CHAPTER 8: THE NIGHT EVERYTHING FELL APART
CHAPTER 8: THE NIGHT EVERYTHING FELL APART
The last sound I heard from my mother was a scream.
Not a cry.
Not fear.
A scream that came from someone who knew they were about to lose everything.
Then the phone went silent.
I stood frozen in my office.
The man who negotiated billion-dollar contracts.
The man who never panicked.
The man who always had a solution.
I had nothing.
No plan.
No strategy.
Just one thought.
Find my mother.
Because as much as she had hurt me, as much as her lies had destroyed years of my life…
She was still my mother.
And someone had taken her.
“Nathan.”
Caroline’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at her.
She saw the fear in my eyes.
Not the anger.
Not the pride.
Fear.
“Where was she?”
“I don’t know.”
I grabbed my phone.
“Thomas.”
He answered immediately.
“Nathan?”
“Track my mother.”
A pause.
Then:
“I’ll start.”
“No.”
My voice became cold.
“You’re going with me.”
Silence.
Because we both understood.
I no longer trusted anyone.
Not completely.
Not even him.
The Brooks mansion was dark when we arrived.
Too dark.
The lights were off.
The gates were open.
That was the first sign something was wrong.
My mother never left the gates open.
Never.
She believed security was everything.
I stepped out of the car.
Thomas followed.
“Stay behind me.”
He looked surprised.
“I’ve protected you since you were a child.”
I looked at him.
“And I trusted you.”
The words hurt him.
But they were true.
We walked inside.
The house felt empty.
Wrong.
The same place where I grew up suddenly felt like a stranger’s home.
“Mom?”
No answer.
We searched room after room.
Nothing.
Then we reached my father’s old office.
The door was slightly open.
I pushed it.
Inside, everything was destroyed.
Books thrown.
Drawers opened.
Documents everywhere.
Someone was searching for something.
Thomas picked up a paper from the floor.
“Nathan.”
I took it.
It was an old photograph.
My father.
Michael Carter.
And a third person.
A woman.
I recognized her.
My mother.
But what shocked me was the writing on the back.
My hands shook as I read it.
October 12.
The night we made our decision.
The night Nathan became ours.
I stared.
“Became ours?”
Thomas looked over my shoulder.
His face changed.
He knew.
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
“Thomas.”
He swallowed.
“Your father made an agreement.”
“With who?”
His eyes moved to the photograph.
“With Michael.”
I felt the anger rise.
“My whole life was an agreement?”
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
He took a breath.
“Michael was being hunted.”
“By who?”
He hesitated.
“Your father.”
My body went still.
“What?”
Thomas continued.
“Your father discovered Michael was planning to expose him.”
“So he took me?”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“He protected you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Protected me?”
“Your biological father had enemies.”
“Then why hide the truth?”
“Because you were the only thing Michael loved.”
The room became silent.
My entire life changed in seconds.
My father.
The man I believed was cold.
The man I believed only cared about power.
Maybe he had been protecting me.
Maybe everyone had been protecting me.
Maybe everyone had been lying for different reasons.
A sound interrupted us.
A phone ringing.
Not mine.
My father’s old desk phone.
The one that had not worked in years.
Thomas and I looked at each other.
The ringing continued.
Slowly, I walked toward it.
I picked up.
“Hello?”
A voice answered.
A voice I knew.
My mother.
“Nathan.”
Relief hit me.
“Mom. Where are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“I’m sorry.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
“I should have told you everything.”
“Where are you?”
She ignored the question.
“Nathan, listen carefully.”
Her voice shook.
“The person behind this is not who you think.”
I looked at Thomas.
“Who is it?”
Silence.
Then:
“Your father’s closest friend.”
I froze.
My father’s closest friend.
There was only one person.
One name.
A man who had been around my family my entire life.
A man who helped build the empire.
A man everyone trusted.
I whispered:
“Richard.”
My mother started crying.
“Yes.”
Richard Hale.
My father’s best friend.
My mentor.
The man who taught me business after my father died.
The man who stood beside me when I became CEO.
The man who called me his son.
No.
Not him.
Impossible.
“What did he do?”
My mother’s voice became desperate.
“He wanted Brooks Development.”
My jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“Because your father left everything to you.”
I closed my eyes.
Everything made sense.
The attacks.
The leaks.
The secrets.
The children.
Caroline.
“He knew about me.”
“Yes.”
“He knew about Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“He knew about Michael.”
“Yes.”
My voice became cold.
“So he destroyed my family to take my company.”
My mother whispered:
“He destroyed your family because he was afraid of what your father left behind.”
“What?”
A pause.
Then:
“The evidence.”
My heartbeat increased.
“What evidence?”
My mother cried.
“The proof that Richard was the one who betrayed your father.”
The phone suddenly went quiet.
“Mom?”
No answer.
“Mom?”
Nothing.
The call ended.
I immediately called back.
Disconnected.
Thomas looked at me.
“We need to find her.”
I nodded.
Then my phone received a message.
Unknown number.
One location.
And one sentence.
Come alone.
Or your mother dies.
I stared at the screen.
Thomas saw it.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You don’t go alone.”
I shook my head.
“If he wants me alone, I go alone.”
“That’s a trap.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“Then why?”
I looked toward the window.
At the city I built.
At the life I almost destroyed.
Because five years ago, I walked away from Caroline.
I chose ambition.
I chose pride.
I chose myself.
I was not making that mistake again.
“Because this time…”
My voice broke.
“I’m choosing my family.”
The location was an abandoned construction site.
One of Brooks Development’s earliest projects.
A place my father built before he became famous.
The irony was impossible to ignore.
I entered alone.
The wind moved through the empty building.
“Richard.”
My voice echoed.
A slow clap came from the darkness.
Then he appeared.
Richard Hale.
Older.
Calm.
Smiling.
The same man who attended my birthdays.
The same man who hugged me after my father died.
The same man who told me:
“Your father would be proud.”
I stared at him.
“How?”
He smiled.
“You were always your father’s weakness.”
I felt sick.
“My family?”
He shrugged.
“Collateral damage.”
My anger exploded.
“You destroyed innocent people.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I destroyed a lie.”
“What?”
He smiled.
“You still don’t understand, Nathan.”
He looked at me.
“You think your father built Brooks Development.”
A pause.
“He didn’t.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then who did?”
Richard smiled.
“The man whose name you were never allowed to know.”
The answer came quietly.
“Michael Carter.”
Before I could respond, the lights turned on.
And standing behind Richard…
Was Daniel.
My brother.
May you like
Holding a gun.
Pointed directly at me.
