CHAPTER 7 – The Brother Who Should Never Have Existed
The courtroom stood frozen.
No one spoke.
No one even breathed.
The man on the screen smiled calmly—the same silver hair, the same blue eyes, the same scar above his left eyebrow.
He was Jonathan Hale.
Or at least... he looked exactly like him.
Jonathan stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Who are you?"
The stranger chuckled.
"You've spent your entire life believing you were an only child."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"That was your father's first lie."
Emily grabbed Jonathan's arm.
"Jonathan... he even sounds like you."
The judge immediately ordered the police to trace the live broadcast.
Within seconds, technicians responded.
"Your Honor... the signal isn't coming from Hale Foundation headquarters anymore."
"What?"
"It was redirected."
The man laughed.
"I knew you'd try."
"You've always been predictable, brother."
Then he held up an old black-and-white photograph.
Two newborn babies lay side by side.
One had a tiny silver bracelet engraved with the name Jonathan.
The other bracelet had only one word.
Nathan.
The courtroom gasped.
Jonathan's knees nearly gave way.
"I... had a twin?"
Nathan nodded.
"Identical."
"Our father believed only one son deserved the Hale fortune."
"So he made a choice."
"He kept you..."
"...and erased me."
Silence.
Nathan continued.
"I grew up in orphanages."
"I watched from the shadows while newspapers called you the world's greatest philanthropist."
"You built hospitals."
"I survived by stealing food."
"You became a billionaire."
"I learned how to disappear."
Jonathan shook his head.
"If I had known—"
"You didn't know," Nathan interrupted.
"Because everyone who knew was paid to stay silent."
He displayed another document.
It was Jonathan's original birth certificate.
A second page followed.
Birth Certificate – Nathan Hale.
Marked across the front in red ink were the words:
DESTROY AFTER PROCESSING
Emily covered her mouth.
Father Michael crossed himself.
Even Richard Vaughn looked horrified.
"I never knew about the second child," he whispered.
Nathan smiled coldly.
"Of course you didn't."
"You were only one of the villains."
"I've spent thirty years finding the rest."
Then every screen inside the courtroom changed.
Faces began appearing one after another.
Hospital executives.
Politicians.
Bank presidents.
Even respected judges.
Each photograph carried the same red stamp:
MEMBER OF PROJECT PHOENIX.
Jonathan frowned.
"What is Project Phoenix?"
Nathan's smile vanished.
"It wasn't just about stealing a child."
"It was about controlling an empire."
"Our father created a secret organization."
"They manipulated hospitals..."
"Insurance companies..."
"Pharmaceutical corporations..."
"...and governments."
The room erupted into panic.
Nathan looked directly into Jonathan's eyes.
"I didn't steal your four billion dollars."
"I stole back what they stole from thousands of innocent families."
He pressed a button.
Every financial transaction appeared on the courtroom screens.
Billions had been transferred...
Not into Nathan's account.
But into hundreds of children's hospitals around the world.
Jonathan stared in shock.
"He donated it..."
Emily whispered.
Nathan nodded.
"You became a hero."
"I became a ghost."
"But today..."
"We both finally know who the real monster was."
Just then, the courtroom doors burst open.
A federal agent rushed inside.
"Everyone stay where you are!"
He looked directly at Jonathan.
"We've just discovered a hidden underground vault beneath Hale Manor."
The room fell silent.
The agent held up a rusted brass key.
"It was buried behind your father's grave."
Jonathan recognized it instantly.
It was identical to the mysterious key his mother had once worn around her neck.
The agent swallowed hard before speaking again.
"When we opened the vault..."
"...we found dozens of sealed cribs."
Each one carried the name of a newborn child.
And every crib had one thing in common.
They had all disappeared from hospitals owned by the Hale family over the last forty years.
Jonathan's face turned pale.
"What... did my father do?"
No one answered.
Because deep inside the vault...
Investigators had also found one final message painted across the concrete wall in dried red letters.
May you like
"The last child is still alive."
To Be Continued...
