THE MAN WHO WAS NEVER GABRIEL

I picked up the pocket watch.

The inscription burned into my mind.

We will take it all back.

I looked down at Julian. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, but he was conscious.

“You knew,” I said, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “You weren't losing Gabriel’s memories. You were faking it.”

Sofia frowned. “What are you talking about?”

I handed the watch to Daniel.

He read the inscription. His face morphed from terror to absolute disgust. He let go of the bloody towel and backed away.

“Daniel, wait,” Julian gasped, reaching out a bloody hand.

“Don't touch me,” Daniel said, his voice shaking. “You planned this with Catherine? You stole my father’s life?”

Julian coughed violently. “I had to. To save you.”

“Liar!” Evelyn shrieked, finally finding her strength. She pointed a trembling finger at him. “You and Catherine were always jealous of Gabriel! I sent you away because you were cruel, Julian! You tried to drown Gabriel when you were nine!”

“I didn't try to drown him,” Julian wheezed, his eyes locking onto Evelyn. “I was trying to save him from Catherine. She pushed him. Just like she pushed him into the glass table.”

Answer one. Open two.

Catherine was the violent one.

But if Catherine was the monster, why was she trying to stop the blood transfusions?

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out.

It was Catherine.

I answered it, putting it on speaker.

“Are you at the safehouse?” I demanded.

“I’m outside the gates of the mansion, Rachel,” Catherine’s calm, chilling voice echoed through the phone. “And I brought the police. Tell Julian his time playing house is over.”

Sofia panicked. She grabbed Lily and pulled her behind her legs.

“She’s lying,” Julian whispered, struggling to sit up. “Catherine doesn't want the police. She wants the vault.”

“What vault?” I asked.

“Behind the fireplace,” Julian said, pointing a shaking finger at the massive stone hearth. “Gabriel’s real will. The one he wrote before the shooting. It leaves everything to Sofia.”

I looked at Sofia. She looked genuinely shocked.

“But I was a child when he wrote it,” she said.

“He knew Catherine was coming back,” Julian gasped. “He hid the money. All of it. Three billion dollars in offshore accounts. The codes are in the vault.”

Suddenly, the front doors of the mansion crashed open.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the foyer.

It wasn't the police.

It was men in tactical gear.

And leading them was Dr. Leonard Pierce.

He walked into the library, his silver hair perfectly combed, a suppressed pistol in his hand.

He didn't look at Julian. He didn't look at Daniel.