A Name Richard Never Mentioned
Henry followed Leo into the hallway.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
He checked the security cameras.
Every camera had gone offline.
"Someone disabled them," Henry whispered.
Leo walked toward the library.
Henry opened the door.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a chair near the window.
It was moving slightly.
Someone had recently been sitting there.
On the desk was a cup of coffee.
Still warm.
Henry's pulse quickened.
Beside it lay a folded newspaper.
The headline read:
BILLIONAIRE'S DEATH RAISES QUESTIONS.
A sentence had been circled in red ink.
Richard Montgomery's final days remain unexplained.
Underneath, someone had written:
ASK ABOUT DANIEL.
Henry immediately called Thomas.
"Who is Daniel?"
Thomas was silent.
"Thomas."
Finally, he answered.
"Daniel was Richard's illegitimate son."
Henry stopped breathing.
"My grandfather had a son?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't anyone know?"
"Richard wanted it hidden."
"Why?"
"I never learned the reason."
Henry looked at the photographs again.
Daniel was not simply an employee.
He was family.
And suddenly the inheritance made sense.
If Daniel existed, he could potentially challenge Richard's estate.
"Where is he now?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Dead."
Henry frowned.
"When?"
"Twenty years ago."
"How?"
"Car accident."
Henry looked at the photograph.
Daniel had appeared healthy.
Young.
Strong.
Then Henry noticed something impossible.
The latest photograph was dated three days before Richard's death.
The man in it looked exactly like Daniel.
Henry whispered,
"That isn't possible."
Thomas answered quietly.
"Then perhaps we've been looking for the wrong man."
A floorboard creaked behind Henry.
He turned.
May you like
A figure stood in the doorway.
Before Henry could see the face, the lights went out.
