Noah was forced to sleep under the staircase while his real bedroom was given away.

The next morning, we called Daniel. We told him to meet us at the mansion—with Victor and Margaret present. We said we had something they would want to see.

When we arrived, Margaret smirked at the doorway. Victor stood behind her, arms folded, looking triumphant.

"Come to pack?" Victor asked, voice thick with satisfaction.

I walked past him and laid the documents on the dining table.

"I came to take back what belongs to us," I said.

Victor laughed. "You have nothing. The law is clear."

"Read this," I said, pushing the revised trust and will toward him.

Victor's smile faded as he scanned the first page. He flipped sheets faster and faster, his face turning pale. Margaret leaned over his shoulder, her expression shifting from confidence to confusion to horror.

"This is impossible," Victor sputtered. "He destroyed these. I saw him burn the drafts."

"He kept the final copy safe," I said. "And he kept another secret."

I turned to Liam.

"Liam is my father's son. Born before he married my mother. He is a direct heir. Even without this will, Liam has equal claim to everything. And Noah... carries both lines. He is doubly entitled."

Victor stared at Liam, stunned. "His son?"

"His son," I said. "Which makes you nothing more than a distant, forgotten brother. You have no claim. No standing. Nothing."

Margaret stepped back, clutching the table. "Daniel... did you know?"

Daniel shook his head slowly, eyes fixed on Liam and me. "I knew none of this."

Victor slammed his fist on the table. "It does not matter! There is more! There is something wrong between them! I see it! They are hiding something!"

He looked at me, then at Liam, and his eyes narrowed sharply. He stepped closer, studying our faces—our matching expressions, our shared mannerisms, the way we looked at each other with a depth that went beyond simple affection.

"You..." Victor whispered, his voice dropping into a terrifying hiss. "You are more than half-siblings. You are... together."

The room went dead silent.

Margaret gasped. Daniel looked from me to Liam, his eyes widening in horror.

"That is it," Victor said, a cruel, triumphant smile spreading across his face. "That is the secret. That is why your father sent him away. That is why he hid everything. You are in love. Brother and sister."

My blood ran cold. We had kept it hidden. We had planned to bury it deep. But Victor had seen it anyway.

"Say it is not true," Daniel said, his voice trembling. He looked at Liam, then at me. "Emily... say it is not true."

I looked at Liam. He gave me a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of his head. Not Noah. Not yet.

"It is a lie," Liam said, stepping forward. "Victor is desperate. He sees two people who share a bond and he twists it into something ugly. Because he has nothing left."

Victor laughed. "I do not need to prove it! People will guess! They will talk! They will look at Noah and they will wonder! And courts... courts will tear this family apart! I will tell everyone! I will shout it from the rooftops! You may have the papers, but you will never have peace!"

He leaned in, eyes burning with hatred.