Chapter 5: The Brother Who Had Been Watching
Nobody spoke.
Rose stared at the photograph until the woman's face blurred behind her tears.
"That's my mother.""
Margaret nodded.
"I know.""
"She's alive.""
"Yes.""
Rose stood so quickly that the chair scraped backward.
"Where is she?""
"I don't know.""
"Grandma!""
"That's all I know, Rose!""
Rose held up the photograph.
"You had this for four months!""
Margaret flinched.
"I was trying to find a safe way to contact you.""
"You could have called me!""
"And what if someone was listening?""
Rose laughed bitterly.
"You let me spend twenty-six years thinking she was dead!""
Margaret began crying again.
"I thought I was saving you.""
Rose turned away.
For the first time that evening, she couldn't bear to look at the woman who had raised her.
Daniel picked up the photograph.
"Is there an address?""
Rose pointed to the bottom corner.
There was a small handwritten location.
A town in Maine.
Daniel studied it.
"That's about four hours from Boston.""
Evelyn looked concerned.
"Don't go there tonight.""
Rose turned.
"Why?""
"Because if Grace is alive, someone else may be watching her.""
Margaret nodded.
"Your mother told me the same thing. She said never to come looking unless I was certain nobody was following me.""
Daniel reached for his phone.
"I'll arrange security.""
Rose shook her head.
"I don't need a security team. I need my mother.""
"You might be walking into a trap.""
"Then I'll walk into it knowing the truth.""
Before Daniel could answer, his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
"What's wrong?"" Evelyn asked.
Daniel turned the phone around.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
The picture showed Rose sitting in the hotel's private reception room.
It had been taken from outside the window.
Beneath it were seven words.
Tell Rose to stop looking for Lily.
Margaret dropped her handbag.
Evelyn stood.
"Daniel, lock the doors.""
Daniel immediately called security.
"Nobody leaves this floor. Check the surrounding rooms and the service entrances.""
Rose looked at the message.
"Who knows about Lily?""
Margaret's face had gone white.
"Someone who should be dead.""
Twenty minutes later, the security team reported that nobody suspicious had been found.
Daniel insisted that Rose stay in the hotel suite.
He also arranged for two guards to remain outside the door.
Rose sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the photograph of her mother.
A soft knock came from the doorway.
Evelyn entered carrying a glass of water.
"You should try to rest.""
"I can't.""
"I understand.""
Rose looked up.
"Did you know about Lily?""
Evelyn sat beside her.
"I knew Grace had another child. I didn't know where the baby went.""
"Did you know my mother was alive?""
Evelyn shook her head.
"Not until tonight.""
Rose studied her.
"Why did you give her that necklace?""
Evelyn touched the pendant resting in Rose's palm.
"Because Grace was like a daughter to me.""
"Just an employee?""
Evelyn took a long breath.
"No.""
She looked toward the window.
"Your grandfather had a son before he married my mother. A child he never acknowledged publicly.""
Rose frowned.
"Who?""
"His name was Michael.""
Daniel, who had just entered the room, stopped walking.
"Grandfather had another son?""
Evelyn nodded.
"Michael Whitmore was Arthur's first child. He was born before Arthur married me.""
Daniel shook his head.
"I've never heard that name.""
"Arthur paid to keep him out of the family records.""
Rose looked between them.
"What does this have to do with my mother?""
Evelyn's voice softened.
"Grace discovered that Michael was still alive. She also discovered that Arthur had been transferring money into accounts connected to him.""
Daniel frowned.
"Why would Grandpa hide his own son?""
"Because Michael was involved in something Arthur couldn't allow the world to know.""
Rose's stomach tightened.
"Was Michael Lily's father?""
Evelyn looked at her.
"Yes.""
Rose slowly sat back.
Her mother had a daughter with a hidden Whitmore heir.
And Arthur had apparently spent years trying to erase the connection.
"Where is Michael now?""
Evelyn didn't answer.
Daniel walked toward the desk and opened his laptop.
"I can search the company archives.""
"Don't," Evelyn said sharply.
He stopped.
"Why?""
"Because the accounts you're looking for were never kept under his real name.""
Rose looked at her.
"What name did he use?""
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she said, "Michael Carter.""
Rose felt the room tilt.
"Carter?""
"Yes.""
"Like us?""
Evelyn nodded.
"After Grace discovered his identity, she helped him disappear. He took her surname to avoid being recognized.""
Daniel stared at the floor.
"That means he could be anywhere.""
"Not anywhere," Evelyn replied.
She looked at the photograph of Grace.
"Arthur left something behind. A property in Maine. It was purchased through a company Michael controlled.""
Rose picked up the photograph again.
The address on the back suddenly seemed much more important.
"That's where my mother is.""
Evelyn nodded.
"Possibly.""
Daniel closed his laptop.
"We're going there tomorrow morning.""
Rose looked at him.
"I'm going tonight.""
"Rose—"
"I've waited twenty years. I'm not waiting another night.""
Daniel sighed.
"Then we're going together.""
At 2:17 a.m., Rose was finally alone in the hotel suite.
She sat near the window, holding the photograph.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
She traced her mother's face with one finger.
"I remember you," she whispered.
A sudden vibration came from her phone.
Unknown number.
One message.
Your grandmother lied about more than the fire.
Rose sat upright.
Another message appeared.
You already know your brother. Look at the man who saved your life tonight.
Rose frowned.
She read it again.
The man who saved her life?
Daniel?
She immediately stood and opened the bedroom door.
The hallway was empty.
She walked toward the private sitting room.
Daniel's laptop was still open on the desk.
A document was displayed on the screen.
At the top was a photograph of a younger man.
Rose stepped closer.
Her stomach dropped.
The man's face was familiar.
She had seen it before.
Not in a photograph.
Not in a newspaper.
In person.
She scrolled down.
The document contained a birth record.
*CHILD: DANIEL ARTHUR WHITMORE.*
*BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: GRACE CARTER.*
Rose covered her mouth.
The man she had just trusted.
The man who had defended her.
The man who had stood beside her all evening.
Was listed as the child of her mother.
Her brother.
But the date of birth made no sense.
Daniel was thirty-two.
Rose was twenty-six.
He couldn't have been Lily.
Unless there was another secret.
A door opened behind her.
"Rose?""
She turned.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
He looked at the screen.
Then at her.
May you like
His expression collapsed.
"You're not supposed to see that.""
