Chapter 3 - THE LIE WE ALL BELIEVED
The silence in the room was suffocating.
"No," I breathed, stepping toward him. "That's impossible. Daniel loved you like a brother."
Gabriel held up the small, crumpled paper. The handwriting was unmistakably Daniel’s.
Gabe is compromised. If he doesn't step down by midnight, I have to take him out. It's the only way to save the family.
My stomach dropped. I had never seen that note.
"Where did you get this?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"It was inside his watch," Gabriel said, his voice completely hollow. "The watch you just handed me."
"I didn't know it was in there! Marcus gave it to me!"
"Did he?" Gabriel’s eyes hardened. "Or did Daniel leave it for you?"
Suddenly, the front doors of the mansion burst open. Two of Gabriel’s security men dragged Vanessa into the foyer. She was crying, her red dress torn at the hem.
"Marcus got away," one of the guards said. "He left her in the driveway."
Vanessa collapsed onto the marble floor, sobbing hysterically. "Gabriel, please! You have to listen to me!"
Gabriel didn't look at her. He kept his eyes on me.
"Gather your things, Rachel," he said coldly. "You and Lily are coming with me."
"Where?" I asked, pulling Lily behind my legs.
"To a safe house. Until I figure out who is telling the truth."
Twenty minutes later, we were in the back of a black SUV. The rain pounded against the tinted windows. Lily was asleep against my shoulder. Gabriel sat across from us, staring into the darkness.
"Vanessa isn't pregnant," Gabriel said suddenly.
I looked up, stunned. "What?"
"She told me she was pregnant three years ago," Gabriel muttered. "That's why I agreed to marry her. But she lost the baby. Or she lied. I don't know anymore."
He ran a hand over his face, looking exhausted and broken.
The SUV pulled up to a small, unassuming brick house in the suburbs. It looked perfectly normal. We hurried inside to escape the rain.
The house was fully furnished, but dust covered the tables. It hadn't been lived in for years.
"My men will be outside," Gabriel said. "Get some sleep."
I carried Lily to the bedroom down the hall and laid her on the mattress. As I pulled the blankets back, a small piece of paper fluttered to the floor.
I picked it up. It was a child’s drawing. Crayon on construction paper.
It was a drawing of a man with a distinct jagged scar over his left eye. Underneath, in messy handwriting, were the words: Uncle Leo.
My blood ran cold.
Leo was Gabriel’s older brother. He had died in a car crash ten years ago.
I rushed into the living room, holding the drawing. Gabriel was pouring a glass of whiskey.
"Gabriel," I said, my voice trembling. "Who owns this house?"
He turned around. "I bought it three years ago. Why?"
I held up the drawing. "Because my daughter drew this. In our old apartment. Five years ago."
Gabriel dropped his glass. It shattered on the floor.
"That's impossible," Gabriel whispered. "I put the deed in a fake name."
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"What name?" I asked.
Gabriel looked at me, his face pale. "Daniel Hayes."
