Chapter 8: The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
Chapter 8: The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
The mansion doors slammed shut.
The sound echoed through the night.
I stood outside the Sterling estate, staring at the place where my daughter had disappeared.
Sophia was inside.
With Victoria.
With Alexander.
The two people who knew the most secrets about my family.
And the two people I trusted the least.
My hands clenched into fists.
Twenty years.
That was how long it had been since I last saw my older brother.
Alexander Sterling.
The man everyone told me had abandoned the family.
The man whose name was never spoken at dinner.
The man Victoria claimed had ruined everything.
But now he was standing beside her.
Alive.
And holding my daughter.
I turned toward the security guards.
“Open the gate.”
They looked nervous.
“I can’t, sir.”
I stepped closer.
“You are looking at the child’s father.”
The guard swallowed.
“I understand.”
“Then open it.”
He looked toward the mansion.
Then lowered his eyes.
“I have orders.”
My anger exploded.
“Orders from the woman who stole my daughter?”
The guards said nothing.
Because they knew.
Everyone knew.
But nobody wanted to challenge Victoria Sterling.
I pulled out my phone.
I called the family attorney.
She answered immediately.
“Daniel?”
“Get me every emergency custody document available.”
There was silence.
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“And Sophia?”
I looked at the mansion windows.
“She’s inside.”
The attorney took a deep breath.
“Then we need to move quickly.”
“Why?”
“Because if Victoria has already activated those documents, she may try to remove Sophia from the state.”
My heart dropped.
“She would do that?”
The attorney’s voice became quiet.
“She has done worse.”
I looked at the mansion.
The beautiful building where I spent my childhood.
The place where my father used to tell me that family was everything.
Now I understood.
Family could also be the place where betrayal lived.
A light turned on upstairs.
I saw a small figure near the window.
Sophia.
I stepped forward.
“Sophia!”
She looked down.
Her face changed instantly.
“Daddy!”
Her voice was muffled through the glass.
I moved toward the entrance.
But two guards blocked me.
“Move.”
They didn’t.
Sophia pressed her hands against the window.
“Daddy, help Mommy!”
My heart broke.
“Mommy is okay!”
I shouted.
“I’m coming for you!”
Then Victoria appeared behind her.
She placed a hand on Sophia’s shoulder.
Not gently.
Possessively.
I felt anger rising.
“Victoria!”
She looked down at me.
A calm smile appeared on her face.
“Daniel.”
“Let her go.”
She shook her head.
“You still don’t understand.”
I laughed.
“You keep saying that.”
I pointed toward Sophia.
“But she understands.”
Victoria’s smile faded.
“She is confused.”
“No.”
I looked at my daughter.
“She is scared.”
The window closed.
Sophia disappeared from view.
And that moment destroyed whatever patience I had left.
I walked back to my car.
The attorney arrived thirty minutes later.
She stepped out holding a folder.
“Daniel.”
I turned.
“What is happening?”
She looked toward the mansion.
“Alexander changed everything.”
I frowned.
“How?”
“He filed documents claiming he is Sophia’s legal guardian.”
My expression changed.
“Based on what?”
The attorney hesitated.
“That is the problem.”
“What?”
“He claims he is Sophia’s biological grandfather.”
I froze.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Alexander says Claire is not the only person connected to Sophia’s birth.”
My mind raced.
“That’s impossible.”
The attorney opened the folder.
“Daniel, you need to see this.”
Inside was a DNA report.
My hands became cold.
The document was dated six years ago.
The same year Sophia was born.
I looked at the names.
Then I felt the world stop.
Alexander Sterling.
Claire Bennett.
Sophia.
The connection was impossible.
“No.”
I whispered.
“This is fake.”
The attorney shook her head.
“The test was verified.”
I stared at the paper.
My brother.
The man who vanished.
The man who returned tonight.
Was connected to my daughter.
I looked toward the mansion.
Victoria had known.
She had always known.
The question was why.
The attorney lowered her voice.
“There’s something else.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Alexander wasn’t missing.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Then where was he?”
She looked at the mansion.
“Working with Victoria.”
My stomach turned.
“For twenty years?”
She nodded.
“They have been planning something.”
I looked at the flash drive Claire gave me.
The answer was inside.
I needed to know what Victoria and Alexander had been hiding.
I drove back to my office.
I connected the flash drive.
A folder appeared.
One video file.
The date was six years old.
The night Sophia was born.
I clicked play.
The screen showed the Sterling mansion.
Victoria was sitting in her office.
Alexander was standing beside her.
They looked younger.
But their voices were clear.
“We cannot let Daniel find out.”
Alexander looked at Victoria.
“He will never forgive us.”
Victoria smiled.
“He won’t have a choice.”
I felt my blood freeze.
Then Alexander asked:
“What about the child?”
Victoria answered:
“The child will belong to the Sterling family.”
The video continued.
Then came the sentence that destroyed everything.
“She is not Daniel’s daughter.”
I stopped breathing.
The screen went black.
I stared at the computer.
My entire life had been built on a lie.
But one question remained.
If Sophia wasn’t my biological daughter…
Why did Victoria spend six years trying to keep me away from her?
And why did she look more afraid of losing Sophia than anyone else?
The next morning, I would uncover the truth.
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A truth that would reveal who Sophia really belonged to.
And why my own family had been willing to destroy everything to control her.
