CHAPTER 5 — THE CHILD BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS
CHAPTER 5 — THE CHILD BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS
Ethan didn’t speak.
He couldn’t.
Every sound in the room became unnaturally clear.
The clock.
Noah’s breathing.
Rain against the window.
Luke was Noah’s biological father.
The brother Ethan had mourned.
The man his son called Dad.
The man Olivia had secretly met for three years.
Ethan’s hand tightened around the phone.
“When?”
Olivia wiped her face.
“Six weeks before Luke disappeared.”
Ethan looked at her as if she were a stranger.
“You knew him before me.”
“We met at a charity dinner. It lasted one night. He disappeared before I could tell him I was pregnant.”
“And then you married me.”
“You were kind to me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I loved you.”
“No. You needed a Calloway name for your child.”
Olivia flinched.
Mrs. Bell stepped between them.
“Ethan, Noah can hear you.”
The boy’s eyes were open.
He sat silently on the couch, clutching Luke’s watch.
“Dad?”
Ethan turned toward him.
Noah looked terrified.
“Are you not my dad anymore?”
Ethan’s anger shattered.
He crossed the room and dropped to his knees.
“I’m your father.”
“But Mom said Uncle Luke—”
“I don’t care what any piece of paper says.”
Noah’s eyes filled.
“Are you leaving?”
Ethan pulled him into his arms.
“Never.”
Olivia covered her mouth as she cried.
Ethan held Noah while staring over the child’s shoulder at her.
His voice became cold.
“But your mother and I are going to have a conversation when you’re safe.”
A notification appeared on Olivia’s hidden phone.
A video message.
Luke was tied to a chair inside an empty warehouse.
Blood darkened the side of his shirt.
Richard stood behind him.
“Ethan,” Richard said, “bring me the brass key and the files you removed from the cellar.”
Ethan glanced at the burned folder he had carried through the tunnel.
Richard smiled.
“You have until sunrise.”
Luke lifted his head.
“Don’t do it.”
Gavin struck him across the face.
Noah buried his face against Ethan’s chest.
Richard leaned closer to the camera.
“And Olivia?”
His smile vanished.
“You’ve disappointed me.”
Olivia stared at the screen.
Richard continued.
“You were supposed to keep the brothers apart.”
Ethan slowly turned toward his wife.
Olivia went pale.
The video ended.
Ethan stood.
“You weren’t just hiding from Richard.”
May you like
He held up the phone.
“You were working for him.”
