Chapter 7: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
I couldn't breathe.
Not because I was scared.
Because my mind refused to understand.
Richard Carter was alive.
My great-uncle.
A man my family had mourned.
A man whose photograph sat beside my grandfather's in our house.
A man everyone told me had passed away years ago.
Alive.
Somewhere.
And my mother knew.
"How?"" I whispered.
Daniel looked at the classroom door before answering.
"Your family believed Richard died six years ago because that's what they were told.""
"By who?""
He didn't answer.
That was becoming a pattern.
A terrible pattern.
I stood.
"No more.""
Daniel looked at me.
"No more secrets.""
My voice shook.
"I want every piece of the truth.""
Madison watched me silently.
For the first time since I met her, she wasn't looking at me like competition.
She was looking at me like she understood.
Because she had secrets too.
Daniel nodded.
"You're right.""
He walked toward the window.
"Richard Carter was your grandfather's younger brother. He helped build the first version of Carter Developments.""
"Then why did everyone think he died?""
"Because Richard wanted people to believe it.""
I frowned.
"Why would someone fake their own death?""
"To disappear.""
"From who?""
Daniel looked at me.
"From the people who were trying to find him.""
I felt a chill.
"Was he hiding from my mother?""
"No.""
"Then who?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
He opened an old photograph.
A picture of a newspaper article.
The headline was faded.
*LOCAL BUSINESSMAN PRESUMED DEAD AFTER DISAPPEARANCE*
I read the article.
Richard Carter.
Missing after a private flight.
No body recovered.
Only an abandoned vehicle.
My eyebrows tightened.
"There was no body?""
"No.""
"Then why did everyone accept he died?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Because someone wanted them to.""
Madison stepped closer.
"Who?""
Daniel glanced at her.
"The same person who wanted Carter and Blake to destroy each other.""
Nobody spoke.
The connection was becoming clearer.
A fake betrayal.
A fake death.
A family war built on missing pieces.
My mother had been trying to uncover all of it.
And someone stopped her.
I looked at Daniel.
"What happened after my mother found out Richard was alive?""
Daniel's expression darkened.
"She contacted him.""
"When?""
"Two days before the accident.""
My stomach tightened.
"Where?""
"I don't know.""
"You don't know?""
"No.""
That surprised me.
"You said you were protecting her.""
"I was.""
"Then how could you not know?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Because Catherine was smarter than everyone thought.""
A small sadness crossed his face.
"She knew someone might be watching me too.""
I looked at the letter.
"Did she meet Richard?""
Daniel nodded.
"Yes.""
"How do you know?""
"Because after she disappeared, I found a message she left behind.""
"Where?""
"In my office.""
I stared.
"Your office?""
Daniel nodded.
"She knew I would look there.""
"Why?""
"Because she trusted me.""
His voice became quieter.
"More than anyone else.""
I looked down.
Part of me wanted to believe him.
But another part remembered what my father said.
People can do complicated things.
"Did my father know Richard was alive?""
Daniel hesitated.
That was enough.
"Dad knew?""
"No.""
The answer came quickly.
"Your father believed Richard was dead.""
"Then who knew?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Your mother.""
"Richard.""
A pause.
"And someone else.""
"Who?""
Daniel looked at the hallway outside.
Before he answered, the classroom door opened.
Everyone turned.
Ryan stood there.
His face was serious.
"I've been looking everywhere for you.""
I immediately noticed something.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him stood my father.
My heart dropped.
"Dad?""
His eyes moved from me to Daniel.
Then to Madison.
The expression on his face changed.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
"Emily.""
I stood.
"Before you say anything, I can explain.""
He looked at Daniel.
"No.""
His voice was calm.
"Daniel explains first.""
The room became silent.
Daniel nodded.
"Jonathan.""
My father stepped closer.
"You told her.""
It wasn't a question.
Daniel looked at me.
"She deserved to know.""
My father closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, he looked tired.
"She's eighteen.""
"I'm aware.""
"She should not have to carry this.""
I stepped forward.
"Dad.""
He looked at me.
"I already am.""
That stopped him.
I held up my mother's letter.
"You hid everything from me because you wanted to protect me.""
His expression softened.
"But every secret brought me closer to the danger you were hiding.""
He looked away.
For a moment, he looked like a father.
Not a businessman.
Not a billionaire.
Just my dad.
"I was afraid.""
The honesty surprised me.
"Of what?""
"Losing you.""
The answer was immediate.
I looked down.
Because I understood.
He had already lost my mother.
He was terrified history would repeat itself.
But fear didn't make secrets disappear.
It only made them heavier.
Ryan quietly stepped back.
Giving us space.
Then my father looked at Madison.
"You shouldn't be involved in this.""
Madison lifted her chin.
"Neither should Emily.""
My father stared at her.
She continued.
"But she is.""
That was the first time I saw my father look at Madison differently.
Not as Thomas Blake's daughter.
As a person.
"What did your father tell you?"" he asked.
Madison hesitated.
"Not enough.""
"Meaning?""
"Meaning he lied to me too.""
Silence.
My father looked at Daniel.
"Did you tell them about the meeting?""
Daniel shook his head.
"No.""
"What meeting?""
I looked between them.
My father exhaled.
"The reason I came to school yesterday.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"Before I entered that cafeteria, I received a message.""
"From who?""
He looked at the floor.
"Someone claiming to be Richard Carter.""
The room went cold.
"You spoke to him?""
"No.""
"Then how?""
"He sent a message.""
My father pulled out his phone.
He showed us.
A number.
A text.
*Jonathan, your daughter has the same curiosity as her mother.*
I stared.
"How does he have your number?""
My father didn't answer.
Then another message appeared.
Everyone watched.
The phone buzzed again.
My father looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"What?""
I asked.
He didn't speak.
He turned the phone toward us.
The new message was simple.
*Stop looking for me. I am not the enemy.*
Below it was a photo.
A recent photo.
Of Richard Carter.
Standing outside a building.
Alive.
My breathing stopped.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the person standing beside him.
Someone else in the picture.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who had been part of my life for years.
Ryan stepped closer.
"Emily...""
I looked at the photo.
My hands started shaking.
Because standing beside Richard Carter was my mother.
Not a memory.
Not an old picture.
A recent photo.
Taken years after everyone believed she was gone.
My father stared at it.
His face turned completely pale.
"No.""
I looked at him.
"Dad?""
He whispered the words.
Words that broke something inside me.
"Your mother wasn't killed in that accident.""
The room went silent.
My father's eyes stayed locked on the picture.
"She disappeared.""
I couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Because suddenly the biggest mystery wasn't who betrayed my family.
It wasn't who wanted the Carter fortune.
It wasn't why Richard Carter faked his death.
The biggest question was the one I had never allowed myself to ask.
May you like
If my mother was alive...
Why did she leave me behind?
