CHAPTER 4 – The Brother Who Was Raised to Destroy Him
The boardroom fell into complete silence.
Daniel couldn't take his eyes off the faded photograph.
Two newborn babies.
One blue blanket.
One green blanket.
On the back, in Evelyn's handwriting, were the words:
"My two greatest miracles."
Daniel looked up, his voice barely a whisper.
"I... I had a twin brother?"
Evelyn nodded through tears.
"You were born eight minutes apart."
Richard Carter suddenly exploded.
"That's enough! None of this matters anymore!"
"It matters to me!" Daniel shouted.
He had never raised his voice at his father before.
Not once in thirty-three years.
The room froze.
Daniel stepped toward Richard.
"Where is my brother?"
Richard looked away.
"I don't know."
"Liar."
"I SAID I DON'T KNOW!"
Before anyone could speak again, the company's Chief Legal Officer entered the boardroom carrying a sealed envelope.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"We found this in the chairman's private vault."
Richard's face instantly lost all color.
"No..."
The lawyer opened the envelope.
Inside was a confidential adoption file.
The room watched in disbelief as he read aloud.
"Male infant..."
"Transferred under a new identity..."
"Adopted by the Walker family..."
"Location classified."
Daniel felt his knees weaken.
His brother hadn't died.
He hadn't disappeared.
He had been sold.
Evelyn buried her face in her hands.
"I searched for him every single year."
"I hired investigators."
"I visited orphanages."
"I never stopped looking."
Daniel's anger turned into something much darker.
He slowly faced Richard.
"You stole my childhood."
"You stole my mother."
"And then you sold my brother."
Richard's voice cracked for the first time.
"I did it to protect everything we built."
Daniel shook his head.
"No..."
"You did it to protect yourself."
Just then, the lawyer cleared his throat again.
"There is... one more document."
Everyone looked up.
"It appears the second son has recently contacted Carter Global."
Daniel's heart nearly stopped.
"What?"
The lawyer placed a printed email onto the table.
It had arrived only three days earlier.
The sender's name was unfamiliar.
Michael Walker.
The subject line contained only one sentence.
'I finally know who my real family is.'
The message itself was even shorter.
"Don't bother looking for me."
"I'm already inside your company."
"And when the truth comes out..."
"The Carter empire will fall from within."
Daniel looked around the boardroom.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Security.
Assistants.
Anyone in the room...
Could be his own brother.
Someone smiled quietly from the far end of the conference table.
No one noticed.
Except Lily.
She pointed across the room and whispered,
"Daddy..."
May you like
"I think Uncle is already here."
END OF CHAPTER 4...
