Chapter 4 - THE SON WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST
I couldn't speak.
My brother wasn't my brother?
It sounded insane.
But my mother had never sounded more terrified.
“Explain.”
“I can't over the phone.”
“Then tell me now.”
“He's not Elias's grandson.”
My mother's voice broke.
“He's Daniel Cross's son.”
I sat down.
Rebecca stared at me.
“What?”
My mother continued.
“Your father couldn't have children after you were born.”
I felt dizzy.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I know.”
“Then why did everyone say—”
“Because your father needed an heir.”
She explained that after I was born, my father became obsessed with the family fortune.
Grandpa had made it clear that I was his chosen beneficiary.
My father hated that.
He wanted a son.
A son who could eventually control the family assets.
Daniel Cross offered a solution.
A child.
A secret.
A replacement heir.
My brother had been raised as my father's son.
But legally?
He had no claim to the trust.
Unless they changed the documents.
And that's exactly what they had tried to do.
I asked my mother:
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She cried.
“Because I was afraid your father would hurt you.”
“You watched him steal from me.”
“I know.”
“You let him call me a failure.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
She whispered:
“Because every time I tried to leave, he threatened to destroy you.”
I closed my eyes.
For years, I had hated my mother for being silent.
Now I understood.
Her silence had still hurt me.
But perhaps it had been fear, not cruelty.
Then she said:
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“Your brother knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That he's Daniel's son.”
I froze.
“He knows?”
“Yes.”
“And Dad knows?”
“Your father knows everything.”
“Then why did he let him inherit?”
“Because your father planned to rewrite the trust.”
My mother gave me an address.
“Meet me there.”
I drove for three hours.
When I arrived, my mother was waiting inside an empty church.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
She handed me an old envelope.
“Your grandfather gave me this the night before he died.”
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My grandfather.
My mother.
And me as a child.
On the back was a message.
Protect her from the family she was born into.
I looked at Mom.
“Why didn't you?”
“I tried.”
Then a voice came from behind us.
“You failed.”
I turned.
My brother stood in the doorway.
His face was expressionless.
“Hello, sister.”
I stepped backward.
“How long have you known?”
“About what?”
“That you're Daniel's son.”
He smiled.
“Long enough.”
“Why did you let me believe you were my brother?”
“Because you were useful.”
My mother began crying.
He ignored her.
“You built the company.”
“You stole from it.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“Dad stole from it.”
“And you benefited.”
“I was protecting my future.”
“By destroying mine?”
He laughed.
“You always thought you were special.”
“My grandfather did.”
His smile disappeared.
“He made one mistake.”
“What?”
“He chose you.”
Then he reached into his coat.
My mother screamed.
“Don't!”
He pulled out a folder.
Not a weapon.
A document.
He dropped it on the table.
“This is the original trust.”
I opened it.
The beneficiary section had been changed.
But this time, the document looked authentic.
My name had been removed.
My brother's name was there.
I looked at him.
“You forged it.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Grandpa did.”
I stared.
“That's impossible.”
“He changed the trust before he died.”
“Why?”
“Because he discovered something about you.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
My brother leaned closer.
“You aren't his biological granddaughter either.”
The room went silent.
My mother collapsed into a chair.
I stared at her.
“Mom?”
She couldn't look at me.
My brother smiled.
“Now you understand why everyone lied.”
I couldn't breathe.
Then my mother's voice came out as a whisper.
“Your grandfather adopted you.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
She looked up.
“Because your real parents were killed.”
I felt the room tilt.
“Who were they?”
My mother began crying.
“People your grandfather loved.”
My brother turned toward the door.
“And people our father helped kill.”
Then he walked away.
Leaving me with a question that was even more terrifying than the one I'd started with.
May you like
If I wasn't a Bennett…
Why had Grandpa chosen me to inherit everything?
