Chapter 13 - The Living Ghost
The entire dining hall seemed to freeze.
Julian, standing on the upper balcony, took a slow step back from the railing, his face drained of all color. “What… what did you just say?”
Arthur turned slowly, looking up at his youngest son with a gaze full of tragic, terrifying clarity.
“Six years ago, a fatal crash occurred on the icy roads outside Zurich,” Arthur said, his voice echoing off the gold-trimmed walls. “The world was told that my middle son, Thomas, died in that car. His body was burned beyond recognition and cremated within twenty-four hours under Dr. Vance’s supervision.”
Arthur walked toward the stairs, looking up at Julian.
“But Thomas didn't die in that crash, did he, Julian?” Arthur continued, step by step ascending the marble staircase. “Thomas was the one who survived. It was YOU who was in that passenger seat. It was YOUR body that was cremated!”
Beatrice gasped, backing away from Julian as if he were a ghost. “Father… what are you saying? If Julian died six years ago, then who is standing next to me?!”
Arthur reached the top landing, standing face-to-face with the man who claimed to be Julian.
“He is Julian’s twin brother from my first marriage before I met your mother,” Arthur revealed, his voice steady and cold. “A son I kept hidden in Switzerland to protect him from the family’s enemies. A son who spent six years wearing Julian’s identity, stealing Julian’s life, and trying to systematically dismantle my estate from the inside!”
May you like
The man posing as Julian stared at Arthur, his gentle, scholarly expression twisting into a hideous, bitter sneer.
“You figured it out,” the impostor whispered, his voice losing its refined London accent and turning rough and venomous. “You figured it out when I brought you Mother’s letter.”
