Chapter 3 - THE SISTER WHO WAS ERASED
My mother refused to speak.
Arthur did.
“Your father believed you had a sister.”
“Had?”
“He wasn't certain she survived.”
My stomach tightened.
“My mother told me she miscarried.”
Arthur looked at Eleanor.
“She did.”
I stared at him.
“Then what's the problem?”
“The baby wasn't dead.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
Arthur opened another file.
“Your sister was born alive.”
My mother's face collapsed.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why did nobody tell me?”
“Because your father ordered secrecy.”
“Why?”
Arthur looked at Eleanor.
She finally spoke.
“Because your grandfather wanted control of the company.”
I frowned.
“What does my sister have to do with that?”
“She was the firstborn.”
I froze.
Under our father's original trust agreement, the firstborn child inherited controlling shares of Lane Hospitality.
If my sister lived, she was the legal heir.
Not me.
My mother continued.
“Your grandfather believed a woman would weaken the company.”
I stared at her.
“So they hid her.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
She shook her head.
“I truly don't know.”
Arthur interrupted.
“Your father spent years trying to find her.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he feared the same people who took her would take you.”
I thought about Zara.
About Prince.
About the fake DNA test.
The pattern suddenly became clear.
Someone had been manipulating my family for decades.
“Who?”
Arthur looked toward the window.
“Victor Hale.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who is that?”
“My grandfather's former business partner.”
“What does he want?”
“Control.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
---
That night, I returned to the hotel.
I didn't sleep.
At 2:14 a.m., someone knocked on my door.
I reached for the security panel.
“Who?”
“Room service.”
“I didn't order anything.”
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Justin.”
I froze.
Zara.
I opened the door.
She stood there wearing a long gray cardigan, her hair pulled back, exhaustion visible beneath her eyes.
For two years, I had dreamed about seeing her.
Nothing prepared me for the reality.
She looked older.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like life had forced her to become stronger without me.
“Can I come in?”
I stepped aside.
She entered.
Neither of us spoke.
Then she looked at me.
“You saw him.”
“Yes.”
“You met Prince.”
“Yes.”
“He asked about you.”
My chest tightened.
“What did you tell him?”
“That you were a businessman who lived in a different world.”
“Why didn't you tell him I'm his father?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I didn't know if you wanted to be.”
“I did.”
“Two years ago, you didn't.”
“I was lied to.”
“You still believed the lie.”
“I know.”
She looked away.
“I begged you.”
“I know.”
“You wouldn't even look at me.”
“I know.”
“You made me feel like I was crazy.”
My voice broke.
“I'm sorry.”
She stared at me.
I had rehearsed apologies for two years.
None were enough.
“I can't give you those two years back,” I whispered.
“No.”
“But I can spend the rest of my life making sure I never waste another day.”
She looked at me.
“You don't get to promise that yet.”
“I understand.”
“Prince needs stability.”
“I know.”
“And if you are his father…”
She stopped.
I finished for her.
“Then I'll prove it.”
She nodded.
“I already ordered a new DNA test.”
She looked surprised.
“Without telling me?”
“I didn't want anyone to interfere.”
She stared at me.
Then she whispered:
“Justin.”
“Yes?”
“The first test wasn't just fake.”
My blood went cold.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone took my medical records.”
“When?”
“Three days before the test.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I closed my eyes.
Then Zara said something even worse.
May you like
“She also took Prince's newborn records.”
---
