Chapter 3: The Brother Standing Beside Him
Adrian looked at Daniel.
His best man stood beneath the emergency lights, his face drained of color.
For twelve years, Daniel had been the closest thing Adrian had to a brother. They had met at university, survived a disastrous business partnership, and built Blackwood Industries into one of the most successful private investment firms in the country.
Daniel had been there when Adrian's father died.
He had stood beside Adrian at the funeral.
He had helped him choose the cemetery plot.
And now Adrian was holding a photograph of a newborn baby whose hospital bracelet carried Daniel's name.
“What is this?”” Adrian asked.
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.””
His friend glanced at Clara, then at the children.
Finally, he looked at Adrian.
“Not here.””
Adrian laughed once, without humor.
“You think we're going to a quiet room after someone shut off the lights at my wedding and my bride disappeared?””
“Your bride is not the problem you think she is.””
“Then explain the photograph.””
Daniel's eyes dropped to the paper.
“I was adopted.””
“I know that.””
“My parents told me I was abandoned outside a hospital in Connecticut. They said my biological mother was young and couldn't care for me.””
“Who told them that?””
“My adoptive father.””
Adrian stepped closer.
“And you never thought to find out who your biological parents were?””
“I tried when I was twenty-one. The records were sealed.””
“By whom?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Your father.””
The words struck harder than Adrian expected.
He looked at the photograph again, at the silver necklace beside the newborn.
The same family crest.
The same black rose.
The same secret, passed from one generation to another like a disease.
“You knew,” Adrian said.
Daniel shook his head quickly.
“Not about Eleanor. Not about Clara. I swear to you, Adrian, I didn't know your father was involved until six months ago.””
“Six months ago?””
Daniel's expression changed.
It was the smallest shift, but Adrian saw it.
“That's when you met Victoria,” Adrian said.
Daniel nodded.
“She came to my office. She asked me to help her verify something about her family history.””
“And you did?””
“I ran a background check on her mother. That's all.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she asked me not to.””
Adrian stared at him.
“You kept a secret about my missing mother because my fiancée asked you to?””
Daniel's shoulders sagged.
“I thought it was a private family matter.””
Clara let out a broken laugh.
“That's what everyone says when they're helping powerful people bury the truth.””
Daniel turned toward her.
“I didn't hurt you.””
“No,” Clara said.
“You just stood beside the man who did.””
Adrian looked at Clara.
“Who are you talking about?””
She took a deep breath, fighting to steady her voice.
“My mother disappeared when I was four. After that, a woman named Helen Bennett raised me. She told me Eleanor had been forced to leave her family because your father wanted control over her inheritance.””
Adrian shook his head.
“My father inherited everything.””
“Not everything.””
Clara reached into her bag and removed a second document.
It was a photocopy of a legal agreement, dated shortly before Eleanor disappeared.
The title read: *Blackwood Family Trust — Original Beneficiary Designation.*
Adrian scanned the first page.
His father had been appointed trustee.
Eleanor had been named the primary beneficiary.
And two children had been listed beneath her name.
Clara Eleanor Blackwood.
Daniel Reeves, born under the name Edward Blackwood.
Adrian looked up sharply.
“Edward?””
Daniel's face crumpled.
“My adoptive parents called me Daniel. I never knew my birth name.””
Clara pointed to a paragraph at the bottom of the page.
“Your father couldn't access the entire trust while your mother was alive. And if both her children reached adulthood, they could challenge his control over the estate.””
Adrian read the paragraph again.
The trust contained properties, shares, and investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
But that wasn't what made his hands shake.
The document had been signed three days before Eleanor disappeared.
His father had known exactly what he stood to gain.
“He took his own children away from her,” Adrian whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
“We don't know that.””
Clara turned on him.
“My mother spent twenty years hiding from someone. She slept in different houses. She changed her name. She never kept photographs because she was afraid someone would recognize her.””
She looked at Adrian.
“When she became sick, she gave me the necklace and told me to find you if anything happened to her.””
Adrian's throat tightened.
“When did she die?””
Clara looked away.
“Two years ago.””
The answer landed like a stone.
He had spent twenty years imagining that his mother had abandoned him. He had hated her, missed her, and eventually trained himself not to think about her at all.
All that time, she had been alive somewhere, raising another child while believing she could never return home.
“Why didn't you come sooner?”” he asked.
Clara's eyes filled.
“I did.””
Adrian went still.
“What?””
“I came to your company three years ago. I sent letters to your office. I called your personal assistant. Every time, I was told you didn't want to hear from anyone claiming to be related to you.””
“I never saw those letters.””
“I know that now.””
“How?””
Clara reached into the cloth bag and removed a final envelope.
It was sealed with black wax.
The Blackwood crest had been pressed into it.
“I found this in my mother's belongings after she died. She told me not to open it unless I had no other choice.””
Adrian took the envelope.
The wax was cracked along one edge, as though someone had tried to open it and changed their mind.
Inside lay a handwritten letter.
The first line made Adrian's knees feel weak.
My dearest Adrian, if this letter has reached you, then I have failed to come home.
He read the next few lines silently.
Then he began again, aloud.
“Your father told you I abandoned you. He told me you were safe. We were both lied to.””
His voice faltered.
Daniel moved closer, but Adrian raised one hand.
“Don't.””
He continued reading.
I tried to return when you were sixteen. I reached the gates of the estate, but Margaret met me before I could see you. She told me you hated me and had asked her never to let me return.
Adrian looked toward his aunt.
Margaret was no longer in the hall.
“Where is she?”” he demanded.
A security guard hurried over.
“Sir, Mrs. Blackwood left through the east entrance about ten minutes ago.””
Adrian crushed the letter in his fist.
“Find her.””
The guard nodded and hurried away.
Clara took Mia from Adrian's arms when he offered the baby back. Lily had fallen asleep against his jacket, exhausted by the night's terror.
For the first time, Adrian noticed how thin Clara looked, how carefully she rationed her movements to keep the baby settled.
“Have you eaten today?”” he asked.
Clara shook her head.
“Not since this morning.””
He turned to Daniel.
“Get them somewhere safe. Somewhere no one knows about.””
Daniel hesitated.
“Adrian, there's something else.””
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
“Of course there is.””
Daniel looked toward the service door where Victoria had disappeared.
“Three weeks ago, Victoria asked me to retrieve an old file from your father's private archive. She said it contained information about her mother's estate.””
“Did you retrieve it?””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
Daniel's face turned gray.
“I gave it to her.””
Clara gripped Mia tighter.
“What was in it?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I didn't read the whole thing. But I saw a medical report. It mentioned Eleanor Blackwood, a second pregnancy, and a child born at a private clinic.””
Adrian felt the room tilt.
“My mother had three children?””
“No,” Daniel said.
“The report listed two births from the same pregnancy.””
Twins.
Adrian stared at him.
He had spent the last hour discovering that he had a sister and a brother.
Now he was learning that even their identities might have been deliberately altered.
Clara looked at the photograph again.
“The necklace was given to me,” she whispered.
“My mother said it would help me recognize my brother if I ever found him.””
Daniel pulled back his collar.
Around his neck hung a thin silver chain.
Adrian had seen it a hundred times.
Daniel had always said it was a keepsake from his adoptive mother.
Now Daniel unclasped it with trembling fingers.
A small black rose pendant fell into his palm.
It was identical to the crest on Clara's necklace.
Daniel stared at it as if it belonged to a stranger.
Then he turned it over.
On the back were two engraved letters.
E.B.
He looked at Clara.
“You're my sister.””
Clara's face crumpled.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Daniel reached toward her, stopped, and lowered his hand.
“I don't know what I'm supposed to say.””
Clara wiped her cheeks.
“Start by telling the truth.””
Daniel nodded.
“I will.””
Adrian looked between them, feeling the world he had trusted for thirty-four years collapse around him.
His father had stolen his mother's children.
His aunt had helped keep the truth buried.
His bride had known enough to threaten a frightened mother and two little girls.
And somewhere outside the estate, Victoria was still making calls.
Adrian pulled out his phone and dialed the police.
Before he could speak, an unknown number appeared on the screen.
He answered.
“Adrian Blackwood?””
A man's voice came through, low and deliberate.
“This is Detective Harris. We found your fiancée's car abandoned three miles from the estate.””
“Where is she?””
“We don't know. But there's something you need to see.””
Adrian tightened his grip on the phone.
“What?””
“A body was found in the trunk.””
Clara gasped.
Daniel stepped forward.
The detective continued.
“Female, approximately sixty years old. The identification documents indicate her name was Helen Bennett.””
Clara stopped breathing.
“No,” she whispered.
The phone nearly slipped from Adrian's hand.
Helen had raised Clara. She had protected her, hidden her, and helped her search for Eleanor.
She had been the closest thing Clara had to a mother after Eleanor disappeared.
And now she was dead.
The detective's voice hardened.
“Mr. Blackwood, there's another problem. The victim was holding a photograph of you and your fiancée.””
Adrian looked at the discarded veil on the floor.
“What does that mean?””
“It means we believe Victoria Hale was with her shortly before she died.””
A pause followed.
Then the detective added, “And the security footage shows your fiancée leaving the car with a little boy.””
Adrian's blood turned cold.
“What little boy?””
“The child was approximately five years old. Dark hair. Blue coat.””
Clara's knees buckled.
Lily woke with a frightened cry.
“Mommy?””
Clara pulled her daughter close, staring at the phone in Adrian's hand.
Then she whispered the words that made Daniel cover his mouth.
“That's impossible.””
Adrian turned toward her.
“Clara, what is it?””
She looked at Lily, then at Mia.
“My mother told me there were only two children in our family.””
Her voice broke.
“But Helen showed me a photograph last year. She said she had found another child in the records.””
Adrian felt a chill crawl down his spine.
“What was his name?””
Clara looked directly at him.
“Alexander Blackwood.””
Adrian stopped breathing.
That was his name.
The name he had been given at birth.
The name his father had changed on the hospital paperwork when he was a baby.
And according to the detective, someone had just seen a little boy carrying it.
A little boy who looked exactly like him.
*Then Adrian's phone buzzed again.*
A message appeared from Victoria.
If you want to know which of your children is still alive, come to the old Blackwood chapel alone.
Beneath the message was a photograph.
May you like
A little boy sat on the chapel steps, wearing a blue coat.
And beside him stood Adrian's supposedly dead father.
