Chapter 7 — The Return of the Forgotten Son
Chapter 7 — The Return of the Forgotten Son
For several minutes after the phone call ended, Alexander Hawthorne remained completely still.
The office was silent except for the sound of rain tapping against the tall windows.
His hand was still holding the phone.
His mind was trying to process something impossible.
Thomas was alive.
His younger brother—the person he had mourned for twelve years—was alive.
But instead of feeling only happiness, Alexander felt something else.
Fear.
Because Thomas’s voice had not sounded like someone returning home.
It sounded like someone running from a war.
The next morning, Alexander told Eleanor everything.
They sat together in the private family room.
Clara stood nearby, quietly observing.
She knew this conversation was important.
She also knew the Hawthorne family was finally facing the past they had buried.
“Thomas called you?” Eleanor whispered.
Alexander nodded.
“He said he was coming back.”
Tears filled Eleanor’s eyes.
“My son…”
She covered her mouth, trying to control her emotions.
“For twelve years, I prayed for this moment.”
Alexander reached for her hand.
“But Mother, something is wrong.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He sounded afraid.”
The happiness on Eleanor’s face slowly faded.
“Afraid of what?”
Alexander looked toward the window.
“He said someone wanted him gone.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
Clara looked between them.
“Do you think someone tried to hurt him?”
Alexander answered carefully.
“I don’t know.”
But deep down, he already suspected the answer.
Across the city, Victoria Whitmore was preparing for a very different kind of reunion.
She sat inside her private office while Richard Blake, her attorney, reviewed documents.
“You’re certain it’s him?” Richard asked.
Victoria smiled.
“I saw the proof myself.”
“And Thomas Hawthorne is willing to cooperate?”
Her smile disappeared slightly.
“That part is complicated.”
Richard looked up.
“Meaning?”
“Thomas doesn’t trust easily.”
“Can you blame him?”
Victoria ignored the comment.
“He knows the Hawthornes have secrets.”
Richard closed the file.
“And what do you want from him?”
Victoria stood and walked toward the window.
“I want the truth.”
Richard looked surprised.
“You want the truth?”
“No.”
Victoria smiled coldly.
“I want the version of the truth that destroys Alexander.”
At Hawthorne Palace, Clara noticed Alexander had changed.
Before, he had always appeared calm and controlled.
Even during the confrontation with Victoria, he never lost his composure.
But today was different.
He was distracted.
He checked his phone constantly.
He barely slept.
And every time someone mentioned Thomas, his expression became distant.
“You’re worried about him,” Clara said.
Alexander looked up from his paperwork.
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
He was quiet.
Then he nodded.
“Yes.”
“Even after twelve years?”
Alexander looked surprised by the question.
Clara quickly explained.
“I don’t mean that in a bad way. I just mean… after so much time, some people would feel angry.”
Alexander looked down.
“I was angry.”
“Are you still?”
He thought for a moment.
“No.”
“Why?”
Alexander looked at an old family photograph on his desk.
“Because anger requires believing someone chose to hurt you.”
He paused.
“I never believed Thomas wanted to leave.”
Clara understood.
“You thought something happened to him.”
“Yes.”
That afternoon, the Hawthorne security team discovered something disturbing.
Marcus entered Alexander’s office quickly.
“We found the person who entered the archives.”
Alexander looked up.
“Who?”
Marcus placed a photograph on the desk.
Alexander stared at it.
It was a security image.
A man walking through the underground archive area.
The quality was poor.
But the face was clear enough.
Alexander froze.
Because the person in the image was someone he recognized.
Someone he never expected.
“Impossible…”
Marcus watched his reaction.
“You know him?”
Alexander slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Alexander’s voice became quiet.
“Thomas’s closest friend.”
That evening, Clara found Eleanor sitting alone in the garden.
The older woman looked peaceful, but Clara could tell she was thinking deeply.
“May I sit with you?”
Eleanor smiled.
“Of course.”
They sat quietly for several moments.
Then Eleanor spoke.
“Do you know what hurts the most about losing someone?”
Clara looked at her.
“What?”
“Not knowing whether you should keep waiting.”
Clara felt her heart ache.
“For twelve years, you waited.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Eleanor looked at the palace.
“Because a mother knows her child.”
A small smile appeared on her face.
“I always believed Thomas would come home.”
That night, at exactly midnight, a black car stopped outside Hawthorne Palace.
The security guards immediately noticed.
A man stepped out.
He was older than the young man in the family photographs.
His hair had changed.
His face carried years of hardship.
But his eyes were the same.
Thomas Hawthorne looked at the palace where he had grown up.
The place he had left behind.
The place he never thought he would see again.
He walked toward the entrance.
The guards raised their hands.
“Identify yourself.”
The man stared at the building.
Then quietly said:
“Tell Alexander his brother is home.”
Seconds later, the main doors opened.
Alexander appeared.
For a moment, neither man moved.
Twelve years of pain.
Twelve years of unanswered questions.
Twelve years of silence.
All standing between them.
Then Alexander whispered:
“Thomas…”
His brother looked at him.
“I’m sorry it took so long.”
Alexander stepped forward.
And for the first time in twelve years…
the Hawthorne brothers stood face to face.
But before either of them could say another word, Thomas looked past Alexander.
His eyes landed on Eleanor.
His mother.
The woman who never stopped waiting.
His expression broke.
“Mom…”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
And then she cried.
Because the son she thought she had lost forever…
was finally standing in front of her.
But none of them noticed the person watching from across the street.
Inside a parked car, Victoria Whitmore watched the reunion.
She smiled.
May you like
Because Thomas had returned.
Exactly when she needed him.
