Chapter 7: The Brother I Never Knew Existed
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
I stared at the photograph in my hands.
My father was sitting in a hospital chair, holding a newborn baby. His expression was softer than I'd ever seen it. Beside him stood a young woman whose face was partially hidden by the camera angle.
On the back, someone had written:
*YOUR FATHER'S SECOND FAMILY.*
I looked at Dr. Morgan.
"Who is the baby?""
He swallowed.
"James, you need to understand that your father had a complicated personal life.""
"Don't give me that. Who is the baby?""
Before he could answer, Michael's voice came through the door again.
"Open up, James. We both know you deserve the truth.""
Robert stepped between me and the entrance.
"Sir, I don't recommend letting him inside.""
I nodded.
"Call the police. Tell them Michael Grant is attempting to interfere with a witness.""
Then I turned back to the doctor.
"Start talking.""
Dr. Morgan removed his glasses.
"The baby was born to a woman named Catherine Ellis.""
I frowned.
"Margaret Ellis's daughter?""
He nodded.
"Your father had a relationship with her before he married your mother. Catherine became pregnant, but she didn't want to disrupt his marriage. She moved away and raised the child privately.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"How old was the baby?""
"Twenty-eight years old now.""
My chest tightened.
I was fifty-two.
Twenty-four years earlier, my father had been nearly sixty.
"Did my father know about the child?""
"Yes. He supported Catherine financially and visited whenever he could.""
"Why didn't my mother know?""
Dr. Morgan looked down.
"She did.""
That answer hurt more than I expected.
My mother had been gone for twelve years. I couldn't ask her anything.
"Who is the child?""
Dr. Morgan hesitated.
Then he said, "Michael Grant.""
I stared at him.
The room seemed to shrink around me.
"That's impossible.""
"Your father was Michael's biological father.""
I laughed once, without humor.
"You're telling me the man who betrayed my company is my half-brother?""
Dr. Morgan nodded.
I looked at the door.
Michael had stopped knocking.
He was waiting.
Suddenly, years of strange memories began rearranging themselves.
My father had paid for Michael's college education.
He had given him a job when his own father supposedly abandoned him.
He had treated him differently from the other employees.
And when I asked why, he always said the same thing.
"Michael needs someone to believe in him.""
I had thought it was kindness.
Now I wondered whether it had been guilt.
"Does Michael know?"" I asked.
Dr. Morgan nodded.
"He discovered the truth when he was twenty-five. Your father told him shortly before his death.""
"And he never told me?""
"No.""
"Why?""
The doctor looked toward the door.
"Because your father intended to change his will.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What?""
"He planned to divide the property interests between you and Michael. He wanted both sons to have a future.""
I looked down at the photograph.
"Then why didn't that happen?""
Dr. Morgan's voice dropped.
"Because the night your father died, Edward Grant removed the new will from his hospital room.""
I slowly raised my head.
"And Michael helped him?""
The doctor nodded.
Outside, the police sirens became audible.
Then Michael shouted through the door.
"James! Don't believe him!""
I walked toward the entrance.
Robert caught my arm.
"Sir, wait.""
I shook my head.
I opened the door.
Michael stood in the hallway, holding a manila folder.
He looked at me without smiling.
"Now you know.""
I studied his face.
"You're my brother.""
"Half-brother.""
"Does that make any difference to you?""
He looked away.
"It did when I was younger.""
"Then why did you spend twenty years pretending to be my best friend?""
His jaw tightened.
"Because your father made sure you got everything.""
"You had a place in the company. You had shares. You had a family.""
"I had leftovers!""
His voice echoed down the hallway.
"Your father gave you his name, his business, his house, his entire life. I got secret visits and envelopes of money.""
I stared at him.
"You think stealing from me makes that right?""
"I think you never deserved everything you got.""
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had haunted me since I heard the recording.
"Did you know what happened to my father?""
Michael's expression changed.
"Yes.""
"Did you help Edward alter the medical records?""
He looked at Dr. Morgan.
Then back at me.
"Your father was going to destroy everything.""
I felt my hands curl into fists.
"He was dying!""
"He was going to expose the truth about the property agreement. Edward had spent years building that arrangement. Your father wanted to change everything at the last minute.""
"So you let him die believing nobody cared?""
Michael stepped closer.
"You think I wanted him dead?""
I didn't answer.
He opened the folder.
Inside was a photocopy of a handwritten will.
My father's signature appeared at the bottom.
The document named me and Michael as equal beneficiaries of the commercial property.
But there was something else.
A handwritten note in the margin.
If either son attempts to take the other's inheritance through deception, the entire property shall pass to the children's medical foundation.
I read it twice.
Michael watched my face.
"That's why I need the original agreement.""
I looked up.
"Because if that clause is valid, you lose everything.""
He nodded.
"And you lose it too.""
I handed the document back.
"Then perhaps neither of us should have it.""
Michael's eyes narrowed.
"Don't play games with me.""
I took a step toward him.
"You're threatening my daughter. You're stealing from a children's charity. You're trying to frame me for crimes you committed.""
His expression hardened.
"You're going to regret this.""
He turned toward the elevator.
But before he disappeared, he looked over his shoulder.
"Ask Vanessa who her real father is.""
The elevator doors closed.
I stood motionless.
Dr. Morgan slowly sat down.
I turned toward him.
"Tell me he's lying.""
May you like
The doctor said nothing.
And that silence was the beginning of another nightmare.
