Chapter 15 - THE OTHER SON
Lucas Hawthorne was nine years old.
His mother claimed Damian was his father.
DNA testing shocked everyone.
The probability of biological relation was extremely high.
But not father and son.
Half-brothers.
Damian stared at the report.
“That’s impossible.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
She looked exhausted.
“Your father had another child.”
Damian stared at her.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Grace understood.
Lucas was Elias Hawthorne’s son.
Damian’s half-brother.
Born shortly before Elias died.
The mother had been paid to disappear.
By Gabriel.
Why?
Because another Hawthorne heir complicated the Continuity structure.
Gabriel kept Lucas hidden as backup leverage.
Mercer’s lawyers had found him.
Even from prison, Mercer’s network was still moving.
The trust challenge was legal.
Public.
And dangerous.
If Lucas was recognized as Elias’s son, he could inherit legitimate Hawthorne holdings.
Damian surprised everyone again.
He did not fight the child.
“If he is my brother, he receives what he’s legally owed.”
Grace watched him.
“You’re sure?”
“He’s nine.”
“He didn’t create this mess.”
Damian met Lucas privately.
The boy arrived frightened.
Expecting a monster.
Damian asked one question.
“Do you like baseball?”
Lucas blinked.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“I know nothing about it.”
Lucas almost smiled.
The trust dispute settled.
Lucas received a protected share.
His mother received security.
Mercer lost another weapon.
More importantly, Damian gained a brother.
It was messy.
Strange.
But real.
Grace saw the transformation clearly.
The old Hawthorne family believed blood created ownership.
Damian was learning blood created responsibility.
One evening, after Noah and Lucas fell asleep watching a movie, Damian found Grace on the back terrace.
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
Grace laughed.
“That narrows it down.”
Damian smiled.
“About me making decisions for everyone.”
He looked toward the house.
“I thought control kept people safe.”
“And now?”
“It keeps them close.”
“Not safe.”
Grace nodded.
Damian looked at her.
“I don’t want you close because you work for me.”
Grace’s breath caught.
He continued.
“And I don’t want you staying because Isabel chose you.”
Silence.
“I want you to choose.”
Grace knew what he meant.
But she needed to hear it.
“Choose what?”
“Your own life.”
His voice softened.
“If that life takes you away from this house, I won’t stop you.”
Grace stared at him.
“And if it doesn’t?”
Damian smiled faintly.
“Then maybe someday I ask you a different question.”
Grace’s heart beat faster.
“Someday?”
“Yes.”
She stepped closer.
“You’re getting strangely patient.”
“I’ve been told it’s growth.”
Grace laughed.
Then her phone rang.
Rachel Monroe.
Adrian Mercer had escaped federal transport.
Damian’s smile disappeared.
“How?”
Rachel’s answer was worse than expected.
“He didn’t escape.”
“What does that mean?”
“The body in the transport wasn’t Mercer.”
Someone had switched him before departure.
May you like
Mercer was free.
And his last unfinished business was Hawthorne.
