Chapter 8: The Man Behind The Door
Nobody wanted Richard to answer.
But everyone knew he had to.
Because Gerald Carter had already found the wedding.
He had already found the gift.
And now he was calling Richard directly.
Richard stared at the screen.
“Answer it,” Charles said.
Richard looked at him.
“You’re sure?””
“No.””
A bitter smile crossed Charles’s face.
“But I’m tired of running from ghosts.””
Richard pressed the button.
“Gerald.””
A rough older voice filled the room.
“You took your time.””
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you want?””
A short laugh.
“You already know.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
Gerald’s voice became colder.
“You opened the box.””
Richard looked at everyone.
“I didn’t.””
“Then who did?””
Nobody answered.
Gerald continued.
“You have five minutes to bring me the documents.””
Madison stepped closer to the phone.
“Why?””
Silence.
Then:
“Who is that?””
Richard looked at her.
Gerald’s voice changed.
“Madison?””
Everyone froze.
“How do you know my name?””
Gerald didn’t answer.
Madison grabbed the phone.
“How do you know me?””
Richard reached for it.
She moved away.
“I asked you a question.””
Gerald sighed.
“You sound like your mother.””
Madison went still.
“You knew my mother?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
A pause.
“Because Margaret was the only person who tried to save you.””
Madison’s eyes filled.
“Save me from what?””
Gerald didn’t answer.
Charles stepped forward.
“Gerald.””
The voice on the phone went quiet.
“Charles.””
The way he said his name made everyone tense.
“You’re there.””
“Yes.””
“You found out.””
Charles looked at Ethan.
“About everything.””
Gerald laughed softly.
“Finally.””
“Where is Margaret?””
Silence.
Then:
“Closer than you think.””
Ethan grabbed the phone.
“Where?””
Gerald ignored him.
“You have no idea what your grandfather built.””
Ethan’s voice shook.
“I don’t care about him.””
“You should.””
“Why?””
“Because everything you love came from what he destroyed.””
Ethan stared at the phone.
Gerald continued.
“Your mother tried to expose him.””
“She tried to protect me.””
“Yes.””
“And you stopped her?””
“No.””
The answer surprised everyone.
“Then who?””
Gerald said nothing.
Madison whispered.
“Who?””
Gerald finally answered.
“Your mother’s closest friend.””
Charles frowned.
“What?””
Gerald continued.
“Someone who knew where she was hiding.””
Claire’s face changed.
“What friend?””
Gerald laughed.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“Of course you don’t.””
The call suddenly became distorted.
Richard looked at the screen.
“Gerald?””
No response.
Then a message appeared.
A location.
Everyone stared.
Ethan read it.
“A warehouse address.””
Charles recognized it.
His face went pale.
“No.””
“What?””
Charles looked at Ethan.
“That’s where my father kept old company records.””
Richard whispered.
“The old Carter storage facility.””
Madison looked between them.
“Why would Margaret be there?””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
The only reason Gerald would send that location was because he wanted them to go.
And people like Gerald Carter never invited someone somewhere without a reason.
I looked at Madison.
“You stay here.””
She immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“Madison.””
“No.””
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
“I spent my whole life being protected from the truth.””
She looked at the letter.
“At some point, I deserve to see it.””
Ethan nodded.
“I’m going.””
Charles looked at him.
“Ethan—”
“No.””
His voice softened.
“I spent seventeen years grieving someone who might have been alive.””
He looked toward the door.
“I’m not losing another hour.””
Nobody argued.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the abandoned Carter storage facility.
Rain had started falling.
The building stood behind a rusted fence.
The same place where decades of family secrets had apparently been buried.
Richard stopped before the entrance.
“I haven’t been here since 1999.””
Madison looked at him.
“Why?””
His answer was quiet.
“Because this is where my life ended.””
Nobody spoke.
We entered together.
The inside smelled like dust and old paper.
Rows of forgotten boxes filled the warehouse.
Then Ethan saw something.
A chair.
Near the back wall.
A blanket.
A cup of coffee still warm.
He froze.
“Someone was here.””
Charles walked closer.
On the table was a photograph.
He picked it up.
His hands began shaking.
It was Margaret.
Older.
Alive.
Standing beside a little girl.
Madison stepped closer.
“That’s me.””
Everyone looked.
The photograph showed a child around six years old.
Madison.
Standing beside Margaret.
And behind them was another person.
A man.
Charles whispered.
“No.””
Ethan looked at him.
“Who?””
Charles stared at the photograph.
“The person who took this.””
A shadow moved behind them.
Everyone turned.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You finally found it.””
A man stepped forward.
Older.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
Gerald Carter.
He held a folder in his hand.
And beside him stood a woman.
A woman Ethan had spent seventeen years believing was dead.
Ethan stopped breathing.
“Mom?””
Margaret Carter looked at her son.
Tears filled her eyes.
But she didn’t move.
Because the next words out of her mouth destroyed everything they thought they knew.
“Ethan…”
She looked at Charles.
Then at Madison.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Your father is not the only person who lied to you.””
