Chapter 6: The Brother I Never Knew Existed
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The words repeated inside my head.
*Your brother didn’t die.*
They didn’t make sense.
They couldn’t.
I had spent my entire life knowing one thing about my family.
There was my mother.
There was my father.
And there was me.
A small family broken by one tragedy.
A father who disappeared.
A mother who worked until her hands became rough.
A daughter who grew up wondering why she wasn’t enough for someone to stay.
Now, in the space of one night, everything I knew had been ripped apart.
I looked at Adrian.
“You’re lying.””
The words came out automatically.
Not because I believed him.
Because I needed him to be lying.
Adrian didn’t look offended.
He looked sad.
“I wish I was.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“You knew?””
Her eyes filled with guilt.
“Naomi…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“Don’t say my name like you’re sorry.””
She lowered her eyes.
“Your mother wanted to tell you.””
“When?””
A painful silence.
“Never.””
The answer cut deeper than I expected.
I laughed quietly.
“Of course.””
I looked around my apartment.
The walls.
The old furniture.
The place where my mother had spent years pretending everything was normal.
“She knew I deserved the truth.””
“She was trying to protect you,” Evelyn said.
I turned toward her.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
My voice became sharper.
“Protect me from what?””
Nobody answered.
I pointed at the letter in my hand.
“My father wrote about my brother.””
I looked at Adrian.
“Tell me who he is.””
Adrian hesitated.
And that hesitation made my anger grow.
“Now.””
He nodded slowly.
“Your brother’s name is Ethan Carter.””
The name hit me strangely.
Like something buried deep inside my memory.
Ethan.
I whispered it.
“Ethan.””
Adrian continued.
“He was born four years before you.””
I stared.
Four years.
My entire life.
I had been missing a person who existed.
“Why didn’t I know?””
Adrian looked at the floor.
“Because your mother changed everything after what happened.””
“What happened?””
Nobody answered.
I felt my patience breaking.
“I am done with half-truths.””
I slammed the letter onto the table.
“I don’t care who gets hurt. I don’t care whose reputation falls apart. I want every single answer.””
The room was silent.
Then Evelyn spoke.
“Your brother was the first person to discover what Charles Hale was doing.””
I looked at her.
“My brother?””
She nodded.
“Ethan was young, but he was incredibly intelligent. He spent years studying the companies connected to Hale Industries.””
Adrian added,
“He found financial records that proved Charles Hale was hiding illegal operations.””
I frowned.
“How old was he?””
“Twenty-two.””
I stared.
My brother had been twenty-two.
A stranger.
Someone I never knew.
Someone who had been fighting a battle my family kept hidden from me.
“What happened to him?””
Adrian looked away.
“He disappeared.””
The room went cold.
“Like my father?””
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
A horrible realization formed.
“My father didn’t leave because of a scandal.””
“No.””
“He was looking for Ethan.””
“Yes.””
My knees felt weak.
I sat down.
“So my father spent years searching for my brother?””
Adrian nodded.
“Until he found him.””
I looked up.
“He found Ethan?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“He found him working under another name.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Ethan had been hiding.””
“From who?””
Adrian didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
I knew.
“The Hales.””
The next morning, I woke up feeling like my entire life belonged to someone else.
The sunlight coming through my window felt wrong.
Everything looked normal.
Cars passing outside.
Neighbors walking their dogs.
People rushing to work.
Nobody knew that my family’s biggest secret had been sitting inside my apartment all night.
I made coffee.
Then forgot to drink it.
I opened my laptop.
I stared at the flash drive my mother had left behind.
For almost an hour, I didn’t touch it.
Because I knew once I opened it, there was no pretending anymore.
Finally, I connected it.
One folder appeared.
No password.
No protection.
Just one name.
*Ethan.*
My heart stopped.
Inside were dozens of files.
Photos.
Documents.
Messages.
The first photo showed a young man standing beside my mother.
I recognized her immediately.
But the man…
I had never seen him before.
Yet somehow, I knew.
The shape of his eyes.
The small smile.
The familiar expression.
My brother.
I covered my mouth.
A stranger who felt like family.
The next file was a video.
My finger hovered over it.
Then I pressed play.
The screen filled with static.
Then a man appeared.
Ethan.
Older than the photo.
Maybe twenty-five.
He looked tired.
Like someone who had spent years running.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, then either I’m gone…”
He paused.
“…or someone finally decided you deserved the truth.””
My heart pounded.
“Naomi.””
Hearing my name from his mouth broke something inside me.
“I don’t know if we ever met.””
I shook my head.
No.
We hadn’t.
“But I need you to know something.””
His expression changed.
“I never abandoned you.””
Tears filled my eyes.
“I wanted to come home.””
The video glitched.
Then returned.
“Dad found me. He tried to bring me back. But by then, we knew too much.””
He looked behind him.
Like he was afraid someone was watching.
“Victoria Hale isn’t the person you should fear.””
I froze.
Not Victoria?
Then who?
Ethan continued.
“She’s dangerous, but she’s not the one controlling everything.””
My breathing slowed.
“Naomi, if you’re seeing this, find the person who helped us.””
The screen flickered.
“One person inside the Hale family knows the entire truth.””
The video became distorted.
Then Ethan said something that made me sit forward.
“The person you trust most is the person you should question first.””
The screen went black.
The video ended.
I stared at the laptop.
The person I trusted most.
My mind immediately went to one person.
My mother.
But she was gone.
Then another name appeared.
Evelyn.
I felt sick.
I met Adrian at a small café away from the city.
Somewhere private.
Somewhere nobody from the gala would recognize me.
When he arrived, he immediately knew something was wrong.
“You watched it.””
I nodded.
“Ethan said someone inside the Hale family helped them.””
Adrian sat down.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
He looked uncomfortable.
I leaned forward.
“Adrian.””
He sighed.
“I don’t know.””
I stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling the truth.””
“Everyone keeps telling me the truth while hiding parts of it.””
He accepted the accusation.
“Then ask the harder question.””
“What?””
“Who benefited from everyone believing Victoria was the villain?””
I went quiet.
Because that was a question I hadn’t considered.
Adrian continued.
“Your brother was smart. Your father was smart. They knew Victoria had enemies.””
“So?””
“So if someone wanted control, they needed Victoria blamed for everything.””
I stared at my coffee.
“Are you saying Victoria might not be the biggest threat?””
“Yes.””
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Again.
I opened the message.
This time there was no warning.
No threat.
Only a location.
And one sentence.
*Come alone if you want to meet your brother.*
My heart stopped.
I showed Adrian.
His face changed instantly.
“No.””
“What?””
“You can’t go.””
I looked at him.
“What if it’s him?””
“Naomi—”
“What if Ethan is alive?””
Adrian grabbed my wrist.
“Listen to me.””
His voice was urgent.
“This is exactly what they want.””
I pulled my hand away.
“You don’t know that.””
“Yes, I do.””
“How?””
Because for the first time since I met him…
Adrian looked afraid.
“I got the same message ten years ago.””
I froze.
“What?””
He looked at the location again.
Then whispered,
“That’s where Daniel Carter disappeared.””
The café suddenly felt too quiet.
My phone buzzed one more time.
A final message appeared.
*Bring the flash drive.*
I stared at the screen.
Then at Adrian.
Because there was only one thing I knew.
Whoever sent that message knew about the flash drive.
And they knew I had it.
May you like
Which meant…
They had been watching me long before the gala.
