## PART 2
The first thing I remembered was the taste of blood.
Not much. Just a metallic bitterness on my tongue as I coughed water from my lungs and rolled onto the cold concrete beneath the old pier.
For several seconds, I couldn’t understand why I was alive.
I heard the river rushing beneath us.
I heard Tobias breathing heavily beside me.
And I heard something else.
Footsteps.
My heart stopped.
Tobias immediately pressed one finger against his lips.
“Don’t move.”
I froze.
The footsteps came closer.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then stopped.
A man’s voice drifted through the darkness above us.
“Search the pier.”
Garrett.
My husband’s voice.
The same voice that had whispered goodnight to me every night for three years.
The same voice that had told me he loved me.
Now it sounded like the voice of a stranger hunting me.
Tobias pulled me deeper behind the concrete support.
“Can he see us?” I whispered.
“Not unless you make him.”
We waited.
A flashlight swept across the water.
The beam moved slowly over the broken pier, illuminating floating branches and pieces of debris.
Then it stopped.
Right above us.
I stopped breathing.
Garrett was standing somewhere on the pier.
“He couldn’t have survived,” another man said.
Garrett answered quietly.
“Rosalind didn’t.”
My stomach twisted.
“And the brother?”
A pause.
“He was dead weight anyway.”
Tobias’s fingers tightened around my wrist.
I looked at him.
His expression had changed.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only anger.
The flashlight moved away.
Footsteps followed.
Then silence.
Tobias waited another full minute before whispering, “We have to go.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Garrett won’t think to look.”
I grabbed his arm.
“No. First, you tell me everything.”
He looked at me.
“You’re not ready.”
“I just watched my husband try to murder me.”
My voice cracked.
“I think I’m ready.”
Tobias stared toward the river.
Finally, he sighed.
“Then we start with our parents.”
He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small waterproof pouch.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
A flash drive.
And one old newspaper clipping.
I recognized the photograph immediately.
Our parents stood in front of the Baltimore shipyard.
My mother was smiling.
My father had one hand resting on Tobias’s shoulder.
I remembered that day.
I had been twelve.
Tobias had been thirteen.
Two weeks later, our parents were dead.
A supposed brake failure had sent their car through a guardrail on a mountain road.
The official investigation called it an accident.
Tobias slowly unfolded another document.
“This is the original inspection report.”
I read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
Then my hands began shaking.
“The brakes were tampered with.”
“Yes.”
“But the police—”
“Were given another report.”
“By whom?”
Tobias looked at me.
“Garrett’s father.”
My blood ran cold.
“Edward?”
He nodded.
“Edward Hale was one of the largest private investors trying to buy our shipyard. Dad refused to sell.”
I remembered my father’s words.
*Never sell the company when someone is trying too hard to buy it.*
At the time, I thought he was talking about business.
Now I understood.
“What happened after they died?”
“You inherited the controlling shares.”
“I was twelve.”
“Exactly.”
Tobias tapped the document.
“Your shares were placed into a trust until you turned twenty-five.”
“And you?”
“I inherited mine.”
“But I thought you couldn’t manage anything because of your disability.”
“I couldn’t,” he said quietly.
“Not publicly.”
I stared at him.
“Why pretend for fifteen years?”
“Because someone was watching us.”
“Who?”
“Everyone connected to the Hales.”
The answer made my skin crawl.
Tobias explained that after our parents died, strange things began happening.
Bank accounts were accessed.
Legal documents disappeared.
Employees at the shipyard suddenly changed sides.
Several trusted executives resigned.
And then Tobias had the accident.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
“I wasn’t injured in an accident,” he said.
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Someone pushed my motorcycle off the road.”
My mouth fell open.
“You survived.”
“Barely.”
He looked down at his legs.
“The doctors told everyone I’d never walk again.”
“But you could.”
“Eventually.”
“Then why?”
“Because whoever attacked me wanted me to be helpless.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“So I became exactly what they expected.”
I couldn’t speak.
For fifteen years, my brother had lived in a wheelchair.
He had allowed friends to pity him.
He had allowed strangers to underestimate him.
He had even allowed me to believe that he needed me.
“All those years…”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“I knew someone was trying to destroy our family.”
“But you didn’t know who?”
“I suspected the Hales.”
He opened the flash drive.
“I needed proof.”
“And Garrett?”
Tobias’s expression hardened.
“Garrett was the proof.”
I remembered the first time I met my husband.
He had come to the shipyard for a charity event.
He was charming.
Gentle.
Patient.
He remembered my coffee order after one conversation.
He brought flowers to my office.
He sat beside Tobias without making him feel different.
And when I told him I was afraid of getting married because I didn’t want someone to marry me for my money, Garrett had laughed.
“I’d rather live in a one-room cabin with you than own a mansion without you.”
I had believed him.
God, I had believed every word.
Tobias reached into the pouch again.
This time he removed a small glass vial.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Your blood.”
My face went numb.
“What?”
“Your blood from yesterday.”
He handed me a folded laboratory report.
I opened it.
At first, the words made no sense.
Then I saw the highlighted line.
My hands began trembling.
“Sedative?”
Tobias nodded.
“A compound designed to cause chronic fatigue, memory problems, dizziness, and eventually liver damage.”
I looked at him.
“Where did you get this?”
“From the tea you drank yesterday.”
I suddenly remembered Garrett’s voice.
*You look tired, sweetheart. Drink this.*
Warm milk.
Herbal tea.
Soup.
Smoothies.
For three years, Garrett had insisted on preparing almost everything I consumed.
My stomach turned.
“How long?”
“We don’t know.”
“Three years?”
“Possibly.”
I covered my mouth.
Tobias caught my shoulders.
“Rosalind.”
I pushed him away.
“No.”
I stumbled backward.
“No, he couldn’t.”
“He could.”
“He loved me.”
“He wanted your shares.”
“He held me when I cried.”
“Because he needed you alive until the right moment.”
“He stayed beside me when I was sick.”
“He was monitoring the effects.”
I shook my head violently.
“You don’t know that.”
Tobias said nothing.
And somehow, his silence hurt more than his words.
Because deep inside me, I knew.
The headaches.
The dizziness.
The strange exhaustion.
The nights when my hands trembled.
The doctor who had told me I was simply overworked.
The doctor Garrett had recommended.
A doctor whose clinic received donations from a company owned by the Hale family.
I sank onto the concrete floor.
For three years, I had been slowly poisoned by the man I called my husband.
Tobias sat beside me.
“We need to leave.”
I wiped my tears.
“Where?”
“An old warehouse near the eastern marsh.”
“Is it safe?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“But it’s the safest place we have.”
We moved through the darkness.
Tobias walked.
Actually walked.
And every time I saw his feet touch the ground, I felt another piece of my old reality disappear.
He wasn’t strong yet.
His left leg dragged slightly.
His movements were stiff.
But he walked.
Fifteen years of pretending had left his muscles weak.
Yet he kept moving.
After nearly forty minutes, we reached an abandoned storage building hidden among reeds.
Tobias unlocked the door.
Inside was a small room.
A mattress.
A generator.
Two chairs.
A radio.
Medical supplies.
And dozens of photographs covering one wall.
I stepped closer.
My heart stopped.
There were photographs of Garrett.
Garrett entering hotels.
Garrett meeting lawyers.
Garrett meeting Edward Hale.
Garrett meeting Penelope.
Garrett meeting people I didn’t recognize.
Some photographs were dated years before I met him.
I stared at one.
Garrett was standing beside Penelope.
She looked much younger.
Maybe twenty.
They were holding hands.
The photograph was dated four years ago.
A year before Garrett proposed to me.
I felt sick.
“So they were together before me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why marry me?”
Tobias hesitated.
“Because Penelope couldn’t inherit the shares.”
I turned around.
“What?”
“She’s our half sister.”
“I know.”
“No. You know she’s our half sister.”
He pointed toward the documents.
“You don’t know what our father left behind.”
My pulse quickened.
“Our father had another will.”
He placed a photocopy on the table.
I read it.
Then read it again.
Our father’s controlling shares were divided between me and Tobias.
But there was another condition.
If either of us died before our twenty-fifth birthday, the surviving sibling would inherit everything.
I looked at Tobias.
“I turned thirty-one last month.”
“Yes.”
“So why kill me now?”
“Because something changed.”
“What?”
He slid another document toward me.
The title was simple.
**Baltimore Shipyard Acquisition Agreement.**
I read the names.
My name.
Garrett’s name.
And Edward Hale’s company.
My blood went cold.
“Garrett transferred my shares?”
“Attempted to.”
“How?”
“Through forged documents.”
I stared at the signatures.
It looked like mine.
Almost perfect.
“But why would he need me dead?”
“Because the fraud was discovered.”
“By whom?”
Tobias pointed to the final page.
There was a handwritten note.
Three words.
**Federal investigation pending.**
I looked up.
“Garrett knew.”
“He knew the government was coming.”
“So he planned to kill me.”
“And blame your death on an accident.”
I stared at the photographs.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The river.
The broken seat belt.
The staged crash.
Penelope waiting on shore.
They didn’t want my body found immediately.
They wanted everyone to believe I had drowned.
My death would close the investigation.
The shares would pass according to the trust.
And Garrett could disappear with Penelope.
I whispered, “What about Tobias?”
Tobias looked at me.
“They needed me dead too.”
“Then why didn’t Garrett kill you before?”
“Because he couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because for fifteen years, nobody knew whether I could actually walk.”
I frowned.
Tobias gave a bitter smile.
“If they killed me and investigators discovered I wasn’t disabled, questions would begin.”
I looked at him.
“You’ve been protecting yourself.”
“And you.”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t even know I needed protection.”
“You did.”
He looked toward the photographs.
“And I failed.”
“No.”
“You married him.”
I flinched.
“I trusted him.”
“That wasn’t your fault.”
Silence filled the room.
Then the radio crackled.
Tobias immediately stood.
I stared at him.
“What is it?”
He turned the volume down.
A man’s voice came through the static.
“Target status?”
Another voice answered.
“Vehicle recovered. No bodies.”
My blood froze.
Tobias switched it off.
“They know.”
“We have to leave.”
“Not yet.”
I looked at him.
He was staring at one photograph.
It showed Garrett standing beside an older man.
Edward Hale.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
There was another person in the photograph.
A woman.
Standing several feet behind them.
I recognized her.
I had seen her before.
At our wedding.
At the shipyard.
At Garrett’s birthday dinner.
She had always been introduced as an assistant.
My stomach tightened.
“Who is she?”
Tobias didn’t answer.
“Tobias.”
He slowly turned toward me.
“That woman is the reason I knew Garrett would try to kill you tonight.”
“Who is she?”
He whispered the name.
“Evelyn Mercer.”
I frowned.
“Who’s Evelyn Mercer?”
Tobias’s expression became grim.
“She was our mother’s attorney.”
I stared at the photograph.
“Our mother died fifteen years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then why is she still working with Garrett?”
“She isn’t.”
He pointed to the photograph.
“Look at the date.”
I did.
It was taken six months ago.
I felt a chill move through me.
“That can’t be.”
Tobias nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
Then his phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed me the phone.
There was a single message.
**ROSALIND IS ALIVE. THEY KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.**
I looked at him.
“Who sent that?”
“No name.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Not from this phone.”
The generator suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went dark.
Total darkness swallowed the room.
Tobias grabbed my hand.
“Don’t move.”
I heard something outside.
A branch snapping.
Then another.
Someone was approaching.
Tobias pulled a small flashlight from his pocket.
He didn’t turn it on.
Instead, he whispered:
“There are two exits.”
“Which one?”
“The back.”
We moved quietly.
But before we reached it, a voice came from outside.
“Rosalind.”
I froze.
Garrett.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“Sweetheart, I know you’re in there.”
Tears filled my eyes.
He continued.
“You don’t understand what happened.”
I looked at Tobias.
He shook his head.
Garrett’s voice softened.
“Your brother lied to you.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“He’s been using you for years.”
Tobias remained silent.
Garrett continued.
“He’s the one who killed our parents.”
My entire body went cold.
“What?”
Tobias closed his eyes.
Garrett laughed softly outside.
“Yes, Rosalind.”
He sounded almost relieved.
“Your brother didn’t save you tonight.”
“He trapped you.”
I looked at Tobias.
For the first time since we escaped, I saw something I had never seen in his eyes.
Fear.
Not fear of Garrett.
Fear of what I might believe next.
Garrett spoke again.
“If you come outside now, I’ll tell you everything.”
I whispered, “Is he lying?”
Tobias looked at me.
“Some of it.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
He reached into his pocket.
And pulled out one final photograph.
I looked at it.
It showed our parents standing beside a young man.
A young Garrett.
My knees nearly gave out.
Garrett hadn’t been a stranger to our family.
He had known my parents.
Long before I met him.
Long before his father claimed to hate them.
I stared at the photograph.
“Why was Garrett with our parents?”
Tobias swallowed.
“Because our parents were investigating his family.”
“Investigating what?”
He looked toward the door.
Then back at me.
“The night our parents died, Garrett was there.”
My breath caught.
“He was sixteen.”
I stared at him.
Sixteen.
Garrett had been sixteen years old when our parents died.
And according to Tobias, he had been the last person seen with them.
Suddenly, the door behind us shook violently.
Someone kicked it.
Tobias grabbed my hand.
“We’re out of time.”
Another kick.
The door splintered.
Then Garrett shouted:
“Rosalind! Ask your brother what happened to our mother!”
I froze.
“Our mother?”
Garrett laughed.
And in that instant, I realized there was one secret Tobias had never told me.
A secret involving our mother.
Our father.
Garrett.
And Penelope.
Tobias pulled me toward the back exit.
But before we could escape, the door burst open.
A shadow entered.
I raised my hands.
Then a woman’s voice whispered from the darkness:
“Don’t shoot them.”
The flashlight clicked on.
I stared at the woman standing in the doorway.
Evelyn Mercer.
Our mother’s former attorney.
She looked directly at me.
Then she said something that made the entire world stop.
“Rosalind, your mother is still alive.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Tobias went completely pale.
And behind Evelyn, someone else stepped into the light.
A woman with my mother’s eyes.
A woman I had mourned for fifteen years.
My mother looked at me and whispered:
“I’m sorry, darling. I never meant for you to marry Garrett.”
Then she looked at Tobias.
“And you were never supposed to let him find out that you could walk.”
The room fell silent.
Because suddenly, the river, the poison, the fake paralysis, Garrett, Penelope, and our parents’ supposed deaths were no longer separate mysteries.
They were pieces of the same plan.
And my mother had just revealed that she had been hiding the truth from us for fifteen years.
But there was one question burning inside me.
If my mother had survived the crash…
**whose body had been buried in her grave?**
If you want to know what happened next, please type “YES” and like for more.
