Chapter 19 - The Brother
Michael Carter had not spoken to Richard in seven years.
Police found him two hours later at a bus station.
He sat on a bench with one small bag and asked for a lawyer.
Michael had lost most of his inheritance in bad investments. Marilyn found him through Evan Brenner’s network. She promised to erase his debts if he helped pressure Richard.
His job was simple: access the house, disable cameras, and feed Vanessa information.
He had been inside the Carter home the morning Leo fell.
“But why didn’t he stop her?” Anna asked.
Daniels’ expression hardened.
“He says he thought she was only staging a scare.”
Richard slammed a fist against the wall.
“He watched my son fall.”
“He also reactivated the camera after she pushed him.”
Anna stared.
“So he saved the proof?”
“In a way.”
Michael had copied the video to a hidden cloud account before Vanessa deleted the local file.
Not out of courage.
Out of insurance.
He planned to blackmail Vanessa later.
Richard sat down slowly.
Every person around him had turned family into leverage.
Anna thought of Leo sleeping safely under hospital observation.
“Is it over?”
Daniels gave a tired smile.
“Almost.”
Vanessa would face charges for child endangerment, assault, evidence tampering, and conspiracy. Marilyn faced a much longer list. Michael faced conspiracy charges as well.
The Brenner case would be reopened.
Emily’s death would no longer be called an accident.
Anna closed her eyes.
For the first time in years, the word Chicago did not feel like a sentence.
Then Richard’s phone rang.
The hospital.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
“What?”
Anna stood.
Richard listened.
“No, he was asleep. A nurse was outside the room.”
His hand began to shake.
Anna’s heart slammed against her ribs.
“What happened?”
Richard lowered the phone.
“Leo’s gone.”
For one second, nobody moved.
Then Daniels was already shouting orders.
Anna grabbed her coat.
On the hospital security feed, a woman in scrubs had carried Leo through a service exit ten minutes earlier.
The woman’s face was hidden by a mask.
May you like
But around her wrist was a silver bracelet.
The same bracelet Anna remembered from Chicago.
