Chapter 4: The Secret My Brother Carried
"I know exactly who caused it.""
Tobias's words remained hanging in the air.
Nobody moved.
Not Garrett.
Not me.
Not even the two men standing behind my husband.
For years, I had watched Tobias sit silently in a wheelchair.
I had watched strangers lower their voices around him.
I had watched doctors apologize to him for a future they believed had been taken away.
And all that time, my brother had been carrying something much heavier than a broken body.
A secret.
Garrett stepped closer.
"Go ahead, Tobias.""
His voice was almost mocking.
"Tell her everything.""
Tobias looked at him with a hatred so deep that I barely recognized my brother.
"You don't get to enjoy this.""
Garrett smiled.
"I think I do.""
I looked between them.
"Someone explain what is happening.""
My voice echoed through the abandoned warehouse.
"Tobias.""
My brother looked at me.
And for a moment, he looked like the same boy who held my hand at our parents' funeral.
The same boy who promised me we would survive together.
Then he looked away.
"I should have told you years ago.""
The anger inside me burned.
"Yes.""
A painful silence.
"You should have.""
He nodded slowly.
"I know.""
Garrett crossed his arms.
"She deserves the truth.""
I turned toward him.
"You don't get to say that.""
His expression hardened.
"You think I'm the only person who lied to you?""
The words struck because they were true.
And I hated him for it.
Tobias walked toward the old wooden table and picked up the photograph Garrett had brought.
"The night our parents died wasn't an accident.""
My breathing slowed.
I had heard that sentence before.
But hearing it from Tobias made it real.
"Everyone said it was a drunk driver.""
Tobias stared at the photograph.
"That was the story Adrian created.""
My eyes widened.
"Adrian?""
He nodded.
"Our uncle.""
I looked at the picture again.
The man beside my father.
The man who had disappeared.
"The police never found him.""
"No," Tobias said.
"Because someone made sure they wouldn't.""
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Who?""
Tobias didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached into the cabinet and pulled out a folder.
Inside were newspaper clippings.
Old documents.
Pictures.
Evidence collected over fifteen years.
He placed the first article on the table.
The headline was faded.
*LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS KILLED IN TRAGIC HIGHWAY ACCIDENT*
My fingers touched the paper.
I remembered that day.
The phone call.
The hospital.
The doctor who wouldn't look me in the eyes.
I was nineteen years old.
Tobias was sixteen.
We lost everything in one night.
"Our parents discovered Adrian was stealing from the company," Tobias said.
I looked up.
"What?""
"He had been moving money through fake accounts for years.""
Garrett gave a quiet laugh.
"Your father was going to expose him.""
Tobias looked at him.
"You already knew.""
"Of course I knew.""
The casual way Garrett admitted it made my stomach turn.
He wasn't ashamed.
He was proud.
"You married me knowing all of this?""
Garrett looked at me.
"I married you because your family was falling apart.""
I stared at him.
"And you wanted to finish breaking it.""
His silence answered.
Tobias continued.
"That night, our parents were driving to meet an investigator. They had proof against Adrian.""
He placed another photograph down.
A picture of a black sedan.
"Their car was forced off the road.""
My hand covered my mouth.
"And you?""
Tobias looked at his wheelchair outside the warehouse.
"I survived.""
A pause.
"But I heard everything.""
The room became quiet.
"What do you mean?""
He swallowed.
"I was awake after the crash.""
My eyes filled.
"Tobias...""
"I heard our mother screaming.""
His voice cracked.
"I heard our father begging someone to help us.""
He closed his eyes.
"And I heard Adrian's voice.""
I felt dizzy.
"No.""
"Yes.""
Garrett interrupted.
"That's why he hid.""
Tobias turned sharply.
"I hid because nobody believed me.""
Garrett smiled.
"Because you were a traumatized teenager.""
Tobias's fists tightened.
"The police thought I imagined it.""
"Because Adrian made sure there was no evidence.""
I looked at Tobias.
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
His face broke.
"Because I tried.""
The words were quiet.
"But every time I got close, something happened.""
"What?""
He looked at Garrett.
"My hospital records disappeared.""
My heart stopped.
"My therapy files were changed.""
He pointed toward the photograph.
"People around me started warning me to stop asking questions.""
Garrett said nothing.
And that silence was confirmation.
"You were afraid.""
Tobias nodded.
"Yes.""
For the first time, my brother admitted it.
"I was sixteen. I had lost our parents. I couldn't walk. And the people responsible were powerful enough to erase everything.""
He looked at me.
"So I made a choice.""
"What choice?""
"I became invisible.""
The words hit me.
"I let everyone believe I was weak.""
A tear moved down his face.
"Because weak people are ignored.""
Nobody spoke.
"People don't fear someone in a wheelchair.""
His eyes hardened.
"But they fear someone who has spent fifteen years collecting proof.""
Garrett stepped forward.
"You were always obsessed.""
Tobias laughed bitterly.
"No.""
He looked at him.
"I was patient.""
Garrett's smile disappeared.
That was the first time I saw uncertainty on his face.
Then one of the men behind Garrett moved toward Tobias.
I immediately stepped between them.
"Don't.""
The man stopped.
Garrett looked at me.
"You still protect him?""
I stared at my husband.
"You tried to kill me.""
"And he lied to you for fifteen years.""
The words hurt.
Because they were both true.
Garrett noticed my hesitation.
"You see?""
He lowered his voice.
"That's why I knew this would work.""
"What would work?""
He looked around the warehouse.
"Turning you against each other.""
Tobias's expression changed.
"What did you do?""
Garrett didn't answer.
Instead, he pulled out his phone.
A video was already playing.
He turned the screen toward us.
My blood froze.
It showed Tobias.
Walking.
Not today.
Years earlier.
The video showed my brother leaving a building.
Walking normally.
No wheelchair.
No cane.
Nothing.
The date appeared at the bottom.
Eight years ago.
My chest tightened.
Garrett looked at me.
"Do you understand now?""
I stared at the screen.
Eight years.
Tobias had been walking for eight years.
And he never told me.
"Tobias...""
My voice broke.
He looked away.
"I'm sorry.""
"Why?""
He had no answer.
That hurt more.
Garrett stepped closer.
"Because he never trusted you.""
Tobias finally looked at me.
"That's not true.""
"Then why?""
The question came from my mouth before I could stop it.
"Why did you let me believe you were still trapped in that wheelchair?""
My brother opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Because whatever answer he had...
It was something he had been afraid to say.
Suddenly, the warehouse lights went out.
Complete darkness.
A loud crash came from the entrance.
Someone screamed.
Then a gunshot echoed.
I grabbed the nearest table.
"Tobias!""
"I’m here!""
Another sound.
Footsteps.
Running.
When the emergency lights flickered back on, Garrett and his men were gone.
Only Tobias and I remained.
And on the floor between us was a small envelope.
My name was written on it.
Not printed.
Handwritten.
The handwriting looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Tobias picked it up.
His face changed the moment he saw the signature.
"Who is it?""
He didn't answer.
I took the envelope from his hand.
At the bottom of the page were two words.
Words written by someone I had not seen since I was nineteen years old.
*Your mother.*
I looked at Tobias.
"How is this possible?""
He stared at the letter.
And whispered:
May you like
"Because our mother never died that night.""
What was Rosalind's next move: *read the letter or confront Tobias first*?
