Chapter 7 - THE SON THEY ERASED
His name was Daniel Westwood.
Forty-two years old.
Born before Adrian’s parents married.
Adrian’s father, Henry Westwood, had paid Daniel’s mother to disappear.
Margaret had known.
Everyone had hidden it.
“Why?” Adrian demanded.
Margaret sat stiffly in the library.
“Your father made a mistake.”
“A child isn’t a mistake.”
“I was protecting you.”
“No.”
Adrian slammed both hands onto the table.
“You were protecting a name.”
Caleb paced nearby.
Natalie watched him.
“You knew too?”
Caleb nodded.
“For a year.”
Adrian laughed without humor.
“My own brother knew I had another brother.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
Caleb looked at Margaret.
“Of him.”
Margaret whispered, “Daniel hated your father.”
“Maybe he had a reason.”
“He threatened this family.”
Adrian leaned closer.
“Did Claire meet him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She discovered payments from the foundation.”
Caleb suddenly spoke.
“I was sending him money.”
Everyone turned.
“I found out Dad had abandoned him.”
“So you stole charity money?”
“I borrowed it.”
“Twelve million dollars?”
“Not all of it!”
Caleb pointed at Madison’s empty chair.
“Madison took more than I did.”
Adrian stared at him.
“How did Madison know Daniel?”
Caleb didn’t answer.
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Because Madison was working with him.”
The room went silent.
Adrian felt physically sick.
“How long?”
“Before Claire died.”
Rachel, holding Emma, whispered:
“So Madison wasn’t trying to marry you because she loved you.”
Adrian looked at Margaret.
“What did she want?”
Margaret answered quietly.
“Control.”
Over the company.
The family trusts.
The foundation.
And eventually the estate.
Adrian finally understood why Madison had entered his life so carefully after Claire died.
Grief counseling dinners.
Friendly calls.
Charity events.
Then romance.
She had never replaced Claire.
She had positioned herself.
Natalie stood.
“Where is Daniel now?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Yes, you do.”
Everyone turned.
Madison stood there.
She was holding a pistol.
Rachel pulled Emma behind her.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Put it down.”
Madison smiled sadly.
“You still give orders like everyone’s going to obey.”
“Where is Daniel?”
She looked at him.
“Closer than you think.”
Then she turned the gun toward Caleb.
Caleb froze.
“Madison…”
“You always were the weak one.”
Adrian moved slightly.
She aimed at him.
“Don’t.”
“What happened to Claire?”
Madison’s eyes hardened.
“She found Daniel.”
“And?”
“She decided she could save everyone.”
Natalie whispered, “That sounds like Claire.”
Madison laughed.
“Yes.”
Then the laugh disappeared.
“And that’s exactly what got her killed.”
A man stepped from the dark hallway behind Madison.
Tall.
Gray-eyed.
His face looked disturbingly familiar.
Adrian recognized his father’s jaw.
His father’s nose.
His own eyes.
Daniel Westwood smiled.
May you like
“Hello, little brother.”
And Margaret Westwood began to cry.
