He sent two messages.
Nothing.
At 4:30 p.m., Richard finally called back.
"Marcus! What's going on? I saw your missed calls.""
Dad put the phone on speaker.
"Where were you on October fourteenth, three years ago?""
A pause.
"What kind of question is that?""
"Answer me.""
"I was in Birmingham. You know that.""
"Did you see Danielle that night?""
Another pause.
"No. Why?""
I leaned toward the phone.
"Uncle Richard, it's Ethan.""
"Hey, buddy. How are you holding up?""
I felt sick hearing his familiar voice.
"Did you visit Mom the night she died?""
"Of course not.""
"Then why is there a photograph of you standing beside her outside our house?""
Silence.
Then Richard laughed.
"That's ridiculous. Someone's playing games with you.""
Dad interrupted.
"We found your wedding ring in the photograph.""
Richard's voice hardened.
"Marcus, you need to stop listening to whoever is feeding you these stories.""
"Did you meet my wife that night?""
"Your wife?""
"My wife, Richard. Danielle.""
Richard exhaled.
"Listen, brother. I loved Danielle. You know that.""
"Then tell me where you were.""
"I already told you.""
Dad ended the call.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Patricia said something that made my stomach turn.
"There's another possibility.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"Richard may not have been wearing his own ring.""
She opened her laptop and searched through an old photograph from my mother's wedding.
She enlarged the image.
Dad's wedding ring had a distinctive engraved pattern.
The ring in the crash-scene photograph had the same pattern.
Dad stared.
"That's my ring.""
My mouth went dry.
"You gave it to someone?""
"No.""
Patricia examined the photograph again.
"Then someone may have taken it.""
Dad suddenly remembered something.
"Three days before Danielle died, I lost my ring at the office. I thought I'd misplaced it.""
I stared at him.
"Who had access to your office?""
He didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Vanessa.
That evening, we went to the police station and reported the threatening messages. Patricia also arranged for the storage-unit evidence to be placed under legal protection.
Before leaving, she received a call.
She listened for nearly a minute.
Then her face became serious.
"Mr. Williams, there's something you need to know.""
Dad stood.
"What?""
"Richard has just contacted my office.""
My stomach tightened.
"What did he say?""
Patricia looked directly at me.
"He wants to meet Ethan alone.""
Dad immediately shook his head.
"Absolutely not.""
"He says he has something that belonged to Danielle.""
I frowned.
"What?""
Patricia hesitated.
"A second death certificate.""
Dad's face drained of color.
"There's only one death certificate.""
"Apparently, there were two.""
I looked at her.
"What does that mean?""
She closed her laptop.
"It means the document you saw in the photograph outside your house may not be the only evidence your mother left behind.""
Then she handed me a note.
It contained an address and a time.
Tomorrow.
8:00 p.m.
At the old house where my mother grew up.
And beneath the address, Richard had written:
Come alone, Ethan. Before Daniel finds out what I know.
I knew going alone was a terrible idea.
Dad said it at least twenty times.
Patricia said it even more.
But Richard had specifically asked for me, and I couldn't ignore the possibility that he knew something about my mother's final hours.
We agreed on a compromise.
Dad and Patricia would wait two blocks away. I would enter the house with my phone recording and an emergency call ready.
At 7:58 p.m., I stood outside my mother's childhood home.
The property had been empty since my grandmother died. The paint was peeling, the front garden was overgrown, and the porch light flickered whenever the wind moved the old electrical wires.
I knocked.
The door opened almost immediately.
Richard stood there.
He looked older than I remembered.
His hair was uncombed, and his shirt was wrinkled.
"Ethan.""
He pulled me into a hug.
For one second, I almost forgot everything.
Then I remembered the photograph.
I stepped back.
"You said you had something for me.""
Richard nodded.
"Come inside.""
The living room smelled of dust and old furniture.
He led me to the dining table, where a brown envelope was waiting.
"Your mother gave me this two days before she died.""
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you give it to me?""
He lowered his eyes.
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of Daniel?""
Richard nodded.
"And Vanessa.""
I sat down.
"Why were you at our house the night Mom died?""
He rubbed his face.
"I went there because Danielle called me. She said she had discovered something terrible.""
"What?""
"She found out that Daniel had been stealing money from her trust for months. Vanessa had been helping him.""
I opened the envelope.
Inside was another copy of the death certificate.
But this one was different.
The official cause of death was listed as multiple traumatic injuries from a single-vehicle collision.
However, beneath the medical examiner's signature was a handwritten note.
Unidentified substance detected in blood sample. Further toxicology requested.
I looked up.
"What substance?""
Richard shook his head.
"I don't know. The final report was changed.""
"Changed by whom?""
"Daniel had connections with someone at the medical examiner's office.""
My hands tightened around the paper.
"You're telling me my mother was poisoned?""
"I'm telling you that the report originally raised questions about something in her system.""
Richard reached into his jacket and removed a small flash drive.
"Your mother recorded a conversation the night she died.""
I stared at it.
"With whom?""
"Daniel.""
"Where is it?""
"On that drive.""
I reached for it.
Richard pulled his hand back.
"Before you listen, you need to understand something.""
"What?""
"I wasn't the person who opened your front door that night.""
I frowned.
"But Daniel said—"
"Daniel lied.""
Richard leaned forward.
"I arrived at your house at 9:12 p.m. Danielle was already outside. She was holding a folder and crying.""
"What did she tell you?""
"She said Marcus had unknowingly signed documents that could transfer control of the trust. She was terrified that Daniel would take you away from her.""
My throat tightened.
"Did you help her?""
Richard nodded.
"I offered to take her somewhere safe. But she said she needed to retrieve something from inside first.""
"What?""
"A second phone.""
He looked toward the hallway.
"Then someone opened the front door.""
I felt my heart pounding.
"Who?""
Richard's eyes filled.
"Vanessa.""
I froze.
"She was already married to Dad?""
"No. She was working for Daniel. They were involved long before she married your father.""
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell us?""
Richard slammed his palm against the table.
"Because I was threatened! Daniel told me that if I spoke, he'd make sure I went to prison for the missing money. He had documents with my signature.""
"Did you steal money?""
Richard looked away.
"I helped him move some of it. I thought it was legitimate at first.""
I stood up.
"So you helped them steal from my mother?""
"I made a mistake.""
"A mistake? My mother died!""
Richard's eyes filled with tears.
"I know.""
I backed away.
He continued.
"That night, Vanessa came outside. She told Danielle that everything could still be fixed if she surrendered the documents.""
"What happened?""
"Danielle refused. Then Daniel arrived.""
My skin went cold.
"Was Dad there?""
Richard shook his head.
"No. Your father was at the hospital with his mother. Daniel had arranged that.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Then whose ring was that?""
Richard closed his eyes.
"Daniel took Marcus's ring from the office. He wore it that night so the neighbors would believe Marcus had been there.""
My stomach turned.
"Why?""
"Because he wanted to make it look like your father had been involved in whatever happened afterward.""
Richard pushed the flash drive toward me.
"Listen to this. Your mother recorded everything.""
I picked it up.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Dad.
Ethan, leave the house immediately. Richard is not telling you everything.
I looked up.
Richard's expression had changed.
He was staring at my phone.
"Your father knows?""
Before I could answer, every light in the house went out.
A car engine roared outside.
Then someone slammed the front door.
Richard grabbed my arm.
"Get down!""
A gunshot shattered the window.
Glass exploded across the dining table.
I hit the floor as Richard dragged me behind the sofa.
Someone outside shouted:
"WHERE IS THE DRIVE?""
Richard looked at me in terror.
Then he whispered the words I would never forget.
"They found us. And Ethan, the person who ordered this isn't Daniel.""
The gunshot had barely stopped echoing when I heard someone running across the porch.
Richard pushed me toward the kitchen.
"There's a back door. Go!""
"What about you?""
"JUST GO!""
I ran through the kitchen, nearly slipping on broken glass.
Behind me, the front door crashed open.
A man's voice shouted.
"Check the living room!""
I reached the back entrance and pulled it open.
Cold air hit my face.
I sprinted through the overgrown garden and toward the alley.
My phone was still recording.
I called Dad.
He answered immediately.
"Ethan?""
"Someone's inside the house! They have a gun!""
"Where are you?""
"Behind the house!""
"Stay where you are. I'm coming.""
A car screeched around the corner.
Dad jumped out before it had completely stopped.
Patricia was in the passenger seat.
Dad grabbed my shoulders.
"Are you hurt?""
"I'm okay. Richard's still inside.""
He started toward the house.