Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER WHO WAS NEVER BURIED
Emily Carter forgot how to breathe.
"My brother is alive?"
Victor Langley stared at the floor.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Answer her."
Victor nodded weakly.
"Yes."
Emily's hands trembled.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know where he lives now."
"What is his name?"
Victor hesitated.
Margaret signed furiously.
"Tell her."
Victor finally whispered, "Samuel."
Emily stared.
"Samuel Carter?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Her stomach tightened.
"Then what?"
Victor looked toward Daniel.
For one terrible moment, Emily thought he might faint.
Then he answered.
"Samuel Harrison."
Daniel went completely still.
"That's impossible."
Emily turned toward him.
"Who is Samuel Harrison?"
Daniel stared at Victor.
"My cousin."
A silence heavier than anything Emily had ever experienced settled over the room.
Daniel continued.
"Samuel grew up with my uncle Thomas in Connecticut."
Margaret's face changed.
Emily looked toward her.
"You knew?"
Margaret shook her head.
"No."
Her hands moved quickly.
"Thomas told me Samuel was adopted."
Daniel stared.
"He was."
Emily felt sick.
"So my brother was adopted into your family?"
Victor nodded.
"After Laura disappeared."
She gripped the back of a chair.
"Did anyone tell him?"
"No."
"Does he know about me?"
Victor shook his head.
Emily began crying.
For years, she'd imagined having a sibling.
Someone who shared her memories.
Someone who knew what it felt like to grow up in Ruth Carter's little apartment, counting every dollar and celebrating birthdays with homemade cake.
Now she had a brother.
But he'd spent his life in the same wealthy family connected to their mother's disappearance.
Daniel looked toward Victor.
"Why was the adoption concealed?"
Victor's expression hardened.
"Your father handled the arrangements."
Margaret lowered her head.
Emily wiped her cheeks.
"Where is Samuel now?"
Daniel answered quietly.
"He lives in Boston. He's thirty."
Emily frowned.
"Thirty?"
Daniel nodded.
"Five years older than you."
Emily tried to understand.
Laura had given birth to Samuel before Emily.
Then Samuel had disappeared from the family.
And years later, Laura herself vanished.
"What happened to my mother?" Emily whispered.
Victor looked toward Margaret.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely afraid.
Margaret signed slowly.
"Laura discovered Samuel's guardianship documents had been falsified."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Emily stared.
"She wanted him back?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't she get him?"
Margaret's hands trembled.
"Because Richard threatened her."
Emily felt anger rise.
For seventeen years, she'd believed her mother chose to abandon her.
Now she was beginning to understand that Laura had spent years trying to reunite her family.
Daniel's phone rang.
His private investigator.
He answered.
After listening, his expression changed.
"What?"
Emily stepped closer.
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
"Samuel Harrison isn't in Boston."
Her heart dropped.
"Where is he?"
Daniel took a breath.
"He's been missing for six weeks."
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Then he looked at Victor.
"And the last place Samuel was seen was Bellmont House."
