Chapter 8 — The Brother My Father Never Told Me About
Chapter 8 — The Brother My Father Never Told Me About
The gunshot echoed through the archive.
Amy screamed.
Robert grabbed my shoulder and shoved me behind the steel filing cabinet.
“Down!”
Another shot tore through the glass wall.
The computer monitor exploded.
Darkness swallowed the room.
I could hear Amy breathing beside me.
Fast.
Terrified.
“Connor?”
“I'm here.”
“Where's Daniel?”
“I don't know.”
“Robert?”
“Here.”
His voice came from somewhere behind us.
Then another gunshot.
This one came from the hallway.
Someone was getting closer.
Robert raised his weapon.
“Don't move until I tell you.”
I reached for Amy's hand.
She grabbed mine.
“Connor…”
“I've got you.”
But I knew that wasn't enough.
Because the man coming through that hallway wasn't a stranger.
It was Victor Lang.
Amy's biological father.
And somewhere in this building was his son.
My father's secret.
My brother.
Ethan.
The man my father had apparently hidden from everyone.
Including me.
A red emergency light flickered above the door.
For half a second, I saw a silhouette.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
A gun in his hand.
Then the light went out again.
Robert fired.
The silhouette disappeared.
“Move!”
We ran.
Daniel emerged from behind another cabinet.
“Where's the exit?”
“North corridor,” Robert said.
We followed him.
Amy stayed beside me.
Teresa was behind us.
I turned.
“Where's my mother?”
“She went the other way.”
“What?”
Robert grabbed me.
“She said she knew another exit.”
I stopped.
“She can't go alone.”
“She chose to.”
I stared down the corridor.
My mother had spent years hiding things from me.
But she was still my mother.
I turned to go after her.
Robert blocked me.
“Connor, no.”
“She knows something.”
“So does Victor.”
“And if Victor gets her?”
“He'll use her.”
I looked toward Amy.
She was crying.
“We can't leave her.”
Robert sighed.
“Then stay close.”
We ran.
We reached the service corridor.
The emergency door was locked.
Robert tried the handle.
Nothing.
“It's electronically sealed.”
I looked at Amy.
“Can you open it?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
She placed her hand against the scanner.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
The scanner flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED.
Amy stared at it.
“But the other door opened.”
Robert looked at the screen.
“This one requires two people.”
“What?”
He pointed at two biometric panels.
“Two authorized fingerprints.”
“Who?”
The screen displayed:
AMY BRADLEY.
Then:
ETHAN LANG.
My blood ran cold.
“Ethan isn't here.”
A voice came from behind us.
“Yes, I am.”
We turned.
A man stood at the end of the corridor.
No weapon.
Hands raised.
Dark hair.
Scar across his jaw.
He looked about thirty.
His eyes were strangely familiar.
I stared at him.
“Ethan?”
He nodded.
Amy stepped backward.
“You're my brother.”
His expression softened.
“Yes.”
Robert raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
Ethan smiled sadly.
“If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't still be standing.”
“That's exactly what someone dangerous would say.”
Ethan nodded.
“Fair.”
I stepped forward.
“How did you get in?”
“Your father gave me access.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew Victor would eventually come.”
I stared at him.
“You knew my father?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Most of my life.”
My chest tightened.
“My father raised you?”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He saved me.”
We moved into a secure room.
Ethan sat across from us.
Robert kept his gun trained on him.
Amy couldn't stop staring.
She looked like she was trying to recognize herself in his face.
“You're really my brother?”
Ethan nodded.
“Same father.”
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“Did he know about me?”
“He knew you existed.”
“He knew I survived?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael made sure he didn't.”
Amy looked at me.
“Your father protected both of us.”
I nodded.
“But why?”
Ethan leaned back.
“Because Victor wanted something from us.”
“What?”
“Our mother.”
I frowned.
“Who is your mother?”
Ethan looked at Amy.
“Your mother.”
Amy froze.
“Helen?”
“Yes.”
I felt dizzy.
“My mother…”
“Isn't your mother.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Helen gave birth to Amy.”
“But you?”
“Different mother.”
He looked down.
“My mother was a woman named Claire.”
“Then why are you Victor's son?”
“Victor had many children.”
The room became silent.
“Ethan,” Robert said.
“What?”
“How many?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Four that I know of.”
I felt sick.
“And Amy?”
“The only one Victor never knew how to control.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael raised her.”
I looked at him.
“What about you?”
“My mother died when I was ten.”
“Then who raised you?”
Ethan smiled bitterly.
“Victor.”
That explained the scar.
The guarded expression.
The way he watched every door.
“What did he do to you?”
“Enough.”
Amy's eyes filled with tears.
“I'm sorry.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You don't need to be.”
“But you suffered because of him.”
“So did you.”
He leaned forward.
“That's why we're here.”
I wanted answers.
All of them.
“Why did my father hide you?”
Ethan looked at me.
“Because he believed you were safer not knowing.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
“You were his secret.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because you were the one thing Victor could use against him.”
I shook my head.
“He could have trusted me.”
“He did.”
“Then why?”
“Because he knew you would come looking for me.”
I stared.
“What?”
“If you knew I existed, you would have searched.”
“Of course.”
“And Victor would have followed you.”
“So my father sacrificed our relationship to protect me.”
Ethan nodded.
“He sacrificed many things.”
I looked at Amy.
She was staring at him.
“Did you know about the trust?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you activate it?”
“I couldn't.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of you and Amy.”
“And now?”
“Now Victor knows where you are.”
I looked toward the hallway.
“Then we need to leave.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because this is the safest place.”
“Victor is inside.”
“He can't access the core.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at Amy.
“Because your father designed it around her.”
Amy frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“You're the key.”
“To what?”
“The evidence.”
Ethan stood.
“Come.”
We followed him deeper into the building.
He led us to a room I hadn't seen.
The door opened with his fingerprint.
Inside was a small chamber.
A single table.
Two chairs.
And a safe.
On the wall was a photograph.
My father.
Victor.
Helen.
And four children.
I stared.
One was Amy.
One was Ethan.
The other two were unfamiliar.
“Who are they?”
Ethan's expression changed.
“My sisters.”
“Where are they?”
“One is dead.”
The other disappeared.
“Because of Victor?”
“Yes.”
Amy covered her mouth.
“Why did nobody stop him?”
Ethan looked at her.
“People tried.”
“My father?”
“Your father was one of them.”
I looked at the photograph.
“He fought Victor for years.”
“Yes.”
“And Teresa?”
Ethan smiled sadly.
“Teresa wasn't always on Victor's side.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Your mother tried to expose him.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Before your father died.”
“But she was working with him.”
“She was pretending.”
I remembered the money transfers.
The secret accounts.
The forged documents.
Everything I thought I understood began shifting again.
“She wasn't stealing.”
“Not all of it.”
“She was moving money.”
“To hide it.”
“From Victor?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Ethan.
“Then why did she let us believe she betrayed us?”
“Because if Victor believed she had betrayed you, he would think you were no longer protected.”
That made no sense.
“Why would she let me hate her?”
“Because hatred was safer than knowledge.”
I shook my head.
“You're telling me my mother spent thirteen years making me hate her to protect me?”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That sounds insane.”
Ethan looked at me.
“Your father believed it was necessary.”
I stared at him.
Then something struck me.
“Why did you know so much?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Because I was there.”
“Where?”
“The night your father died.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“I saw what happened.”
Robert stepped forward.
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Victor wasn't the one who killed Michael.”
Silence.
I felt my stomach drop.
“Then who?”
Ethan looked directly at me.
“Someone inside your family.”
My mother.
The thought came immediately.
Teresa.
But Ethan shook his head before I could speak.
“Not her.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You just said you saw it.”
“I saw the beginning.”
“What about the end?”
“I was forced to leave.”
“Who forced you?”
“Michael.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew what was coming.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What did he say?”
Ethan looked down.
“He told me to protect you.”
“From whom?”
He looked toward Amy.
“From everyone.”
A loud crash shook the building.
Victor.
Ethan stood.
“He found us.”
Robert raised his gun.
“Exit?”
“Behind the safe.”
Ethan entered a code.
The wall opened.
A narrow staircase appeared.
We started down.
Amy followed me.
Then stopped.
“Connor.”
I turned.
She was staring at the photograph.
“What?”
“Look.”
She pointed.
There was a handwritten note beneath the photograph.
I walked closer.
My father's handwriting.
Four children.
One truth.
One inheritance.
One survivor.
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Ethan looked over my shoulder.
His face changed.
“I've never seen that.”
Robert stepped closer.
“Neither have I.”
Amy whispered:
“Survivor?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Maybe it's not literal.”
Then the lights flickered.
A voice came through the building's speakers.
Victor.
“Ethan.”
Ethan froze.
“Come home.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“You always were stubborn.”
Amy stepped forward.
“Why do you want me?”
Silence.
Then Victor answered.
“Because your mother lied to me.”
Amy's eyes narrowed.
“About what?”
“Your identity.”
She froze.
Victor continued.
“Michael told you he was your father.”
“He adopted me.”
“He lied.”
I looked at Ethan.
Victor's voice became colder.
“Michael wasn't protecting you from me.”
“He was protecting you from the truth.”
Amy whispered:
“What truth?”
Victor answered:
“You aren't my daughter.”
The entire room went silent.
Ethan looked stunned.
Amy's face went white.
Victor continued.
“Your mother lied to both of us.”
I stared at the speaker.
“What are you saying?”
Victor laughed.
“Ask Helen.”
“Helen is dead.”
“No.”
I froze.
“What?”
Victor's voice dropped.
“She isn't dead.”
Amy covered her mouth.
“She disappeared.”
Victor laughed again.
“She disappeared because she was running from the truth.”
I looked at Ethan.
He was shaking his head.
“No.”
Victor spoke one final sentence.
“She is waiting for you.”
Then the speakers went silent.
Amy looked at me.
Her eyes were full of tears.
“Connor…”
I took her hand.
“We'll find her.”
But Ethan wasn't listening.
He was staring at the floor.
“What?”
He whispered:
“She can't be alive.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at us.
“Because I buried her.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I buried her myself.”
He looked devastated.
“Michael told me she was dead.”
“When?”
“The night before he died.”
I stared.
“Then Victor is lying.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Maybe.”
He looked toward the dark staircase.
“Or maybe my father just told me what he needed me to believe.”
We reached the lower chamber.
The door opened.
Inside was a wall of documents.
At the center was a large red folder.
Ethan walked toward it.
“I've never been allowed to open this.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael told me not to.”
I looked at him.
“He trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you opening it now?”
Ethan looked at Amy.
“Because she deserves the truth.”
He opened the folder.
Inside was a DNA report.
I read the first line.
SUBJECT A — AMY BRADLEY.
Then the second.
BIOLOGICAL FATHER: UNKNOWN.
I stared.
“No.”
Ethan turned the page.
The test had been conducted thirteen years ago.
The result was conclusive.
Amy was not Victor's daughter.
She was not Michael's biological daughter.
Her father was listed as:
UNKNOWN MALE — SUBJECT X.
I looked at Ethan.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
Then I noticed the attached photograph.
A man.
Standing beside my father.
I recognized him immediately.
Robert.
My father's closest friend.
The man who had protected us.
The man who had been helping us all night.
I slowly turned toward the door.
Robert was gone.
My blood ran cold.
Ethan whispered:
“He knew.”
Amy looked at me.
“What?”
I couldn't speak.
Then the lights went out again.
A phone rang in the darkness.
Robert's phone.
Except Robert wasn't there.
I picked it up.
A message appeared.
YOU FINALLY FOUND THE WRONG FATHER.
Then another.
NOW FIND THE RIGHT ONE.
And beneath it was a photograph.
Robert standing beside Helen.
Taken twenty-five years ago.
On the back, three words had been written:
HE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
I looked at Amy.
She was trembling.
Ethan raised his gun.
“Where's Robert?”
I stared into the darkness.
“I don't know.”
Then somewhere above us, a door slammed.
And a woman's voice screamed.
“CONNOR!”
Teresa.
My mother.
The last person I expected to hear.
We ran toward the stairs.
Because whatever Victor had planned, it was no longer the only danger inside that building.
Robert had disappeared.
Helen might be alive.
Amy's biological father was still unknown.
And the man my father trusted most had just vanished with the one piece of evidence that could tell us the truth.
For thirteen years, I had believed my father died protecting our family.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether he had died because he knew exactly who was going to betray him.
And as Teresa's scream echoed through the building, I realized something even worse.
May you like
The person my father had warned me about...
might have been standing beside me the entire time.
