Chapter 3: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
For several seconds, neither Tobias nor I moved.
The phone continued vibrating on the wooden table between us.
A small sound.
A simple sound.
But it felt louder than the crash that sent us into Savannah Creek.
Because someone who was supposed to be dead was calling us.
Someone who had disappeared fifteen years ago.
Someone who had been connected to the worst night of my life.
Tobias slowly reached for the phone.
"Don't," I whispered.
His hand stopped.
"Rosalind—"
"Don't answer.""
My voice surprised even me.
A few hours ago, I had been trapped inside a sinking vehicle, convinced I was about to die.
Now I was standing in an abandoned warehouse discovering my entire life had been built on lies.
I didn't know what was real anymore.
Tobias looked at the screen.
The call ended.
Then immediately started again.
Adrian Cross.
The name stared back at us.
"How does he know?"" I asked.
Tobias looked toward the dark windows of the warehouse.
"He knows because he was watching.""
A chill ran through me.
"Watching what?""
"My entire life.""
The anger I felt was almost stronger than the fear.
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
Tobias didn't answer.
That hurt more than anything.
"Fifteen years, Tobias.""
My voice cracked.
"Fifteen years you let me believe you couldn't walk.""
He looked down.
"I was protecting you.""
"No.""
I stepped closer.
"You were protecting a secret.""
His jaw tightened.
"You don't understand.""
"Then explain.""
The phone rang again.
Neither of us looked away from each other.
Finally, Tobias picked it up.
But he didn't answer.
He pressed the speaker button.
Silence.
Then a man's voice filled the warehouse.
Older.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
"Rosalind.""
My blood ran cold.
I had never heard that voice before.
But somehow, it felt familiar.
Like a voice from a memory I had buried.
Tobias grabbed the phone.
"Adrian.""
A quiet laugh came from the speaker.
"So you finally stopped pretending, Tobias.""
My brother's face changed.
The confidence disappeared.
"You should be dead.""
"People say that when they wish something were true.""
I moved closer to the phone.
"Who are you?""
The line went silent.
Then the man answered.
"I am the person your father tried to erase.""
My fingers curled into fists.
"My father?""
"Your father knew the truth about this family.""
I looked at Tobias.
"What truth?""
Adrian continued.
"The truth that your father stole everything from me.""
Tobias immediately cut in.
"Don't listen to him.""
Adrian laughed softly.
"You still protect her.""
"You killed our parents.""
The words left Tobias's mouth like a weapon.
The warehouse became completely silent.
I looked at my brother.
He had never said those words before.
Not once.
Adrian didn't respond immediately.
Then he said:
"Is that what you believe?""
Tobias stepped toward the phone.
"You were there.""
"I was.""
"And they died because of you.""
"No.""
Adrian's voice became colder.
"They died because someone wanted them dead.""
My heart stopped.
Someone.
Not him.
Someone else.
I felt the ground shift beneath me.
"Who?"" I asked.
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"Rosalind, you need to leave that warehouse.""
I looked around.
"What?""
"You heard me.""
"Why?""
"Because Garrett knows where you are.""
My breathing stopped.
Tobias immediately turned toward the entrance.
"How?""
Adrian's voice lowered.
"Because Garrett was never working for me.""
That sentence made no sense.
I looked at Tobias.
"What does that mean?""
A loud noise came from outside.
A car door closing.
All three of us froze.
Adrian continued speaking.
"He works for the same person who destroyed your family fifteen years ago.""
Tobias grabbed the phone.
"Who?""
But the line went dead.
The first sound we heard was footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Coming toward the warehouse.
Tobias moved in front of me.
The same brother who everyone thought needed protection was now protecting me.
I stared at his back.
Fifteen years.
He had been hiding this strength.
Hiding his recovery.
Hiding what he knew.
And somehow, he had carried all of it alone.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
A voice came from the other side.
"Rosalind.""
My heart sank.
Garrett.
My husband.
The man who had left me underwater.
"Open the door.""
I stepped backward.
Tobias whispered:
"Don't answer.""
Garrett knocked again.
"Rosalind, I know you're in there.""
His voice sounded different.
The warmth was gone.
No pretending.
No affection.
Only impatience.
"I want to explain.""
I almost laughed.
Explain?
What explanation existed for watching someone drown?
Tobias looked at me.
"Stay here.""
Before I could stop him, he moved toward a side exit.
I grabbed his arm.
"No.""
He looked at me.
"If Garrett brought someone with him, we need another way out.""
"But you can't fight him.""
A small, bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You still don't know me.""
The door suddenly shook.
Garrett was forcing it open.
"Tobias.""
I whispered his name.
He looked back at me.
"Remember something, Rosalind.""
"What?""
"The person who looks powerless is sometimes the person who has been preparing the longest.""
The door broke open.
Garrett stepped inside.
Behind him were two men.
Both wearing dark jackets.
My husband looked at me.
For one second, I saw the man I married.
Then it disappeared.
"There you are.""
I stared at him.
"How could you?""
Garrett's expression didn't change.
"You're asking the wrong question.""
He walked closer.
"The question is why Tobias lied to you.""
I looked at my brother.
Garrett smiled.
"Did he tell you the truth?""
"What truth?""
Garrett looked pleased.
"That he was never injured as badly as he claimed.""
My hands tightened.
"You knew?""
"Of course.""
The room felt smaller.
"How long?""
Garrett stopped.
"Since before I met you.""
A wave of nausea hit me.
"You married me because of him.""
Garrett didn't deny it.
"At first.""
The honesty hurt more than a lie.
"At first?""
He looked toward the files on the table.
"Then I realized you were useful.""
My eyes burned.
"Useful.""
"Your name. Your inheritance. Your position in the company.""
Every word felt like another cut.
"You never loved me.""
Garrett was quiet.
And that silence was my answer.
Then he said:
"I loved what being your husband gave me.""
Behind him, one of the men moved toward the files.
Tobias stepped forward.
"Don't touch those.""
Garrett looked at him.
Then smiled.
"There he is.""
Tobias's expression hardened.
"The real Tobias Hartwell.""
Garrett shook his head.
"You should have stayed in that wheelchair.""
The words hit me.
Because they confirmed everything.
Garrett knew.
He had always known.
My brother wasn't helpless.
He was pretending.
But why?
Garrett reached into his jacket and pulled out a small envelope.
He placed it on the table.
"You want the truth?""
Nobody spoke.
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of my parents' car.
The same car from fifteen years ago.
My breath caught.
Garrett looked directly at me.
"Your brother wasn't the only survivor that night.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"What?""
He placed another photograph beside it.
This one showed a young Tobias standing beside someone.
Someone I recognized.
Adrian Cross.
But the date on the photograph was impossible.
Because it was taken three years after Adrian supposedly disappeared.
Tobias stared at it.
His face went pale.
Garrett smiled.
"Tell her, Tobias.""
My brother said nothing.
"Tell your sister what you were really doing after the accident.""
I looked at Tobias.
The silence became unbearable.
"What is he talking about?""
Tobias closed his eyes.
For the first time since I had discovered his secret, he looked afraid.
Then Garrett leaned closer.
And whispered:
"Your brother didn't spend fifteen years trying to recover from the accident.""
A pause.
"He spent fifteen years preparing revenge.""
The warehouse went silent.
I looked at Tobias.
Waiting for him to deny it.
But he didn't.
And that was when I realized something terrifying.
Everyone in my life had been hiding something.
Garrett.
Penelope.
Adrian.
Even my own brother.
Then Tobias finally spoke.
And the first words out of his mouth shattered everything I thought I knew.
"Garrett is right.""
He looked at me.
"I didn't lose my ability to walk that night.""
A painful pause.
"I lost something much more important.""
His eyes filled with anger.
"I lost my family.""
May you like
Then he looked at the photograph in Garrett's hand.
"And I know exactly who caused it.""
