Chapter 6 - The Uncle Who Knew Everything
Daniel did not resist when Ethan's men surrounded him.
He simply raised his hands.
“I've been waiting ten years.”
Ethan stared.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Daniel smiled.
“That was the idea.”
Norah stepped forward.
“Do you know my mother?”
Daniel's expression softened.
“I loved your mother like a sister.”
“Then where is she?”
“Dead.”
Norah's face crumpled.
“You knew?”
“I found her three years after she disappeared.”
“You let me believe she was dead?”
“She was already dead.”
Norah shook her head.
“You could have found me.”
“I did.”
“What?”
“I watched you from a distance.”
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“Explain.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father made me promise.”
“What promise?”
“To protect his daughter without ever exposing her.”
“And you failed.”
“Yes.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I failed.”
He explained everything.
Victor had discovered that the Hayes organization was being secretly controlled by a group called the Black Circle.
They manipulated politicians, bankers, unions, smugglers, and law enforcement officials.
Victor wanted out.
Eleanor discovered their network.
Nora Hayes discovered that her own child, Daniel, had been taken at birth to pressure Victor into obedience.
Ethan was born later.
Victor pretended to accept the Circle's control while secretly building evidence against them.
Eleanor became his ally.
She gave birth to Norah.
Then someone betrayed them.
“Who?” Ethan asked.
Daniel's face turned grim.
“Your mother.”
Ethan stopped.
“No.”
“She didn't betray you willingly.”
“Explain.”
“She was threatened.”
“With what?”
“Ethan.”
Daniel looked at him.
“They had you.”
Silence.
“They told your mother that if Victor exposed them, they would kill his children.”
“Then why was Norah sent away?”
“To save her.”
“Where did my brother go?”
Daniel looked at the floor.
“His name was Samuel.”
Norah's eyes widened.
“Samuel?”
“Yes.”
“Is he dead?”
“No.”
Ethan went still.
“Where is he?”
Daniel looked toward Sam.
“Closer than you think.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel did not answer.
Instead, he reached into his coat and removed an old envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A young boy.
Around ten years old.
He had Ethan's eyes.
Ethan stared.
“That's Samuel.”
Daniel nodded.
“He survived.”
“Where?”
“He was raised under another name.”
“What name?”
Daniel looked at Norah.
“Samuel Davis.”
Norah's breath stopped.
She looked at her son.
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not the baby.”
“The man.”
Ethan understood first.
“Norah's husband?”
“She was married?”
Norah looked confused.
Daniel continued.
“The first Samuel Davis was the father of your son.”
Norah's face turned pale.
“That's impossible.”
“He was your half-brother?”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He was not your brother.”
“Then who?”
“Victor's lost son.”
Norah stared.
A lifetime of confusion rearranged itself.
The young man she had loved.
The father of her child.
The man who disappeared after Sam was born.
His name had been Samuel Davis.
He was Ethan's brother.
Not Norah's.
Norah covered her mouth.
Sam began crying.
Ethan immediately went to her.
“Breathe.”
She struggled.
“I didn't know.”
Daniel nodded.
“He was using the Davis name because the Hayes name would have gotten him killed.”
“Where is he now?”
Daniel looked away.
“Missing.”
“How long?”
“Two years.”
Norah cried.
“I thought he abandoned us.”
“He was captured.”
“By the Black Circle?”
“Yes.”
Ethan's expression became lethal.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the last time I trusted someone, they murdered Victor.”
Daniel slowly moved closer.
“I didn't know which of my own family had been compromised.”
Ethan stared at him.
“And now?”
“Now I know.”
“How?”
Daniel pointed toward the door.
“Because they're already inside your security network.”
A sudden crash sounded from the hallway.
Finn shouted.
Lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
Ethan grabbed Norah.
“Down!”
The next seconds dissolved into chaos.
Security teams exchanged fire.
Glass shattered.
Someone screamed.
Ethan pulled Norah through a hidden passage.
Daniel followed.
They reached a reinforced room beneath the warehouse.
Ethan slammed the steel door.
Norah held Sam against her chest.
“Is this my life now?”
Ethan looked at her.
“No.”
“What then?”
“Something we end.”
Daniel sat against the wall.
“I know where Samuel was taken.”
Ethan crouched.
“Where?”
“An old psychiatric hospital outside the city.”
“Why there?”
“Because everyone believes it was abandoned.”
Ethan stood.
“Finn.”
Finn appeared at the door.
“We're going.”
Norah shook her head.
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I'm going too.”
“No.”
“He's the father of my child.”
“He's also my brother.”
Daniel looked between them.
The truth had become impossible to separate.
Norah wiped her tears.
“If he's alive, I need to see him.”
May you like
Ethan nodded.
“Then we bring him home.”
