Chapter 7: The Brother’s Lie
The signature stared back at me.
Lucas Hale.
My brother.
The man who had hugged me.
The man who had warned me.
The man who had told me to protect my children.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.
My mind refused to accept it.
“No,” I whispered.
Daniel watched me carefully.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.””
I looked up.
“Because you’re trying to protect yourself.””
“I expected you to say that.””
“Because it’s true.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“Ethan, I have done terrible things. I’m not pretending otherwise. But this document wasn’t created by me.””
I looked back at the signature.
The ink.
The handwriting.
Everything looked real.
“When was this signed?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Two weeks ago.””
My chest tightened.
Two weeks.
That was after Ethan had started acting afraid.
After Maya had discovered something.
After Vivian had begun preparing her plan.
I stood up.
“I need to leave.””
“Ethan—”
“Don’t call me.””
I walked out.
The cold night air hit my face.
But it didn’t clear my thoughts.
It only made the truth feel sharper.
Someone had betrayed me.
I just didn’t know who anymore.
I drove straight to Lucas’s apartment.
I didn’t call.
I didn’t text.
I needed to see his face when I asked him.
When he opened the door, he immediately knew something was wrong.
“What happened?””
I held up the document.
His expression changed.
Not much.
But enough.
“You need to explain this.””
Lucas stared at the paper.
Then he looked away.
“Where did you get that?””
I laughed quietly.
“That’s your first question?””
He stayed silent.
“Lucas.””
His shoulders dropped.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way.””
Those words again.
The same words everyone used when they knew they had hurt me.
“You signed a statement saying I’m unstable?””
“I had no choice.””
The answer exploded inside me.
“No choice?””
I stepped closer.
“You had no choice?””
Lucas looked at me.
“Vivian had leverage.””
“What leverage?””
He didn’t answer.
“Tell me.””
His jaw tightened.
Then he said:
“She threatened the boys.””
The anger in me stopped.
“What?””
Lucas walked away.
“After I survived the accident, I came back secretly. I started investigating Vivian.””
“Because you knew she tried to kill you?””
“Yes.””
“And?””
“I found out she had been watching everyone around her.””
He opened a cabinet and pulled out a small box.
Inside were old photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
“She knew I was alive.””
My face went cold.
“Then why didn’t she expose you?””
“Because she wanted to use me.””
“For what?””
Lucas looked at the box.
“She told me if I didn’t cooperate, she would make sure you lost custody of Ethan and Caleb.””
I stared at him.
“You signed the statement to protect them?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because Vivian had people watching.””
I shook my head.
“You could have trusted me.””
Lucas looked at me with pain in his eyes.
“I tried.””
The room became quiet.
“I sent you messages.””
I frowned.
“What messages?””
“Warnings.””
“I never received them.””
Lucas nodded.
“Because Vivian deleted them.””
I froze.
“How would she have access to my phone?””
Lucas looked at me.
“She doesn’t.””
A terrible thought formed.
“Then who does?””
Neither of us spoke.
Because we both knew.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone who had access.
My phone suddenly buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photo appeared.
My office.
My desk.
Taken from inside my house.
Below it was a message.
*“You’re looking in the wrong direction.””*
I showed Lucas.
His face changed.
“Ethan…”
“What?””
“That photo was taken today.””
I looked at the image.
The timestamp.
He was right.
Someone had been inside my office.
Someone had been watching.
Then another message appeared.
This time:
*“Ask your sons what they saw the night Maya was framed.””*
I stared at the screen.
Because whoever sent it knew.
They knew Ethan had told me.
They knew about Maya.
They knew everything.
When I got home, I didn’t turn on the lights.
I walked quietly upstairs.
The house felt different now.
Not like a home.
Like a crime scene.
I checked the children’s room.
Caleb was asleep.
But Ethan wasn’t.
He was sitting awake in bed.
Waiting.
“Daddy?””
I sat beside him.
“Why are you awake?””
His eyes moved toward the door.
“I heard Mommy crying.””
“Crying?””
He nodded.
“Before she left.””
“When?””
“Tonight.””
I felt a strange feeling.
Vivian crying?
That didn’t fit the person I had seen.
“What did you hear?””
Ethan pulled the blanket closer.
“She was talking to someone.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“Did you hear anything else?””
He looked at me.
Then whispered:
“She said, ‘I can’t let Ethan find the box.’”
My heart jumped.
“The box?””
He nodded.
“She said if Daddy finds it, everything is over.””
I stood.
“What box?””
Ethan shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
Then he grabbed my hand.
“Daddy.””
“What?””
“Mommy knows I told you.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
He started crying.
“She came into my room before you came home.””
My blood turned cold.
“What did she say?””
Ethan looked terrified.
“She said…”
He swallowed.
“She said I was just like Grandma.””
My heart stopped.
“Your grandmother?””
He nodded.
“And then she said Grandma should have stayed quiet too.””
I froze.
May you like
Because my mother’s death suddenly felt different.
Very different.
