
Names.
Marcus turned a page.
Alicia's name appeared.
So did Darius's.
But there was another name listed on nearly every document.
*Evelyn Cross.*
Marcus stopped.
“Cross?””
Darius nodded.
“Your mother's maiden name was Cross.””
Marcus looked at him.
“My mother was Evelyn Hale.””
“After she married Daniel.””
Marcus stared at the paperwork.
Then he found a page that made his hands go cold.
It was a notarized statement.
*Evelyn Cross confirms that Marcus Adrian Cross is the biological son of Adrian Cross.*
At the bottom was her signature.
And beneath it—
a date from six months ago.
Marcus sat down hard on the edge of the trunk.
“She signed this recently.””
Darius crouched beside him.
“Yes.””
“She knew.””
“Yes.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
Darius hesitated.
“Because she was afraid.””
“Of Daniel?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Darius looked toward the open garage door.
“She didn't say.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“You keep saying she. You know more than you're telling me.””
Darius's face tightened.
“My mother died last year.””
Marcus said nothing.
“She left me a box,” Darius continued.
“Letters. Photos. Records. She told me never to open it unless Alicia contacted me.””
Marcus stared.
“Alicia knew your mother?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“They worked together.””
“Where?””
Darius looked down.
“At a private accounting firm.””
Marcus frowned.
“Alicia was an accountant?””
“For a while.””
“She never told me.””
“There are a lot of things your wife never told you.””
The bitterness in Darius's voice was unmistakable.
Marcus looked toward the street.
“We're going to Cedar Lane.””
Darius stood.
“No.””
Marcus turned.
“You heard him.””
“He said don't go alone.””
“Exactly.””
“I wasn't included in the plural.””
Marcus grabbed his jacket.
“Then don't come.””
Darius caught his arm.
“You don't understand. This isn't just about your marriage anymore.””
Marcus stared at his hand.
Darius released him.
“I've spent months watching Alicia.””
Marcus went still.
“Why?””
“Because someone hired me.””
“Who?””
Darius looked away.
“A person who wanted to know whether Alicia was really planning to steal from you.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Who hired you?””
Darius didn't answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Who?””
Darius finally whispered, “Your mother.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
“She hired me six months ago.””
The rain began tapping against the garage roof again.
Darius continued.
“She knew Alicia was looking into the trust. She was afraid Alicia would reach you before she could.””
Marcus stared at him.
“So you weren't spying for Alicia.””
“No.””
“You were watching Alicia for my mother.””
“Yes.””
“Then why help her tonight?””
“I didn't.””
Marcus pointed at the folders.
“You were here.””
“To protect you.””
“From Alicia?””
“From whoever Alicia was meeting.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“You said you knew her plan.””
“I knew part of it.””
“What part?””
Darius took a breath.
“Alicia doesn't want the trust.””
Marcus frowned.
“She moved nearly half a million dollars.””
“That's not the real objective.””
“Then what is?””
Darius looked directly into his eyes.
“She wants you to believe Adrian Cross is alive.””
Marcus stared.
“But he is.””
Darius's answer came quietly.
“Are you sure?””
The words landed harder than a shout.
Marcus looked at the phone.
At the dead number.
At the documents.
At the photograph.
Then Darius pulled out his own wallet.
From behind an old driver's license, he removed a tiny photograph.
He handed it to Marcus.
It showed Adrian Cross standing beside a hospital bed.
A newborn baby rested in his arms.
Marcus recognized himself immediately.
But there was a second person in the photograph.
A man standing in the doorway.
Daniel Hale.
Alive.
Watching.
Marcus flipped the photograph over.
A date was written in ink.
*October 17, 2003.*
The same month Adrian had supposedly died.
Marcus's breath caught.
“That isn't possible.””
Darius pointed to the corner of the photograph.
There was a newspaper lying on a chair.
Its headline was visible.
*LOCAL MAN PRESUMED DEAD AFTER HIGHWAY DISAPPEARANCE.*
Not killed.
Presumed dead.
Marcus looked up slowly.
“So the accident…”
“There was no body.””
“Then why did everyone tell me he died?””
“Because Daniel needed everyone to believe it.””
Marcus's phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
One new message.
*Cedar Lane. 2:30 a.m. Come alone.*
A second message appeared before he could breathe.
*And bring the birth certificate.*
Then a third.
*Do not trust Darius.*
Marcus looked up.
Darius was watching him.
“You got a message,” he said.
Marcus didn't answer.
Darius's eyes narrowed.
“What did it say?””
Marcus slowly slipped the phone into his pocket.
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
Then Darius spoke again.
“Marcus… whatever that message says, don't go to Cedar Lane.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Why not?””
Darius's face had gone pale.
“Because I was there an hour ago.””
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“What happened?””
Darius swallowed.
“I found Alicia.””
“And?””
“She wasn't alone.””
“Who was with her?””
Darius stared toward the dark road.
May you like
Then whispered the name that made Marcus's entire body go numb.
“Daniel.””
