Chapter 6: The Brother Who Knew Too Much
I didn’t sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, another piece of the puzzle appeared.
Daniel.
Claire.
Ethan.
Lily.
Mia.
A family tree built from secrets.
The next morning, I drove to Ethan’s apartment.
When he opened the door, he immediately knew something was wrong.
“What happened?””
I handed him the DNA report.
He read it silently.
Then he looked at me.
“Mia?””
I nodded.
“She’s your biological sister.””
Ethan sat down.
For a long time, he didn’t speak.
Then he laughed softly.
Not happily.
Just from shock.
“So all these years…”
“She didn’t know.””
“Neither did I.””
I sat beside him.
“Did you ever suspect?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
Then his expression changed.
“Wait.””
“What?””
“Dad, this doesn’t make sense.””
“What do you mean?””
“If Mom knew Mia was Daniel’s daughter…”
He looked at me.
“Why did she let you believe Mia was yours?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I had been asking the same question.
Ethan stood.
“There’s something else.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He walked to his bedroom and returned with a small box.
“I found this in my mother’s old storage after she passed away.””
Inside was a stack of letters.
One had Daniel’s name on it.
I opened it carefully.
The handwriting was shaky.
The letter was addressed to Claire.
*Claire, you can’t keep hiding what happened. Ethan and Mia deserve the truth.*
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?””
Ethan took another letter.
“This one is worse.””
I read it.
Daniel wrote:
*I made mistakes. I hurt people. But I never abandoned my children. Someone made sure I disappeared from their lives.*
I looked at Ethan.
“Who?””
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
We continued reading.
The next pages were incomplete.
Some had been torn.
But one sentence remained.
*“If anything happens to me, look into the night of the accident.””*
I looked up.
“What accident?””
Ethan’s face went pale.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
He sat down slowly.
“Daniel didn’t disappear.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“He died.””
The room became silent.
“Claire told me he left.””
“I know.””
“She lied.””
I felt sick.
“Why would she do that?””
Ethan looked at the letters.
“Maybe because she knew what happened.””
That afternoon, I confronted Claire.
She was in the kitchen when I entered.
The moment she saw my face, she knew.
“You found out.””
I placed the letters on the counter.
“Daniel died?””
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
“Why did you tell Ethan he abandoned him?””
“Because I thought it would hurt less.””
I stared at her.
“You decided what pain my son could handle?””
She started crying.
“I was protecting him.””
“No.””
My voice became cold.
“You were protecting yourself.””
Claire didn’t argue.
Because she knew.
“Tell me what happened that night.””
She sat down.
“Daniel was going to tell the truth.””
“What truth?””
“That Mia existed.””
I froze.
Claire continued.
“He wanted to take responsibility. He wanted to apologize to Ethan.””
“And?””
“He was driving to meet me.””
“What happened?””
Her hands covered her face.
“There was an accident.””
“Was he alone?””
She looked at me.
“No.””
My heart sank.
“Who was with him?””
Claire whispered:
“Your daughter’s mother.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Mia’s biological mother.””
I stared.
“Mia has another mother?””
Claire nodded.
May you like
And then she said something I never expected.
“She’s alive.””
