CHAPTER 10 The Brother Who Was Never Supposed to Be There
CHAPTER 10 The Brother Who Was Never Supposed to Be There
The rain continued pouring over Chicago.
But Adrian Westwood barely noticed.
He stood inside the old storage facility, staring at the phone in his hand.
His mother’s final words kept repeating in his mind.
“Your brother was there.”
Caleb.
The name felt impossible.
For three years, Caleb had been the person Adrian trusted most after Claire’s death.
When Adrian could not sleep, Caleb stayed with him.
When Adrian blamed himself, Caleb told him it was not his fault.
When Adrian wanted to reopen the investigation, Caleb convinced him there was nothing left to find.
But now every memory looked different.
Every conversation.
Every piece of advice.
Every comforting word.
What if it was not support?
What if it was control?
Natalie watched Adrian carefully.
“Adrian.”
He did not respond.
“Say something.”
Finally, he looked at her.
“My brother lied to me.”
Natalie’s expression softened.
“I know this hurts.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“It is worse than that.”
He looked back at Claire’s car.
“He knew I was suffering.”
A pause.
“He watched me spend three years blaming myself.”
Natalie had no answer.
Because she knew.
The cruelest betrayal was not always what someone did.
Sometimes it was what they allowed you to believe.
Detective Reed stepped closer.
“Mr. Westwood.”
Adrian turned.
“We need to discuss the evidence.”
“What evidence?”
The detective pointed toward the documents.
“There are several things that do not match the original investigation.”
Adrian listened carefully.
“Such as?”
“The vehicle was moved after the crash.”
A pause.
“The medical report was altered.”
Another pause.
“And someone accessed the police records two days after Claire’s death.”
Adrian frowned.
“Who?”
Detective Reed looked at the paperwork.
“We are still investigating.”
Adrian looked toward him.
“But you have a name.”
The detective hesitated.
Finally, he handed over another document.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Adrian stared.
His stomach dropped.
The person who accessed the records was not Caleb.
Not Madison.
Not Daniel.
It was Margaret Westwood.
His mother.
Natalie immediately saw his reaction.
“What?”
Adrian handed her the paper.
Her eyes widened.
“No…”
Detective Reed spoke carefully.
“We do not know why she accessed the file.”
Adrian laughed quietly.
A painful sound.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
He looked at the documents.
“Nobody knows why.”
He turned toward the exit.
“I’m going home.”
Natalie followed.
“Adrian, wait.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I have spent three years waiting.”
His voice became stronger.
“Waiting for someone to tell me the truth.”
He looked back at Claire’s car.
“Now I’m done waiting.”
Thirty minutes later, Adrian arrived at the Westwood mansion.
The house was dark.
Too dark.
Usually, there were lights everywhere.
Security.
Employees.
Movement.
Tonight, it felt abandoned.
Adrian entered through the front door.
“Mom?”
No answer.
He walked through the hallway.
The portraits of previous Westwoods stared down at him.
Generations of family.
Generations of secrets.
He reached the living room.
Margaret was sitting there.
Waiting.
She looked exhausted.
Older.
Different.
“You know.”
Adrian stopped.
“You knew I would find out.”
Margaret looked down.
“I hoped you wouldn’t.”
The answer hurt.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Why?”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
He shook his head.
“Everyone says that.”
A pause.
“But nobody explains what they are protecting me from.”
Margaret looked toward the fireplace.
“Claire discovered something about Caleb.”
Adrian’s heart tightened.
“What?”
“He was involved with people who wanted control of the company.”
“Financial problems?”
“No.”
Margaret looked at him.
“Something much worse.”
The room became silent.
Adrian waited.
“Your father built Westwood Technologies honestly.”
Margaret continued.
“But after he became sick, people around him started making decisions without him.”
“Who?”
Margaret looked away.
“Caleb.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Another betrayal.
“But why hide it?”
Margaret’s voice cracked.
“Because Claire wanted to expose him.”
“And?”
“And I stopped her.”
Adrian froze.
The words were almost impossible to understand.
“You stopped her?”
Margaret began crying.
“I begged her to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because Caleb was my son.”
Silence.
The answer was devastating.
Margaret chose her child.
And because of that choice…
Claire was left alone.
Adrian looked at his mother.
“Did you know she was in danger?”
Margaret looked down.
“I knew someone wanted to stop her.”
His voice became colder.
“Who?”
Margaret did not answer.
Adrian slammed his hand against the table.
“Who?”
Finally, she whispered:
“Your father.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Margaret shook her head.
“Not the way you think.”
She quickly continued.
“Your father discovered what Caleb was doing before he died.”
Adrian stared.
“But Dad died two years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And Claire died three years ago.”
Margaret nodded.
“Your father knew Claire was close to discovering everything.”
Adrian felt dizzy.
“This makes no sense.”
Margaret reached into a drawer.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I kept this because I was afraid.”
Adrian took it.
Inside was a letter.
His father’s handwriting.
The first line made his entire body freeze.
“Adrian, if you are reading this, then Claire’s death was never an accident.”
He continued reading.
“Your brother did not act alone.”
Adrian looked up.
“Who helped him?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
A pause.
“But Claire did.”
Adrian looked at the letter again.
The final sentence was underlined.
“The person closest to Caleb is the person you should fear.”
Adrian slowly lowered the paper.
Because suddenly he understood.
The person who helped Caleb was not outside the family.
They were already inside.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
Adrian answered.
This time, the voice was familiar.
Not his father.
Not a stranger.
A woman.
A woman he knew.
“Adrian…”
His blood turned cold.
Because the voice belonged to Claire’s old assistant.
A woman who disappeared three years ago.
A woman everyone believed had left Chicago forever.
“Claire’s assistant?”
The woman cried softly.
“I should have told you the truth sooner.”
Adrian gripped the phone.
“Where are you?”
A pause.
Then she whispered:
“I was the last person who saw Claire alive.”
The call became quiet.
Then she added:
“And Adrian…”
“What?”
“Claire wasn’t trying to expose Caleb.”
A long pause.
“She was trying to expose the person Caleb was protecting.”
The line went dead.
Adrian looked at Margaret.
Then at the letter.
Because the truth was becoming more terrifying.
Caleb was not the end of the secret.
May you like
He was only the beginning.
TO BE CONTINUED…
