Chapter 14 - Miriam’s Version
Miriam didn’t trust Nathan.
Not anymore.
She loved him once.
Maybe still did.
But survival had taught her that damaged people could become dangerous without becoming villains.
Nathan had spent years obsessed with reconstructing the past.
Every contradiction became evidence.
Every forgotten detail became conspiracy.
Sometimes he was right.
Sometimes he wasn’t.
Dr. Cross exploited that.
Miriam had pretended to return to Cross because she wanted access to his remaining records.
She succeeded.
The truth was uglier and simpler than Nathan expected.
Cross had manipulated children.
William had helped cover it.
Thomas Bennett had participated before trying to expose them.
Margaret helped Nathan escape.
All true.
But Cross’s “network” no longer existed.
Most participants were dead.
Others had confessed privately.
Nathan could not accept that something so destructive could end quietly.
He needed a mastermind still controlling everything.
So Cross encouraged him to believe one existed.
Why?
Because as long as Nathan chased imaginary conspirators, he never focused on the one living man actually responsible.
Cross himself.
Nathan stared upward.
“You told me Daniel replaced me.”
Cross shrugged.
“You wanted a reason your family continued living.”
“You told me Mom chose him.”
“You wanted someone to blame.”
Daniel looked at Cross with disgust.
“You did it again.”
Cross smiled.
“I helped him survive.”
“No,” Daniel said. “You taught him to distrust reality.”
That sentence hit Nathan.
Cross’s smile disappeared.
Miriam descended the stairs.
She approached Nathan carefully.
“You came back because you wanted the truth.”
Nathan’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Then stop choosing only the parts that hurt enough to feel familiar.”
He looked at Daniel.
For thirty years, Nathan believed his little brother betrayed him.
Now he knew Daniel lied to William to help him escape.
Nathan’s face broke.
“Danny…”
Daniel stepped forward.
This time, they embraced.
Not because everything was fixed.
Because one true memory had finally survived.
Then Cross began backing away.
Miriam noticed.
“Where are you going?”
He stopped.
Smiled.
“You still think this began with Nathan.”
Daniel frowned.
Cross looked at me.
“No.”
Then at Emily’s photograph clipped inside my file.
“It began with Sarah.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
Cross laughed softly.
“Ask her why Thomas Bennett agreed to work for William Mercer in the first place.”
I stared.
“My father needed money.”
“No.”
Cross’s expression became almost sympathetic.
“He needed access.”
“To what?”
May you like
Cross answered:
“To the records proving Sarah Bennett wasn’t his daughter.”
