Chapter 28 - The Fourth Beneficiary
The photograph changed everything.
Not because Lucas was standing beside Victor.
But because Lucas was smiling.
I stared at that smile.
It wasn't fear.
It wasn't sadness.
It was recognition.
“He knows Victor,” I said.
Anna shook her head.
“He knows everyone.”
The investigator looked at me.
“That's worse.”
We returned to the station.
Rachel's disappearance was now an active investigation.
Her files were locked.
Her phone was missing.
Her credentials had been used twenty minutes before she vanished.
Someone had accessed the trust database.
The access code belonged to Rachel.
I sat across from the investigator.
“Was she working for Victor?”
“We don't know.”
“She knew where Lucas was.”
“That much is obvious.”
“She lied to us.”
“Possibly.”
Anna entered the room.
“She didn't lie about everything.”
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“She warned us about Richard.”
“She could have been steering us.”
“Yes.”
“But she also saved Samuel.”
“Yes.”
Anna sat.
“Victor doesn't need someone who lies all the time.”
“He needs someone we trust.”
We all went quiet.
I looked at Evan.
“Do you think Rachel betrayed us?”
He didn't answer immediately.
“I don't know.”
That hurt more than if he'd said yes.
Then the investigator returned with a file.
“We found a second trust document.”
“What?”
“It was hidden in Rachel's office.”
Inside was a legal amendment.
Signed by David.
Dated eleven years ago.
I read it slowly.
In the event of the disappearance of Lucas Brooks, temporary custody shall be assigned to the person named below.
The name had been blacked out.
But a fingerprint mark remained.
The investigator studied it.
“It matches.”
“Who?”
He looked at Evan.
“Your mother.”
Diane's face went white.
“No.”
“You signed this.”
“I don't remember.”
“This signature is yours.”
Diane stared at the page.
“I was drugged.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
“That night.”
“When Lucas disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“I remember waking up.”
She gripped the table.
“David was standing over me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said I had to trust him.”
“Did he tell you Lucas was alive?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you who would take him?”
“No.”
She looked at the signature.
“I don't remember signing.”
The investigator nodded.
“Then someone used your identity.”
“Richard?”
“Maybe.”
Anna shook her head.
“Richard couldn't forge a biometric signature.”
The investigator looked at her.
“Then who could?”
Nobody answered.
I suddenly remembered the woman at the farmhouse.
Rebecca.
Dr. Bell's daughter.
A medical family.
A fake death certificate.
A three-year-old child.
A hospital basement.
Everything connected.
“The signature was taken at the hospital.”
The investigator nodded.
“That is possible.”
I looked at Diane.
“You weren't just drugged.”
She stared at me.
“You were used.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don't understand.”
“Someone took your fingerprint or signature and attached it to the guardianship document.”
Anna stepped closer.
“Then David knew.”
I turned.
“What?”
“He knew someone had created a fake guardianship.”
“Why?”
“To hide Lucas.”
“And he let Diane believe her son was dead.”
Anna nodded.
“Because if Diane knew Lucas was alive, Victor would know too.”
The investigator looked toward the trust.
“That explains the note.”
The note.
Do not let him meet his mother.
Not because Diane was dangerous.
Because the moment Lucas met her, Victor could trace him.
David had been protecting them both.
My phone vibrated.
A message.
From Rachel.
I'm sorry.
Then another.
I didn't betray you.
Then:
I was protecting Lucas.
And finally:
Don't trust Evan.
I stared at the screen.
Evan saw it.
“What did she say?”
I hesitated.
“Nothing.”
He looked at me.
“That's not true.”
I gave him the phone.
His face hardened.
“Why would she say that?”
“I don't know.”
The investigator looked over my shoulder.
“Call her.”
“I can't.”
“Try.”
We called.
Straight to voicemail.
Then the phone rang back.
Video call.
Rachel appeared.
She looked exhausted.
Her face was bruised.
She whispered:
“Don't talk.”
I froze.
“Rachel?”
She shook her head.
A hand appeared behind her.
Someone was holding a gun.
Rachel whispered:
“Lucas is safe.”
Evan stood.
“Where?”
Rachel looked directly at me.
“Under the old courthouse.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why there?”
“Because David built a room underneath it.”
The person behind her moved.
Rachel whispered:
“Find the blue door.”
The screen went black.
A second later, a text arrived.
Bring the trust.
Come alone.
The message was signed:
Victor.
I looked at Evan.
He didn't know what to say.
For the first time since this nightmare began, I understood something terrifying.
May you like
Victor hadn't been trying to hide Lucas from us.
He had been leading us toward him.
