PART 4: THE BROTHER I NEVER KNEW EXISTED
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
“My father’s what?”
Mom’s fingers tightened around mine.
“Daniel is your half-brother.”
I pulled my hand away.
“No.”
“Honey—”
“No. Dad would have told me.”
My mother looked down.
And in that silence, I felt something inside me begin to crack.
“How long have you known?”
“Since before you were born.”
I stared at her.
“You knew my entire life?”
“Your father told me about Daniel before we got married. Daniel’s mother raised him, and your father sent money to help support him.”
“Did Dad ever see him?”
“He tried. When Daniel was little, he saw him a few times. Then Daniel’s mother moved away, and things became complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
“She didn’t want your father involved anymore.”
“And Dad just accepted that?”
“He wrote letters. He called. Sometimes he sent gifts. For a while, he didn’t even know where they were living.”
I thought about the photograph of Daniel standing outside the church.
“He came to the funeral.”
Mom nodded.
“I saw him.”
“You knew who he was, and you didn’t tell me?”
“He came up to me afterward. He said he didn’t want to cause a scene, but he wanted to speak with you.”
My heart began pounding.
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him it wasn’t the right day.”
“And after the funeral?”
“He called me twice. I didn’t answer.”
“Why?”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing you too.”
I stepped back from her.
“You wouldn’t have lost me because I had a brother.”
“You were grieving your father. I thought meeting Daniel would bring questions I couldn’t answer.”
“So you made that choice for me?”
“I did. And I’m sorry.”
I turned away.
The walls of the little room suddenly felt too close.
A brother.
I had spent my whole life believing I was an only child.
And now the man my mother had kept from me was standing inside my father’s house, connected to a loan I had never agreed to.
“Did Dereck know who he was?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You saw them together at the funeral?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear what they said?”
“Only a few words. Daniel asked Dereck whether you knew about him.”
“What did Dereck say?”
Mom hesitated.
“He said, ‘Not yet.’”
A chill moved through me.
Dereck had known.
For how long?
Officer Daniels’ radio crackled.
He listened, then stepped closer.
“The officers at the house have detained Mr. Mercer while they ask him some questions.”
“Why was he inside?” I asked.
“He says he was looking for documents.”
“What documents?”
“He hasn’t said yet.”
“I want to speak to him.”
Mom turned to me immediately.
“Please don’t.”
“Why?”
“You don’t know what kind of person he is.”
I looked at her.
“Neither do you.”
Her mouth closed.
Officer Daniels held up a hand.
“Before anyone speaks to Mr. Mercer, we need to establish what happened at the house and where your husband went. I’m going to ask you both to remain here.”
He left the room again.
I sat down, but my legs wouldn’t stop shaking.
My phone was still on the table.
I picked it up and opened my messages.
The last message Dereck had sent me was from the night before.
Get some sleep, beautiful. Tomorrow is going to be unforgettable.
I had answered with a heart.
I wanted to throw the phone across the room.
Instead, I scrolled back through our conversations.
Six months earlier, Dereck had started asking more questions about my father’s house.
At the time, I thought he was trying to help.
Have you ever considered renting it out?
Are the original ownership papers still in the study?
Does your mom have a key?
Then, two months ago:
Would you be upset if we sold it someday?
I had replied:
Yes. I promised Dad I’d keep it.
Dereck had sent back:
Then we’ll keep it. I promise.
I showed the messages to Mom.
“He was planning this for months.”
She leaned closer.
“Go back.”
“What?”
“That message about the ownership papers. When did he send it?”
I checked the date.
“April twelfth.”
Mom went pale.
“That was the week someone broke into the house.”
I stared at her.
“What break-in?”
She looked at me, startled.
“Dereck told me you knew.”
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“He called me one morning and said the back window had been broken. He asked if I could meet him there while you were at work.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“He said you were in an important meeting and he didn’t want to upset you until he knew what was missing.”
“What was missing?”
“Nothing valuable, as far as we could tell.”
“Did you call the police?”
“He said he already had.”
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
“Did you see a police report?”
“No.”
“Did you see the broken window?”
Mom was silent.
“Mom?”
“When I arrived, a repairman was already replacing it.”
“Who found him?”
“Dereck said the police had recommended him.”
I looked back at the message on my phone.
Are the original ownership papers still in the study?
“He staged it,” I whispered.
Mom pressed her hand against her chest.
“He could have taken the papers while you were waiting outside.”
“And then told you nothing was missing.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Officer Daniels returned.
“We’ve spoken with Mr. Mercer.”
I stood.
“What did he say?”
“He claims he didn’t lend money against the house.”
I looked at the loan agreement.
“His company’s name is right there.”
“He says he sold his interest in Northbridge Holdings more than a year ago.”
“Who bought it?”
“He says he doesn’t know the buyer’s identity. He sold it through an intermediary.”
“That makes no sense.”
“We’re checking the records.”
“And why was he at the house?”
Officer Daniels glanced at Mom.
“He says he received a message from your mother this morning.”
Mom shook her head.
“I didn’t contact him.”
“He showed the officers a message from your number.”
My mother reached for her phone.
“It wasn’t me.”
“May I see it?” Officer Daniels asked.
She unlocked it and handed it over.
He searched her messages.
There was nothing from Daniel.
“Could someone else have used your phone?” he asked.
“No. It was with me all morning.”
Officer Daniels nodded.
“We’ll look into it.”
My mind raced.
Someone had used Mom’s number to lure Daniel to the house.
Someone had left a bag with a false passport at the airport.
And Dereck had written a note telling himself to blame my mother.
“Can I see the message?” I asked.
Officer Daniels showed me a photograph another officer had sent him.
The message on Daniel’s phone read:
She knows. Come to the house before she finds the letter.
My eyes moved back over the words.
“The letter?”
Officer Daniels lowered the phone.
“Mr. Mercer says your father wrote him a letter shortly before he died.”
Mom sank into her chair.
“No,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
“You know about it?”
She pressed her lips together.
“Mom.”
“Your father wrote several letters while he was in the hospital.”
“He wrote one to Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
“I don’t know. He sealed it before I could see.”
“Did he send it?”
Mom stared at the floor.
“No.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Where is it?”
“I put it in the study at the house.”
“Where?”
“In the bottom drawer of his desk.”
I knew that desk.
I had sat beneath it as a little girl while Dad paid bills and pretended not to notice me stealing pens from his drawer.
After he died, I couldn’t bring myself to move it.
“Why didn’t you give Daniel the letter?” I asked.
“I meant to. But then your father died, and Daniel came to the funeral, and I kept telling myself I’d do it when things settled down.”
“Things never settled down, did they?”
“No.”
Officer Daniels’ radio crackled again.
He listened for a moment, then turned toward us.
“The officers found the desk drawer open.”
My heart sank.
“Was the letter there?”
“They haven’t found it.”
Mom covered her face.
Someone had reached it before Daniel.
Or Daniel had taken it and lied.
Or Dereck had found it months ago.
I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I let it ring.
A message appeared seconds later.
Don’t trust Daniel. He’s the reason your father died.
My blood ran cold.
Another message followed.
I can prove it. Come alone.
An address appeared beneath it.
It was a small diner twenty minutes from the airport.
I showed the screen to Officer Daniels.
“Could that be Dereck?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
The phone rang again.
This time, I answered.
“Hello?”
At first, I heard only traffic.
Then a familiar voice said, “Babe, listen to me.”
“Dereck?”
“I don’t have much time.”
“Where are you?”
“I need you to come to the diner.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what Daniel is trying to do.”
“You left me at the airport with a fake passport and a bag full of cash.”
“I didn’t leave it there for you.”
“My name was on the bag!”
“I know. I was trying to get rid of it before you saw.”
“Who put it there?”
“I did.”
The room seemed to go silent.
Even Mom stopped breathing.
Dereck continued quickly.
“But I wasn’t going to let you board with it.”
“Then why was my passport inside?”
“I needed Daniel to think you were leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because he said if you didn’t leave the country, he would come after your mother.”
Mom shook her head.
Officer Daniels held out his hand for the phone, but I wasn’t ready to give it to him.
“You told me Mom took the money,” I said. “Now you’re saying Daniel threatened her?”
“I know how it sounds.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I did.”
The admission landed like a blow.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel had proof that I took money from your account.”
I closed my eyes.
“So you did take it.”
“At first, I thought I could put it back.”
“How much?”
He didn’t answer.
“How much, Dereck?”
“All of it.”
My knees weakened.
“All of it?”
“I invested it. The deal fell apart.”
“Then you borrowed against Dad’s house?”
“Yes.”
“And you planned to sell it?”
“I thought I could pay everything off before you got back.”
“You were going to leave me on vacation?”
“No. I was going with you.”
“Then how were you going to sign the papers?”
“I had someone handling it.”
“Who?”
Dereck was quiet.
“Daniel?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Before he could answer, I heard a loud sound through the phone.
A car door slamming.
Dereck swore under his breath.
“Babe, I have to go.”
“Tell me who was handling it!”
“Look in your father’s desk,” he said. “There’s a false bottom in the left drawer.”
“The police are already there.”
“Then tell them to check it before Daniel does.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Officer Daniels immediately took the phone and relayed what Dereck had said.
I waited, listening to the broken sounds from his radio.
Mom sat beside me, her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
Finally, the radio crackled again.
Officer Daniels listened.
Then he asked, “Are you certain?”
My heart began to pound.
“What did they find?”
He lowered the radio.
“There was a false bottom in the drawer.”
“And?”
“There was an envelope inside.”
“Dad’s letter?”
“No.”
“What was it?”
Officer Daniels looked from me to my mother.
“A copy of a birth certificate.”
I frowned.
“Daniel’s?”
“No.”
Mom made a small sound beside me.
Officer Daniels continued.
“It has your name on it.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t make sense. My birth certificate is at Mom’s house.”
He was silent.
I looked at my mother.
She was staring at the table.
“Mom?”
She didn’t answer.
“Why would Dad hide my birth certificate in his desk?”
Tears slid down her cheeks.
“Because it wasn’t the one you grew up seeing.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What are you talking about?”
She reached for me.
I stepped away.
“Tell me.”
Her voice trembled.
“Your father loved you from the moment he first held you.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“He was your father in every way that mattered.”
I felt a cold pressure in my chest.
“What does that mean?”
Mom looked up at me.
And in her eyes, I saw the truth before she spoke.
“He wasn’t your biological father.”
I couldn’t breathe.
The man who had taught me to ride a bike.
The man who had stayed awake beside my hospital bed when I was seven.
The man who had walked me down the aisle and whispered, “You’ll always be my little girl.”
He wasn’t my biological father.
I looked at the officer.
“Whose name is on the certificate?”
He hesitated.
Then he told me.
And when I heard it, I understood why Daniel had come to the funeral.
Why he had wanted to meet me.
And why someone had been so desperate to find my father’s letter.
The name on the birth certificate was Daniel Mercer.
PART 5: THE NAME ON MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE
“Daniel Mercer is my father?”
The words sounded impossible.
A few minutes earlier, Mom had called him my half-brother.
Now his name was on my birth certificate.
I turned to her.
“You said Daniel was Dad’s son.”
“He is.”
“Then how can he be my father?”
Mom covered her mouth.
Officer Daniels looked down at the information on his phone.
“There’s something you should know,” he said. “The birth certificate lists Daniel Mercer Junior.”
I stared at him.
“Junior?”
“The man at your house is Daniel Mercer Senior.”
My mother nodded slowly.
“Your father’s son was named after him.”
I sat down because my legs could no longer hold me.
“There are two Daniels?”
“Yes,” Mom whispered.
“And the one at the house?”
“He’s the man who raised Daniel Junior.”
“You mean his grandfather?”
Mom closed her eyes.
Then she said, “No. Daniel Senior isn’t his biological father.”
I looked at her.
“Please stop saying things I don’t understand.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Your father had a son with a woman named Evelyn. That son was Daniel Junior.”
“And Daniel Senior?”
“He was Evelyn’s husband. He raised Daniel after they married.”
I tried to put the pieces together.
“The man at Dad’s funeral was Daniel Senior?”
“Yes.”
“Why did he come?”
“Because Daniel Junior had died a few months earlier.”
A sharp silence fell over the room.
“My biological father is dead?”
Mom nodded.
“He died in a car accident.”
I stared at her.
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“And Dad knew?”
“Yes.”
“Did they know Daniel Junior was my father?”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“They knew from the day you were born.”
I looked down at my hands.
The father who raised me was Daniel Junior’s biological father.
Which meant the man I had called Dad was also my biological grandfather.
My stomach twisted.
“How did this happen?”
Mom glanced toward Officer Daniels.
He stepped quietly into the hallway, giving us a moment alone.
She waited until the door closed.
“Your father and I wanted a child for years,” she said. “We tried everything we could afford, but I couldn’t carry a pregnancy.”
I said nothing.
“Daniel Junior was an adult by then. He had recently reconnected with your father, and the two of them were trying to build a relationship.”
“Did I have a mother?”
“Yes. Her name was Rachel.”
“Where is she?”
Mom’s face changed.
“She died shortly after you were born.”
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“She was sick?”
“She had complications after the birth.”
“And Daniel?”
“He was young. He was devastated, and he didn’t feel able to care for you.”
“So he gave me away?”
“No,” Mom said quickly. “He asked your father and me to raise you. He wanted you to have a stable home.”
“Did he ever come back?”
Mom hesitated.
“He visited when you were little.”
“How little?”
“Until you were about four.”
I searched my memory.
There was a man I vaguely remembered bringing me a stuffed rabbit.
I had always assumed he was a family friend.
“Did he bring me a rabbit?”
Mom nodded.
“He did.”
I closed my eyes.
A faded image came back to me.
A man kneeling in our living room.
A soft brown rabbit tucked beneath his arm.
A voice saying, “I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
“Why did he stop coming?”
“He and your father argued.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did they argue about?”
Mom looked away.
“Daniel wanted us to tell you the truth when you were old enough.”
“And Dad didn’t?”
“Your father wanted to wait.”
“Until when?”
“I don’t know.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“I’m an adult, Mom.”
“I know.”
“I got married. Dad died. And neither of you thought I was old enough?”
“I thought about telling you so many times.”
“But you never did.”
“No.”
There was a knock at the door.
Officer Daniels came back inside.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Mercer Senior has asked to speak with you.”
Mom stood.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore.”
“Honey, you don’t know him.”
“Neither do you, remember?”
She flinched.
I hated that I had hurt her.
But I was tired of hearing what I wasn’t ready to know.
I turned to Officer Daniels.
“Can I speak to him here?”
“He’s at the police station near your house. An officer can accompany you if you’d like.”
“I would.”
Mom reached for her handbag.
“I’m coming with you.”
For a moment, I considered telling her to stay.
Then I saw how frightened she looked.
“Fine,” I said. “But no more secrets.”
She nodded.
“I promise.”
I wanted to believe her.
But she had made promises before.
As we left the airport, I looked back toward the terminal doors.
A few hours earlier, Dereck and I had walked through them holding hands.
I had been excited about our anniversary.
Now I was being escorted to a police station to meet the man who had raised my biological father.
And my husband was missing.
During the drive, I checked my phone.
No new calls from Dereck.
No messages.
I opened the photograph of the forged power of attorney again.
My signature stared back at me.
Then I noticed something I had missed.
A small stamp near the bottom of the page.
The name of the notary.
M. RICHARDS.
I enlarged it.
Below the name was a business address.
It was the same address listed for Northbridge Holdings.
“Officer?” I said.
The woman driving glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
“Yes?”
“The person who witnessed the power of attorney works at the same address as the company that loaned money against my house.”
She asked me to send the photograph to Officer Daniels.
I did.
A few seconds later, he called.
“We’re looking into that address,” he said. “Have you received any more messages from your husband?”
“No.”
“If he contacts you, let us know immediately.”
“Did you find the letter in the desk?”
“Not yet.”
I looked out the window.
“Do you think Dereck was telling the truth about Daniel?”
“We’re investigating what he said.”
That wasn’t an answer.
But it was the only one he could give me.
When we arrived at the station, an officer led us to a small interview room.
Daniel Mercer Senior was already there.
He stood when we entered.
He looked older than he had in the photograph.
His hair was almost entirely gray, and there were deep lines around his eyes.
But I recognized him immediately.
He was the man who had stood at the back of the church.
The man Dereck had called an old coworker.
Daniel looked at me as though he had been waiting years for this moment.
“You look like Rachel,” he said softly.
I stopped in the doorway.
“My mother?”
He nodded.
“I have photographs of her, if you’d like to see them.”
Mom sat down without speaking.
I remained standing.
“Why were you in my father’s house?”
“Because I thought your mother had asked me to come.”
“And the letter?”
“I knew your father wrote one. I didn’t know where it was.”
“Did you take it?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
I studied him.
“Dereck says you threatened my mother.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Dereck is lying.”
“He says you had proof he stole my inheritance.”
“That part is true.”
I felt Mom move beside me.
Daniel reached into a folder on the table.
An officer standing near the door watched as he placed several printed pages in front of me.
“These are copies of messages Dereck sent me.”
I picked up the first page.
I need more time. She’s starting to ask questions.
The date was four months ago.
The next message read:
If you tell her, you’ll never see the letter.
My eyes lifted.
“What letter?”
“The one your father wrote to my son,” Daniel said.
“Dereck had it?”
“He claimed he did.”
“Why would you believe him?”
“Because he sent me a photograph.”
Daniel slid another page across the table.
It showed an envelope.
On the front, in my father’s handwriting, were the words:
For Daniel. Please give this to him when he’s ready.
My throat tightened.
Dad had written those words.
I recognized the way he formed the capital D.
“When did Dereck send this?” I asked.
“Two months ago.”
“What did he want from you?”
“He wanted me to sign a statement saying I had sold my interest in Northbridge Holdings.”
“Had you?”
“Yes. But the date he wanted on the statement was false.”
“What date?”
“He wanted it to say I sold the company three years ago.”
“But you sold it one year ago?”
Daniel nodded.
“I refused to sign a false statement.”
“Why did he need it?”
“I think he wanted distance between me and the company.”
“Why?”
“Because my name was still on some of the older paperwork. If the loan was challenged, he could point at me.”
I looked at the messages again.
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The day of your father’s funeral.”
I looked at Mom.
She stared at the table.
“After that, Dereck told me you didn’t want to meet me,” Daniel continued. “He said you knew who I was and wanted nothing to do with my family.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I realize that now.”
“Did you work with him?”
“No. I met him for the first time at the funeral.”
Another lie.
I thought of how casually Dereck had dismissed him.
Just someone I used to work with.
Daniel pointed to the photograph of the envelope.
“I kept asking for the letter. Dereck said he would give it to me if I signed what he wanted.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then why were you at the house today?”
“He sent me another message this morning.”
“I thought the message came from my mother’s number.”
“It did. But just before that, I received one from Dereck.”
Daniel showed me the screen of his phone.
She knows about you. If you want the letter, meet me at the house.
The message had arrived at 9:14 a.m.
I checked the time.
At 9:14, Dereck had been standing beside me at the airport.
He had been pretending to search his carry-on.
All the while, he had been arranging for Daniel to enter our house.
“Why?” I whispered.
Daniel looked at the officer by the door.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to understand.”
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
From Dereck.
Don’t believe him. Ask Daniel who paid for your father’s funeral.
I read it twice.
Then I looked up.
“Who paid for my father’s funeral?”
Mom’s face changed.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“No,” I said. “Please don’t do that. Somebody answer me.”
“I did,” Daniel said.
“Why?”
“Because your father asked me to.”
“Before he died?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he ask you?”
Daniel opened his folder again.
This time, he took out a single sheet of paper.
A bank transfer confirmation.
The payment had been made three days before Dad died.
But it wasn’t a payment for the funeral.
It was a transfer from Dad’s account to Daniel.
For $200,000.
The same amount that had disappeared from my inheritance account.
I looked up.
“What is this?”
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“Your father gave me that money to protect it.”
“From whom?”
He looked directly at my mother.
And for the first time since I had walked into the room, Mom couldn’t meet my eyes.
