Chapter 13 — The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
Chapter 13 — The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
The factory was silent.
Too silent.
Emily stared at the screen in disbelief.
The man standing there was impossible.
Thomas Harrison.
Daniel Harrison’s brother.
A man who had been declared dead more than twenty years ago.
A man whose name had disappeared from every Harrison family record.
A man who was now looking directly at her.
Smiling.
“My uncle…”
The word barely escaped Emily’s lips.
Thomas nodded slowly.
“Yes, Emily.”
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“That’s right.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
Her face was filled with fear.
“No…”
Thomas looked at her.
“Still afraid of me after all these years, Vanessa?”
Emily immediately turned.
“You know him.”
Vanessa didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
Emily looked between them.
“Everyone knows more than me.”
Her voice became cold.
“Again.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Emily, listen carefully.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
Michael stopped.
“Why should I listen?”
She pointed at the screen.
“You knew Thomas was alive.”
Michael looked away.
“Yes.”
The anger inside Emily grew.
“You knew my uncle was alive, and you never told me?”
Michael struggled to explain.
“We didn’t know where he was.”
Emily looked at the screen.
“He’s literally talking to us.”
Michael shook his head.
“This is a recording.”
The factory fell silent again.
Emily looked closer.
The video was old.
The image quality was poor.
Thomas wasn’t actually there.
He had recorded this message years ago.
But why?
Why leave it now?
Thomas’s recorded voice continued.
“Emily, I know you have questions.”
The screen showed several documents.
“Questions about Daniel.”
“Questions about Claire.”
“Questions about why everyone lied to you.”
Emily stared.
“You’re right.”
Thomas smiled.
“Your father was a good man.”
The words surprised her.
“He wanted to save this company.”
A pause.
“But he made one mistake.”
Emily stepped closer to the screen.
“What mistake?”
Thomas leaned toward the camera.
“He trusted family.”
Vanessa looked away.
Michael’s expression became tense.
Emily noticed.
“What does that mean?”
The video continued.
“Daniel discovered someone was stealing from Harrison Enterprises.”
The factory lights flickered.
“He believed the person responsible was outside the family.”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“But he was wrong.”
Emily felt a chill.
“Who was it?”
Thomas looked directly into the camera.
“The person closest to him.”
The screen suddenly showed an old financial document.
A signature appeared.
Emily leaned closer.
She recognized it.
Her heart dropped.
“Impossible.”
Michael looked at her.
“What?”
Emily pointed.
“That signature…”
Everyone looked.
It belonged to—
Daniel Harrison.
Vanessa whispered:
“No.”
The document showed money transfers.
Millions of dollars.
All approved under Daniel’s name.
Emily stared.
“Was my father stealing from the company?”
Michael immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“Then why is his signature there?”
Michael had no answer.
Thomas’s voice continued.
“Daniel discovered the truth too late.”
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
Daniel.
Claire.
And a baby.
Emily.
Her breath stopped.
“He knew his daughter would become the target.”
Thomas continued.
“So he made a choice.”
The screen showed another document.
A hidden agreement.
“He gave up everything.”
Emily looked confused.
“What?”
Thomas’s voice became darker.
“He disappeared willingly.”
Nobody moved.
Emily felt like the ground beneath her was breaking.
“No.”
Thomas continued.
“He knew if he stayed, Emily would never be safe.”
Tears formed in Emily’s eyes.
Her entire life, she thought her father had abandoned her.
But now she was hearing another possibility.
He sacrificed himself.
For her.
The video continued.
“However…”
Thomas paused.
“Daniel made another mistake.”
The screen went black for a moment.
Then a final image appeared.
A man standing outside the old mansion.
The man was younger.
But Emily recognized him.
It was Charles Harrison.
Thomas’s voice became cold.
“Daniel trusted Charles.”
Emily looked at Michael.
Then Vanessa.
Then the screen.
“What are you saying?”
The video showed documents.
Evidence.
Photographs.
Then one final message appeared:
THE BETRAYAL CAME FROM INSIDE THE FAMILY.
Emily stared.
Thomas’s voice returned.
“Your father didn’t disappear because of me.”
A pause.
“He disappeared because someone he loved betrayed him.”
The recording ended.
The factory lights turned off.
Nobody spoke.
Emily slowly turned around.
Her eyes moved to Charles.
Except Charles wasn’t there.
Everyone looked around.
The man who had been standing beside them moments earlier…
Was gone.
Vanessa’s face turned pale.
“He knew.”
Emily looked at her.
“Knew what?”
Vanessa whispered:
“That you found the truth.”
Michael immediately moved toward the exit.
“We need to leave.”
Emily stopped him.
“No.”
She looked toward the darkness outside.
“Not until I know everything.”
Michael shook his head.
“Emily, this is no longer about your inheritance.”
She looked at him.
“Then what is it about?”
Michael answered quietly:
“It’s about who killed Daniel Harrison.”
A sudden sound came from the back of the factory.
A door opening.
Everyone turned.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Emily froze.
Because she recognized the face.
The same face from the photograph.
The same face from her childhood memories.
The person she never thought she would see again.
A trembling voice whispered:
“Emily…”
She couldn’t breathe.
“Mom?”
Claire Carter stepped into the light.
Alive.
Standing right in front of her.
And behind Claire…
Was Daniel Harrison.
Emily’s father.
May you like
Alive.
To be continued…
