Chapter 6 — The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Gone
Chapter 6 — The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Gone
The message on Victoria Whitmore’s phone remained on the screen.
“I found him.”
She read it again.
And again.
For twelve years, the world believed Thomas Hawthorne had disappeared.
Some believed he had run away.
Some believed he had started a new life somewhere far from the family name.
But Victoria had discovered something different.
Something that could change everything.
She leaned back in her chair, a slow smile forming on her face.
“Finally.”
Her assistant Daniel looked at her carefully.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
Victoria locked her phone.
“The missing piece of the puzzle has been found.”
Daniel hesitated.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Alexander Hawthorne is not as untouchable as everyone thinks.”
At Hawthorne Palace, Alexander stood in his office staring at old documents spread across his desk.
Thomas.
His younger brother.
The name he had tried so hard not to speak.
The person he had spent years trying to understand.
Alexander remembered the last conversation they ever had.
It was raining that night.
Thomas had stood near the front entrance of the palace with a small bag in his hand.
“I need to leave,” Thomas had said.
Alexander had been angry.
“Leave? After everything this family has done for you?”
Thomas shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Thomas looked at him sadly.
“I can’t.”
Those words had haunted Alexander for years.
Because they were the last words his brother ever spoke to him.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
Marcus Reed entered.
The security director looked serious.
“We found something.”
Alexander immediately stood.
“What?”
“Someone accessed the old family archives three weeks ago.”
Alexander frowned.
“Three weeks?”
“Yes.”
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“Because the access appeared legitimate.”
Alexander walked closer.
“Meaning?”
“Someone used an authorized family code.”
The room became silent.
Only a few people had access.
Alexander.
Eleanor.
And one other person.
Thomas.
Alexander stared at Marcus.
“That code should have been deleted twelve years ago.”
Marcus nodded.
“That’s why I’m concerned.”
Alexander looked at the documents.
“So someone is using Thomas’s access.”
“Or…”
Marcus paused.
Alexander finished the sentence.
“Or Thomas used it himself.”
Meanwhile, Clara was helping Eleanor organize old belongings in a private room on the second floor.
The room had remained untouched for years.
It contained books, photographs, and memories.
“Was this Thomas’s room?” Clara asked.
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why was it never changed?”
The elderly woman smiled faintly.
“Because a mother never stops hoping.”
Clara looked around.
The room felt peaceful.
Not abandoned.
More like someone had simply stepped away and might return at any moment.
While organizing a shelf, Clara noticed an old wooden box hidden behind several books.
“Eleanor?”
The woman looked over.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Clara carefully removed it.
The box was covered in dust.
Eleanor’s expression changed when she saw it.
“Where did you find that?”
“Behind the books.”
Eleanor slowly approached.
Her hands trembled slightly.
“I thought that was gone.”
Clara opened the box carefully.
Inside were several letters.
Old photographs.
And a small notebook.
Eleanor picked up the notebook.
She immediately recognized the handwriting.
“Oh my…”
“What is it?”
Eleanor looked at Clara with tears forming in her eyes.
“It’s Thomas’s.”
That evening, Alexander returned to the room and found his mother holding the notebook.
His face changed instantly.
“Where did you get that?”
Clara answered.
“We found it.”
Alexander walked closer.
“Found where?”
“In Thomas’s old room.”
He looked at Eleanor.
“Mother, you knew this was here?”
“No.”
She opened the notebook slowly.
“The last time I saw this was the night Thomas disappeared.”
Alexander froze.
“What?”
Eleanor looked at the first page.
There was a date.
The same day Thomas vanished.
She turned the page.
And there was one sentence written clearly.
“If anything happens to me, the truth is inside the Hawthorne Foundation.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
“What truth?”
Eleanor continued reading.
Her hands began shaking.
“I don’t know.”
Clara watched as the two Hawthornes faced something they had avoided for years.
A secret.
A warning.
A message left behind by a missing man.
Late that night, Alexander sat alone in his office reading Thomas’s notebook.
Most pages were ordinary.
Thoughts.
Plans.
Personal memories.
But near the end, the writing changed.
Thomas had started documenting something.
Names.
Dates.
Financial records.
Meetings.
Then Alexander saw one name repeated several times.
A name he recognized.
Victoria Whitmore.
His eyes narrowed.
“What were you involved in?”
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
Alexander answered.
“Who is this?”
A familiar voice responded.
“You finally found the notebook.”
Alexander stood immediately.
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“You really don’t recognize your own brother’s voice?”
Alexander stopped breathing.
The phone nearly slipped from his hand.
“Thomas?”
The voice on the other end was quiet.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakable.
“Hello, Alexander.”
For twelve years, Alexander had imagined this moment.
He had imagined anger.
He had imagined questions.
He had imagined forgiveness.
But nothing prepared him for hearing his brother alive.
“Where have you been?” Alexander whispered.
Silence.
Then Thomas answered:
“Running from the people who wanted me gone.”
Alexander’s heart raced.
“What people?”
Another pause.
Then Thomas said:
“The same people who are now trying to destroy you.”
The call ended.
Alexander stood frozen.
Because everything he believed for twelve years had just changed.
Thomas Hawthorne was alive.
And he was coming back.
But the question remained…
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Was he returning to save his family?
Or was he returning to reveal the truth that could destroy them?
