CHAPTER 4: THE TRUTH ABOUT MY FATHER’S LAST SECRET
CHAPTER 4: THE TRUTH ABOUT MY FATHER’S LAST SECRET
The notebook fell from my hands.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Not my mother.
Not my assistant.
Not me.
The room felt frozen.
Like the entire house was waiting for me to understand something my father had spent years hiding.
I picked up the notebook again.
My father’s handwriting stared back at me.
The same handwriting I saw on birthday cards.
The same handwriting that signed the documents that built our empire.
The same handwriting that now threatened to destroy everything.
I turned the page.
Nathan,
I know one day you will discover the truth.
My fingers tightened.
Discover the truth about what?
I kept reading.
You grew up believing you were my only son.
You believed my success was your inheritance.
You believed the Brooks name was something you earned.
But names are complicated.
Families are complicated.
And the truth is sometimes more dangerous than a lie.
I stopped.
My breathing became uneven.
“Mom,” I said.
She looked at me.
“Was I adopted?”
Her face changed.
Pain.
Fear.
Regret.
Everything I needed to know appeared before she spoke.
“No.”
A strange relief came over me.
Then confusion.
“Then what?”
She looked at the notebook.
“Keep reading.”
I hated that.
I hated how everyone had answers except me.
My entire life, I was the last person to know.
I continued.
Your mother was the only person who knew.
She protected you because I asked her to.
Protected me?
From what?
The next sentence made my heart race.
Nathan, you are not my biological son.
The room disappeared.
The words became blurry.
Not my biological son.
I read it again.
And again.
No.
That was impossible.
I looked at Margaret.
She was crying.
“Tell me this is a lie.”
She covered her mouth.
“I wish it was.”
My knees weakened.
I sat down.
The billionaire.
The CEO.
The man everyone admired.
Suddenly, I was just a child discovering the foundation of his life was fake.
“Who is my father?”
My mother closed her eyes.
A long silence followed.
Then:
“His name was Michael Carter.”
The name meant nothing.
Nothing.
A stranger.
A ghost.
Someone who existed before my entire world.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“And he still raised me?”
She nodded.
I laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
“So he knew I wasn’t his son.”
“Yes.”
“But he treated me like his heir.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
My mother looked away.
“Because he loved you.”
That answer confused me more than anything.
My father.
The man who rarely showed emotion.
The man who treated relationships like negotiations.
Loved me?
“How?”
My mother wiped her tears.
“Because when he met you, you were already part of his life.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
She hesitated.
“You were born before I met him.”
My entire body went cold.
“Mom.”
Her voice broke.
“You were six months old when he married me.”
I stared at her.
The room spun.
My childhood memories came back.
My father teaching me chess.
My father taking me to construction sites.
My father telling me:
“Blood is not what creates a legacy.”
I always thought it was a business lesson.
Now I understood.
He was talking about himself.
I looked at the notebook.
There was more.
I raised you as my own because you were my son in every way that mattered.
But Daniel exists.
And one day, he may come searching.
I did not fear him because of inheritance.
I feared what he knew.
I froze.
What Daniel knew.
The next page was torn.
Only one sentence remained.
He knows the truth about Michael Carter.
My heart pounded.
“What happened to Michael?”
My mother didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
She looked terrified.
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
“Disappeared?”
She nodded.
“Your father believed he was dead.”
“But?”
She looked toward the window.
“But there was never a body.”
The silence was unbearable.
My entire life was a puzzle.
And every missing piece led back to one name.
Michael Carter.
A few hours later, I sat alone in my office.
The same office where I built Brooks Development.
The walls were glass.
The city was below me.
Normally, this view made me feel powerful.
Today, it made me feel small.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then it rang again.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice responded.
“Nathan Brooks.”
The way he said my name made my body tense.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“Your brother.”
Daniel.
I stood immediately.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere your father could never find me.”
My jaw tightened.
“You released the documents.”
“Yes.”
“You’re trying to destroy my company.”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
“Then what do you want?”
The line went quiet.
Then Daniel said:
“I want you to know the truth before they kill someone else.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“Caroline.”
My heart stopped.
“What did you say?”
“I saw what they did five years ago.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Who is they?”
Daniel’s voice lowered.
“The same people who erased my existence.”
“And who are they?”
Another pause.
Then:
“The people closest to you.”
The call ended.
I immediately called Caroline.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
A third time.
Nothing.
My fear grew.
I grabbed my coat.
My assistant looked up.
“Nathan?”
“Find Caroline.”
His face changed.
“Is something wrong?”
I looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
And that terrified me.
Because I always knew.
I always had a plan.
But now, everything I thought I controlled was falling apart.
I drove through Manhattan faster than I should have.
When I arrived at the hotel where Caroline was staying, the door was open.
My heart dropped.
“Caroline?”
No response.
I walked inside.
The room was empty.
The blankets were on the floor.
The baby bag was missing.
And on the table was a single piece of paper.
I picked it up.
Only five words were written.
Nathan,
You should have stayed away.
My hands started shaking.
Because underneath the message was a symbol.
A symbol I had seen before.
On my father’s old documents.
The Brooks family crest.
Someone from my own family had taken Caroline.
May you like
And this time…
I was not going to let them disappear.
