Chapter 8 - THE OTHER DAUGHTEREvelyn refused to speak at first.
Arthur confronted her at the lake house.
“My mother said you know about another secret.”
Evelyn looked exhausted.
“She should not have told you.”
“So it's true.”
“Yes.”
Thomas stood behind Arthur.
“Who is it?”
Evelyn looked at Thomas.
Then Arthur.
“Your father had a daughter.”
Silence.
Arthur stared.
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
Thomas frowned.
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Rachel.”
“Where is she?”
Evelyn looked toward the lake.
“She doesn't know who her father was.”
Arthur's heart tightened.
“Why?”
“Because Richard believed Margaret would hurt her.”
“Was Margaret the mother?”
“No.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Who was?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“A woman named Anna.”
Arthur had never heard the name.
“Where is Anna?”
“She died years ago.”
“And Rachel?”
“She lives in another state.”
Arthur stared at her.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because Margaret knows about her.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“What does Margaret want?”
Evelyn whispered,
“She wants Rachel's silence.”
Arthur understood.
Rachel could possess another piece of the family's history.
Another witness.
Another reason Margaret had spent years controlling the past.
Arthur found Rachel two days later.
She was working at a small bookstore.
When Arthur introduced himself, she immediately knew.
“You're Richard's son.”
Arthur froze.
“How?”
Rachel smiled sadly.
“I've known about you for years.”
“You knew my father?”
“He used to visit my mother.”
Arthur's voice softened.
“Did he love her?”
Rachel nodded.
“He loved her.”
“Then why did he leave?”
“My mother made him promise to stay with Margaret.”
Arthur frowned.
“Why?”
“She knew Margaret was dangerous.”
Rachel showed him a box.
Inside were letters.
Dozens of them.
Richard had written to Anna.
And one letter mentioned Arthur.
My son will one day understand why I stayed.
Arthur read it slowly.
Then Rachel showed him another document.
A DNA test.
Arthur's hands shook.
“You already tested?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Rachel smiled.
“You're my brother.”
Arthur didn't know what to say.
He simply hugged her.
For the first time, the family was beginning to make sense.
Not because the secrets were gone.
Because they were finally being spoken.
Rachel joined them at the lake house.
Thomas accepted her immediately.
Claire did too.
Noah seemed fascinated by everyone.
One evening, they gathered around the dining table.
Arthur looked at his family.
Three siblings.
One newborn.
A wife who had survived Margaret's attack.
And Evelyn, who had protected them for decades.
Arthur smiled.
Then the lights went out.
Everyone froze.
A car door slammed outside.
Thomas stood.
“Stay here.”
Arthur followed.
They looked through the window.
A figure was walking toward the house.
Then the doorbell rang.
Arthur opened it.
Nobody stood outside.
Only a package.
He picked it up.
Inside was a flash drive.
A note read:
The truth about Richard's death is on this drive.
Arthur connected it to the computer.
A video appeared.
Robert sat in a chair.
His face was bruised.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Arthur, if you're watching this, then I failed.”
Arthur stared.
Robert continued.
“I wasn't the one who ordered your father's death.”
Arthur's blood ran cold.
“Margaret wasn't either.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Robert looked terrified.
“There was someone above us.”
The screen flickered.
Robert whispered one name.
“Samuel Grant.”
Arthur stood abruptly.
“That's impossible.”
Samuel was the attorney who had helped them.
The man who gave Arthur the key.
The man who claimed to hate Margaret.
The video continued.
“Samuel controlled the legal documents. He knew about the trust. He knew where the evidence was.”
Robert looked toward the camera.
“He was the real mastermind.”
The video ended.
Arthur stared at the screen.
Claire whispered,
“He helped us.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Maybe that's why.”
The next morning, Arthur called Samuel.
No answer.
His office was empty.
His house was empty.
The police searched his records.
They found something terrifying.
Samuel had been receiving payments from an offshore account for twenty years.
Arthur stared at the documents.
The first payment was dated one month before Richard died.
Thomas looked at him.
“So what now?”
Arthur closed the folder.
“Now we stop trusting people because they say they're family.”
He looked around the room.
“We trust evidence.”
May you like
And for the first time, Arthur realized that the person who had been guiding him toward the truth might have been controlling the entire investigation from the beginning.
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