Chapter 7 - THE PERSON I TRUSTED MOSTI read Brooke's statement three times.
Each time, I hoped I had misunderstood.
I hadn't.
According to Brooke, Chad Miller had been at my car that night.
But he wasn't the person who sabotaged it.
He had been carrying out another part of the plan.
The actual tampering, she claimed, had been performed by someone with unrestricted access to my company's private garage.
Someone I had known for more than twenty years.
Someone I loved.
"No," I whispered.
Sarah stood beside me inside the federal building.
"Ethan, we haven't confirmed her account."
I stared at the name on the page.
DANIEL VANCE.
My younger brother.
My only surviving close relative.
The boy I had protected when our mother died.
The teenager I'd helped through college.
The man who stood beside me when our father was buried.
Daniel.
My own brother.
I shook my head.
"Brooke's lying."
"She may be," Sarah replied.
"She's trying to save herself."
"That's possible."
I wheeled myself toward the window.
Beyond the glass, Portland's harbor shimmered beneath an overcast sky.
I tried to remember the last time I'd spoken to Daniel.
Three weeks earlier.
He'd called from Switzerland, where he claimed to be negotiating a medical-device distribution agreement.
He asked about my rehabilitation.
He sounded happy when I told him I'd made progress.
"You're a fighter, Ethan," he'd said. "Dad would be proud."
Could a man say those words while knowing he'd nearly murdered his brother?
My phone vibrated.
Daniel.
I stared at the screen.
Sarah noticed.
"Don't answer alone."
Detective Hale arranged for the call to be preserved.
Then I pressed the speaker button.
"Daniel."
"Bro!"
His voice sounded cheerful.
So normal that it hurt.
"I just saw the news. What the hell happened at the Sterling gala?"
I closed my eyes.
"There's been an investigation."
"Yeah, I can see that. Brooke's all over the internet. And you—"
He paused.
"Ethan, you stood up?"
"Yes."
"Oh my God!"
He laughed.
"That's incredible! Why didn't you tell me?"
I swallowed.
"Because I needed to keep my recovery private."
A brief silence.
Then Daniel said, "From me?"
"From everyone."
"Wow."
His voice changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
"Well, I'm happy for you, man."
I looked toward Hale.
He nodded for me to continue.
"Daniel, where are you?"
"Zurich."
"Still?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because investigators want to speak with you."
Another silence.
"What investigators?"
"The ones examining my crash."
Daniel exhaled sharply.
"Jesus, Ethan. You're not dragging me into Brooke's mess, are you?"
"I didn't say that."
"Because I've got nothing to do with her."
"Then you won't mind answering questions."
"I have business obligations."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Dad taught us that family comes first."
Daniel laughed nervously.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Use Dad against me."
I stared at the floor.
"Are you coming home?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then his tone hardened.
"I think you need to be careful who you're listening to."
The call ended.
I sat in silence.
Sarah gently took the phone.
"I'm sorry."
I looked up.
"What if she's telling the truth?"
Sarah didn't offer easy reassurance.
"Then we'll deal with the evidence."
That was why I trusted her.
She didn't tell me what I wanted to hear.
She told me what I needed to know.
Over the next two days, investigators examined Daniel's activities before my crash.
They discovered that he had access to the private garage.
That wasn't unusual.
Daniel served as vice president of business development at Vance Biomedical.
He frequently borrowed company vehicles.
He had an access card.
He knew my schedule.
But then forensic accountants found something more troubling.
Three days before the crash, Daniel received a transfer of $750,000 from an investment company controlled by Chad Miller.
The payment was labeled as a consulting fee.
There was no consulting agreement.
No invoice.
No evidence of completed work.
Two days after the crash, another $250,000 entered an account linked to Daniel.
One million dollars.
My brother had received one million dollars around the time someone tried to kill me.
I felt physically sick.
The investigation also uncovered surveillance footage from a maintenance hallway.
It showed Daniel entering the garage carrying a small black tool case.
The footage didn't prove he touched my car.
But it contradicted his claim that he'd been in Switzerland throughout that week.
I watched it alone.
Then I called Mrs. Alvarez.
She answered immediately.
"Mr. Ethan?"
"Do you remember Daniel coming to the house the week of my accident?"
She paused.
"Yes, sir."
"What did he want?"
"Your father's old files."
I closed my eyes.
"Which files?"
"He said you had asked him to collect documents from the study."
"I never asked him."
Her voice lowered.
"I wondered about that."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Mr. Daniel said it was a family matter. And afterward, when you were in the hospital, I didn't want to trouble you."
I leaned back.
"What did he take?"
"A brown leather folder. And your father's watch."
My heart stopped.
The watch Chad Miller had worn at the banquet.
My father's watch.
Now I knew how Chad got it.
Daniel had given it to him.
Or sold it.
Or used it as some kind of payment.
I thanked Mrs. Alvarez and ended the call.
For several minutes, I stared at the wall.
My brother hadn't simply betrayed me.
He had taken pieces of our father and handed them to the people who were destroying our family.
That evening, Emma arrived with a bag of takeout food.
Sarah had arranged for her to stay at a secure property nearby while investigators assessed the threats against her.
She found me sitting beside the fireplace.
The room was dark.
"Mrs. Alvarez said you hadn't eaten."
"I'm not hungry."
Emma placed the bag on the table.
"That's what my mother used to say when she was upset."
I looked at her.
"What happened?"
"She stopped eating after she realized someone was altering your records."
Emma sat opposite me.
"She thought if she kept looking, she'd find something that would make sense."
"Did she?"
"Not before she died."
I stared at the flames.
"Brooke says my brother tried to kill me."
Emma didn't respond immediately.
Then she asked, "What does the evidence say?"
I gave a bitter laugh.
"You're starting to sound like Sarah."
"Is that bad?"
"No."
I rubbed my eyes.
"I raised Daniel after Mom died. Dad worked all the time. I made sure Daniel had lunch money. Drove him to soccer practice. Helped him move into his college dorm."
My voice broke.
"He was my little brother."
Emma leaned forward.
"He still is."
"How can you say that?"
"Because what he may have done doesn't erase who he was to you. But who he was doesn't excuse what he may have done, either."
I stared at her.
She spoke gently.
"You can love someone and still tell the truth about them."
For the first time since hearing Daniel's name, I felt able to breathe.
Then my phone rang.
Detective Hale.
"We found Daniel," he said.
I straightened.
"Where?"
"Not in Switzerland. He entered the United States yesterday under his own passport."
"Where is he now?"
"An airport surveillance camera captured him in Boston. We're trying to locate him."
My pulse quickened.
"Has he contacted Richard?"
"We believe so."
Hale hesitated.
"There's something else. Investigators obtained records indicating Daniel recently rented a private storage unit."
"What's inside?"
"We're preparing to search it under a warrant."
I looked toward Emma.
She was watching my face.
"Do you think there's evidence?"
"We don't know yet," Hale replied.
Then his tone changed.
"Ethan, have you spoken with Mrs. Alvarez today?"
My stomach tightened.
"Yes. Why?"
"Because officers went to your house to speak with her."
"And?"
"Your front door was open."
I stood too quickly.
Pain shot through my back.
Emma caught my elbow.
"Detective?"
May you like
Hale's next words turned my blood to ice.
"Mrs. Alvarez is missing. And someone left your father's watch on the kitchen table."
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