Chapter 7 - Victor's Brother
Victor had not spoken Vincent's name since 1984.
Identical twins.
Same face.
Different temperament.
Victor entered finance.
Vincent entered medicine.
Brilliant.
Restless.
Obsessed with genetics.
At twenty-eight, Vincent disappeared during a research trip in South America.
Presumed dead.
No body.
Claire stared at Victor.
“Kessler knew him?”
Victor did not know.
But Eleanor did.
Again.
Vincent returned secretly three years after his supposed death.
He contacted Eleanor.
Asked for money.
Said he had discovered something that could “change the family forever.”
Eleanor refused.
Victor never knew.
“Why?”
“Because Vincent hated you.”
Victor's expression hardened.
Vincent believed Victor stole everything.
Family company.
Inheritance.
Eleanor.
That last word mattered.
Victor looked at her.
“Were you with him?”
Eleanor did not answer.
Victor understood.
Before marrying Victor, Eleanor had briefly been involved with Vincent.
Now her first secret daughter became relevant.
“Your first child…”
Eleanor began shaking.
Victor whispered:
“Was Vincent the father?”
“Yes.”
Everything shifted.
Eleanor's abandoned daughter was Victor's niece.
Emily's half-sister through Eleanor.
Vincent had another biological line.
If the mysterious woman beneath the mansion was Eleanor's first daughter, she was also Vincent's child.
Kessler could have found her.
Used her.
Changed her appearance to resemble Emily.
But why?
Lily interrupted.
“The lady said Grandpa.”
Victor looked down.
“She called me Grandpa?”
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“She said, ‘Victor isn't your grandpa.’”
Victor's heart sank.
“What else?”
“She said, ‘He's your shield.’”
Not father.
Not grandfather.
Shield.
The woman knew Lily's genetics.
And believed Victor's role was protection.
They found another hidden recording.
The mysterious brunette.
She spoke directly to camera.
“My name is Sarah.”
Eleanor collapsed into a chair.
The daughter she gave away had finally been named.
Sarah.
“I am Eleanor's first child.”
Victor watched.
“I am not Emily.”
So that mystery resolved.
But Sarah's face had been surgically altered.
Not to impersonate Emily publicly.
To gain access to Kessler's program.
Sarah had infiltrated it.
She learned what happened to her half-sister.
She had been protecting Claire's baby.
Then Sarah said:
“If Victor is watching this, Kessler is not the man you should fear.”
May you like
Victor leaned closer.
“He worked for Vincent.”
