THE SON THEY BURIED WAS THEIR ONLY HEIR

Chapter Sixty Three:The Brother They Could Not Find

Benedict stared at Jonathan.

“Where is he?”

Jonathan didn't answer immediately.

Damian stepped forward.

“You said Magnus found him.”

“I said Magnus found the trail.”

“That isn't what you said.”

Jonathan looked at Damian.

Your family's survival depends on it, so you'd better pay attention.

Damian's expression hardened.

“My family has been lying to me for twenty-five years. I'm done listening to half-truths.”

Jonathan looked toward Eleanor.

“She knows where this ends.”

Eleanor lowered her head.

Benedict turned to her.

“Mother?”

Eleanor looked at him.

“Don't call me that.”

The words came out broken.

Benedict froze.

Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.

“Not until I tell you everything.”

Damian stared at her.

“Then tell us.”

She took a breath.

“Your grandfather separated the children because he believed one of them would eventually challenge his control.”

Benedict's voice was quiet.

“Which one?”

“You.”

“Why?”

“Because Evelyn raised you to question everything.”

Benedict's jaw tightened.

“And my brother?”

Eleanor looked away.

“He was easier to control.”

Jonathan interrupted.

“That was the mistake.”

Everyone looked at him.

Jonathan continued.

“They thought they could control him.”

Benedict stepped closer.

“You've met him.”

Jonathan nodded.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Three years ago.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I didn't know who you were.”

Benedict's expression hardened.

“You knew enough to recognize him.”

“I recognized the records.”

“What records?”

Jonathan pulled a folder from inside his coat.

“Private medical records.”

Damian frowned.

“Medical?”

Jonathan handed the folder to Benedict.

Benedict opened it.

The first page contained a photograph.

A man in his early thirties.

Benedict stared.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

Same eyes.

Same shape of the mouth.

But the man looked harder.

Older than his years.

Scarred.

Damian moved beside him.

“That…”

Benedict nodded.

“My brother.”

Eleanor covered her mouth.

Jonathan continued.

“He doesn't use the name Adrian.”

Benedict looked up.

“What name does he use?”

“Daniel.”

Damian frowned.

“Daniel what?”

“Daniel Cross.”

Benedict stared at the photograph again.

“Where is he?”

Jonathan pointed to a location on the file.

“An industrial district outside Aurelia.”

Damian immediately understood.

Magnus has been transferring assets through the shell company.

“Yes.”

“So Magnus isn't just using the company.”

“No.”

“He's using my brother.”

Jonathan nodded.

“He found Daniel six weeks ago.”

Benedict's expression darkened.

“Why wait?”

“Because Magnus didn't know what Daniel was worth.”

“And now he does.”

“Yes.”

Benedict closed the folder.

“What does he want?”

Jonathan looked at him.

“You.”

Silence.

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“Because Daniel can activate the second succession.”

Damian looked at Eleanor.

“Then Benedict can't?”

“Not alone,” Jonathan said.

Benedict's expression changed.

“Together.”

Jonathan nodded.

“The two identities were designed as paired keys.”

Damian stared.

“So Magnus needs both brothers.”

“Yes.”

“And if he controls us…”

“He controls the succession.”

Benedict looked at Jonathan.

“How did you learn all this?”

Jonathan hesitated.

“Because I was working for Magnus.”

Damian stepped forward.

“What?”

Jonathan raised a hand.

“Not willingly.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“No.”

He looked directly at Damian.

“You shouldn't.”

Benedict studied him.

“Then why are you here?”

Jonathan's face hardened.

Magnus killed the guy who was trying to help Daniel get away.

The room became silent.

Jonathan's voice cracked as he said, "He was my friend, and it's killing me that I couldn't save him."

Benedict's voice softened slightly.

“Where is Daniel now?”

Jonathan looked at the clock.

“Moving.”

“Where?”

“An abandoned railway warehouse.”

Damian recognized the location.

“The old eastern line?”

“Yes.”

Benedict turned toward the door.

“We're going.”

Eleanor grabbed his arm.

“No.”

Benedict looked at her.

“You don't get to stop me.”

“If you go there, Magnus will expect you.”

“Good.”

“He wants you angry.”

“I am angry.”

“He wants you reckless.”

Benedict's expression remained calm.

“I'm not going for revenge.”

He looked at the photograph.

“I'm going for my brother.”

Eleanor's grip loosened.

Benedict walked toward the door.

Damian followed.

Jonathan stopped him.

“There's something else.”

Benedict turned.

“Daniel doesn't know who you are.”

“Why?”

“Because Magnus told him a different story.”

“What story?”

Jonathan looked uncomfortable.

“That you abandoned him.”

Benedict went still.

Damian looked at him.

“He believes you left him behind?”

“Yes.”

Benedict's eyes darkened.

“And Magnus made him believe that.”

“Yes.”

I have to track him down before Magnus fills his head with more ideas.

Jonathan nodded.

They started toward the exit.

But Eleanor suddenly spoke.

“Benedict.”

He stopped.

She was crying.

There's something important you should be aware of before meeting him.

Benedict turned.

“What?”

Eleanor looked at him.

“Daniel isn't the only person Magnus found.”

Benedict's expression changed.

“Who else?”

Eleanor hesitated.

“Someone from your mother's past.”

Damian frowned.

“Who?”

Eleanor looked toward Jonathan.

Jonathan answered quietly.

“The woman who trained the second Architect.”

Benedict stared.

“The second Architect?”

Jonathan nodded.

“She knows why Evelyn created the succession.”

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

“And she knows what happened to my brother.”

A distant alarm suddenly sounded.

Jonathan checked his phone.

His face went pale.

“What?”

He looked at Benedict.

“The warehouse.”

“What happened?”

“It's on fire.”

Damian stepped forward.

“Is Daniel inside?”

Jonathan didn't answer.

Benedict grabbed his shoulder.

“Is my brother inside?”

Jonathan looked at him.

“I don't know.”

Benedict released him.

Then he turned toward the door.

“We're going.”

And this time, nobody tried to stop him.

The cars tore through Aurelia City.

Benedict sat in the front passenger seat.

Damian drove.

Jonathan sat in the back, watching the burning glow that was beginning to rise above the eastern district.

Eleanor and Margaret followed in another vehicle.

Nobody spoke for several minutes.

Then Damian broke the silence.

“You said Magnus found Daniel six weeks ago.”

Jonathan nodded.

“Why didn't he take him immediately?”

“Because Daniel was protected.”

“By whom?”

Jonathan looked at Benedict.

“Someone your mother trusted.”

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

“Who?”

“I don't know her name.”

“You said she trained the second Architect.”

“Yes.”

“Then you know where she is.”

Jonathan hesitated.

“She disappeared.”

“When?”

“Two days ago.”

Damian glanced at him.

“Convenient.”

Jonathan didn't respond.

Benedict looked out the window.

“Tell me everything you know about Daniel.”

Jonathan took a breath.

“He lives quietly. He doesn't know much about his childhood.”

“What does he remember?”

“Fragments.”

“Like me?”

“Yes.”

“What fragments?”

“A house.”

Benedict's expression changed.

“Ashcroft Manor?”

“No.”

“Then where?”

“Another house.”

Jonathan paused.

“He remembers a woman.”

“Evelyn?”

“I don't know.”

Benedict's voice became quieter.

“What else?”

He recalls being told that his brother would return for him.

Benedict looked down.

“He waited.”

Jonathan nodded.

“For years.”

The words struck Benedict harder than he expected.

Damian noticed but said nothing.

Ahead, flames illuminated the sky.

The warehouse was burning.

Emergency vehicles surrounded the area.

Damian slammed the brakes.

They jumped out.

Jonathan pointed.

“There!”

A section of the warehouse roof had collapsed.

Damian ran toward the entrance.

A firefighter blocked him.

“You can't go in!”

“My brother is inside!”

“We don't know if anyone is inside.”

Benedict pushed past.

“Benedict!”

Damian grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

Benedict looked at him.

“We don't know the building.”

Jonathan pointed toward the side.

“There is another entrance.”

They ran around the building.

A metal door stood partly open.

Jonathan stopped.

“This wasn't open before.”

Benedict looked at the ground.

There were footprints in the ash.

Several sets.

Then he noticed something else.

Blood.

Damian crouched.

“Fresh.”

Benedict's face hardened.

“Then someone came out.”

They entered.

Smoke filled the corridor.

Jonathan covered his mouth.

“Stay low.”

They moved deeper inside.

A body lay near the wall.

Damian froze.

“Someone's here.”

Benedict crouched beside him.

The man was alive.

Barely.

“Can you hear me?”

The man opened his eyes.

His lips moved.

“Too late.”

Benedict leaned closer.

“Where is Daniel?”

The man's eyes widened.

“Magnus…”

“Where?”

“He took him.”

Benedict's heart dropped.

“When?”

“Minutes…”

The man coughed.

“Before the fire.”

“Where did they go?”

The man lifted a shaking hand.

He pointed toward the rear exit.

“River.”

Damian stood.

“The river.”

Jonathan nodded.

“There are service roads behind the warehouse.”

Benedict turned.

“Then move.”

They ran.

A black SUV sped away from the river road outside.

Damian pointed.

“There!”

They raced toward their vehicles.

But Benedict stopped.

Something had caught his attention.

A small object lay beside the road.

He picked it up.

A silver pendant.

His face changed.

He had seen it before.

In his mother's photograph.

Evelyn had worn the same pendant.

Damian looked at it.

“That's your mother's.”

Benedict closed his fingers around it.

“No.”

He looked toward the disappearing SUV.

“It belonged to Daniel.”

Jonathan stared.

“How do you know?”

That's what my mom did, she gave one to each of us.

Silence.

Damian looked at him.

“You remember?”

“Not completely.”

Benedict's eyes remained fixed on the road.

“But I remember this.”

A child's memory flashed through his mind.

Two boys sitting beneath a staircase.

One holding a silver pendant.

The other laughed.

Then Evelyn's voice.

Never let anyone separate you.

Benedict closed his eyes.

“She knew.”

Damian frowned.

“Knew what?”

“That one day we'd be separated.”

Jonathan looked troubled.

“Then the fire wasn't an accident.”

“No,” Benedict said.

“It was a message.”

They reached the river.

The SUV was gone.

A dark shape was cutting through the waves, it was a boat and it was black.

Damian stared.

“They're escaping.”

Jonathan pointed toward the dock.

“There is another boat.”

Benedict jumped inside.

Damian followed.

Jonathan started the engine.

They moved into the river.

The burning warehouse became smaller behind them.

For several minutes, they followed the boat.

Then it suddenly disappeared.

Damian looked around.

“Where did it go?”

Jonathan slowed.

“There are old service tunnels beneath the riverbank.”

Benedict stared ahead.

“Take us there.”

Jonathan turned the boat.

They reached a narrow opening between concrete walls.

A tunnel.

Inside, the water became dark.

They continued.

Then they heard something.

A voice.

A man's voice.

“Stop.”

Jonathan killed the engine.

Silence.

Benedict stood.

“Daniel?”

No answer.

Then—

“Benedict.”

He froze.

Damian looked at him.

The voice came again.

“I know who you are.”

Benedict stepped forward.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

A man in his early thirties.

Blood covered one side of his face.

But his eyes were unmistakable.

Benedict stared at him.

Daniel stared back.

Neither moved.

Twenty-five years of lies stood between them.

Then Daniel whispered,

“You left me.”

Benedict's chest tightened.

“No.”

“You were supposed to come back.”

“I didn't know where you were.”

“They told me you chose them.”

“I didn't.”

Daniel laughed bitterly.

“Then why did I spend my whole life believing my brother hated me?”

Benedict stepped closer.

“Because someone wanted us separated.”

Daniel's expression changed.

“Magnus?”

“Yes.”

Daniel shook his head.

“Magnus didn't start this.”

Benedict stopped.

“What?”

Daniel looked at the pendant in Benedict's hand.

“Our mother did.”

Silence.

Damian stared.

“What are you saying?”

Daniel looked directly at Benedict.

“She knew what Grandfather would do.”

“She knew the succession would destroy us.”

Benedict's voice became quiet.

“Then why did she create it?”

Daniel's expression hardened.

“She didn't.”

Benedict froze.

“What?”

Daniel reached into his jacket.

He removed an old photograph.

Evelyn was standing next to a guy that Benedict didn't recognize.

The man held a document.

Daniel turned the photograph over.

Written on the back were six words.

Evelyn never created the second succession.

Benedict stared.

“Then who did?”

Daniel looked at him.

“The first Architect.”

Damian frowned.

“We thought Evelyn was the Architect.”

Daniel shook his head.

“She was the keeper.”

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

“Then who was the Architect?”

Daniel looked toward the tunnel entrance.

“That's why Magnus wants us.”

“Who?”

Daniel's voice dropped.

The person who created the first plan for who would take over is still living.

A sound came from the darkness behind them.

Footsteps.

Daniel turned sharply.

“They found us.”

Jonathan reached for his weapon.

Damian looked toward the tunnel.

“How many?”

Daniel's face went pale.

“Enough.”

Benedict stepped beside him.

For the first time, the two brothers stood together.

“Then we leave together.”

Daniel looked at him.

“You're sure?”

Benedict nodded.

“I've spent twenty-five years looking for the truth.”

He looked toward the approaching footsteps.

“I won't lose my brother again.”

Daniel slowly nodded.

Then a voice echoed through the tunnel.

“Family reunion.”

Magnus.

Benedict's expression hardened.

The lights behind them suddenly went out.

Daniel grabbed Benedict's arm.

“Don't move.”

“Why?”

“Because this tunnel has another entrance.”

“Where?”

Daniel pointed toward the water.

“Below us.”

The earth suddenly trembled beneath them, catching everyone off guard.

A section of the dock collapsed.

Damian fell.

Benedict grabbed his hand.

Jonathan grabbed Benedict.

Daniel grabbed Jonathan.

For a split second, the four men were suspended in mid-air, staring down at the dark, murky water below, their hearts racing with fear.

Then a gunshot echoed.

Jonathan cried out.

His grip loosened.

Benedict looked up.

A figure loomed in the darkness, right at the tunnel's end.

Magnus's voice followed.

“Choose carefully, Benedict.”

A second gunshot rang out.

And the tunnel plunged into darkness.