Chapter 9 - THE BROTHER IN THE SHADOWSDaniel Thorne had been erased from every official family record.
Victoria spent the next forty-eight hours searching.
There were no birth certificates.
No school records.
No photographs.
Nothing.
Then a private investigator found a name.
Daniel Reed.
Age thirty-two.
Living in Seattle.
Working as an emergency physician.
Victoria stared at the photograph.
The resemblance was undeniable.
Same eyes as their mother.
Same jawline.
She called.
No answer.
She called again.
Finally, a man's voice answered.
“Hello?”
Victoria froze.
“Daniel?”
Silence.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Victoria.”
Another silence.
Then:
“Victoria Thorne?”
“Yes.”
His breathing changed.
“I thought you were dead.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I thought you were.”
Daniel laughed softly.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the sound of someone realizing the impossible had become real.
They met the following afternoon.
Daniel arrived wearing a simple jacket, carrying no bodyguards, no entourage.
He looked at Victoria.
“You really are my sister.”
Victoria nodded.
“So are you.”
He looked away.
“Why did she let you stay?”
“She didn't.”
Daniel explained that their mother had hidden him with another family to keep Eleanor from finding him.
He had spent his life believing his sisters were lost to him.
Victoria listened.
Then asked the question that mattered most.
“Where is our mother?”
Daniel looked at her.
“She was alive when I last saw her.”
“When?”
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“Six months ago.”
Victoria's heart stopped.
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