Chapter 3 - THE DEATH CERTIFICATE
Julia didn’t sleep.
Thomas slept on the couch because he refused to be alone.
Emily curled up in the armchair beside him with a blanket over both of them.
At seven the next morning, Grant Mercer arrived without being invited.
He walked into the living room and stopped when he saw Thomas.
“Grant?”
“My God.”
Thomas moved closer to Emily.
Grant stared at him.
“Is it really him?”
Julia stepped between them.
“You tell me.”
Grant frowned.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“The death certificate was forged.”
His expression didn’t change enough.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Julia held up the bracelet.
“This is impossible.”
Grant looked at it.
Then at her.
“You should let the police handle this.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
He turned toward the children.
“We should keep Thomas somewhere private until this is understood.”
Thomas immediately said, “No.”
Grant smiled stiffly.
“It’s for your safety.”
Thomas grabbed Julia’s hand.
“No private places.”
The sentence was quiet.
But it hit Julia like a punch.
She looked at Grant.
“He stays with me.”
Grant’s tone sharpened.
“Julia, think.”
“I am thinking.”
About an hour later, Detective Ortiz arrived with a lab technician.
They took DNA samples from Julia and Thomas.
Grant watched from the hallway.
Ortiz noticed him.
“Who are you?”
“Grant Mercer.”
“Relation?”
“Thomas’s uncle.”
Ortiz looked at Julia.
“Potentially.”
Thomas waited until the front door closed.
Then he whispered, “I know him.”
Julia went still.
“What?”
Thomas pointed toward the door.
“Uncle Grant.”
Julia’s blood ran cold.
“He visited Diane.”
“When?”
“A lot when I was little.”
Thomas rubbed his palms against his jeans.
“He stopped coming when I started remembering things.”
Julia could barely breathe.
“What things?”
Thomas looked at her.
“A hospital room.”
A pause.
“You crying.”
May you like
Another pause.
“And Uncle Grant carrying me away.”
