Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER NO ONE KNEW
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Julian felt as though the floor had shifted beneath him.
“My mother had a son with my father?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who is Nathaniel?”
“Margaret's son.”
Clara stared at the certificate.
“If my mother had another child, why was I never told?”
“Because he disappeared.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
Clara stepped closer.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Alive.”
The word struck Clara like a physical blow.
Her mother had supposedly disappeared.
Her brother had supposedly disappeared.
Yet both were connected to the same secret.
Julian grabbed his phone.
“I'm calling the police.”
Evelyn didn't stop him.
Instead, she said:
“Call your attorney first.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who has been watching this family for twenty-seven years isn't finished.”
Julian froze.
“What person?”
A sound came from downstairs.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone turned.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Julian descended the staircase.
A man stood outside the front door.
Late forties.
Dark coat.
Gray hair.
He held an old leather briefcase.
Julian opened the door but didn't step aside.
“Who are you?”
The man looked past him.
His eyes landed on Clara.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he whispered:
“Margaret's daughter.”
Clara felt her heart pound.
“Who are you?”
The man slowly removed his hat.
“My name is Nathaniel.”
Julian's face went pale.
The man looked at him.
“And you're my brother.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Nathaniel opened the briefcase.
Inside was a stack of documents.
Photographs.
And a small digital recorder.
“I didn't come here to hurt anyone,” he said.
“I came because your mother finally made a mistake.”
Julian looked upstairs.
Evelyn had disappeared.
Her bedroom door stood open.
Nathaniel's expression hardened.
“She knows I'm here.”
Clara whispered:
“What does she want?”
Nathaniel looked at her stomach.
May you like
“She doesn't want your baby born.”
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