Chapter 5 The Envelope

The morning after Emily discovered the truth about her father her biological father she woke up with a headache that no amount of coffee could fix. She hadn't gone back home. She'd stayed at a small roadside motel just outside town, the kind of place where no one asked questions and the silence felt heavy but safe. She needed the space. Space to think. Space to breathe. And most of all, space from her parents. Her phone buzzed with a message from Jason: "Something's up.

Can we meet?" She responded right away: "On my way." Jason was waiting at the coffee shop where they'd first met, tucked into a booth at the back. He looked tired more than tired. He looked like a man trying to solve a puzzle without all the pieces. As soon as she sat down, he slid an envelope across the table. "What's this?" she asked. "It was left on my doorstep this morning," he said. "No name. No return address." Emily opened it slowly. Inside were black-and-white photographs, newspaper clippings, and a USB drive. The photos were old faded but clear. One showed a younger Daniel Carter shaking hands with a man who looked unmistakably like Jason. Or rather, Jason's father. Another photo showed her mother. In a hospital room. Holding a newborn. Emily's hands trembled. "That's you," Jason said quietly. She turned to the newspaper clipping. CARTER FINANCIAL SCANDAL DEEPENS Former Partner Claims Cover-Up, Alleged Bribes The article was from two decades ago but redacted lines and handwritten notes in the margins told another story. Emily plugged the USB into her laptop. A video file popped up. She hit play. The image was grainy but clear. A man her father stood behind a desk. Across from him was Jason's father. Their voices were sharp, urgent. "You want to expose me?" Daniel said. "Go ahead. But you'll destroy your daughter's life in the process." "She has a right to know the truth!" Jason's father shouted. "You can't bury everything and pretend it never happened." "I can and I will. She's better off without you." The video cut off. Emily shut the laptop. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. "Someone's been keeping receipts," Jason said softly. "And now they want us to have them." Emily's mind raced. "That man who showed up at my house he gave my father an envelope, too. He said, 'If you don't tell her the rest, I will.'" Jason frowned. "Who is he?" "I don't know but I think it's someone who used to work with my father. Or maybe even someone from the board of Carter Financial. Maybe they knew all along." Jason leaned in. "Whoever he is, he wants the truth out. The question is what's the rest?" Emily's voice shook. "What else could there be?" Jason hesitated. "What if your dad didn't just frame mine what if someone else helped?" That afternoon, Emily drove home, determined to confront her parents again. But when she pulled into the driveway, she knew something was wrong. The front door was open. Not wide but cracked, like someone had left in a hurry. Inside, the house was eerily quiet. "Mom?" she called. "Dad?" No answer. She moved cautiously through the living room, past the kitchen, and down the hall toward her father's office. The door was ajar. Papers were scattered everywhere. File drawers left open. Someone had gone through everything fast and carelessly. Then she saw it. On the floor, next to the desk, was a broken picture frame. Inside it was a photo of her parents Daniel and Evelyn on their wedding day. Glass cracked across their smiling faces. And beneath it a note. "Too many lies. I can't protect her anymore. I'm done." It was signed: E. Her mother. Emily's hands shook as she picked it up. "No... no no no..." Suddenly, her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: "You're not the only one they lied to. Meet me tonight. 9PM. Oakridge Cemetery. Come alone." Later that night, Emily sat in her car outside the cemetery, staring through the windshield at the fog rolling in. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. Jason had begged her not to go alone. But something told her she had to. At exactly 9PM, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Tall, wearing a dark coat. Gray hair. Calm eyes. The man from the SUV. She stepped out slowly. "Who are you?" He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "My name is Thomas Granger. I used to be your father's partner. I helped cover up what happened all those years ago." Emily tensed. "Why tell me now?" "Because I'm dying," he said simply. "And I'm done carrying other men's sins." He handed her a file. Inside were copies of signed bank statements, forged signatures, off-shore accounts and, at the bottom, a birth certificate. Her birth certificate. But the father's name wasn't Daniel Carter. It was Nathaniel Walker. Jason's father. Emily's breath caught. "Wait... No. That's not what my mother said." "She lied," Thomas said. "They both did. Your mother didn't just have an affair. She married Daniel knowing she was already pregnant. Daniel agreed to raise you as his own. But when Nathaniel came back and demanded rights... Daniel buried him. Not literally but professionally. Financially. Legally." Emily stared at the paper. "So Jason is..." "Your half-brother," Thomas confirmed. She stumbled back a step. "No... No, that can't be right. We..." Thomas looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry." Back at the auto shop, Jason paced. It had been hours. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. And when Emily finally walked in, pale and shaking, he knew. "I found out the truth," she said. Jason stepped toward her. "What happened? Who was it?" She held up the file. "His name was Thomas Granger. He used to work with my father. He confirmed everything. My real father was Nathaniel." Jason froze. "My dad?" She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "You're my half-brother." Silence. It hit like a thunderclap. Jason took a step back, as if the room had tilted. "No... no, that's not possible. That would mean everything between us..." Emily couldn't speak. She shook her head, covering her mouth as the sobs broke free. Jason turned away, gripping the edge of the workbench like he needed to hold on to something solid. His knuckles went white. They stayed like that for what felt like forever. Then, finally, Jason spoke. "We didn't know," he said quietly. "We didn't know." "But we do now," Emily whispered. "And we can't go back."