CHAPTER 9 — The Billionaire's Hidden Son
Two days later...
Ethan stood outside Hawthorne Manor.
A sprawling estate hidden behind ancient oak trees and iron gates.
He almost turned around.
Then the gates slowly opened.
As if someone had been expecting him.
Inside, an elderly but sharply dressed man sat alone in a sunlit library.
Richard Hawthorne.
Eighty-one years old.
Still commanding.
Still intimidating.
Without looking up from his book, he said quietly,
"You look exactly like your mother."
Ethan froze.
"You know who I am?"
Richard closed the book.
"I've known every day of your life."
Anger exploded inside Ethan.
"You abandoned us."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
"You let my mother raise us in poverty."
"Yes."
"You watched my brother disappear."
Richard closed his eyes.
"No."
For the first time...
His voice cracked.
"I've been searching for Daniel for twelve years."
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"You expect me to believe that?"
Richard reached into a drawer and removed a thick folder.
Private investigators.
Financial reports.
Surveillance photographs.
Every page documented one thing.
The search for Daniel Carter.
Then Richard slid one final photograph across the table.
It had been taken only six weeks earlier.
Daniel was alive.
Older.
A beard covered part of his face.
But Ethan recognized him instantly.
Standing beside him...
Was Victor.
And both men were shaking hands with someone Ethan knew all too well.
Rebecca.
Richard whispered,
"They're not after your money anymore."
"They're after mine."
Silence filled the library.
Richard looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"I've already changed my will."
Ethan frowned.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Richard slowly pushed a sealed envelope across the desk.
"It has everything to do with you."
Ethan opened it.
Inside was a copy of Richard Hawthorne's updated estate plan.
The sole heir to a fortune worth nearly $2.3 billion...
Was Ethan Carter.
His hands began to shake.
Richard's next words were even more shocking.
"Daniel found out six months ago."
"He believes that if you die before the inheritance is finalized..."
"...everything comes back to him."
Outside the mansion, a black SUV slowly pulled away from the trees.
Inside, Daniel lowered a pair of binoculars.
He smiled coldly as he watched Ethan leave the estate.
Then he picked up his phone.
"Phase Two begins tonight."
Victor's voice came through the speaker.
"What about Rebecca?"
Daniel didn't hesitate.
"She's no longer useful."
He ended the call.
Hundreds of miles away, inside her prison cell...
Rebecca heard footsteps approaching.
A corrections officer stopped at her door.
"You have a visitor."
Rebecca stood, confused.
"Who?"
The officer looked at the visitor log.
His expression suddenly changed.
"There isn't a name."
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Only one word had been written in black ink.
Brother.
