Chapter 5: The Photograph in the Basement
I stared at Daniel.
The photograph trembled between my fingers.
Two little boys sat on the grass, smiling at the camera. One had a missing front tooth. The other was holding a red toy airplane.
I recognized the airplane.
I still had one exactly like it in a box in my attic.
“Who killed my father?”” I whispered.
Daniel looked at Margaret.
My mother stood perfectly still.
“Your mother knows.””
The police officer nearest us stepped forward.
“Sir, we're going to need you to explain that accusation.””
Daniel nodded.
“I've been waiting thirty years to explain it.””
He reached into his coat again.
This time, he pulled out a small leather folder.
“Your father left instructions with a lawyer before he died. He knew Margaret was going to destroy the evidence.””
Mom suddenly moved toward him.
“Give me that!””
The officer grabbed her arm.
“Ma'am, don't move.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“You don't get to take anything else from me.””
My mother looked at me.
“Ethan, he's manipulating you. He's always been jealous of you.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“Jealous of me?””
“He was a difficult child. Your father gave him everything, and he wanted more.””
Daniel laughed without humor.
“That's what you told the doctors, too.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were several yellowed documents, an old hospital photograph, and a handwritten letter.
Daniel removed the letter.
“This was written three days before your father died.””
I reached for it.
My mother suddenly began crying.
“Please don't.””
I ignored her.
The letter was addressed to me.
My dearest Ethan,
If you're reading this, then I failed to tell you the truth while I was alive. I am sorry.
I stopped.
My father had written to me.
But I'd never received this letter.
I continued reading.
You have a brother. His name is Daniel. He is not sick, dangerous, or missing. He is a good boy who deserves to grow up with his family.
Your mother has been telling people that Daniel suffers from a condition that makes him violent. This is not true. She has been taking him to doctors who have never examined him.
I discovered that she has been using his identity to control money left to our children.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
The letter continued.
I confronted her. She told me that if I tried to expose what she had done, she would make sure I never saw either of my sons again.
I looked up.
“Mom?””
She covered her mouth.
Daniel continued reading from the letter.
I am afraid of what she might do. I have arranged for Daniel to stay with a family friend until I can get the legal documents in order.
Ethan, if anything happens to me, do not trust the story you are told about my death.
My vision blurred.
I read the final line.
And whatever you do, never let Margaret take control of the trust.
The room seemed to tilt.
My father had known.
He had known something was wrong.
And he had tried to warn me.
I lowered the letter.
“Why did you tell me Dad died of a heart attack?””
Mom wiped her face.
“Because he did.””
Daniel shook his head.
“He didn't.””
My mother turned on him.
“You weren't there!””
“I was there the night he died.””
The officer looked sharply at Daniel.
“Explain.””
Daniel took a slow breath.
“I was seventeen. Dad had arranged to meet me at a motel outside town. He said he had something important to tell me.””
He paused.
“He never arrived.””
“What happened?””
“I went back to the house. I found his car in the driveway. The kitchen lights were on.””
Daniel's eyes became distant.
“I heard them arguing.””
My mother shook her head.
“Stop.””
“I heard Dad say he was going to the police. Then I heard something fall.””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“When I entered the kitchen, he was on the floor. Margaret was standing over him.””
I felt my stomach turn.
“Did you call an ambulance?””
“I tried.””
Daniel's voice broke.
“She took the phone from me.””
My mother shouted, “He was already dead!””
The words came out before she could stop herself.
Everyone went silent.
Daniel stared at her.
“You just admitted you were there.””
Mom's face drained of color.
The officer tightened his grip on her arm.
“Ma'am, I need you to remain silent.””
But Margaret wasn't looking at him.
She was looking at me.
“Ethan, I was scared.””
“Of what?””
“Losing everything.””
I shook my head.
“You lost Dad?””
She began sobbing.
“He was going to take you away from me.””
“He was trying to protect us!””
“You don't understand!””
“Then explain it!””
My mother took a shaky breath.
“Your father had discovered that I had moved money from the family trust. I had borrowed against properties. I had debts. If he exposed me, I would have lost the house, the garden, everything.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“And you killed him.””
“I didn't mean to!””
The words struck the room like a gunshot.
One officer immediately reached for his radio.
“Control, we need additional units. Possible admission in a suspicious death case.””
My mother began shaking.
“I only wanted him to stop arguing. I pushed him. He fell.””
Daniel's voice was barely audible.
“You left him there.””
“I called for help!””
“After how long?””
Mom looked away.
Daniel's hands trembled.
“Forty minutes. I watched him stop breathing while she stood over him telling me to keep quiet.””
I felt sick.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
Daniel looked at me.
“She told me she'd make sure you went to prison for your father's death.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“She said she'd found my fingerprints on the kitchen cabinet. She threatened to make me the killer.””
He swallowed.
“I was seventeen. I believed her.””
Margaret suddenly shouted.
“I was protecting Ethan!””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“You were protecting yourself.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Emily, who had been sitting on the bottom step wrapped in a blanket, slowly raised her head.
“There's something else.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
She looked at Daniel.
“Your mother didn't just keep me here because of the trust.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“Emily, not yet.””
My stomach tightened.
“What are you talking about?””
Emily looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Three years ago, I found something in Margaret's desk. Something she had hidden from you.””
Mom lunged toward her.
“Don't you dare!””
The officer caught her.
Emily continued.
“It was a photograph of Noah.””
I frowned.
“What about Noah?””
“Not the baby Noah. A photograph taken before he was born.””
I didn't understand.
Emily reached into the pocket of her blanket and pulled out a small plastic envelope.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in the cellar wall.””
I took it.
It was a medical report.
The patient's name was Margaret Wilson.
The date was from eighteen months before Noah was born.
I scanned the page.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
My hands went numb.
It contained a reference to a pregnancy termination and a second surviving infant.
I looked at my mother.
“Mom…”
She closed her eyes.
Daniel whispered, “Ethan, there's one more thing you need to know.””
He looked toward Noah.
“Your mother didn't just hide your brother.””
May you like
He pointed at the medical report.
“She hid the fact that you had a twin.””
