Chapter 5 - THE DEAD MAN'S SECRETJulian had not heard his father's name spoken like that in years.
Elliot Mercer.
Founder of Mercer Global.
A man who had built an empire from a small construction company and turned it into one of America's most powerful private corporations.
A man Julian had spent half his life trying to escape.
And a man who had been dead for six years.
“You're lying,” Julian said.
Adrian's voice remained low.
“I wish I were.”
They met at the old Mercer estate that afternoon.
The house had been empty since Elliot's funeral.
Dust covered the furniture.
Portraits lined the walls.
Julian hated the place.
Every room contained a memory.
Every hallway seemed to remember his father's voice.
Adrian led him to the study.
“He left this.”
A locked wooden box sat on the desk.
Julian stared at it.
“What is it?”
“Instructions.”
“For whom?”
“For you.”
Julian opened the box.
Inside was a letter.
His father's handwriting.
Julian,
If you are reading this, something has gone wrong.
Julian's heart began pounding.
The letter continued.
You always believed the greatest danger to this family would come from outside it. You were wrong. The greatest threats often enter through the front door wearing familiar faces.
Julian looked at Adrian.
“What does this mean?”
“I don't know.”
He kept reading.
Protect the child. Do not trust anyone who tells you she is the problem.
Julian's eyes stopped.
The child.
Evie.
Why had Elliot known about her?
The next sentence made his blood run cold.
There is a truth about Evie's mother that you were never told.
Julian dropped the letter.
“My father knew Evie's mother?”
Adrian nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
Julian stared at him.
“You're my brother. You expect me to believe you know nothing?”
Adrian's face tightened.
“I've been trying to protect you.”
“By hiding things?”
“By keeping you alive.”
Silence.
Then Adrian pulled a photograph from the box.
Julian looked at it.
A young woman stood beside Elliot Mercer.
She had dark hair.
Gray eyes.
And the same small crescent-shaped birthmark beneath her left eye that Evie had.
Julian stopped breathing.
“Who is she?”
Adrian swallowed.
“Her name was Elena Cross.”
Julian stared.
“Cross?”
“Yes.”
“Vivienne Cross?”
Adrian nodded.
Julian felt something inside him collapse.
“Vivienne is her sister?”
“Half-sister.”
Julian stepped away from the photograph.
“No.”
Adrian continued.
“Elliot had a relationship with Elena years ago.”
Julian looked at the picture again.
“And Evie's mother?”
Adrian's silence was answer enough.
Julian's voice became almost inaudible.
“Elena was Evie's mother.”
The room seemed to tilt.
His daughter had been raised without knowing her mother.
And Vivienne had married him knowing exactly who Evie was.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because Elena died.”
“How?”
Adrian looked at him.
“That's the part nobody agrees on.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Both men turned.
The door was open.
Nobody stood there.
Julian stepped into the corridor.
At the end of the hallway, a shadow disappeared around the corner.
He ran.
But whoever had been listening was already gone.
When Julian returned to the study, the photograph was missing.
So was the letter.
Only one sentence remained on the desk.
May you like
Written in black ink.
SHE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE.
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