Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER WHO CAME BACK
The door opened.
Nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Claire.
Not Michael.
For one impossible second, the entire world stopped.
Then I saw him.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakable.
Ethan.
My brother stood in the doorway wearing a dark jacket, his face covered with years I had never witnessed.
Ten years.
Ten years of questions.
Ten years of believing he was gone.
My mouth opened.
No words came out.
"Ethan..."
His eyes moved past me.
To Claire.
Then to Noah.
Then back to me.
"You shouldn't have come here."
The sentence hit harder than seeing him alive.
Not hello.
Not I'm sorry.
You shouldn't have come here.
I stepped forward.
"Where have you been?"
His expression changed.
Pain.
Regret.
Fear.
All at once.
"Daniel, we don't have time."
I almost laughed.
"No time?"
My voice became louder.
"I spent ten years thinking you were dead."
"I know."
"You let me believe that."
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
I pointed at him.
"You disappeared."
His eyes dropped.
"I was trying to keep you alive."
The room became silent.
Claire held Noah closer.
Michael locked the office door.
"Ethan."
My brother looked at him.
"We need to move."
That caught my attention.
"Move where?"
Neither answered.
I looked between them.
"Someone tell me what is happening."
Ethan walked inside and closed the door.
Then he looked directly at me.
"The person who destroyed our family knows you're here."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Ethan didn't respond immediately.
And that hesitation terrified me.
"Who?"
He looked at Claire.
"She found the first part."
Claire nodded.
"The financial records."
"And you found the second."
Ethan looked at the flash drive.
"The recording."
I stepped closer.
"You two have been working together?"
Claire looked at me.
"Not the way you think."
"Then explain it."
Ethan walked toward the desk.
He picked up the photograph of our father.
"Your father wasn't killed by a random accident."
I froze.
"What?"
Everyone knew my father died in a car crash.
Eight years ago.
The official report said the brakes failed.
The case was closed.
"The accident was planned."
I stared at him.
"No."
"Daniel."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You were there."
Ethan's face changed.
"I know."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was trying to find who ordered it."
My anger rose.
"You left me alone."
"I left because they were watching you."
The room went quiet.
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan opened his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was another photograph.
He placed it on the desk.
I looked down.
And my blood ran cold.
It was me.
Five years ago.
Standing outside my first company office.
A person was standing behind me.
Watching.
I recognized him.
My business partner.
The man who helped me build my company.
The man who introduced me to investors.
The man who always told me I was like family.
"Marcus."
Ethan nodded.
"He's been inside your life for years."
I stared at the photo.
"No."
"He was close to your father too."
I looked up.
"What?"
Ethan pulled out more documents.
"Marcus wasn't your father's employee."
"He was?"
"Your father's mistake."
The words felt strange.
"Explain."
Ethan sat down.
For the first time, he looked exhausted.
"After our father discovered someone was stealing from the company, he started investigating."
"Marcus?"
Ethan nodded.
"But he wasn't working alone."
I looked at Claire.
She already knew.
"Who else?"
Ethan looked at me.
"The person who gave him access."
My hands tightened.
"Who?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Instead, he turned on the laptop.
A new video appeared.
A security camera.
A hallway.
My old company building.
The date was three months ago.
I watched.
Marcus walked into the building.
He wasn't alone.
A second person entered behind him.
The camera angle was poor.
I couldn't see the face.
But I saw the person hand Marcus a folder.
Then Marcus said something.
The audio was unclear.
Ethan adjusted the volume.
The voice became clearer.
"We don't need Daniel to know."
I stopped breathing.
The second voice answered.
"He never asks questions."
My face went cold.
Because I recognized that voice.
I had heard it every day.
At family dinners.
At holidays.
During business meetings.
A voice I trusted.
A voice I never suspected.
The video ended.
I looked at Ethan.
"Who was that?"
Nobody spoke.
Claire looked terrified.
Michael looked away.
And then Ethan said:
"The person who helped raise you."
My heart dropped.
"My mother?"
Ethan didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
"No."
I stepped back.
"My mother is dead."
Ethan looked at me.
"Daniel..."
"No."
My voice cracked.
"She died two years ago."
"I know."
"Then what are you saying?"
Ethan opened another file.
A document.
A medical record.
A name.
A date.
I read it.
Then I froze.
Because the record wasn't for my mother.
It was for someone else.
Someone who had been pretending to be dead.
Someone who had been controlling everything from the shadows.
"What is this?"
Ethan looked at me.
"The truth about what happened after our father died."
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
Again.
I looked down.
A message appeared.
"Stop listening to Ethan."
Another message arrived.
"He's the reason your father died."
My eyes moved back to Ethan.
He saw my expression.
"What did they send you?"
I didn't answer.
Because another message appeared.
A photo.
A recent photo.
Taken inside this office.
A photo of Ethan standing beside me.
Taken only seconds earlier.
Someone was watching us.
Right now.
Claire saw it too.
Her face turned pale.
"Daniel..."
I looked toward the window.
The blinds moved slightly.
Michael reached for the lights.
Ethan whispered:
May you like
"They found us."
Then the office door handle slowly began to turn from the outside.
