Chapter 5 - THE TRUTH ETHAN NEVER TOLD ME
Richard survived.
The bullet had struck his shoulder.
We reached a small rural clinic before dawn.
The doctor treated him without asking too many questions.
Ethan stayed outside with Samuel.
I sat beside Richard.
He looked exhausted.
"Margaret."
I didn't answer.
"I know you hate me."
"I don't know what I feel."
He closed his eyes.
"That's fair."
I looked at the bandage.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was ashamed."
"You should have been."
He nodded.
"I thought I could fix everything before you found out."
"You had two years."
"I know."
I stood.
"Vanessa loved you."
Richard looked away.
"I didn't deserve her."
"And you didn't deserve me."
He didn't argue.
Outside, Ethan stood beneath the clinic's awning.
I joined him.
He was staring at Samuel.
"How did you survive?"
He smiled faintly.
"I didn't."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Not really."
He looked toward the road.
"When you leave home at eighteen, you learn quickly that being alive isn't the same as being okay."
He told me about the year I had missed.
Sleeping in a car.
Working double shifts.
Eating cheap food.
Getting sick and refusing to go to a doctor because he couldn't afford it.
Then meeting Vanessa.
"She helped me."
"How?"
"She taught me how to read financial records."
He smiled.
"She said I had a good eye."
"And then she died."
He nodded.
"I promised her I'd protect Samuel."
I touched his shoulder.
"You should have come home."
"I was scared."
"Of me?"
"Of Dad."
Then he looked at me.
"But I was also scared you'd choose him again."
I cried.
"I should have chosen you."
"I know."
Those words hurt more than anger.
Because they were true.
A police car arrived.
Two detectives stepped out.
Detective Laura Bennett introduced herself.
She had been investigating Vanessa's death for months.
"Mr. Hale," she said to Ethan. "We need the suitcase."
Ethan refused.
"Why?"
"Because it contains evidence."
"Evidence that can disappear."
The detective looked at him carefully.
"Who told you that?"
Ethan opened the suitcase.
He removed the metal box.
Inside was a tiny recording device.
"Vanessa did."
Detective Bennett listened.
The recording began.
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"If anything happens to me, Richard Hale isn't the only person involved."
I looked at Richard.
His eyes widened.
The recording continued.
"Daniel Mercer is working with someone inside the company."
A pause.
"Someone named..."
The recording suddenly cut out.
Ethan stared at the device.
"That's why I came back."
Detective Bennett looked serious.
"We need the rest."
Ethan shook his head.
"I don't have it."
I remembered the envelope.
"Wait."
I ran back inside.
The envelope Ethan had given me contained another memory card.
I returned.
He inserted it.
Vanessa's voice returned.
"...someone named Charles Hale."
Richard sat upright.
"Charles?"
Ethan frowned.
"Who is Charles Hale?"
Richard's face had lost all color.
"My brother."
Silence.
"Your uncle?"
Richard nodded.
"Charles was the company's chief financial officer."
Detective Bennett stood.
"Where is he now?"
Richard looked toward the window.
"At my house."
My blood froze.
"Why?"
Richard whispered:
"Because he's been living there for six months."
I stared at him.
"No."
He nodded.
"He told me he was helping with the company."
Ethan looked at me.
"Mom."
We all understood at once.
May you like
Someone was already inside my home.
And they knew we had survived.
