CHAPTER 8 — THE FOURTH BROTHER
Rain poured through the trees as if the sky itself were trying to wash away what had just been revealed.
Emily stared at Eleanor.
"Your fourth brother."
Those words kept echoing inside her head.
Not Richard.
Not Thomas.
Her brother.
Someone Eleanor had killed.
Or believed she had killed.
Daniel stood beside Emily, completely silent.
Adrian watched them from several feet away.
Thomas was gone.
The mansion was burning.
Victoria was dead.
And somehow the truth was becoming more terrifying with every answer.
Emily stepped toward Eleanor.
"Tell me everything."
Eleanor looked exhausted.
"I can't."
"You have to."
"Emily..."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"You don't get to keep secrets anymore."
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
"You're right."
She looked at Daniel.
Then Adrian.
Finally, she took a breath.
"His name was Julian."
Emily frowned.
"Julian?"
"Julian Whitmore."
Daniel stared.
"Why have I never heard that name?"
"Because Richard erased it."
Adrian nodded.
"He erased all records."
Emily looked at Eleanor.
"How old was he?"
"Three years older than you."
Daniel's expression changed.
"So he wasn't a baby."
"No."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"He was born before you."
Emily frowned.
"Then why did you say there were four children born that night?"
Eleanor looked confused.
"I didn't say all four were born that night."
Silence.
Emily slowly understood.
"You mean..."
Eleanor nodded.
"Julian was already three years old."
Daniel stared.
"Then why was he involved?"
"Because he was Richard's first child."
Adrian interrupted.
"His first biological child."
Eleanor nodded.
"Richard believed Julian was the future of the family."
Emily looked at Adrian.
"Then why was he hiding him?"
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Because Julian wasn't supposed to exist."
"Why?"
"His mother was not Eleanor."
Eleanor looked away.
"Who was she?"
Adrian hesitated.
Then:
"Margaret."
Emily froze.
"Margaret?"
Adrian nodded.
"Before Margaret met Thomas, she was involved with Richard."
Emily felt sick.
"My mother had a child with Richard?"
"Yes."
Daniel stared at Eleanor.
"Then Julian was your stepson."
Eleanor nodded.
"I knew about him."
"But you never told us."
"Richard forbade it."
Emily shook her head.
"This makes no sense."
Adrian stepped forward.
"It will."
He looked at her.
"Richard had a plan."
"What plan?"
"To create a perfect bloodline."
Emily frowned.
"He wanted children from different families."
"Exactly."
Adrian continued.
"Julian carried Richard's blood."
"Daniel carried Thomas's blood."
"And you carried both Margaret and Thomas's."
Emily looked confused.
"What about you?"
Adrian smiled bitterly.
"I carried Margaret's blood too."
Daniel stared.
"Then how many children did Margaret have?"
Adrian answered:
"Three."
Emily's heart sank.
"Me, you, and Julian."
Adrian nodded.
"But only two of us were supposed to survive."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Who was the third?"
Adrian looked toward Eleanor.
"Julian."
Eleanor's face crumpled.
"I didn't kill him."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"You ordered it."
"No."
"You gave the order."
"I was protecting my children."
"You were protecting your fortune."
Eleanor flinched.
Emily stared at her.
"Did you order Julian's death?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"I ordered Richard to take him away."
"Why?"
"Because Julian was dangerous."
Adrian laughed.
"He was seven years old."
"He knew."
Emily frowned.
"Knew what?"
Eleanor looked terrified.
"Everything."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Everything about what?"
Eleanor whispered:
"Richard had been conducting experiments."
The forest seemed to grow colder.
"Experiments?"
"On the children."
Emily stared.
"What kind of experiments?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"I never saw the details."
Adrian interrupted.
"I did."
Everyone looked at him.
Adrian's face had gone pale.
"Richard wanted to know whether loyalty could be manufactured."
Daniel frowned.
"How?"
"Isolation."
Adrian continued.
"Fear."
"Manipulation."
"Replacing memories with stories."
Emily felt sick.
"That's why..."
She stopped.
Her entire childhood flashed through her mind.
The strange gaps in her memories.
The nightmares she couldn't explain.
The recurring image of a red door.
A lullaby she had never known the origin of.
Adrian looked at her.
"You remember the room."
Emily's eyes widened.
"What room?"
"The red door."
Her breath caught.
"How do you know about that?"
Adrian smiled sadly.
"Because I was there."
Emily stared.
"Where?"
"The old house."
"With me?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"When you were five."
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"What happened?"
Adrian's expression became haunted.
"Richard had both of you."
Emily shook her head.
"I lived with my mother."
"No."
Adrian shook his head.
"You lived with someone pretending to be your mother."
Emily's stomach turned.
"Then who was she?"
"One of Richard's employees."
"Why?"
"To observe you."
Daniel stepped forward.
"And me?"
"You were in another room."
"Why separate us?"
"Because Richard wanted to see which child would remember the other."
Emily whispered:
"I remember."
Adrian nodded.
"You always did."
Daniel stared.
"I don't remember anything."
"That's because Richard succeeded with you."
Daniel's face tightened.
"What did he do?"
Adrian looked at him.
"He convinced you Emily didn't exist."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"What?"
"You were told you were an only child."
"But I remember..."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
He looked at Emily.
"Your memories of each other were erased."
Emily touched her temple.
Suddenly a memory surfaced.
A little boy.
Standing behind a red door.
Holding a silver bracelet.
He was crying.
And she was calling his name.
"Daniel."
Daniel froze.
Emily looked at him.
"I remember you."
His face changed.
A memory appeared in his mind.
A little girl.
Green pendant.
White dress.
Running through a hallway.
He whispered:
"Rose."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
They both remembered.
They had met before.
As children.
They had known each other.
And someone had deliberately erased it.
Adrian watched them.
"Now you understand why Richard was afraid."
Daniel shook his head.
"Why?"
"Because the twins remembered each other."
Emily stared.
"Then why did he let us grow up?"
"Because he thought the memories were gone."
A distant siren approached.
Adrian looked toward the road.
"We have to move."
Daniel nodded.
"Where?"
"There's an underground shelter beneath the old mansion."
Emily stared.
"But it's burning."
"Not all of it."
Adrian started walking.
"Come."
They followed.
After ten minutes, they reached the edge of the property.
The mansion was still burning in the distance.
Firefighters had begun arriving.
Police surrounded the road.
Adrian led them toward a stone wall.
He pressed his palm against one stone.
Nothing happened.
Then he whispered a code.
A section of the wall clicked.
It opened.
Emily stared.
"A hidden passage."
Adrian nodded.
"Richard built it."
They entered.
The passage descended underground.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Emily stopped.
Her blood ran cold.
There were photographs of her.
As a child.
Sleeping.
Eating.
Playing.
Growing up.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Daniel saw photographs of himself.
His face became pale.
"He watched us."
Adrian nodded.
"For years."
Emily walked deeper.
Then she stopped.
A photograph hung alone at the end of the corridor.
It showed four children.
Emily.
Daniel.
Adrian.
And a little boy Emily had never seen.
Julian.
On the wall beneath the photograph was a sentence.
THE FOUR CHILDREN OF THE WHITMORE EXPERIMENT.
Emily's stomach twisted.
Daniel whispered:
"We were experiments."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
Then they heard a noise.
A faint cry.
Coming from behind a metal door.
Emily walked toward it.
"Someone's inside."
Adrian grabbed her arm.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because this room is locked for a reason."
Emily heard the cry again.
A child.
"Please..."
Emily froze.
The voice was unmistakable.
A little boy.
He was crying.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Open it."
Adrian shook his head.
"We don't know what's inside."
The boy cried again.
"Please help me."
Emily looked at Daniel.
"We have to."
Adrian slowly entered a code.
The door unlocked.
CLICK.
It opened.
Inside was a small room.
A bed.
A table.
A chair.
And a boy sitting in the corner.
He looked about ten years old.
Emily stared.
The boy looked up.
His eyes were exactly like hers.
Exactly.
He stood.
Then whispered:
"Rose?"
Emily couldn't breathe.
The boy smiled through his tears.
"I knew you'd come back."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The boy looked at him.
Then at Adrian.
Finally, he said:
"My name is Julian."
Everyone froze.
Eleanor's voice suddenly came from behind them.
"No."
They turned.
Eleanor stood at the entrance.
Her face was white.
Julian looked at her.
Then whispered:
"Hello, Mother."
Eleanor collapsed to her knees.
Because the child she had believed she killed thirty years ago...
Was standing alive in front of her.
And Julian was holding something in his hand.
A photograph.
He slowly turned it around.
Emily stared at the image.
It showed Richard.
Standing beside a newborn baby.
But the baby's face had been scratched out.
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On the back of the photograph were six words:
THE FOURTH WAS NEVER THE LAST.
