Chapter 11 - The Boy in the Video
The video lasted forty-two seconds.
The young man on the bed was thin, sedated, and maybe twenty years old. His dark hair, jawline, and eyes mirrored Leo’s so closely that Maya felt dizzy.
A nurse entered frame.
“Adrian, your brother is here.”
The patient turned his head.
Julian grabbed the edge of the desk.
“Adrian.”
Leo looked at him. “Who is Adrian?”
Julian did not answer.
Samuel did.
“Your father’s younger brother.”
Leo’s face changed. “I thought Dad only had Charles.”
Julian sat down.
“My parents told everyone Adrian died when I was in college.”
Samuel looked uncomfortable. “He did not die then.”
Julian stared at him. “You knew?”
“I knew he was institutionalized. I did not know he lived that long.”
The video file contained metadata tying it to a private clinic that had closed fifteen years earlier.
Marcus found another document on the drive: a trust established by Julian’s father for Adrian’s care.
Balance at closure: $12.4 million.
Final beneficiary if Adrian died without children: Julian and Charles, split equally.
But beneath that was a handwritten note scanned into the file.
ADRIAN CLAIMED PATERNITY - INVESTIGATE BEFORE DISTRIBUTION.
Leo stared at the words.
“Paternity of who?”
No one knew.
Then Rosa made a small sound.
Maya turned.
Her mother had gone pale.
“Mom?”
Rosa looked at Julian.
“Anna knew about Adrian.”
“How?”
“She found letters in your father’s old house.”
“What letters?”
“Letters Adrian wrote to a woman before he disappeared.”
Julian rubbed both hands over his face. “What does this have to do with Eleanor?”
Rosa whispered, “Because the woman had a daughter.”
Maya felt the room tilt.
May you like
Rosa looked toward the hallway where police had taken Eleanor away.
“Her name was Eleanor.”
