PART 6 — THE FATHER I WAS NEVER TOLD ABOUT
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Not Detective Owens.
Not my mother.
Not Lily.
Not Madison.
Not me.
My father’s words hung in the air like something impossible.
“The man who killed Victor is Aaron’s biological father.”
My mother made a sound I had never heard from her before.
Not a gasp.
Not a cry.
Something deeper.
Something broken.
I turned toward her.
“Mom.”
She looked at Dad.
Then at me.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
She said nothing.
“Mom.”
Still nothing.
My chest tightened.
I took one step toward her.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
Her mouth trembled.
“I can’t.”
Everything around me seemed to blur.
The police lights.
The houses.
The street.
Lily’s hand gripping mine.
All of it faded behind those two words.
I can’t.
I looked at Dad.
He was half out of the cruiser now, one officer holding his arm.
“You’re not my father?”
He flinched.
“I raised you.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“Aaron—”
“ARE YOU MY FATHER?”
He closed his eyes.
“No.”
Lily whispered, “Mom…”
I could barely hear her.
I turned toward my mother.
“Who is he?”
She started crying.
“Aaron, I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“That means never.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
I pointed toward Dad.
“He knew.”
She nodded.
“How long?”
“Since before you were born.”
I laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“So everyone knew except me.”
“No. Not everyone.”
“Who is he?”
Mom looked toward Detective Owens.
Owens said, “We should continue this conversation somewhere private.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I looked at my mother.
“Name.”
She closed her eyes.
“Daniel Mercer.”
The name meant nothing.
And somehow that made it worse.
“Who is Daniel Mercer?”
My mother wiped her face.
“He was someone I knew when I was nineteen.”
“Knew?”
Dad muttered, “Donna.”
She snapped at him.
“You do not get to control this anymore.”
Then she looked back at me.
“I loved him.”
My stomach turned.
“You loved him.”
“Yes.”
“And Dad knew?”
“Eventually.”
I looked at the man who had raised me.
“Eventually?”
He stared at the pavement.
Mom continued.
“I met Daniel the summer after my first year of college. He was older.”
“How much older?”
“Eight years.”
I tried to process that.
“What happened?”
“He was charming. Smart. Reckless.”
Dad said bitterly, “That’s one word for it.”
Mom ignored him.
“I got pregnant.”
“With me.”
She nodded.
“I told Daniel.”
“What did he say?”
“He wanted me to leave with him.”
“Leave where?”
“California.”
“Why?”
“He said he had business there.”
Dad laughed quietly.
“Business.”
Mom glared at him.
I said, “What business?”
She hesitated.
I already knew I was going to hate the answer.
“Fraud.”
Detective Owens looked sharply at her.
“What kind?”
Mom looked at him.
“I didn’t know at the time.”
“But you know now.”
“Yes.”
“What was he doing?”
“Identity theft. Fake accounts. Insurance schemes. Investment scams.”
My entire body went cold.
The accounts.
My name.
Victor.
I looked at Dad.
“You worked with him.”
Dad didn’t answer.
“Didn’t you?”
He finally nodded.
“Years later.”
I stared at him.
“You knew the man who was my biological father was a criminal, and then you did business with him?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
I almost screamed.
“You keep saying that!”
He lowered his head.
Detective Owens stepped closer.
“When did Daniel Mercer come back into your life?”
Dad answered.
“About eighteen months ago.”
“How?”
“He contacted me.”
“Why?”
“He knew I managed the estate.”
My mother whispered, “Richard thought he wanted money.”
Dad corrected her.
“He did want money.”
“What for?”
Dad looked toward the flash drive in Owens’s evidence bag.
“To start moving funds.”
Owens said, “So Victor Kane worked for Mercer?”
Dad hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Victor handled accounts and transfers.”
Everything began connecting.
Daniel Mercer.
Victor Kane.
My father.
The stolen money.
My identity.
But one question mattered more than all of it.
“Why use me?”
Dad looked at me.
“Because Daniel asked for you specifically.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Why?”
“He said it was safer.”
“Safer how?”
“Your credit was clean. No criminal record. Stable income. Homeowner. Nothing that would trigger suspicion.”
“So my biological father used my identity because I looked trustworthy.”
Dad didn’t answer.
I felt sick.
Mom whispered, “I didn’t know.”
I looked at her.
“You didn’t know my name was being used?”
“No.”
“You knew Daniel was back?”
Her silence answered me.
My anger shifted.
“You knew.”
“I knew he had contacted Richard.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of him.”
That stopped me.
Not embarrassment.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“What did Daniel do to you?”
Mom looked away.
Dad said quietly, “Tell her.”
Mom’s face tightened.
“After I told Daniel I wouldn’t leave with him, he changed.”
“How?”
“He became controlling.”
She swallowed.
“He followed me.”
I stared at her.
“He threatened you?”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
“At first, with exposing the pregnancy.”
“To who?”
“My parents.”
I almost laughed at how small that sounded compared to everything happening now.
But Mom continued.
“Then he threatened Richard.”
I looked at Dad.
“You were already together?”
“We were friends,” Mom said.
“Richard helped me.”
Dad finally looked at me.
“I got her away from Mercer.”
“How?”
Dad hesitated.
“I paid him.”
My stomach dropped.
“How much?”
“Ten thousand.”
“This was decades ago.”
“Yes.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“It was.”
“What did he promise?”
“That he would disappear.”
Mom whispered, “And he did.”
“For how long?”
“Almost thirty years.”
I looked at Dad.
“And then he came back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dad’s voice became quiet.
“Because he discovered how much the estate was worth.”
Detective Owens asked, “How?”
Dad looked at him.
“Public filings. Property records. He had people.”
“Victor?”
“Among others.”
I stared at Dad.
“So Daniel came back for money.”
“At first.”
“At first?”
Dad looked directly at me.
“Then he found out about Lily.”
Everything in me tightened.
“What about Lily?”
“He became interested in the family.”
“What does that mean?”
“He started asking questions.”
“What kind?”
“Where you lived. Where Lily went to school. What car she drove.”
Lily stepped closer to me.
I felt her trembling.
“Why would he care what car she drove?”
Dad looked ashamed.
“Because he wanted leverage.”
The video.
The line about the perfect car.
I looked at Detective Owens.
“That man in the video…”
Owens nodded slowly.
“You believe it’s Mercer?”
Dad answered before he could.
“It is.”
“You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“In person?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“At the meeting from the video?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to hit him.
Not because he had hidden my biological father.
Not even because of the stolen money.
Because he had met a man threatening my daughter and still said nothing.
“You knew someone was discussing using Lily against me.”
“Yes.”
“And you let her keep driving that car?”
Dad’s voice broke.
“I thought I could contain it.”
“You thought wrong.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
Lily stepped forward.
“What did he want from my mom?”
Dad looked at her.
“Lily—”
“What did he want?”
He hesitated.
“Access.”
“To what?”
“Accounts.”
“Whose?”
Dad looked at me.
“Yours.”
I frowned.
“My accounts?”
“Not your checking account. Your company retirement plan. Your home equity. Anything he could pressure you to move.”
I stared at him.
“I’m not rich.”
“No.”
“Then why me?”
Dad swallowed.
“Because it wasn’t only about money.”
My skin prickled.
“What else?”
He looked toward my mother.
She whispered, “Revenge.”
I turned toward her.
“Against who?”
“Me.”
Silence.
Mom started crying again.
“He never forgave me for leaving.”
“You were nineteen.”
“I know.”
“He disappeared for thirty years and came back to punish you?”
“He doesn’t think like normal people.”
Detective Owens asked, “Did Mercer ever contact you directly?”
Mom shook her head.
“Not recently.”
Dad said, “He didn’t need to.”
Owens looked at him.
“Because he had you.”
Dad nodded.
“Victor contacted me first.”
“And then?”
“Daniel appeared.”
“What did he want?”
“To use the estate accounts.”
“And if you refused?”
Dad looked toward Lily.
“He said he would make Aaron lose everything.”
I felt Lily’s hand tighten around mine.
“And you believed him.”
“I knew what he was capable of.”
“So you helped him.”
“At first.”
“At first.”
I repeated the words slowly.
“Then you changed your mind?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“When Victor started blackmailing you?”
Dad shook his head.
“No.”
That surprised me.
“Then why?”
Dad looked toward Madison.
“Because I realized he was using teenagers.”
Madison stared at him.
“What?”
“He had started recruiting kids.”
“For deliveries?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they looked harmless.”
My stomach turned.
Dad continued.
“When I realized Evan was involved, I tried to get out.”
“But instead of going to police, you started blackmailing Victor.”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
“The files.”
“What files?”
Dad nodded toward the flash drive.
“Transaction records. Video. Names.”
“You recorded them?”
“Some.”
“And Victor knew?”
“Eventually.”
“That’s why he wanted the drive back.”
“Yes.”
Detective Owens said, “And last night?”
Dad’s expression changed.
Fear again.
“I arranged to meet Victor.”
“At the Miller property?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To trade.”
“What were you giving him?”
“The original files.”
“What were you getting?”
“A guarantee that Daniel would leave the family alone.”
I almost laughed.
“A guarantee from criminals?”
Dad looked broken.
“I was desperate.”
“What happened?”
Dad took a breath.
“When I got there, Victor was already nervous.”
“Why?”
“He said Daniel had changed the plan.”
“What plan?”
Dad looked at me.
“To frame you.”
I stared at him.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Financial fraud.”
Everything went still.
Dad continued.
“They were going to move more money using your identity, then leave enough records to make it look like you created the accounts.”
“And Lily?”
Dad’s eyes filled.
“She was insurance.”
I didn’t want to ask.
But I did.
“What does that mean?”
“If you refused to cooperate, they would use her.”
“How?”
“I didn’t know.”
“You knew enough to discuss her car.”
Dad lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Lily looked at him with disgust.
Then Detective Owens asked, “What happened when you met Victor?”
Dad took a long breath.
“He said he wanted out.”
“Out of what?”
“Everything.”
“He was afraid of Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor had copied records.”
“Insurance for himself?”
Dad nodded.
“He said if Daniel came after him, he would release everything.”
“What happened next?”
“Daniel arrived.”
My mother covered her mouth.
Owens asked, “At what time?”
“Just after midnight.”
Madison whispered, “We got there around twelve forty.”
Dad nodded.
“You arrived later.”
“So you saw them?”
“No.”
“I left the main building when I heard the Civic.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want Madison involved.”
I stared at him.
“But she already was.”
“I know.”
Owens said, “Go back. Mercer arrived. Then what?”
Dad’s breathing changed.
“He and Victor argued.”
“About?”
“The phone.”
I looked at Madison.
“The burner phone?”
Dad nodded.
“Victor had started recording calls.”
“And Mercer knew?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Victor threatened to go to police.”
Owens said, “Then?”
Dad looked at the ground.
“Daniel laughed.”
Nobody spoke.
Dad continued.
“He told Victor he would never make it out of the property.”
Mom began crying.
Owens asked, “Did Mercer have a weapon?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A knife.”
Madison whispered, “Oh my God.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Victor ran.”
“And you?”
“I froze.”
“What happened?”
“Daniel chased him.”
“Where?”
“Behind the barn.”
Dad’s voice became quieter.
“I heard Victor screaming.”
Lily moved closer to me.
“Then it stopped.”
Owens asked, “Did you see the killing?”
Dad nodded.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I followed.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked sick now.
“I thought maybe I could stop it.”
“What did you see?”
Dad swallowed.
“Victor was on the ground.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“And Mercer?”
“Standing over him.”
“With the knife?”
“Yes.”
Owens’s voice hardened.
“What did Mercer do?”
Dad looked at me.
“He stabbed Victor.”
Mom covered her face.
Madison started crying again.
“How many times?”
Owens asked.
Dad’s lips trembled.
“I don’t know.”
“Estimate.”
“Three. Maybe four.”
Lily looked away.
I felt numb.
“And then?”
Dad’s voice dropped almost to nothing.
“Daniel saw me.”
My heartbeat accelerated.
“What did he do?”
“He smiled.”
That somehow terrified me more than anything else.
Owens asked, “Did he threaten you?”
“No.”
“He didn’t need to.”
“What did he say?”
Dad looked directly at me.
“He said, ‘Now we both have something to lose.’”
I stared at him.
“What did that mean?”
Dad’s eyes filled with tears.
“I helped him move Victor.”
Silence.
Owens stepped closer.
“You moved the body?”
Dad nodded.
“Why?”
“I panicked.”
“Where?”
“The SUV.”
“That’s what Madison saw.”
“Yes.”
“So you were the person in the blue jacket.”
“Yes.”
Madison backed away from him.
Dad continued.
“I put Victor in the back.”
“And then?”
“Daniel drove away.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I swear.”
Owens stared at him.
Then he said, “Richard Collins, you are under arrest.”
My mother began sobbing.
Dad didn’t resist.
The officer turned him around and placed handcuffs on him.
As they walked him toward the cruiser, Dad looked at me.
“Aaron.”
I said nothing.
“Aaron, Daniel knows where you live.”
My blood ran cold.
Owens stopped.
“What?”
Dad looked at him.
“He’s been watching them.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
Dad looked at Lily.
Then at me.
“He knows their routines.”
Lily whispered, “Mom.”
Dad kept talking.
“He knows when Lily leaves for school.”
Owens immediately turned toward another officer.
“Get units to the Collins residence.”
My heart started pounding.
But Dad wasn’t finished.
“He knows the neighbor has cameras.”
I looked across the street toward Mr. Bennett.
“He knows about Tom?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Dad swallowed.
“Because the first time he came to your house, the camera caught him.”
I stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Dad looked terrified now.
“Three nights ago.”
“I never saw anything.”
“Because he deleted it.”
Mr. Bennett shouted from across the street.
“That’s impossible.”
Dad looked toward him.
“Check your system.”
Tom ran inside.
Owens asked, “Why would Mercer go to Aaron’s house three nights ago?”
Dad looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
Then Lily said quietly, “I do.”
I turned toward her.
“What?”
Her face was pale.
“Three nights ago, I woke up around two.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“I thought someone was in the hallway.”
I stared at her.
“You never told me.”
“I thought I was dreaming.”
“What did you see?”
“Nothing.”
She swallowed.
“But my bedroom door was open.”
I felt the world tilt.
“You always close your door.”
“I know.”
Her voice started shaking.
“And the next morning, my bracelet was gone.”
The white bracelet.
The one I thought was on her nightstand.
I stared at her.
“Lily…”
She shook her head.
“The one on my nightstand wasn’t mine.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t notice at first.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the white bracelet.
“The charm is different.”
I took it from her.
The tiny silver moon was scratched.
On the back, engraved so small I had never noticed before, was a letter.
M.
Madison.
Lily looked at her cousin.
“That’s your bracelet.”
Madison stared at it.
“Oh my God.”
And suddenly the entire security-camera clue changed.
The bracelet on Madison’s wrist had never been the strange part.
The strange part was how Madison’s bracelet ended up inside Lily’s bedroom.
Three nights before the crash.
Detective Owens’s phone rang again.
He answered.
Listened.
Then his face changed.
“What?”
I asked.
Owens looked toward me.
“The officers just reached your house.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“The back door is open.”
I froze.
“I locked it.”
“They know.”
“What else?”
Owens hesitated.
Then he said, “Someone has been inside.”
Lily grabbed my arm.
“What did they take?”
Owens looked at me.
“They didn’t take anything.”
My stomach dropped.
“Then what?”
He swallowed.
“They left something on Lily’s bed.”
“What?”
“A photograph.”
My voice barely worked.
“Of what?”
Owens looked directly at me.
“You and Lily sleeping.”
CONTINUE READ NEXT PART… 👇
