Chapter 6 - Adrian HayesDaniel stood so quickly the chair tipped backward.
The stranger stopped ten feet away.
Ghost growled.
The man glanced at the dog.
“Still dramatic.”
Daniel stepped in front of Noah.
“Who are you?”
The stranger’s smile faded.
“Adrian.”
Daniel stared.
“Adrian who?”
“Hayes.”
Ross moved between them.
“Sir, identify yourself.”
The man calmly produced identification.
Adrian Michael Hayes.
Age forty-four.
Same father listed on later records.
Thomas Hayes.
Daniel’s father.
Daniel felt sick.
“This is fake.”
“It isn’t.”
Adrian looked almost amused.
“Dad really did erase me.”
Daniel lunged emotionally before physically.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Emma.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“You don’t know my daughter.”
Adrian looked past him.
“I know more about her than you do.”
Ghost barked.
Ross signaled security.
“Mr. Hayes, step away from the treatment area.”
Adrian obeyed.
Almost too easily.
Daniel hated him instantly.
Not because of proof.
Because of recognition.
Something about the shape of Adrian’s eyes resembled his father.
Too much.
Daniel looked at Ross.
“Check him.”
“We are.”
Adrian sat in a private interview room.
Daniel refused to leave.
Ross allowed him to observe through glass.
Adrian explained.
Thomas Hayes had been married before Daniel’s mother.
Adrian was born from that marriage.
After a violent family dispute, Thomas cut contact.
Daniel’s mother never told Daniel.
Public records later confirmed pieces.
Adrian existed.
The brother was real.
But everything else remained uncertain.
“Rebecca,” Ross said.
Adrian’s expression changed.
“What about her?”
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
Daniel gripped the wall.
Ross continued.
“How?”
“She came looking for me.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“Why?”
Adrian looked toward the glass.
He knew Daniel was there.
“To ask about Madeline.”
Daniel stepped into the interview room before Ross could stop him.
“What?”
Adrian leaned back.
“Now you care?”
Daniel slammed both hands on the table.
“My wife died five years ago.”
“Rebecca didn’t trust the woman you married after her.”
“I met Madeline after Rebecca died.”
Adrian smiled sadly.
“No.”
Daniel froze.
“You met Madeline after Rebecca died.”
“What does that mean?”
“Madeline met Rebecca before you did.”
Daniel stared.
Ross entered.
“Explain.”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“Madeline and Rebecca were friends.”
“No.”
“College roommates.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Adrian pulled out his phone.
Old photo.
Three young women.
Rebecca.
Madeline.
And another woman Daniel didn't recognize.
Daniel sat.
Rebecca and Madeline had known each other.
Neither told him.
“Why?”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Because your first wife discovered what Madeline’s family was involved in.”
Daniel felt exhausted by secrets.
“What family?”
“Private medical fraud.”
Ross leaned forward.
“Details.”
Adrian explained that Madeline’s father operated clinics that illegally prescribed controlled medications under stolen identities.
Rebecca, then working as a financial auditor, discovered irregularities.
She intended to report them.
Madeline begged her not to.
Then Rebecca met Daniel.
“She never told me.”
“Because she was trying to protect you.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps protecting me by lying.”
Adrian did not disagree.
“What did you have to do with it?”
“Rebecca contacted me because I had investigated Dad’s finances years earlier. She thought I understood hidden accounts.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill her?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“No.”
“Were you near the road when she crashed?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stood.
“Why?”
“She called me.”
“What did she say?”
“She said somebody was following her.”
Daniel’s breath caught.
“Who?”
“She didn't know.”
“Then how did she crash?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“She was forced off the road.”
Daniel stared.
“Police said she lost control.”
“They were wrong.”
“Proof?”
Adrian removed something from his wallet.
A tiny memory card.
“This came from Rebecca’s dash camera.”
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“Where did you get that?”
“She gave it to me the night before she died.”
“Why?”
“She was afraid.”
Ross took the card.
Adrian continued.
“Madeline knew Rebecca had evidence.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Madeline killed her?”
Adrian looked away.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Adrian hesitated.
“My father.”
Daniel went still.
“Dad was dead.”
“Not yet.”
Daniel stared.
His father died when Daniel was seventeen.
Rebecca died twenty-two years later.
“That makes no sense.”
Adrian watched him.
“I didn't say Thomas.”
Daniel’s mind reeled.
“Then what father?”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Madeline’s.”
Daniel's chest tightened.
“Her father is dead.”
“Now.”
“His name was Charles Bennett.”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Charles Bennett was the name he used after he disappeared.”
Daniel felt dread.
“What was his real name?”
Adrian answered.
“Dr. Samuel Reed.”
Noah made a sound behind the door.
Everyone turned.
The boy had been listening.
His face was white.
Daniel looked at him.
“Noah?”
May you like
The boy whispered:
“Reed is my last name.”
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