CHAPTER 10 — The Brother I Never Knew Existed
For several seconds...
Nobody spoke.
The sentence repeated itself inside my head.
Your brother.
It didn't make sense.
It couldn't make sense.
I looked at my father.
Waiting for him to laugh.
Waiting for him to say there had been a mistake.
Waiting for him to tell me Detective Harris had the wrong person.
But my father's silence was the answer.
"Dad..."
My voice barely came out.
"I don't have a brother."
Charles Ashcroft closed his eyes briefly.
A lifetime of secrets seemed to weigh on him in that moment.
"Vivienne..."
"Please."
"Don't protect me."
"I need the truth."
He looked at me.
And the sadness in his eyes hurt more than any anger could.
"You deserve it."
Victoria quietly closed the folder.
"I think we should explain everything."
Detective Harris nodded.
"Agreed."
The door was locked.
No one else entered.
No one else listened.
For the first time that night...
The truth belonged only to me.
My father walked toward the window.
Outside, police lights flashed across the hotel driveway.
The wedding reception continued below in silence.
A celebration that had transformed into an investigation.
A marriage that had exposed a conspiracy.
And now...
A family secret.
"Before you were born..."
My father began.
"I had a son."
I felt my fingers tighten.
"His name was Adrian."
The name felt strange.
Foreign.
Yet somehow familiar.
"He was six years older than you."
"Why didn't I know?"
My father didn't answer immediately.
Because the answer was painful.
"Because I believed he was dead."
The room became quiet.
"What?"
My father turned around.
"Twenty-eight years ago..."
"Your mother and I were investigating suspicious activity inside the company."
"We discovered someone had been stealing information."
"Project Orion."
I nodded slowly.
"The same project Oliver mentioned."
"Yes."
"We believed Adrian had uncovered something."
"Something dangerous."
My father's voice became heavier.
"One night, Adrian disappeared."
"His car was found abandoned."
"His phone was destroyed."
"No body."
"No evidence."
"Nothing."
I swallowed.
"So you thought he died."
"We had no choice."
"But..."
My father looked away.
"Your mother never believed it."
I looked at the photograph on the table.
My mother.
Young.
Beautiful.
Standing beside my father.
"She thought he was alive?"
"Yes."
"She spent years searching."
"Secretly."
"Without telling anyone."
"Not even me."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"My mother was investigating her own son's disappearance?"
"Yes."
"And that's why she was killed?"
My father nodded slowly.
"I believe so."
Detective Harris stepped closer.
"Mrs. Bennett..."
"Vivienne."
"Your brother's access code appeared on the system tonight."
"That means either Adrian is alive..."
"...or someone has been using his identity."
I stared at him.
"What are the chances?"
No one answered.
Because everyone knew.
The answer was terrifying.
Victoria opened another file.
"We found something else."
She placed a document in front of me.
A security report.
"After Oliver escaped..."
"Our team searched the service corridor."
"We found this hidden inside the wall."
I looked down.
A small metal box.
Old.
Damaged.
Inside was a single object.
A watch.
I recognized it immediately.
Not because I had seen it before.
Because I had seen the same design in old family photographs.
My father's expression changed.
"That's Adrian's."
I touched the watch carefully.
There was a small engraving on the back.
A phrase.
"For my little sister. Always protect her."
My breath caught.
Little sister.
Me.
My eyes filled before I could stop them.
I had spent my entire life believing I was an only child.
But somewhere out there...
I had a brother.
A brother who disappeared protecting our family.
Then Detective Harris noticed something.
"Wait."
He picked up the watch carefully.
"There is something inside."
"What?"
He pressed a small hidden button near the side.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside...
A folded piece of paper.
My father's face changed.
"No..."
"What is it?"
He unfolded it.
Only three words were written.
Three words that made the room freeze.
"Trust nobody. Even family."
Nobody spoke.
Because suddenly...
The danger wasn't outside.
It wasn't only Oliver.
It wasn't only Eleanor.
It wasn't only the people who had planned the wedding disaster.
The threat was closer.
Much closer.
A security officer suddenly knocked.
"Mr. Ashcroft."
My father looked up.
"Yes?"
"We found another person connected to Oliver."
"Who?"
The officer hesitated.
"Dominic Bennett."
The room went silent.
I felt my heart sink.
"What?"
The officer handed my father a tablet.
On the screen...
A photograph.
Taken two weeks earlier.
Dominic.
Standing outside a private office.
Shaking hands with Oliver.
My husband.
The man who had stood silently while they tore my dress.
The man who claimed he knew nothing.
The man who looked shocked when the truth came out.
Had he really been innocent?
Or had he been part of the plan from the beginning?
"No..."
Dominic's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
He was standing there.
His face pale.
"I can explain."
Nobody moved.
My father looked at him coldly.
"Then explain."
Dominic stepped inside slowly.
"I met Oliver."
"Yes."
"But not for what you think."
Detective Harris crossed his arms.
"Then why?"
Dominic looked at me.
His eyes filled with guilt.
"Because..."
"I was trying to protect you."
The words should have comforted me.
They didn't.
Because I had heard promises before.
I had believed excuses before.
"Protect me?"
My voice was quiet.
"Then why did you let them accuse me?"
Dominic lowered his head.
"Because I didn't know how far it would go."
The room froze.
"What does that mean?"
He looked toward my father.
Then back at me.
"I knew something was wrong before the wedding."
My stomach tightened.
"What did you know?"
Dominic whispered:
"Your mother-in-law wasn't planning to steal your reputation."
"She was planning to steal something much bigger."
"What?"
He looked terrified.
"Your inheritance."
My father's expression changed.
"What did you say?"
Dominic swallowed.
"The documents Eleanor wanted signed tonight..."
"They weren't about Bennett Holdings."
"They were about Vivienne."
Silence.
"What are you talking about?"
Dominic looked at me.
"They were transfer documents."
"Moving control of Ashcroft assets..."
"...to someone else."
My blood went cold.
"Who?"
Dominic looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"The person who created the entire plan."
A pause.
Then the words came.
"The person who told Eleanor exactly how to destroy you."
Everyone waited.
Dominic's voice dropped.
"Your brother."
I froze.
Adrian.
The brother I never knew existed.
The brother everyone thought was dead.
My father stepped forward.
"That's impossible."
Dominic shook his head.
"No."
"It isn't."
"Because I met him."
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
Dominic looked directly at me.
"Three months ago."
"He found me."
"And he told me..."
A long pause.
"...that you were never supposed to inherit the Ashcroft empire."
The lights flickered.
For one terrifying second...
Everyone looked toward the security cameras.
Because someone had just accessed the system.
A message appeared on the ballroom screen.
Black background.
White letters.
May you like
Five words.
HELLO, LITTLE SISTER. I'M BACK.
