Chapter 8 - THE BROTHER I NEVER KNEW EXISTED
The word echoed inside my head.
Brother.
Impossible.
My entire life, I had been told I was an only child.
The Whitaker heir.
The future of the family.
The one person responsible for carrying the name forward.
But now a stranger was standing in front of me telling me everything I knew was a lie.
“My mother had another child?”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Her silence was the answer.
I stepped closer.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
My anger rose.
“You called me here.”
“You gave me this information.”
“Now tell me where he is.”
Elena looked down.
“Because I wanted you to know the truth before she found him first.”
I froze.
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
The same answer.
The same fear.
Everyone was afraid of my mother.
That scared me more than anything.
“What happened to Elias?”
Elena opened another document.
“Your father discovered your mother was hiding financial crimes.”
I stared.
“What does my brother have to do with that?”
“Everything.”
She placed a photograph on the table.
A young boy.
Maybe five years old.
Dark hair.
Gray-blue eyes.
My eyes.
I picked up the photograph.
My hands shook.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Why was I never told?”
“Because your mother believed two heirs meant two threats.”
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“Your mother built everything around controlling one child.”
“You.”
“If Elias existed…”
“You would question her.”
I looked at the picture again.
A little boy.
My brother.
A child erased from my family.
Then Elena said something that changed everything.
“Your mother didn’t abandon Elias.”
“She sold his identity.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“She changed his records.”
“She removed him from the Whitaker family.”
“Then she sent him away.”
I clenched my fists.
“Where?”
Elena looked at me.
“That’s the part I don’t know.”
Before I could ask more, the warehouse lights suddenly shut off.
Everything went black.
I heard footsteps.
Multiple people.
Someone grabbed Elena.
She screamed.
I moved toward the sound.
Then something hit the back of my head.
Pain exploded.
I fell.
The last thing I heard was Elena shouting:
“Adrian!”
“Your mother knows you’re here!”
When I woke up…
I was tied to a chair.
My vision was blurry.
The warehouse was empty.
Except for one person.
Brielle.
She stood in front of me.
Calm.
Perfect.
Like nothing had happened.
“You always make things complicated.”
I stared at her.
“You.”
She sighed.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were never supposed to find them.”
My anger exploded.
“You knew about Mara.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my sons.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Elias.”
Her face changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“You shouldn’t know that name.”
I smiled coldly.
“So it’s true.”
Brielle looked away.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You helped them.”
She stepped closer.
“I tried to protect you.”
“By destroying my life?”
“By saving your future.”
I laughed.
A bitter laugh.
“You sound exactly like my mother.”
Her expression hardened.
“Because she was right.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You think your mother is the villain.”
“She isn’t.”
“She did terrible things.”
“But everything she did was to protect the family.”
“And Elias?”
Brielle became silent.
That silence told me everything.
Then the warehouse door opened.
A voice came from the darkness.
A voice I knew my entire life.
My mother.
“Enough, Brielle.”
My entire body froze.
She walked into the room.
Elegant.
Controlled.
Unshaken.
Like she wasn’t standing in front of her son after destroying his entire life.
“Hello, Adrian.”
I stared at her.
“How long?”
She looked at me.
“Long enough.”
“Did you take my brother?”
Her expression didn’t change.
May you like
But her eyes did.
“Yes.”
