PART 3 — THE MAN HANNAH WARNED ME ABOUT
Marcus stared at Daniel through the open front door.
His oldest friend was standing beside the police cars.
For twenty-two years, Marcus had trusted that man with everything.
His business.
His marriage.
His daughter.
Even Hannah’s estate.
And Daniel had introduced him to Sarah.
“Marcus?” Daniel called.
Marcus didn’t answer.
He looked down at Lily.
“Sweetheart, stay with Officer Bennett.”
Lily grabbed his sleeve.
“Daddy, don’t go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
Marcus crouched and kissed her forehead.
“Promise.”
Then he stood and walked outside.
Daniel took one look at his face.
“What happened?”
“You introduced me to Sarah.”
Daniel went still.
It lasted less than a second.
But Marcus saw it.
“Yes,” Daniel said. “At the charity dinner. You know that.”
“Why?”
Daniel frowned.
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why Sarah?”
“Marcus, you’ve just discovered your wife was drugging your daughter and conspiring with strangers. You’re in shock.”
“Answer the question.”
Daniel glanced toward Julian.
Julian was being pushed toward a police cruiser.
He smiled at Daniel.
Daniel immediately looked away.
Marcus noticed.
“So you know him too.”
“What?”
“Julian.”
“No.”
Julian laughed from twenty feet away.
“Still lying, Danny?”
Every muscle in Daniel’s face tightened.
Marcus turned slowly.
“Daniel?”
“Don’t listen to him.”
Julian called again.
“Ask him about September 18.”
Daniel stepped toward the cruiser.
“Shut your mouth.”
Two officers blocked him.
Marcus felt his stomach twist.
“What happened September 18?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Nothing.”
Julian laughed harder.
“Oh, something happened.”
“Julian,” Daniel warned.
“You were there.”
“STOP TALKING.”
Marcus grabbed Daniel by the jacket.
“WHERE?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Julian did.
“The hospital.”
Marcus’s hands loosened.
The world around him seemed to go quiet.
“What hospital?”
Julian’s smile vanished.
“The hospital where Hannah died.”
Marcus stared at him.
Sarah began crying from inside the house.
Daniel whispered, “Marcus, this is not what you think.”
Marcus turned toward him.
“What happened September 18?”
Daniel swallowed.
“That was the night Hannah died.”
Marcus already knew that.
He would never forget the date.
But something else bothered him.
“Why would Julian know that?”
Nobody answered.
Marcus looked at Julian.
“Were you there?”
Julian’s eyes moved toward Daniel.
That was enough.
Marcus stepped closer to the cruiser.
“WERE YOU THERE?”
“Yes.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
“You knew Hannah?”
Julian nodded.
“For years.”
Marcus felt rage rise through him.
“How?”
Julian leaned against the cruiser.
“Your wife hired me.”
Daniel snapped, “He’s manipulating you.”
Marcus ignored him.
“Hired you to do what?”
“Investigate someone.”
“Who?”
Julian looked directly at Daniel.
Marcus turned.
Daniel’s face had gone pale.
“No,” Daniel whispered.
Julian smiled.
“Tell him.”
“Shut up.”
“Tell your best friend why his dying wife hired a private investigator to follow you.”
Marcus stared at Daniel.
“Follow Daniel?”
Julian shook his head.
“Not Daniel.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
Marcus couldn’t speak.
“Hannah had me follow you for six weeks before she died.”
Marcus felt as though the ground had shifted beneath him.
“Why?”
“Because she believed someone was using you.”
“Who?”
Julian glanced toward Sarah.
“Someone who hadn’t entered your life yet.”
Marcus frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will.”
Julian was pushed into the cruiser.
Before the officer closed the door, he leaned forward.
“Find Hannah’s red notebook.”
The door slammed.
Marcus turned toward Daniel.
“What notebook?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“Marcus—”
“Hannah kept journals.”
“Yes.”
“After she died, you helped me pack her things.”
Daniel said nothing.
“You took three boxes to storage.”
“I was helping you.”
“Where are they?”
“In your storage unit.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“I emptied that unit two years ago.”
Daniel blinked.
“And there was no red notebook.”
Sarah suddenly spoke from the doorway.
“Because Daniel has it.”
Everyone turned.
Daniel’s face changed.
Sarah smiled bitterly.
“You thought I didn’t see it?”
Daniel stepped toward her.
“Be quiet.”
Sarah laughed.
“That’s what you told me every time I asked about Hannah.”
Marcus walked toward Sarah.
“When did you see the notebook?”
“Before our wedding.”
Marcus froze.
“Where?”
“Daniel’s office.”
Daniel shook his head.
“She’s lying.”
Sarah continued.
“It was inside his safe.”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Why were you in Daniel’s office?”
Sarah hesitated.
“Because he asked me to meet him.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before you proposed.”
Marcus felt sick.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Marcus, listen to me.”
“No.”
“You need to understand—”
“Give me the notebook.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“I don’t have it anymore.”
That answer was worse than denial.
Marcus whispered, “So it existed.”
Daniel realized his mistake.
Marcus stepped closer.
“What was in it?”
Daniel said nothing.
“WHAT WAS IN IT?”
“Names.”
Marcus froze.
“What names?”
“People Hannah didn’t trust.”
“Was Sarah’s name there?”
“No.”
“Julian?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
Marcus looked toward the police cruiser.
“And yours?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Marcus already knew.
“Your name was in it.”
Daniel looked away.
Marcus felt twenty-two years of friendship collapse in one second.
“Why?”
“I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Hannah found financial transfers.”
“What transfers?”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“From one of the Vineyard holding companies.”
“How much?”
“Marcus—”
“HOW MUCH?”
“Eight hundred thousand dollars.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You stole from Lily?”
“No!”
“Then explain.”
“I moved it.”
“Where?”
“Into another account.”
“Whose account?”
Daniel’s silence answered.
Marcus whispered, “Yours.”
“It was temporary.”
Marcus laughed in disbelief.
“You transferred eight hundred thousand dollars from my daughter’s trust into your account?”
“Because Hannah asked me to.”
Marcus stopped.
“What?”
Daniel looked him straight in the eyes.
“She needed money nobody could trace.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“She told me Lily’s life might depend on it.”
Marcus felt his anger falter.
“Hannah said that?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two months before she died.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she begged me not to.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You’re lying.”
Daniel reached into his coat.
Three officers immediately moved toward him.
“Easy,” he said.
He slowly removed his wallet.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Old.
Creased.
Daniel handed it to Marcus.
Marcus recognized the handwriting instantly.
Hannah.
Daniel,
Transfer the amount we discussed.
Do not tell Marcus.
If I am wrong, I will explain everything myself.
If I am right, telling him could put him and Lily in danger.
Please trust me one last time.
H.
Marcus read it three times.
His hands began shaking.
“Why do you carry this?”
Daniel looked exhausted.
“Because I’ve hated myself for four years.”
Marcus looked at him.
“For what?”
“Because Hannah called me the night she died.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
“What?”
“At 11:43.”
Marcus remembered sitting beside Hannah’s hospital bed until almost eleven.
A nurse had convinced him to go home, shower, and sleep for a few hours.
At 12:26 A.M., the hospital called.
Hannah was gone.
“She called you?”
Daniel nodded.
“What did she say?”
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“She said, ‘He’s here.’”
Marcus felt cold.
“Who?”
“She didn’t say.”
“What else?”
“She sounded terrified.”
“AND YOU DID WHAT?”
“I called the hospital.”
“Did you go there?”
Daniel looked down.
Marcus’s voice cracked.
“Did you go?”
“No.”
Marcus hit him.
Daniel fell against the hood of the cruiser.
Officers grabbed Marcus.
“You let her die!”
“I DIDN’T KNOW!”
“She called you!”
“I thought the medication was confusing her!”
Marcus struggled against the officers.
“She was scared!”
“I KNOW!”
Daniel shouted it so loudly that everyone stopped.
Tears were running down his face.
“I know.”
Marcus stared at him.
Daniel whispered, “I’ve heard her voice every night for four years.”
Marcus said nothing.
Then Daniel added:
“But that isn’t why I kept the notebook.”
Marcus’s breathing slowed.
“Why?”
“Because Hannah wrote something on the final page.”
“What?”
Daniel looked toward Lily.
Then back at Marcus.
“She wrote that if anything happened to her, you were supposed to take Lily to the Vineyard house and open the wall beneath the west staircase.”
Marcus frowned.
“What wall?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s the notebook?”
“I gave it to Evelyn.”
Marcus stared.
“Hannah’s mother?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Marcus’s stomach dropped.
“Then who?”
Before Daniel could answer, a police officer ran from the garage.
“Detective!”
Everyone turned.
“We found something under the vehicle.”
Marcus went cold.
The officer held up a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a small electronic device.
“The man in the garage attached this near the braking control module.”
Marcus looked at Sarah.
She began sobbing.
“I didn’t know.”
Marcus walked toward her.
“You knew enough.”
“No.”
“You knew about Lily.”
“I never wanted anyone dead!”
“You drugged a six-year-old.”
“I was scared!”
“Of who?”
Sarah looked toward Julian’s cruiser.
Then at Daniel.
Then back at Marcus.
“Not Julian.”
Marcus frowned.
“Then who?”
Sarah whispered, “The woman.”
“What woman?”
“The one who hired all of us.”
Marcus went still.
“All of you?”
Sarah nodded.
“Julian. Daniel. Me.”
Daniel shouted, “That’s not true.”
Sarah ignored him.
“She told me the Vineyard belonged to her family. She said Hannah stole it.”
“Hannah inherited it.”
“That’s not what she said.”
“WHO?”
Sarah began trembling.
“Evelyn Mercer.”
Marcus had never heard the name.
Daniel had.
His face turned white.
Marcus noticed.
“You know her.”
Daniel didn’t answer.
“WHO IS SHE?”
Daniel whispered, “Hannah’s great-aunt.”
Marcus frowned.
“Hannah never mentioned her.”
“Because Evelyn disappeared from the family thirty years ago.”
“Why?”
“Fraud.”
Marcus stared.
Daniel continued.
“She allegedly stole millions from the family business. Hannah’s grandmother discovered it and cut Evelyn out of everything.”
“The Vineyard?”
“Included.”
Marcus finally understood.
“This is revenge.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“If Evelyn wanted revenge, she could’ve come after Hannah years ago.”
“Then what does she want?”
Daniel looked toward the house.
“Whatever Hannah hid there.”
Marcus’s phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Marcus Vance?”
An elderly woman’s voice.
Calm.
Elegant.
“Who’s this?”
“You already know.”
“Evelyn.”
Silence.
Then:
“Sarah talks too much.”
Marcus looked at Sarah.
She stared back in terror.
“Stay away from my family.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
“Your family?”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
Marcus scanned the street.
Police cars.
Neighbors.
Trees.
Nothing.
“What do you want?”
“Hannah’s key.”
Marcus frowned.
“What key?”
“Don’t play games.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Evelyn went silent.
Then she said, “Interesting.”
“What?”
“She really didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Your wife discovered something under that house.”
Marcus gripped the phone.
“What?”
“Something my sister spent forty years hiding.”
“Money?”
Evelyn laughed.
“Money is replaceable.”
“Then what?”
“Evidence.”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Evidence of what?”
“People who built fortunes by destroying other people.”
“Who?”
“Your wife’s family was only one piece.”
Marcus felt Lily press against his side.
Evelyn continued.
“Hannah found the archive.”
“What archive?”
“Documents. Recordings. Bank transfers. Names.”
Marcus’s mouth went dry.
“And Hannah was going to expose it?”
“Eventually.”
“Did you kill her?”
Evelyn went silent.
Marcus asked again.
“Did you kill Hannah?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I can show you.”
Marcus’s heart pounded.
“How?”
“Come to Martha’s Vineyard.”
“No.”
“Then you’ll never know.”
“I’ll let the police handle it.”
“The police?”
Evelyn laughed.
“Marcus, Hannah tried that.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“Three days before she died.”
“Who did she contact?”
“Detective Samuel Rhodes.”
Marcus looked toward the detective standing nearby.
“Find Samuel Rhodes.”
The detective immediately began typing into his phone.
Evelyn continued.
“You won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Samuel Rhodes died four days after Hannah.”
Marcus felt sick.
“How?”
“Car accident.”
The words hit him.
Marcus slowly looked toward his SUV.
The device attached near the brakes.
Same method.
“Was it an accident?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Now you’re learning.”
The call ended.
Marcus immediately tried calling back.
Disconnected.
The detective approached.
“She’s right.”
Marcus looked up.
“Samuel Rhodes died September 22, four years ago.”
“Four days after Hannah.”
“Yes.”
“Single vehicle?”
The detective nodded.
“Brake failure.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Naomi ran from the house.
She had Marcus’s laptop in her hands.
“I recovered something.”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
“The deleted footage from the old camera.”
“What footage?”
“From the night Hannah died.”
Marcus stared at her.
“There shouldn’t be footage.”
“There is.”
Naomi opened the laptop.
A timestamp appeared.
12:04 A.M.
Four years earlier.
The front door of Marcus’s house.
Someone entered using a key.
Marcus leaned closer.
Daniel stood beside him.
The person’s face was hidden beneath a hood.
They walked directly upstairs.
Then came back down seven minutes later carrying something.
A red notebook.
Marcus stopped breathing.
“Hannah’s notebook.”
The person reached the door.
Paused.
Then looked directly toward the camera.
Naomi froze the frame.
Marcus stared at the face.
Daniel whispered, “No.”
Marcus couldn’t move.
He recognized the person.
Not Sarah.
Not Julian.
Not Evelyn.
Someone who had been in his life for decades.
Someone who had comforted him at Hannah’s funeral.
Someone Lily still saw almost every month.
Marcus whispered:
“That’s Hannah’s mother.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Evelyn Vance?”
Marcus nodded.
Lily suddenly spoke behind them.
“Grandma?”
Marcus turned.
Lily looked confused.
Then she said something that made everyone in the room go silent.
“Grandma has the red book.”
Marcus crouched.
“What?”
“I saw it.”
“When?”
“Last Sunday.”
Marcus felt his pulse hammering.
“Where?”
“At Grandma’s house.”
“What was she doing with it?”
Lily thought for a moment.
“She was crying.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Did she say anything?”
Lily nodded.
“She didn’t know I was behind her.”
“What did she say?”
Lily looked directly into her father’s eyes.
“She said, ‘Hannah, I’m sorry. I should’ve told Marcus who his real father was.’”
Marcus forgot how to breathe.
Daniel whispered, “What the hell?”
Marcus stared at Lily.
“My father?”
His father, Thomas Vance, had died when Marcus was seventeen.
At least that was what Marcus had been told.
Then Marcus’s phone vibrated.
A text message.
From Hannah’s mother.
EVELYN VANCE:
Marcus, don’t believe anything they tell you.
Come alone.
I have Hannah’s notebook.
Marcus typed immediately:
What did Hannah know about my father?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, the response arrived.
Thomas Vance was not your biological father.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Another message came.
And the man who is…
is still alive.
Marcus’s hands began shaking.
A third message appeared.
You met him this morning.
Marcus slowly raised his eyes.
Daniel stood in front of him.
Naomi beside him.
Police everywhere.
Sarah in handcuffs.
Julian locked inside a cruiser.
Caleb being searched near the garage.
Marcus looked from face to face.
Then the police cruiser carrying Julian suddenly exploded into movement.
The rear door flew open.
An officer shouted.
Julian sprinted across the lawn.
“STOP!”
Marcus watched him run.
But Julian wasn’t running toward the street.
He was running toward Marcus.
Two officers tackled him three feet away.
Julian screamed as they forced him down.
“YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME!”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Who is my father?”
Julian stopped struggling.
His expression changed.
Then he laughed.
“She finally told you?”
“WHO?”
Julian looked straight into Marcus’s eyes.
“Marcus…”
He smiled.
“Why do you think I’ve been protecting you?”
Marcus went completely still.
And Julian whispered:
“Because you’re my son.”
TO BE CONTINUED……………
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