Chapter 6 — The Brother Who Was Never My Enemy
Chapter 6 — The Brother Who Was Never My Enemy
The call had lasted only eleven seconds.
But Ethan could still hear the child's voice.
“Daddy?”
Then:
“They told me you were dead too.”
The line had gone silent.
Ethan stared at his phone.
Daniel stood across the office, completely motionless.
“Who was that?” Ethan asked.
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
His brother's face had lost all color.
“Where is that child?”
Daniel finally looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why do you look terrified?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Because I know that voice.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who is it?”
Daniel whispered:
“Thomas.”
“Who is Thomas?”
“My son.”
The room fell silent.
Ethan stared at him.
“You have a son?”
Daniel nodded.
“He was born six years ago.”
“Where is he?”
“I thought he was dead.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Just like Lily.”
Daniel looked at the DNA file.
“Exactly.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Catherine stood beside the window.
Victor was still restrained by security.
Ethan turned toward his mother.
“You knew.”
Catherine didn't deny it.
“I knew about Thomas.”
“You knew Daniel had a son?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Everyone in this family knows something except me.”
Catherine looked at him.
“You were supposed to be protected.”
“Protected?”
Ethan pointed toward the DNA report.
“Lily was hidden for seven years.”
He pointed toward Daniel.
“His son disappeared.”
“And you expect me to call that protection?”
Catherine's expression hardened.
“You don't understand what your family was capable of.”
“Then explain it.”
She hesitated.
“The Blackwood family has been fighting over control for generations.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Catherine looked directly at him.
“You know the public story.”
“What don't I know?”
“The first Blackwood fortune wasn't built by your grandfather.”
Ethan frowned.
“Then who?”
“His father.”
“And?”
“He didn't build it either.”
Catherine paused.
“It came from a man named Samuel Blackwood.”
Ethan waited.
“He had two sons.”
“Richard and?”
“Michael.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“Your father?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Catherine continued.
“Michael was the original heir.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because Samuel discovered that Richard had stolen from him.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Richard stole the company.”
“Yes.”
“And Michael?”
“Richard framed him.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's why the trust exists.”
Ethan looked at him.
“What trust?”
“The one that says the fortune must return to Michael's descendants if the truth is ever proven.”
Ethan stared at the DNA report.
“Lily.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Thomas.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“Thomas is also Michael's descendant?”
“Yes.”
“Then Lily and Thomas are both heirs.”
Catherine nodded.
“And that's why they were targeted.”
Victor suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
“You're finally understanding.”
Ethan walked toward him.
“You knew about Thomas.”
Victor smiled.
“I knew before Daniel did.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“What?”
Victor looked at him.
“You weren't supposed to know your son survived.”
Daniel took a step forward.
“Where is he?”
Victor said nothing.
Daniel grabbed his collar.
“Where is my son?”
Security moved between them.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Let him speak.”
Victor adjusted his shirt.
“Thomas is alive.”
Daniel's breathing stopped.
“Where?”
Victor smiled.
“Somewhere you will never find him.”
Daniel's eyes filled with rage.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
“Just like Lily, Thomas was placed under another identity.”
“Who has him?”
Victor remained silent.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who?”
Victor smiled.
“Your grandmother.”
Catherine's expression changed.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“You know I'm right.”
Catherine shook her head.
“Eleanor is dead.”
Victor laughed.
“Eleanor has never been dead.”
Ethan felt cold.
“How many people in this family are supposedly dead?”
Victor looked at him.
“Enough to build an empire.”
Daniel suddenly walked away.
Ethan followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my son.”
“You don't know where he is.”
“I know someone who does.”
“Who?”
Daniel stopped.
“Me.”
Ethan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel pulled out a photograph.
It showed a small boy sitting beside a woman.
The boy had dark hair.
Brown eyes.
And a small crescent-shaped mark beneath his left ear.
Ethan recognized it.
The same mark Lily had.
“What is that?”
“The Blackwood birthmark.”
Ethan stared.
Daniel turned the photograph over.
There was an address.
A small private school outside the city.
Ethan looked at him.
“You've been watching him.”
“From a distance.”
“Why didn't you take him?”
“Because I was afraid they'd follow me.”
Ethan's anger softened.
“You were protecting him.”
Daniel nodded.
“I didn't know who I could trust.”
Ethan looked at his brother.
For the first time, he understood.
Daniel had not been hiding the truth because he wanted power.
He had been hiding it because he had been trying to survive.
They left the tower before dawn.
Catherine stayed behind with the security team.
Victor was taken into federal custody.
Ethan and Daniel drove toward the school.
Neither spoke for nearly twenty minutes.
Finally, Ethan said:
“You should have told me.”
Daniel looked ahead.
“I know.”
“I could have helped.”
“I didn't know that.”
“You're my brother.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“You didn't know that either.”
Ethan looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel sighed.
“When we were children, Eleanor made sure we never spent time together.”
“Why?”
“She told you I was dangerous.”
Ethan remembered.
A boy standing outside a glass door.
He remembered wanting to play with him.
But Eleanor had grabbed his hand.
“Don't go near him.”
Ethan had obeyed.
He had forgotten the boy.
Daniel remembered everything.
“They separated us because they were afraid we'd discover the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That we were brothers.”
Ethan stared.
“You're saying we grew up in the same house and didn't know?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you ever ask?”
“I did.”
“What happened?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“I was beaten.”
Ethan looked away.
A painful memory surfaced.
When he was eight, he had heard screaming from the servants' wing.
Eleanor had told him it was a dog.
It wasn't.
It had been Daniel.
His own brother.
And Ethan had never known.
They arrived at the school at 6:20 a.m.
Daniel parked across the street.
“Wait here.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“Ethan.”
“You waited seven years.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Don't make me wait another minute.”
They crossed the street.
The school gates were locked.
Daniel pulled out an old access card.
It worked.
They entered.
A security guard appeared.
“Can I help you?”
Daniel showed him the photograph.
“We're looking for this boy.”
The guard's expression changed.
“Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“He's not here.”
“When did he leave?”
“Last night.”
Ethan's heart sank.
“Who took him?”
The guard hesitated.
“A woman.”
“What woman?”
“She said she was his grandmother.”
Catherine.
Or Eleanor.
Daniel grabbed the man's arm.
“Where did she take him?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan stepped in.
“Please.”
The guard looked at him.
“She left this.”
He handed Ethan a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Thomas standing beside Lily.
Ethan stared.
“When was this taken?”
“Yesterday.”
Daniel's face went white.
“They know about Lily.”
Ethan looked at the photograph.
On the back was a message.
THE TWO HEIRS MUST NEVER MEET.
Then another line:
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
Ethan's phone rang.
Catherine.
He answered.
“Where are you?”
“Ethan.”
Her voice was shaking.
“Listen carefully.”
“What happened?”
“I've been betrayed.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
Ethan froze.
“Richard?”
“Yes.”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Then what happened?”
Catherine whispered:
“He took Victor.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What?”
“He escaped.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“And Lily?”
“She is safe.”
“Where?”
Catherine hesitated.
Ethan immediately knew.
“Where is my daughter?”
“Ethan—”
“Where?”
“She's with me.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“You took Lily?”
“I had to.”
“Put her on the phone.”
Silence.
Then Lily's voice.
“Daddy?”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Baby, are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Is Grandma with you?”
Lily whispered:
“No.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Who is with you?”
A pause.
Then:
“A woman.”
“What's her name?”
Lily's breathing changed.
“Eleanor.”
Ethan felt the world tilt.
Eleanor.
His grandmother.
Alive.
And holding his daughter.
“Lily, listen to me.”
“Yes?”
“Do exactly what I say.”
The line suddenly went dead.
Daniel looked at him.
“What happened?”
“They have Lily.”
“Who?”
“Eleanor.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“No.”
Ethan grabbed his shoulders.
“Where would she take her?”
“I don't know.”
“You've been fighting them for years.”
“I never saw Eleanor's safe locations.”
“Think.”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Then his eyes widened.
“The house.”
“What house?”
“The old summer house.”
“Where?”
“North of the city.”
“Let's go.”
They drove through the night.
The road became narrower.
The city disappeared behind them.
At 11:17 p.m., they reached the old Blackwood estate.
The gates were open.
No guards.
No lights.
Ethan stepped out.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Look.”
A child's shoe lay on the driveway.
Yellow.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
Lily's.
He ran.
“Lily!”
The front door opened.
A woman stepped outside.
Gray hair.
Elegant black dress.
Cold eyes.
Eleanor.
She smiled.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan stopped.
“Where is my daughter?”
“Safe.”
“Bring her out.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Daniel.”
He froze.
“You've caused enough trouble.”
“You took my son.”
“I saved him.”
“You stole him.”
“I protected the bloodline.”
Ethan stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You still don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“You think I'm your enemy.”
Ethan stared.
“You kidnapped my daughter.”
“I rescued her.”
“You lied to me.”
“To keep you alive.”
“You destroyed my family.”
Eleanor's expression changed.
“No.”
She looked toward the dark house.
“Your family destroyed itself.”
Then a small voice came from behind her.
“Daddy!”
Ethan's heart broke.
Lily ran into the hallway.
Eleanor grabbed her arm.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Lily looked at him.
“Daddy, don't listen to her.”
Eleanor tightened her grip.
“Your father needs to understand.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Understand what?”
Eleanor smiled.
“The DNA file was never buried because it proved Lily was your daughter.”
She paused.
“It was buried because it proved who Lily's father really is.”
Ethan's face went blank.
“She's my daughter.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Are you sure?”
Silence.
Ethan looked at Lily.
Then at Eleanor.
“What are you saying?”
Eleanor's smile returned.
“Ask Amelia.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Why?”
“Because seven years ago, she lied to you.”
Lily began crying.
“Daddy, don't believe her!”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Lily!”
Eleanor suddenly pulled a small remote from her pocket.
A red light appeared.
Daniel looked around.
“What did you do?”
Eleanor smiled.
“The house is surrounded.”
Ethan stared.
By the windows, armed men appeared.
Eleanor looked at him.
“You have one hour.”
“One hour for what?”
“To choose which truth you want.”
She pointed toward Lily.
“Your daughter.”
Then toward the basement.
“Or your wife.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
Eleanor whispered:
“Because you can only save one.”
The clock on the wall began ticking.
11:20.
Ethan looked at Lily.
Then toward the basement.
And for the first time since discovering the truth, he realized the Blackwood family had found a way to make him choose between the two people he loved most.
But Eleanor had made one mistake.
She had forgotten that Ethan was no longer the man who had spent seven years obeying his family.
He was a father now.
And fathers did not choose which child to save.
They found a way to save them all.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
His brother understood immediately.
Daniel nodded.
“Let's end this.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Eleanor.”
She smiled.
“Yes?”
“You've given me one hour.”
He looked at Lily.
Then at Daniel.
Then at the men surrounding the house.
“You just made your biggest mistake.”
Eleanor's smile faded.
May you like
“Why?”
“Because one hour is more than enough.”
