CHAPTER 9: THE BROTHER WHO WAS ERASED
CHAPTER 9: THE BROTHER WHO WAS ERASED
The words settled over the mansion like a heavy fog.
"I am your father's first son."
Nobody reacted immediately.
It was as if the human mind needed time to understand something impossible.
Adrian Vale had spent his entire life believing he was the only child of Alexander Vale.
The only heir.
The only person carrying the Vale name into the future.
And now, standing in front of him, was a man claiming that everything Adrian had inherited...
Was never supposed to belong only to him.
Lucas Vale stood at the entrance.
He did not look angry.
That was the strangest part.
Adrian expected hatred.
A man who had been hidden for twenty years should have arrived with rage.
With accusations.
With revenge.
But Lucas only looked tired.
Like someone who had spent his entire life carrying a burden too heavy for one person.
Adrian slowly stepped forward.
"Prove it."
Lucas looked at him.
"What?"
"Prove you're my brother."
The room became silent.
Lucas nodded.
"I expected that."
He reached into his jacket.
Several people tensed.
But he only pulled out a small envelope.
He walked toward Adrian.
Eleanor immediately stepped forward.
"Don't."
Lucas stopped.
A cold smile appeared.
"Still protecting him?"
Eleanor's face tightened.
"You don't understand."
"No."
Lucas looked at her.
"I understand perfectly."
He held the envelope out to Adrian.
"Your mother erased me from this family."
Adrian took it.
Inside were old documents.
A birth certificate.
Medical records.
Photographs.
And one letter.
A letter written by his father.
Adrian's hands trembled slightly as he opened it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Alexander Vale.
His father.
The first sentence destroyed every remaining doubt.
"To my son Lucas..."
Adrian stopped.
He read silently.
Then his expression changed.
Because the letter was not about abandoning Lucas.
It was an apology.
"I failed you."
"I allowed people around me to make decisions that hurt you."
"But I need you to know one thing. You were never unwanted."
Adrian lowered the letter.
His eyes moved toward Eleanor.
"Why?"
His mother looked away.
"Why did you hide him?"
Nobody answered.
Lucas did.
"Because I was inconvenient."
Adrian looked at him.
Lucas continued.
"Your father had me before he married your mother."
The room stayed silent.
"My mother died when I was young. Alexander wanted to bring me into the family."
Lucas looked at Eleanor.
"But she refused."
Eleanor's face became painful.
"That is not the whole story."
Lucas laughed softly.
"Of course not."
Adrian looked between them.
"Then tell me the whole story."
Eleanor took a breath.
"Your father wanted to introduce Lucas to the world."
"Yes."
"But Richard found out."
Adrian looked at Richard.
Richard remained silent.
Eleanor continued.
"Richard threatened to expose Alexander's past."
"What past?"
Lucas answered.
"The fact that my mother was still alive when Alexander married Eleanor."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
Lucas looked at him.
"Your father was already separated from my mother, but the legal situation was complicated."
Eleanor shook her head.
"He was trying to fix everything."
"But the scandal would have destroyed the company."
Lucas smiled bitterly.
"So they made a choice."
Adrian understood.
They chose the family image.
The company.
The reputation.
Not the child.
"Where were you all these years?"
Adrian asked.
Lucas looked down.
"Everywhere."
The answer sounded empty.
"Your father secretly supported me."
Adrian looked surprised.
"He knew?"
Lucas nodded.
"He never abandoned me."
A pause.
"He visited me."
The room became quiet.
"My father knew about you?"
Adrian asked.
Lucas nodded.
"He planned to tell you."
"When?"
"The night he died."
Adrian froze.
The night.
The same night everything changed.
Lucas looked toward the old desk.
"Your father had arranged a meeting."
"With me?"
"Yes."
Adrian's chest tightened.
"But he never arrived."
Nobody spoke.
Because now they understood.
The night Alexander Vale died...
He was not just trying to expose Richard.
He was trying to reunite his family.
And someone stopped him.
Adrian looked at Richard.
"You knew about Lucas."
Richard said nothing.
"Didn't you?"
Richard finally answered.
"Yes."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"And you used it."
Richard looked away.
"I did what I had to do."
Lucas laughed.
"That's what you always say."
The tension between them was obvious.
They had history.
A dark one.
Adrian noticed.
"What happened between you two?"
Lucas looked at Richard.
"Ask him."
Richard remained silent.
Adrian turned.
"Answer."
Richard sighed.
"I found Lucas years before."
"And?"
"I tried to convince him to disappear."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Why?"
Richard looked at Lucas.
"Because he was a threat."
A dangerous silence followed.
"To you?"
Richard did not answer.
Adrian understood.
"To your plan."
Richard's face hardened.
For the first time, Adrian saw the man lose control.
"You have no idea what your father was creating."
"What does that mean?"
Richard stepped forward.
"Your father wasn't just building a company."
He looked at Adrian.
"He was building a legacy."
A pause.
"And everyone wanted it."
Suddenly, Lucas looked toward the hallway.
His expression changed.
"What?"
Adrian noticed.
Lucas whispered:
"Someone followed me."
The lights flickered.
Again.
But this time, nobody panicked.
Because they knew.
Someone else was inside.
Adrian's security team rushed toward the entrance.
A few seconds later, one of them returned.
"Mr. Vale."
"What happened?"
The guard looked nervous.
"We found a vehicle outside."
"Whose?"
The guard hesitated.
Then handed Adrian a small card.
Adrian looked down.
A name was written on it.
Not Richard.
Not Evelyn.
Not Victoria.
A name that made Eleanor lose all color from her face.
Because she knew exactly who it belonged to.
Adrian read it aloud:
"Alexander Vale."
Everyone froze.
"My father's name?"
Eleanor whispered:
"No..."
Adrian looked at her.
"Why is someone using my father's name?"
She looked terrified.
"Because..."
Her voice shook.
"Your father may not have died that night."
The room went silent.
Adrian stared.
"What did you say?"
Before Eleanor could answer...
The mansion speakers turned on.
A man's voice filled the hall.
Older.
Familiar.
Impossible.
"Adrian."
Everyone stopped breathing.
Because they all knew that voice.
It was the voice Adrian had not heard in twenty years.
His father's voice.
"Forgive me, son."
A pause.
"But I had to disappear."
Adrian stood frozen.
The voice continued:
"Because the person who tried to kill me..."
A long silence.
"...was the person you trust the most."
The speakers went silent.
And Adrian realized something terrifying.
His father might still be alive.
And the truth he had spent his entire life searching for...
May you like
Had been watching him all along.
END OF CHAPTER 9
