Chapter 8 — The Groom Who Learned He Was Her Brother
Chapter 8 — The Groom Who Learned He Was Her Brother
The photograph remained on the table.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody spoke.
Daniel—Samuel—stared at the little girl in the picture.
Then he looked at Amelia.
His sister.
The word still felt impossible.
He had stood beside her at an altar.
He had held her hand.
He had promised to spend the rest of his life with her.
And now he was learning that the woman he had intended to marry might be his biological sister.
He took a step backward.
“No.”
Amelia's face was pale.
“Samuel…”
“Don't.”
His voice cracked.
“I need a minute.”
He walked toward the window.
Eleanor watched him.
“Daniel.”
He turned sharply.
“Don't call me that.”
Eleanor stopped.
“I'm sorry.”
He looked down.
“For twenty-seven years, that name was the only thing I had.”
“I know.”
“Now even that belongs to someone else.”
Amelia approached slowly.
“You're Samuel.”
He looked at her.
“And you're Rose.”
She nodded.
“So what does that make us?”
Amelia swallowed.
“Brother and sister.”
The words landed between them like a sentence.
Samuel closed his eyes.
The wedding flashed through his mind.
The white dress.
The flowers.
The vows.
The moment he had looked at Amelia and thought he had finally found the person he wanted to spend his life with.
He had almost kissed his sister.
He had almost married her.
He covered his face.
“Oh, God.”
Amelia began crying.
“I didn't know.”
“I know.”
“I swear I didn't.”
“I know.”
He lowered his hands.
“That doesn't make it easier.”
“No.”
“It makes it worse.”
Eleanor walked toward them.
“I am so sorry.”
Samuel looked at her.
“You didn't know either.”
“No.”
“But you raised me.”
“Yes.”
“You loved me.”
“Yes.”
“And now you know I wasn't yours.”
Eleanor's voice broke.
“You were never a replacement.”
Samuel looked away.
“You've said that before.”
“And I meant it.”
He finally looked at her.
“Then tell me something.”
“What?”
“If I'm not your son…”
He paused.
“…why did you love me like one?”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“Because the heart doesn't wait for a birth certificate.”
Samuel's eyes filled with tears.
“I wish it had.”
“Why?”
“Because then none of this would have happened.”
Marcus Bell cleared his throat.
“There is something you all need to understand.”
Nobody looked at him.
He continued anyway.
“The photograph is genuine.”
Amelia turned.
“Then who is the girl?”
Marcus shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Eleanor frowned.
“You said she was Rose.”
“I said she was being presented as Rose.”
“What does that mean?”
Marcus opened the file.
“Your father created multiple identities.”
“For whom?”
“For children.”
Samuel stared.
“Why?”
“Because the Blackwood inheritance could only be controlled by a verified descendant.”
Amelia touched the jade pendant.
“So he created fake heirs.”
“Yes.”
“And one of those girls was raised as Rose?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Marcus looked at Eleanor.
“In a private estate.”
“Which estate?”
“The Vale residence.”
Rebecca suddenly stiffened.
Everyone noticed.
Amelia turned.
“Rebecca?”
Rebecca didn't answer.
“Do you know that name?”
She slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rebecca looked at the photograph.
“Because I was there.”
Rebecca sat down.
“I was twenty-one when I first saw that child.”
Eleanor stared.
“What were you doing there?”
“Working for your father.”
Samuel frowned.
“You worked for him?”
“Yes.”
“As what?”
“An assistant.”
“Then why did you help Sarah?”
Rebecca looked at Amelia.
“Because I discovered what he was doing.”
“What?”
“He wasn't simply hiding Rose.”
Rebecca took a breath.
“He was creating replacements.”
The room became silent.
Rebecca explained.
“Your grandfather believed the Blackwood family could survive anything as long as someone carried the correct bloodline.”
“So he found children who resembled Rose?”
“Not exactly.”
“What did he do?”
“He searched for girls born on the same date.”
Amelia's face tightened.
“And then?”
“He altered their records.”
“Why?”
“To create confusion.”
Samuel understood.
“If the real Rose ever appeared, no one would know which one was legitimate.”
Rebecca nodded.
“That was the plan.”
Eleanor stared at the photograph.
“So my father created false daughters.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Rebecca looked down.
“Seven.”
Amelia's breath caught.
“Seven?”
“Seven girls were given variations of the Rose Blackwood identity.”
“And what happened to them?”
Rebecca didn't answer.
Amelia's voice became sharper.
“What happened to them?”
“Some were abandoned.”
“Some?”
“Some were moved between families.”
“And the others?”
Rebecca whispered:
“Some disappeared.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“My God.”
Samuel picked up the photograph again.
“Who is this girl?”
Rebecca stared at it.
“Her name was Clara.”
“Where is she?”
“She died.”
Silence.
“How?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“An accident.”
Samuel's eyes narrowed.
“What kind of accident?”
“She fell from a balcony.”
“Convenient.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Yes.”
Amelia stared at the photograph.
“She was pretending to be me.”
“Yes.”
“And she died because of it.”
“Yes.”
Amelia's expression hardened.
“My grandfather killed children to protect an inheritance.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“The inheritance was only part of it.”
“What was the rest?”
Marcus opened another file.
Inside was a photograph of Edward Blackwood.
He was standing beside Thomas.
Between them stood a third man.
Amelia stared.
“Who is that?”
Marcus answered:
“Your biological father.”
Eleanor went completely still.
Samuel looked at her.
“You know him?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
Marcus pointed to the photograph.
“His name was Julian Hart.”
Amelia's face changed.
“Hart?”
“Yes.”
Samuel whispered:
“Our father.”
Marcus nodded.
Eleanor stared at the photograph.
“Julian Hart.”
Marcus nodded.
“He was your father's greatest rival.”
“And my biological father?”
“Yes.”
Eleanor looked at Amelia.
Then at Samuel.
“They are twins?”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Rose and Samuel were born to Julian Hart.”
Eleanor's face crumpled.
“Then why did my father claim them?”
“Because Julian refused to give up control of the Hart estate.”
Samuel frowned.
“What does that have to do with us?”
“Everything.”
Marcus pointed toward the documents.
“Julian had his own inheritance.”
“How much?”
“Enough to rival the Blackwood fortune.”
Amelia stared.
“So our grandfather wanted both.”
“Yes.”
“And our father refused.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
Marcus looked away.
“He died.”
“When?”
“The night Rose disappeared.”
Eleanor whispered:
“No.”
Marcus nodded.
“It was reported as a car accident.”
“But?”
“But there was no accident.”
The room seemed to shrink.
Eleanor sat down.
“My father killed Julian.”
Marcus nodded.
“And then he took the children.”
Rebecca added quietly:
“And made everyone believe the children belonged to Eleanor and Thomas.”
Samuel stared.
“That means…”
He looked at Amelia.
“We weren't just stolen.”
“No.”
“We were valuable.”
“Yes.”
“And they fought over us.”
Rebecca nodded.
“You were never treated as children.”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“You were treated as assets.”
Samuel suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at him.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“It's almost funny.”
Amelia frowned.
“What is?”
“I spent my whole life trying to become worthy of the Blackwood name.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“I never asked you to.”
“Thomas did.”
“Thomas was wrong.”
Samuel looked toward the portrait of Thomas.
“He made me believe I had to earn everything.”
Amelia touched his arm.
“You don't.”
He looked at her.
“You don't have to earn being my brother.”
Samuel's expression softened.
“Thank you.”
For the first time since learning the truth, he allowed himself to believe that the word brother might eventually stop hurting.
Then Marcus opened the final document.
“There is one more problem.”
Eleanor sighed.
“What now?”
“The Blackwood trust has been activated.”
Amelia frowned.
“By whom?”
Marcus looked at her.
“By you.”
“I haven't signed anything.”
“You don't need to.”
He pointed to the jade pendant.
“The pendant itself is recognized by the trust's security system.”
Amelia stared.
“How?”
“Your grandfather designed it to identify the original heir.”
“Then the trust knows I'm Rose?”
“Yes.”
Samuel looked at the documents.
“What happens now?”
Marcus answered:
“The entire Blackwood estate transfers to Amelia.”
Eleanor looked shocked.
“All of it?”
“All controlling shares.”
“And Thomas?”
“He loses everything.”
Amelia stared.
“What about the Hart estate?”
Marcus looked at her.
“That transfers too.”
She couldn't speak.
She had spent her entire life believing she was ordinary.
Now she was being told she controlled two dynasties.
But the wealth meant nothing.
Not compared with Lily.
Not compared with the people who had been hurt.
Not compared with the girl in the photograph.
A phone rang.
Marcus answered.
“Yes?”
His face changed.
“What?”
Everyone watched him.
“Are you certain?”
A pause.
“Send me the location.”
He ended the call.
Eleanor stood.
“What happened?”
Marcus looked at Amelia.
“We found Thomas's father.”
Everyone froze.
“Where?”
Marcus swallowed.
“He's in a private clinic.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Is he alone?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Amelia's heart began pounding.
“Who is with him?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Lily.”
Amelia's face went white.
“But Lily is here.”
Everyone turned toward the hallway.
The door opened.
Lily walked in.
She was pale.
Confused.
She looked at Amelia.
“Mom?”
Amelia rushed toward her.
“Lily!”
She hugged her.
“Where were you?”
“I was upstairs.”
“No.”
Amelia pulled back.
“You've been here the whole time?”
“Yes.”
Marcus stared.
“Then who is at the clinic?”
Lily frowned.
“I don't know.”
Rebecca suddenly stood.
“It's a decoy.”
“What?”
“They've taken another girl.”
Amelia froze.
“Another girl?”
Rebecca nodded.
“Someone who looks like Lily.”
Marcus's expression became grim.
“Then the people at the clinic want us to believe she's the real one.”
Amelia looked toward the photograph of Clara.
Another false identity.
Another child.
Another trap.
Samuel stepped beside her.
“They're still doing it.”
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.”
“They're creating another version of us.”
Marcus closed the file.
“Then we need to move before they disappear.”
Eleanor looked at Amelia.
“What will you do?”
Amelia stared at the jade pendant.
Then at Samuel.
Then at Lily.
She had entered the wedding hoping to become part of a family.
Instead, she had discovered she already belonged to one.
A broken family.
A stolen family.
A family built on lies.
But she was done running from it.
“We go to the clinic.”
Marcus nodded.
“And after that?”
Amelia's expression hardened.
“We find the man behind all of this.”
Samuel looked at her.
“Our grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“And when we find him?”
Amelia looked at the photograph of Edward Blackwood.
“We make him tell us everything.”
She picked up the jade pendant.
“And this time…”
May you like
Her voice was steady.
“…he doesn't get to choose which child survives.”
