Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER WHO STOLE THE FUNERAL
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The door opened ten minutes later.
No one entered.
No guards.
No Adrian.
Just an old envelope sliding across the floor.
I picked it up.
My name was written on it.
The handwriting belonged to my father.
Inside was a photograph.
Adrian.
Daniel.
Lily.
And someone else.
A woman.
My mother.
The photograph had been taken before I was born.
I stared at it.
Why would Daniel know my mother?
Why would Adrian be there?
Why was Lily in the same hidden room?
I flipped the photograph over.
One sentence:
The wrong child was buried.
I couldn't breathe.
Marcus read it.
“What does that mean?”
Hannah whispered:
“Your mother had two children.”
I looked at her.
“I know.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“There was another baby.”
“Twin?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Hannah hesitated.
“Your mother gave birth to a daughter years before you.”
I stared.
“That's impossible.”
“She disappeared.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why would the family erase her?”
Hannah looked at me.
“Because she was the first heir.”
I felt dizzy.
“First heir to what?”
“The Sterling trust.”
I remembered my father telling me I was the second child.
I had never questioned it.
He had always said my mother had one miscarriage before me.
Maybe he had lied.
The hidden room suddenly made sense.
The photographs.
The blue door.
The locket.
The trust.
Everything connected to a daughter who officially never existed.
“What's her name?”
Hannah whispered:
“Isabelle.”
My heart stopped.
I remembered the name.
Not from family records.
From a lullaby my mother used to sing.
I had thought it was meaningless.
“Where is she?”
Hannah shook her head.
“Daniel was looking for her.”
“Why?”
“Because she had the original trust documents.”
I stepped toward her.
“How do you know?”
“Daniel told me.”
“Before he died?”
“Yes.”
“He's not dead.”
She looked at me.
“He was when I saw him last.”
“Where?”
“At the lakehouse.”
“What happened?”
“He gave me the locket.”
“Then what?”
“He told me to run.”
I stared.
“Run from whom?”
“Adrian.”
The word hung in the air.
Marcus checked his phone.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“There's movement outside.”
“Who?”
“Four SUVs.”
I looked toward the blue door.
Adrian had known we were here.
He had been waiting.
I picked up the silver locket.
“What did the locket belong to?”
Hannah stared.
“Your grandmother.”
“My grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“She gave it to Daniel?”
“No.”
“She gave it to your daughter?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Hannah lowered her voice.
“Isabelle.”
My blood froze.
The locket belonged to my missing sister.
Then why did Daniel give it to Chloe?
“Where did he get it?”
Hannah shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The door opened.
Adrian walked in.
Alone.
Wearing a black coat.
Calm.
Smiling.
“Kaelen.”
I stared at him.
“Where is Lily?”
He didn't answer.
“Where is my daughter?”
He walked toward the table.
“She was never supposed to survive.”
My fists clenched.
“You killed her?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I moved her.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere you could never find.”
I stepped forward.
“Why?”
“Because our father made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He chose you.”
My brother laughed.
“He should have chosen me.”
I stared at him.
“You tried to kill my daughter because Dad chose me?”
“No.”
Adrian's face became cold.
“I tried to kill her because the trust belonged to her.”
“What trust?”
“Everything.”
He placed a folder on the table.
The original Sterling trust.
The beneficiary:
Lily Sterling.
Adrian looked at me.
“If Lily survives, I lose everything.”
I stared.
“And if she dies?”
“The trust transfers to me.”
Silence.
I finally understood.
The explosion.
The funeral.
The missing body.
The seven hundred thirty days of grief.
It had all been part of a plan.
“You murdered my daughter.”
“No.”
Adrian smiled.
“I kidnapped your daughter.”
A terrible silence followed.
Then Chloe spoke from behind me.
“You're the bad man.”
Adrian looked at her.
His smile disappeared.
“Who is that?”
I stepped in front of Chloe.
“My housekeeper's daughter.”
Adrian stared at the locket in my hand.
Then his face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
I smiled.
“From someone you failed to kill.”
The room fell silent.
Adrian whispered:
“Daniel.”
I nodded.
“He's alive.”
May you like
And for the first time—
Adrian looked afraid.
