Richard read the sentence again.Your mother was never your mother.The words refused to make sense. He looked at Grant. "What does that mean?"Grant didn't answer.Richard's fingers tightened around the letter. "I asked you a question."Grant looked toward the stairwell, then back at him. "We need to get out of here.""No.""Richard...""No!" Richard's voice echoed through the stairwell. "I'm done running." Grant stared at him. Richard held up the letter. "My father wrote this. He knew this day would come. He knew I would find out something about my family, and he left this for me." His voice shook, but he didn't care. "So tell me what he meant."Grant looked away.Richard stepped closer. "Who was my mother?"Grant's eyes finally met his. "Her name was Evelyn."Richard frowned. "My mother's name was Helen.""I know.""Then who is Evelyn?"Grant didn't answer.Richard's heart began beating faster. "You knew her."Grant sighed. "I knew your mother.""You just said her name was Evelyn."

Richard ran. He didn't know where he was going. He only knew he had to keep moving. Grant was behind him, shouting something, but Richard barely heard him. His shoes struck the concrete floor as they rushed through the underground parking facility."Richard!"He kept running.A car suddenly turned around the corner ahead of them. Richard stopped so quickly that his shoes scraped against the ground. The headlights blinded him."Down!" Grant shouted.Richard dropped. Two gunshots cracked through the garage. The windshield of a parked car shattered. Richard covered his head. Grant grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a concrete pillar."Are you hurt?"Richard shook his head, though his hands were shaking badly enough that he wasn't entirely sure it was true."Good.""Who are they?"Grant looked around the pillar. "Get to my car.""Where's the assistant?"Grant looked behind them. The assistant was nowhere in sight.Richard's stomach tightened. "Where is he?""I don't know.""You can't j

The lights went out. Richard froze. For one second, he couldn't see anything. Then Margaret gasped."Richard..."Her voice came from somewhere behind him. He turned toward the sound, but the darkness swallowed everything."Don't move," Grant said.Richard heard the metallic click of a gun being raised."Grant?""I'm here.""Where's Margaret?""I'm here," Margaret whispered.Richard's heart hammered against his ribs. The voice from upstairs had sounded exactly like his mother's. Not similar. Not close. Exactly.Come upstairs, son.He could still hear it in his head. His mother had called him that. Not "Richard." Not "my son." "Son." It was what she used to call him when he was a child.A floorboard creaked above them. Richard looked toward the staircase, though he could barely make out its shape."She's up there."Grant's voice hardened. "We don't know that.""I heard her.""You heard a voice.""It was my mother.""Your mother is supposed to be dead."Richard turned toward him. "That's

The footsteps continued. One step. Then another. Richard stood frozen at the top of the staircase, staring into the darkness below. Grant held his gun with both hands now. Margaret stood behind them, her face pale. The footsteps stopped. A man's voice rose through the darkness. "Richard." Richard's jaw tightened. David Steele. He had never met the man, but somehow the voice already felt familiar, not because Richard had heard it before, but because he had spent the last several hours hearing about him from people who had spent twenty-two years avoiding his name. Grant moved slightly in front of Richard. "Stay behind me." Richard didn't move. A figure appeared at the bottom of the staircase. An older man. He wore a dark suit beneath a long black coat. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his posture was remarkably straight for someone who looked to be in his late sixties. Two men stood behind him. Both carried guns. David Steele slowly looked up the staircase. His eyes found R

Richard stared at Grant. "Where is it?"Grant looked toward the staircase. "I don't know."Richard's expression hardened. "You just told me I need to find it.""I said you need to find it. I didn't say I knew where it was."Another gunshot exploded outside. Richard flinched. Glass scattered across the floor near the window. Grant grabbed his shoulder and pulled him farther from the wall."Stay down."Richard crouched beside him, breathing hard. "David knew about the room.""Yes.""Then why didn't he tell me where it is?""Because he wants you to find it yourself.""Why?"Grant looked at him. "Because whatever is inside that room is something Alexander didn't trust anyone else with."Richard glanced toward the staircase. His father's house suddenly felt different. It wasn't just a hiding place anymore. It was a puzzle. Every hallway seemed to conceal something. Every locked door carried a secret. Every photograph raised another question. He was starting to lose count of how many hidde