Chapter 3: Daniel’s Brother
The knock came again, three slow blows that made the framed photograph tremble against the wall.
“Anna Mercer,” a man called.
“I know you’re in there.”
Lily pressed her face against my side.
“That’s Uncle Victor.”
I slid the envelope beneath my sweater and moved the box behind the flour canister.
“Go to your room and lock the door.”
“No.
Dad said I shouldn’t leave you alone with him.”
“Take my phone.
Call Mrs.
Alvarez and stay on the line.”
Another blow rattled the door.
“Open it, Anna.
This concerns my brother’s property.”
I opened the door but kept the chain fastened.
The man outside was tall, silver-haired, and dressed in a dark overcoat.
“You’re Victor Reed?”
“So Daniel mentioned me after all.”
“He didn’t.”
His smile disappeared.
“Then how do you know my name?”
“Lily recognized you.”
Victor leaned toward the narrow opening.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“She’s my niece.
I have a right to see her.”
“You ignored her for more than a year.”
“Daniel kept her from me.”
“Daniel was in the hospital.
You knew where he was.”
Victor’s fingers closed around the edge of the door.
“My brother wasn’t thinking clearly.
Neither were you, apparently.
Marrying a terminally ill man after knowing him for a few weeks looks rather convenient.”
“Step away from my door.”
“Give me the box, Anna.”
My hand went still against the frame.
“What box?”
“The one Daniel instructed Lily to give you on the first anniversary of his passing.”
Victor’s voice remained calm, but his fingers tightened.
“That box contains company property.”
“My husband’s photograph isn’t company property.”
For the first time, Victor looked frightened.
“So you opened it.”
“You should leave.”
“You don’t understand what Daniel was involved in.”
“Then explain it.”
“He stole records from my company.
Your late husband helped him.”
“Peter was an architect.
He had nothing to do with your company.”
“Peter reviewed our warehouse plans.
He discovered irregular payments and decided to play detective.”
Victor pushed against the door.
The chain snapped tight, and I threw my weight against it.
“Get off my porch!”
“Give me that envelope, and I’ll forget this conversation.”
A voice rose behind him.
“I won’t.”
Mrs.
Alvarez stood at the gate holding her phone toward us.
At seventy-three, she barely reached Victor’s shoulder, but she did not lower the camera.
“You’re being recorded,” she said.
“I’ve also called the police.”
Victor stepped back and smoothed his coat.
“You’re making an unfortunate mistake, Anna.”
“No.
Opening the door was my mistake.”
“You think Daniel chose you because he loved you?”
His eyes moved to the window above my shoulder.
“He chose you because guilt made him desperate.”
“What did he do?”
“Ask yourself why a man you supposedly loved waited a year to tell you he knew Peter.”
Victor walked down the steps, then stopped beside the gate.
“Give me what Daniel left, and Lily keeps her home.
Refuse, and I’ll prove you manipulated a sick man into marriage.”
“You stay away from my daughter.”
“Your daughter?” Victor gave a small, cold laugh.
“We’ll let a judge decide that.”
A car waited at the curb.
He climbed inside without looking back.
Mrs.
Alvarez hurried onto the porch.
“Where’s Lily?”
“Upstairs.
Victor wants the envelope.”
“Then we open it now.”
My phone rang in Lily’s hand as she came down the stairs.
The number was unfamiliar, but the caller left a message.
I pressed play.
A lawyer’s voice filled the hallway.
May you like
“Mrs.
Reed, this is notice that Victor Reed has filed an emergency petition challenging your guardianship of Lily.”
