Chapter 5 - The Father in the DarknessAdrian couldn't speak.
The man in front of him looked exactly as he remembered.
Same silver hair.
Same narrow eyes.
Same gold watch.
The watch Adrian had watched being lowered into a coffin twelve years earlier.
“You're dead.”
His father smiled.
“Apparently not.”
Adrian's hand tightened around the flashlight.
“Where is Maisie?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“She's frightened. She'll be fine.”
“You touch that child and—”
His father laughed.
“You still threaten before you understand.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What did you do to Owen?”
“Nothing.”
“You put him in that car.”
“No.”
“You ordered it.”
“I ordered a test.”
“What test?”
“To see who would come running.”
Adrian froze.
His father's eyes hardened.
“And you did.”
Adrian felt sick.
“You used my son as bait?”
“I needed to know whether Julian's warnings were true.”
“What warnings?”
“That you would eventually discover everything.”
Adrian's father walked toward an old desk.
He placed a file on it.
“Your brother was always sentimental.”
“Where is he?”
His father looked at him.
“Dead.”
“You killed him.”
“No.”
“You arranged it.”
His father sighed.
“Julian chose his own path.”
“He knew about the trust.”
“Yes.”
“He knew about the baby.”
“Yes.”
“He knew my child wasn't mine.”
“Yes.”
Adrian staggered backward.
“Why?”
His father's expression changed.
“For the same reason your mother agreed to the exchange.”
Adrian's blood ran cold.
“My mother?”
“She couldn't lose another child.”
“What does that mean?”
His father opened the file.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young woman.
Pregnant.
Another child stood beside her.
A little boy.
Adrian.
But in the corner of the image was another boy.
Slightly younger.
Adrian stared.
“Who is that?”
His father's voice was quiet.
“Your brother.”
Adrian frowned.
“I only had one brother.”
“No.”
He pointed at the photograph.
“You had two.”
Adrian’s hands began shaking.
“What's his name?”
His father looked directly at him.
“Ethan.”
Adrian felt the floor tilt.
“I don't remember him.”
“Because you weren't supposed to.”
His father explained.
Ethan had been born first.
He had been sickly.
Weak.
The family had decided he would never be suitable to inherit.
Julian came later.
Healthy.
Strong.
But when Ethan survived longer than expected, the family created a new succession arrangement.
Ethan was hidden.
Julian was made heir.
Adrian was raised outside the business.
Then, years later, Julian began investigating the old arrangement.
He discovered something horrifying.
Ethan had not disappeared naturally.
He had been imprisoned in a private facility.
“Where is he now?” Adrian demanded.
His father smiled.
“That is the question Julian died trying to answer.”
Adrian looked at the file.
“Why did my mother take the baby from the hospital?”
His father did not respond.
“Tell me.”
“She was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“From Ethan.”
Adrian shook his head.
“I don't understand.”
“You were supposed to marry Natalie, produce an heir, and remain outside the succession dispute.”
“And Owen?”
“The child was never supposed to exist.”
Adrian’s chest tightened.
His father's face became cold.
“But then Julian interfered.”
“What did he do?”
“He arranged for Natalie to carry another woman's child.”
Adrian stared.
“What?”
“The baby in your house was connected to Ethan.”
“How?”
His father smiled.
“You are finally asking the right question.”
Before Adrian could reply, footsteps sounded behind him.
Adrian turned.
Natalie stood on the stairs.
She was crying.
His father looked at her.
“You should not have come.”
Natalie raised a gun.
Adrian stared.
“Natalie?”
Her hands were shaking.
She aimed at his father.
“You're never taking another child.”
Adrian stepped between them.
“Put it down.”
Natalie whispered:
“He killed Julian.”
Adrian turned toward his father.
His father smiled.
“No.”
Natalie pulled the trigger.
The gunshot exploded through the underground corridor.
Adrian screamed.
But his father wasn't hit.
A bodyguard had stepped in front of him.
The bodyguard collapsed.
Natalie ran.
Adrian chased her.
She reached the staircase.
A gunshot echoed behind them.
Adrian grabbed her.
“Where are you going?”
She looked at him.
Her face was broken with fear.
“To save Owen.”
“How?”
She leaned close.
And whispered something that made Adrian release her.
“The baby in the hospital was never your son.”
Adrian stared.
May you like
Natalie continued:
“It was Ethan's.”
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