Chapter 17 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadThomas entered the hospital after midnight.
No security.
No warning.
Just an old man walking with a cane.
Ryan stared at him.
“Dad.”
Thomas looked at me.
“Emily.”
I stood.
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To survive.”
He sat beside Ryan.
“Your father and I were brothers.”
Ryan frowned.
“You said we weren’t.”
“We were never brothers by blood.”
I stared.
Thomas continued.
“Jonathan fabricated that too.”
I almost screamed.
“Then who is Ryan’s father?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Daniel.”
I froze.
“But Daniel…”
“Daniel was once known as David Carter.”
My heart stopped.
“My father?”
“No.”
“His brother.”
I sat down.
Suddenly the names, the lies, the records, all began shifting into place.
Daniel had changed his identity.
My father had helped him.
Patricia knew.
Jonathan knew.
And Ryan had been born from a relationship nobody wanted exposed.
Thomas handed me a file.
Inside was the original corporate trust.
Not the fake one.
The real one.
At the bottom was a clause I had never seen.
If the designated heir marries a descendant of the Hawthorne bloodline, control shall transfer to both parties jointly.
I read it twice.
“That means Ryan and I…”
“Control the company together.”
Patricia had wanted the company.
Jonathan had wanted control.
But they had underestimated one thing.
My father had deliberately paired two people they thought they could manipulate.
Ryan looked at me.
“Your father knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That eventually we would find each other.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Our relationship was planned?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Only the meeting was planned.”
Then Thomas pulled another envelope from his coat.
“This is for you.”
Inside was a letter from my father.
I opened it.
Emily,
If you are reading this, then you have probably discovered that almost everything you believed about your family was false.
I am sorry.
I chose lies because I believed they would keep you safe.
But there is one thing I never lied about.
Ryan.
He is good.
Protect him.
Trust him only after he proves that he chooses you over power.
My heart broke.
Ryan looked away.
Then I noticed the final line.
And never let Jonathan Reed see the original contract.
I looked at Thomas.
“Why?”
He smiled.
“Because Jonathan is already inside this hospital.”
The lights went out.
A scream came from the hallway.
Then the emergency doors locked.
May you like
Ryan whispered:
“He found us.”
