Chapter 16: The Man Behind Everything

Liam's POV

For several seconds, I couldn't speak.

Gwen's father had been dead for six years.

I remembered attending his funeral. I remembered Gwen collapsing against my shoulder while she cried until she couldn't make a sound.

"That's impossible," I finally said.

Dr. Hale looked exhausted.

"I know. That's why I was afraid to tell you."

"Then whose money was it?"

He pushed a folder across the table.

"An account was opened under your father-in-law's name months before the accident. The money came through several companies before reaching the hospital."

I opened the folder.

Page after page showed transfers.

The amounts were enormous.

Millions had been moved through shell companies, eventually ending up in accounts connected to Pierce.

My fingers stopped on one name.

Morrison Holdings.

My father's company.

I stared at it in disbelief.

"Why is my family's company here?"

Dr. Hale didn't answer immediately.

"Because the person financing this knew exactly how to make the money look legitimate."

My stomach twisted.

"Who had access to those accounts?"

"Your father."

I froze.

"My father died eight years ago."

"I know."

"Then someone has been using his identity too."

Dr. Hale nodded.

"That's what we believe."

I leaned back slowly.

This wasn't just about Gwen anymore.

Someone had been manipulating my family, the hospital, and Pierce for years.

Someone who knew exactly where every piece of money was coming from.

My lawyer suddenly opened the door.

"Liam, you need to see this."

He placed a laptop in front of me.

A bank security report was displayed on the screen.

"We traced the original account that funded the transfers."

I looked at the account holder.

My blood ran cold.

"That's not possible."

The name belonged to someone I hadn't seen in years.

Someone I trusted.

My older brother, Ethan Morrison.

Ethan had supposedly died in a boating accident seven years earlier.

I stared at the screen, unable to process what I was seeing.

"He's alive," my lawyer said quietly.

My hands went numb.

"Where?"

"We don't know yet."

Then the laptop chimed.

A new message had arrived through the banking system.

There was no sender name.

Only one sentence.

"You should have stopped digging after Andy's funeral."

My entire body went cold.

Someone was watching me.

My lawyer immediately closed the laptop.

"We need to move you somewhere secure."

"No."

I stood up.

"I've spent my whole life letting other people decide what I should sacrifice. My career. My marriage. My son."

I looked at Dr. Hale.

"I'm not stopping now."

...

Third-Person POV

Gwen sat in the detention room, staring at the floor.

She hadn't slept since her arrest.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Andy.

His small hands.

His bright smile.

The little essay he'd written about her.

For the first time, she understood what Liam had been carrying alone.

A guard entered and placed a phone on the table.

"You have a call."

Gwen looked at the screen.

The number was unknown.

"Hello?"

A familiar voice answered.

"You talked."

Gwen's face drained of color.

"Who is this?"

"You know exactly who I am."

She stood up so quickly that the chair scraped across the floor.

"Ethan?"

Silence.

Then a quiet laugh.

"You've always been smarter than Liam gave you credit for."

Gwen's hands began shaking.

"You said Andy would be safe."

"I said nothing of the sort."

"You told me the accident would be controlled."

"And you believed me."

Gwen's eyes filled with tears.

"Why did you do this?"

"Because Liam took something from my family years ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

The call ended.

Gwen stood frozen.

Then another thought struck her.

If Ethan was alive, he'd been watching them all this time.

He had known about Pierce.

He had known about Andy.

And he had known exactly how Gwen would react.

She covered her mouth as a horrifying realization settled over her.

She hadn't been the one controlling the situation.

She had been manipulated too.

...

Liam's POV

That night, I returned to the cemetery.

I stood in front of Andy's grave beneath the dim cemetery lights.

"I'm sorry, buddy," I whispered.

"Dad should have protected you better."

My voice broke.

"But I promise you something now."

I wiped my eyes and looked at his photograph.

"I'm going to find out who did this."

My phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

I answered without speaking.

A man's voice came through.

"Hello, little brother."

My heart stopped.

I knew that voice.

Ethan.

"Where are you?" I demanded.

"Not far."

"Why did you kill my son?"

There was a long pause.

"I didn't kill Andy."

"Then who did?"

Ethan's voice became strangely calm.

"The person who ordered it is standing much closer to you than you think."

I looked around the cemetery.

There was nobody there.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ask yourself one question, Liam."

"What question?"

"Why did Gwen really marry you?"

The call ended.

I stared at the dark screen.

For the first time, another possibility entered my mind.

What if my entire marriage had been built on a lie?