Chapter 12 - The Brother Who Died
Michael could not move.
Christopher looked nothing like the fourteen-year-old boy from his memories.
But the eyes were the same.
Dark green.
Exactly like Michael’s.
Jonathan stepped backward.
Thomas kept one hand near his weapon.
Michael whispered.
“You’re dead.”
Christopher smiled sadly.
“That was the idea.”
Michael’s shock became anger.
“You let me believe you were dead for twenty-seven years.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
Christopher’s expression hardened.
“No.”
He walked toward the table.
“Not when your father tries to kill you.”
Michael stared at him.
Christopher sat.
“The boat exploded after I jumped overboard.”
“You survived.”
“Barely.”
“Who found you?”
“Daniel.”
Michael looked at the photograph.
“Your friend.”
Christopher nodded.
“He pulled me onto another boat.”
“What happened to him?”
Christopher looked down.
“My father found us.”
Michael felt cold.
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
Christopher continued.
“Daniel distracted him so I could escape.”
Michael understood before he heard the words.
“He died.”
Christopher nodded.
Michael closed his eyes.
“Then the man using Daniel’s identity…”
“Stole the name years later.”
“Why?”
“Because people digging into Christopher Carter eventually find Daniel Reeves.”
Thomas nodded.
“A dead witness is a useful identity.”
Christopher looked at Jonathan.
“You should have stayed hidden.”
Jonathan crossed his arms.
“So should you.”
Christopher ignored him.
Michael stepped closer.
“Are you the one behind Daniel?”
Christopher laughed.
“No.”
“Then why wear my coat?”
Christopher stopped laughing.
“What coat?”
Michael studied him.
“The man in my house.”
Christopher’s face changed.
“I wasn’t in your house.”
“You knew about the cameras.”
“I knew Sophia installed some.”
“Why?”
“To watch Emily.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Why were you watching my wife?”
“I wasn’t.”
“Then who?”
Christopher looked toward the window.
“Your mother.”
Michael stared at him.
“Jonathan said the man in the coat wasn’t my mother.”
“He was right.”
“Then stop talking in riddles.”
Christopher turned.
“Mom has been trying to identify the leader of Victor’s old network for six years.”
Michael froze.
“She knows you’re alive?”
“Yes.”
Michael almost laughed from disbelief.
“My mother knows my dead brother is alive.”
“Yes.”
“And neither of you thought I deserved to know?”
Christopher’s eyes sharpened.
“The less you knew, the safer you were.”
“My wife almost died last night.”
Christopher’s expression softened.
“I know.”
“My son almost died.”
“I know.”
Michael stepped closer.
“You don’t know anything.”
Christopher stood.
“I know Sophia pushed Emily because Daniel told her the red folder contained evidence that would send her to prison.”
Michael stopped.
Christopher continued.
“I know Sophia has been stealing from the company for three years.”
Michael said nothing.
“And I know she isn’t your biological sister.”
Michael stared at him.
“What?”
Christopher reached into his coat.
Thomas moved instantly.
Christopher raised a hand.
“Relax.”
He pulled out a sealed envelope.
He placed it on the table.
Michael opened it.
A DNA report.
Sophia Carter.
Victor Carter.
Probability of paternity: 0.00%.
Michael read it twice.
Then a third time.
Christopher continued.
“Dad knew.”
“Who is her father?”
Christopher looked at him.
“That’s the question Sophia has spent years trying to answer.”
Michael shook his head.
“She told me her entire life that Dad favored me because I was his son.”
“He did.”
Christopher’s voice went flat.
“And he hated Sophia because she wasn’t.”
Michael stared at the report.
“Did Mom know?”
“No.”
Michael looked up.
“How do you know?”
“Because I told her two months ago.”
Michael’s breathing slowed.
“Who told you?”
Christopher answered.
“Daniel.”
“The fake Daniel?”
“Yes.”
Michael stared at him.
“He knows who Sophia’s father is?”
Christopher nodded.
“And once Sophia learns the answer, this stops being about stolen money.”
Michael felt the room grow colder.
“Who is her father?”
May you like
Christopher looked directly at him.
“Samuel Bennett.”
