Chapter 8: The Brother Nobody Knew
Chapter 8: The Brother Nobody Knew
The message remained on Rosalie’s bed.
Three words.
Three simple words.
ASK YOUR BROTHER.
But the meaning behind them was enough to destroy everything.
Theodore stood frozen in the doorway.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
Not with anger.
Not yet.
But with suspicion.
And that hurt more than any accusation.
Because for his entire life, Theodore had always felt like the outsider in the Vale family.
The emotional one.
The reckless one.
The person everyone watched carefully.
And now, after everything…
he was suddenly the center of the mystery.
“Theo?”
Rosalie’s voice was weak.
But she wasn’t afraid of him.
That mattered.
Theodore looked at her.
“I don’t know what this means.”
Sebastian stepped forward.
“Nobody said you did.”
But Theodore noticed something.
Sebastian was watching him differently.
Not like a brother.
Like a question.
And that made something inside Theodore break.
“Do you believe it?”
Sebastian didn’t answer.
The silence was enough.
Theodore nodded slowly.
“Of course.”
“Theodore—”
“No.”
He stepped back.
“Everyone always thought I was the problem.”
His voice shook.
“Maybe you finally found a reason.”
Rosalie immediately interrupted.
“Stop.”
Everyone looked at her.
She forced herself upright despite the pain.
“The person who wrote this wants us divided.”
Her eyes moved between them.
“That’s the point.”
Nobody spoke.
Because Rosalie was right.
Fear was easier to control than truth.
And whoever was behind this knew exactly how to manipulate the Vale family.
Detective Olivia Grant arrived at the mansion twenty minutes later.
She examined the message carefully.
“Red ink.”
Sebastian frowned.
“Not blood?”
“No.”
She looked around the room.
“The person who did this wanted drama.”
Theodore crossed his arms.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning they wanted everyone to panic.”
She looked at the words.
“Someone wanted you to immediately suspect each other.”
Rosalie looked at her.
“Can you find fingerprints?”
Detective Grant shook her head.
“Whoever wrote this wore gloves.”
She walked toward the open window.
“Also…”
Everyone waited.
“There are no footprints outside.”
Sebastian frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
“Not impossible.”
She looked around the room.
“Just means the person didn’t enter from here.”
Theodore looked confused.
“The window was open.”
“Yes.”
Detective Grant nodded.
“After they left.”
A chill passed through the room.
Someone had been inside the mansion.
Someone had moved through their home.
Someone who knew exactly how to avoid detection.
Later that night, Theodore sat alone in his father’s study.
The letter remained in his hand.
The one that changed everything.
You are not Sebastian’s only brother.
He had read it twenty times.
And every time, it made less sense.
A brother?
Impossible.
His father had only three children.
Sebastian.
Rosalie.
Theodore.
Everyone knew that.
Everyone except apparently their father.
A sound came from behind him.
Theodore immediately turned.
Nobody.
Only the old grandfather clock ticking in the corner.
He looked back at the letter.
Then noticed something.
A small symbol at the bottom.
A mark he had never seen before.
A circle.
With three lines crossing through it.
He touched it carefully.
The paper felt strange.
Thicker.
Like something was hidden inside.
He took a knife from the desk drawer and carefully separated the layers.
A second page appeared.
His father’s handwriting.
Hidden.
Secret.
Only meant to be found by him.
Theodore’s heart began pounding.
"Theodore, if you found this, then the first letter has already been discovered."
He continued reading.
"I need you to understand one thing. Blood does not always create family. Choices do."
A pause.
Then:
"The person you call your brother is not the person you think."
Theodore stopped.
He thought of Sebastian.
Then Rosalie.
Then himself.
Who was his father talking about?
The next line answered.
"The child born before Sebastian was taken from us."
Theodore’s eyes widened.
A child.
Before Sebastian.
Before Rosalie.
Before him.
Another Vale.
Someone erased from history.
Across the mansion, Evelyn sat with Sebastian.
For the first time in years, mother and son were alone.
Neither knew what to say.
Finally, Sebastian asked:
“Why did you leave me?”
The question surprised Evelyn.
Not because she didn’t expect it.
Because she had waited twelve years to answer it.
“I didn’t leave you.”
“You disappeared.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Sebastian laughed softly.
A painful laugh.
“From what?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“From becoming your father’s killer.”
The words cut through the room.
Sebastian stared.
“What?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“Your father believed you were in danger.”
“Because of Adrian?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Because of your ambition.”
Sebastian looked away.
“That’s not fair.”
“No.”
Evelyn’s voice was quiet.
“It isn’t.”
A pause.
“But your father feared that someone would use your desire for power against you.”
Sebastian remembered the arguments.
The accusations.
The disappointment in his father’s eyes.
“What are you saying?”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“Someone manipulated you.”
“Who?”
Before Evelyn could answer…
the lights went out.
Again.
The mansion fell into darkness.
Then a sound came from the hallway.
A slow clap.
Everyone froze.
A figure stepped into the doorway.
Wearing a dark coat.
Face hidden.
“Beautiful.”
The voice echoed.
“After all these years, the Vale family is finally asking the right questions.”
Sebastian moved in front of Evelyn.
“Who are you?”
The figure laughed.
“Still protecting people.”
A pause.
“That was always your weakness.”
Theodore rushed in with Rosalie behind him.
The figure looked at Theodore.
And smiled.
“There he is.”
Theodore froze.
“You know me?”
The figure stepped closer.
“I knew you before you knew yourself.”
Security rushed toward the room.
But the figure didn’t move.
Because he wasn’t afraid.
He looked at Sebastian.
“Tell them.”
Sebastian’s face changed.
“What?”
“Tell them why Theodore was never supposed to exist.”
Theodore felt his blood run cold.
“What are you talking about?”
The figure smiled.
“Ask your mother.”
Everyone looked at Evelyn.
She looked devastated.
Because she knew.
The secret she had hidden for seventeen years was finally coming out.
“Theodore…”
Her voice trembled.
“There is something I never told you.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
A long silence.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Your birth was not an accident.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
She continued:
“You were created because your father was trying to protect something.”
Theodore shook his head.
“I don’t understand.”
Evelyn looked at Sebastian.
Then Rosalie.
Then back at Theodore.
“Because you…”
Her voice broke.
“Were never supposed to inherit the Vale name.”
The mysterious figure stepped backward.
His mission was complete.
The family was broken.
The truth was finally exposed.
Before disappearing into the darkness, he left one final sentence.
“Now you understand why your father was afraid.”
Theodore stood frozen.
His entire identity was collapsing.
His family.
His history.
His place in the world.
Everything.
Then Sebastian spoke quietly.
“Theodore…”
But Theodore looked at him.
And for the first time…
he saw fear in Sebastian’s eyes.
Not fear of an enemy.
Fear of the truth.
“What am I?”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew how to tell him.
That the biggest secret of the Vale family…
May you like
was him.
End of Chapter 8
