CHAPTER 4 – My Brother Finally Told the Truth
CHAPTER 4 – My Brother Finally Told the Truth
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Patricia's hands grabbing for Lily.
I heard her screaming.
"That baby belongs with family!"
By sunrise, I had cried so much that there were no tears left.
Daniel was sitting by the hotel window, watching airport traffic while Lily slept peacefully in the portable crib the police had helped us borrow.
He looked exhausted.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
He turned toward me.
"Now we let the police do their job."
I wanted to believe that.
But Ryan had disappeared.
At eight-thirty that morning, Detective Harris called.
"We've been to your brother's apartment."
My pulse quickened.
"Was he there?"
"No."
"When did he leave?"
"Based on security footage, sometime around midnight."
"What about his phone?"
"It's turned off."
My stomach sank.
"He ran."
"It appears so."
We checked out of the hotel later that morning but remained at Logan Airport under police recommendation while detectives coordinated with authorities in Massachusetts and Washington.
Just as we were preparing to board our rescheduled flight, my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Daniel looked at me.
"Don't answer."
It rang again.
And again.
Finally, Detective Harris nodded.
"Put it on speaker."
I answered.
"...Hello?"
For several seconds there was only breathing.
Then I heard Ryan's voice.
"Emily..."
I froze.
"You need to listen."
"No," I said coldly.
"You need to explain why you tried to steal my daughter."
"I didn't try to steal her."
"You helped Patricia."
"I was trying to protect Lily."
My hands clenched so tightly around the phone they hurt.
"Protect her from what?"
Silence.
Then he whispered,
"From you."
The room seemed to tilt.
"What did you just say?"
Ryan sounded like he hadn't slept in days.
"Mom told me everything."
"Patricia is not our mother."
"I know."
"But she's the only parent I have left."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"She told me you were having breakdowns."
"That you screamed at Lily."
"That you left her alone for hours."
"That Daniel was covering for you."
Every accusation hit like another slap.
"They weren't true."
"I know that now."
His voice cracked.
"But I believed her."
Detective Harris quietly signaled another officer, who immediately began tracing the call.
Ryan continued talking.
"You have to understand..."
"No," I interrupted.
"You have to understand."
"You watched Patricia attack me."
"You texted her exactly where we were."
"You told her not to fail."
He started crying.
Real crying.
"I didn't think she'd do that."
"What did you think she was going to do?"
"I thought she'd convince you to come home."
"Inside an airport security checkpoint?"
"I know how stupid it sounds."
"No," I replied.
"It sounds criminal."
Ryan inhaled shakily.
"There are things you don't know."
I almost laughed.
"Then tell me."
Long silence.
Finally he said something that made every officer in the room stop writing.
"Dad changed his will."
I frowned.
"What?"
"The version you saw wasn't the last one."
My heart started pounding.
"What are you talking about?"
"Patricia found another copy after the funeral."
"She said Dad left everything to Lily."
I stared at the detective.
He frowned too.
"Everything?"
"The house."
"The investments."
"The life insurance."
"Everything was supposed to stay in a family trust until Lily turned twenty-five."
None of that made sense.
"I inherited the estate."
"That's what the lawyer told me."
"I know."
"But Patricia said the lawyer lied."
Detective Harris mouthed one word to me.
Keep talking.
I nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Ryan..."
"Did Patricia show you this will?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever verify it with Dad's attorney?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because..."
He hesitated.
"Because she said if you took Lily to Seattle, you'd disappear forever and she'd never get the trust back."
The detective's eyes narrowed.
Trust.
Money.
This wasn't about grandparents' rights.
It wasn't about grief.
It was about inheritance.
Then Ryan whispered something that made my blood run cold.
"She told me... if Lily wasn't with you..."
He stopped.
"If Lily wasn't with me... what?"
"...the court would eventually appoint a guardian."
I could barely breathe.
"And Patricia said she would become that guardian."
The room fell completely silent.
The detective slowly reached for another notepad.
"So that's why she wanted Lily," I whispered.
Ryan was crying openly now.
"I didn't know."
"I swear, Emily."
"I thought she was saving our family."
At that exact moment, another detective rushed into the room holding a folder.
"Harris!"
He looked up.
"What is it?"
"We searched Patricia's house."
"What did you find?"
The detective opened the folder.
Inside was a professionally prepared document.
The title read:
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF JONATHAN WHITMORE
Across the bottom of every page, in bold red letters, were two devastating words.
FORGERY SAMPLE.
Detective Harris slowly looked back at me.
Then at the phone still resting on the table.
Ryan hadn't just confessed to helping Patricia.
He had unknowingly revealed the real motive behind the attempted kidnapping.
It had never been about love.
May you like
It had never been about family.
It had been about millions of dollars... and a fake will that someone had been willing to risk everything to make real.
