Chapter 10 - The Truth About Daniel
Arthur read the document again.
Then a third time.
The words did not change.
They remained there.
Cold.
Impossible.
Daniel Cross was his half-brother.
For years, Arthur believed Daniel was simply a loyal friend.
Someone who stood beside him.
Someone who protected the family.
But now the truth was different.
Daniel was not protecting the Hale family.
He was waiting for it to collapse.
“How?”
Arthur finally whispered.
Eleanor looked at him with sadness.
“Your father had another relationship before he married me.”
Arthur felt sick.
“My father?”
She nodded.
“Daniel was born before you.”
The room became silent.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Because your father was ashamed.”
Arthur looked down.
“Shame didn’t stop him from using Daniel.”
“No.”
Eleanor’s voice was quiet.
“Your father believed people were tools.”
She looked at the documents.
“He gave Daniel money.”
“He gave him opportunities.”
“But he never gave him what Daniel wanted.”
Arthur understood.
“A family.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Daniel spent his entire life believing you stole the life that should have been his.”
The revelation explained everything.
The resentment.
The patience.
The manipulation.
Daniel had not entered Arthur’s life by accident.
He had planned every step.
He became the friend Arthur trusted.
The adviser Arthur depended on.
The person Arthur turned to when he needed help.
Because Daniel knew one thing:
The closest person to a man could destroy him faster than any enemy.
Arthur confronted Daniel that evening.
He did not bring security.
He did not bring lawyers.
He came alone.
Daniel opened the door.
The moment he saw Arthur’s face, he knew.
“You found out.”
Arthur stared.
“How long have you known?”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“My entire life.”
The answer was colder than Arthur expected.
“You knew we were brothers?”
“Yes.”
“And you still did all of this?”
Daniel looked away.
“Do you know what it feels like?”
Arthur said nothing.
“To watch someone else receive everything?”
Daniel’s voice grew stronger.
“You had the name.”
“The money.”
“The respect.”
“You were the son everyone celebrated.”
Arthur shook his head.
“That wasn’t my choice.”
“No.”
Daniel laughed.
“That’s the point.”
He stepped closer.
“You never had to fight for it.”
Arthur looked at him.
For a moment, he saw something different.
Not just anger.
Pain.
A lifetime of feeling unwanted.
But pain did not excuse cruelty.
“You hurt my children.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
For the first time, guilt appeared.
“I never wanted that.”
“But you allowed it.”
Silence.
Arthur continued:
“You watched Victoria hurt them.”
Daniel looked away.
“And you said nothing.”
Daniel finally admitted everything.
He had influenced Victoria.
He encouraged her obsession with control.
He gave her information.
He pushed her toward decisions that benefited him.
But he claimed one thing.
“I never told her to hurt Ethan and Maya.”
Arthur’s eyes hardened.
“You created the situation.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“Yes.”
The honesty was almost worse.
Before Arthur left, Daniel said something unexpected.
“You think you won.”
Arthur stopped.
Daniel looked at him.
“But you haven’t.”
“What does that mean?”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“There is one secret even I don’t know.”
Arthur frowned.
“What?”
Daniel answered:
“Your father’s final plan.”
That night, Arthur returned home.
The children were asleep.
He stood outside their rooms.
Watching them.
Protecting them.
Because now he understood.
The battle was no longer about money.
Or inheritance.
Or revenge.
It was about ending a cycle.
A cycle started long before he was born.
The next morning, Marcus arrived with new information.
“We found something.”
Arthur looked at him.
“What?”
“A hidden trust account.”
“Connected to Daniel?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Arthur waited.
“It belongs to your father.”
Arthur frowned.
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
Marcus placed a folder on the table.
“But the account is still active.”
Arthur opened the file.
Inside was one name.
The beneficiary.
Arthur’s hands froze.
Because the person receiving money from the secret account was not Daniel.
Not Victoria.
Not anyone he expected.
May you like
It was:
Maya Hale.
