Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Past
I didn't wait for my mother or sister to offer another lie. I grabbed my car keys off the counter, walked back upstairs to confirm that Eliza was safe, and locked her in our bedroom with my personal sidearm for her own protection.
"I'll be back in thirty minutes," I told her through the door. "Keep this locked until you hear my voice."
Driving out into the rain-slicked streets toward the old interstate bypass, the pieces of my family’s history began to assemble themselves in a horrific new light. Growing up, my mother had always maintained strict control over our household. When my father passed away ten years ago, that control shifted entirely toward protecting Brooke. Brooke was the favored child—excused from every mistake, bailed out of every failed business venture, and shielded from every consequence. I had joined the military to build a life of my own, away from the constant subtle manipulation, leaving my business operations in what I thought were capable, trustworthy hands.
Instead, my absence had provided them with the perfect shadow under which to operate.
I spotted Evan Pierce standing under the rusted awning of an abandoned gas station off Exit 14. Rain poured from his hair, and his jacket was torn across the shoulder. As I pulled my truck under the awning, he rushed over to the passenger side and scrambled inside, shivering uncontrollably.
"They took my truck," Evan panted, clutching a small metal USB flash drive in his bruised right hand. "Brooke’s bookies realized I was helping Eliza pull bank records three days ago. They jumped me outside my office."
"Are you okay?" I asked, pulling a dry towel from behind the seat and handing it to him.
"I've got two cracked ribs, but I'll live," Evan said, pressing the towel against his forehead. "Nolan, you need to understand how deep this goes. Brooke didn't just ruin your company's credit. Six months ago, she started taking out loans against your mother’s house too. Diane found out about it three weeks ago, but instead of turning Brooke in to the police, Diane decided the only way to save the family name was to shift all the fraudulent debt onto Eliza while you were overseas."
"They thought if they framed her for an affair and financial fraud, I would divorce her immediately and take the financial hit myself without asking questions," I said, the cold truth settling into my chest.
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"Exactly," Evan said, handing me the flash drive. "This drive contains the full video export from your home's security system before your mother cut the main Wi-Fi line. It shows the entire setup. It shows your mother paying those men two thousand dollars in cash from her purse to shave Eliza's head."
Just as my fingers wrapped around the flash drive, a set of bright halogen headlights cut through the heavy rain behind us. A heavy black pickup truck pulled smoothly into the gas station lot, angling itself sideways to block my vehicle against the gas pumps.
