Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT HIS BROTHER BROKEJulian had never wanted to hurt his younger brother.
Not when Ethan crashed his first sports car at seventeen.
Not when he lost half a million dollars gambling in Monaco.
Not when he embarrassed the family by getting arrested after a drunken argument outside a nightclub.
Julian had always found a way to help him.
Their father used to say, “Family is the only wealth that matters when everything else disappears.”
For twelve years after Robert Mercer's death, Julian had lived by those words.
Now he wondered whether his loyalty had nearly cost him his life.
“Get Philadelphia police to Rebecca's bookstore,” Julian ordered.
Marcus was already on the phone.
“I'm notifying them.”
“Tell them there may be an immediate threat.”
“We have to be careful. We don't know whether Ethan is armed or whether Rebecca is being held against her will.”
Julian looked at the photograph again.
Rebecca's face was tense.
Ethan stood too close.
The scarred man watched from the doorway.
Julian called Ethan.
His brother answered on the third ring.
“Julian.”
“Where are you?”
A pause.
“Home.”
“Try again.”
Silence.
“Why are you asking?”
“Because I know you're in Philadelphia.”
Ethan breathed sharply.
“Who told you?”
“Where's Rebecca?”
“Who?”
“Don't insult me.”
“Julian, you need to stop.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“Ethan. Listen to me. Whatever Sloane promised you, whatever Nathan threatened you with, we can deal with it.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“You've never understood anything!”
The sudden fury startled Julian.
Ethan continued.
“You got the company. The houses. The respect. Dad gave you everything!”
“Dad gave you a trust worth thirty million dollars.”
“He gave you the empire!”
“Because you emptied the accounts of the division he let you manage.”
“Because you made sure he found out!”
Julian went silent.
For the first time, he heard the real source of his brother's resentment.
Ethan didn't believe he had failed.
He believed Julian had stolen the future he deserved.
“Ethan,” Julian said quietly, “did you agree to help them kill me?”
Nothing.
Then Ethan whispered:
“I didn't know that was the plan.”
Julian looked toward Marcus.
“Then help me stop it.”
“It's too late.”
“No, it isn't.”
“You don't know who you're dealing with.”
“Tell me.”
Ethan's breathing grew uneven.
“Walter.”
Julian shut his eyes.
The name he had suspected.
The man who had stood beside their father through three decades of business victories.
“What does Walter want?”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Everything.”
Before Julian could respond, another voice sounded in the background.
“Time's up.”
A struggle followed.
Ethan cried out.
The connection ended.
Julian immediately called back.
No answer.
Marcus was already coordinating with police.
“Officers are approaching the bookstore,” he said. “We've provided the address, the photograph, and the threat.”
Julian looked at him.
“I want to go there.”
“No. We can coordinate remotely. If this is a trap, arriving yourself only gives them another target.”
Julian hated the answer.
But Marcus was right.
He had spent his career making decisions with incomplete information.
Now one wrong choice could cost Rebecca, Ethan, or himself their lives.
For twenty-three agonizing minutes, he waited.
Then Marcus received a call.
He listened.
Asked two questions.
Finally, he looked at Julian.
“Rebecca is alive.”
Julian exhaled.
“And Ethan?”
“He was found injured inside the shop. He's conscious.”
“What about the other man?”
“He fled before police arrived.”
Julian sat down heavily.
“Get medical care for Ethan. And arrange protection for Rebecca.”
Marcus nodded.
“Police are taking statements. We'll let them do their job.”
That evening, Julian visited Ethan at a hospital in Philadelphia.
His brother had a bruised cheek, a fractured wrist, and a look of absolute defeat.
Two officers remained outside his room.
Ethan stared at the ceiling when Julian entered.
“You came.”
Julian pulled up a chair.
“You're my brother.”
Ethan laughed weakly.
“After everything?”
“Don't mistake that for forgiveness.”
The words hung between them.
Julian leaned forward.
“I know about the forty million dollars.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I never got it.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“I was supposed to.”
“Ethan.”
His brother looked at him.
“I've seen the video.”
Ethan's expression collapsed.
Julian continued.
“I heard you discussing what would happen if I didn't wake up.”
Tears filled Ethan's eyes.
“I thought it was a temporary arrangement.”
“Then why did you ask what would happen if I woke up?”
Ethan couldn't answer.
Julian felt something inside him fracture.
It wasn't rage.
It was grief.
The person sitting in that bed was the little boy who used to run after him through their parents' enormous backyard.
The brother who had cried when Julian left for college.
The boy Julian had once promised to protect.
And somewhere along the way, love had turned into resentment.
“How did they recruit you?” Julian asked.
Ethan stared at his hands.
“Walter approached me last year. He said you were pushing me out of the company permanently.”
“I offered you an independent business loan.”
“He said it was charity.”
“Ethan—”
“He told me you were planning to amend the family trust so my children would never inherit anything.”
Julian shook his head.
“That was a lie.”
“I know that now.”
Ethan wiped his eyes.
“Walter showed me documents. Financial projections. A plan to reorganize your holdings. He said you wanted complete control.”
“And you believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
The admission was so quiet Julian almost missed it.
Ethan looked away.
“I was tired of being the disappointment.”
Julian leaned back.
“So you decided to destroy me.”
“No. At first it was supposed to be a boardroom takeover. Walter said we'd make you look unstable, remove you temporarily, and force you to sell controlling interests.”
“And then?”
“Then Sloane arrived.”
Julian's expression hardened.
“Did you introduce her to me?”
Ethan nodded.
The truth landed harder than Julian expected.
The charity auction.
The accidental meeting.
The beautiful stranger who seemed to know everything about him.
All planned.
“Walter told her everything,” Ethan confessed. “Your favorite charities. Your habits. Your history. Even what happened with Mom.”
Julian went still.
Their mother had died of cancer when Julian was twenty-one.
He rarely spoke about her.
Sloane had once found him sitting alone on the anniversary of her death.
She had sat beside him without asking questions.
He remembered thinking that she understood grief better than anyone he'd ever met.
Now he knew she had been following a script.
“Did Sloane ever love me?”
Ethan looked at him.
His silence was answer enough.
Julian stood.
Ethan reached toward him.
“Please don't go.”
Julian stopped.
“I'll tell the police everything,” Ethan said.
“You should.”
“I'll testify.”
“That doesn't erase what you've done.”
“I know.”
Ethan began crying.
“I thought once I had the money, you'd finally see me as your equal.”
Julian turned back.
“I never needed you to be my equal.”
His voice broke.
“I needed you to be my brother.”
He walked out.
In the hallway, Marcus was waiting.
“How bad?”
“Worse than I thought.”
Marcus handed him a tablet.
“There's a new development.”
“What?”
“Police located a storage facility connected to Nathan Cross. A judge authorized a search after investigators reviewed evidence from Hannah and Rebecca.”
Julian scanned the report.
Inside the storage unit, investigators had found medical files, false identification documents, and photographs of several women.
They had also found records related to a private clinic.
And a baby.
Julian's heart quickened.
“Did they find Evelyn?”
“Not yet.”
“But they have a location?”
“Possibly.”
Marcus brought up an address.
A large house outside Greenwich, Connecticut.
The property was owned by a trust.
The trustee was Patricia Whitaker.
Julian looked up.
“Sloane's mother.”
“Yes.”
“Where is Patricia now?”
Marcus hesitated.
“At your penthouse.”
Julian felt a cold wave of dread.
“Why?”
“According to the household staff, she arrived two hours ago carrying three suitcases.”
Julian stared.
His penthouse.
His nursery.
His home.
The place where he had welcomed Sloane into his life.
“What else?”
Marcus looked troubled.
“She asked the house manager to prepare the nursery.”
Julian's voice dropped.
“For what?”
Marcus read the message again.
“For a baby arriving tonight.”
Julian felt his heart hammer.
The wedding was still sixteen days away.
The plan had changed.
And suddenly, he understood why.
Sloane knew he was investigating.
She knew Hannah had escaped.
She knew Ethan had been caught.
So she was accelerating the deception.
“Call the authorities,” Julian said.
Marcus nodded.
“And Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“Get a protective team to my penthouse. I don't want anyone harmed.”
Julian turned toward the hospital exit.
Then his phone rang.
Sloane.
He answered.
Her voice was trembling.
“Julian, sweetheart, I need you to come home immediately.”
“What happened?”
She began crying.
“The baby.”
He closed his eyes.
“What about her?”
“Oh, God, Julian. The doctors couldn't stop it.”
He gripped the phone.
“Sloane, where are you?”
“At home.”
“And the baby?”
Her sobbing grew louder.
“She came early.”
Julian stared at Marcus.
May you like
Then Sloane spoke five words he would never forget.
“Darling, our daughter is here.”
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