Chapter 3: The Sister He Never Knew Existed
Lucas stared at the photograph on the table.
A baby.
A woman he had never seen.
His father standing beside them with an expression Lucas had never witnessed before.
Not the confident businessman who appeared on magazine covers.
Not the strict but loving father who taught him how to negotiate deals.
Not the man everyone respected.
This was different.
His father looked worried.
Almost afraid.
Lucas reached for the photograph with trembling fingers.
“That’s impossible.””
Vanessa watched him carefully.
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
“It’s something you were never supposed to discover.””
Lucas looked up.
“Who is she?””
Vanessa didn’t answer immediately.
The hesitation bothered him more than the words could have.
Because for months, Vanessa had always had an answer.
She always knew what to say.
But now she looked like someone opening a door she had spent years keeping locked.
“Her name is Emma.””
Lucas frowned.
“Emma who?””
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
“Emma Hale.””
The name hit him strangely.
Like a memory that belonged to someone else.
Hale.
His family name.
His father’s name.
His name.
Lucas shook his head.
“My father had no other children.””
Vanessa gave a bitter smile.
“That’s what he wanted everyone to believe.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Mr. Hale, we need to be careful. She’s already admitted to hiding information and manipulating your medical situation.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I never said I was innocent.””
The room went silent.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
“Then what are you?””
Vanessa looked back at him.
“Someone who made terrible choices because I thought I was protecting someone.””
Lucas almost laughed.
“Protecting who?””
Vanessa looked at Lily.
Then quickly looked away.
Lucas noticed.
“Answer me.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Emma.””
Lucas looked down at the photograph again.
His father.
A mysterious woman.
A child.
A secret.
His entire life suddenly felt like a story someone else had written.
“Where is she?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“Where is my sister?””
“I don’t know.””
Lucas’s eyes hardened.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“After everything?””
Vanessa looked hurt.
But Lucas didn’t care.
Not anymore.
“You lied to me.””
“Yes.””
“You put things in my medication.””
“I—”
“Yes or no.””
Vanessa looked down.
“Yes.””
Lily gasped softly.
Lucas closed his eyes for a moment.
Hearing her admit it was somehow worse than discovering it.
“Why?””
Vanessa sat down slowly.
For the first time, she looked exhausted.
Not beautiful.
Not perfect.
Just tired.
“Because I needed time.””
Lucas stared at her.
“That makes no sense.””
“It will.””
“No. Explain it now.””
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
Then at the security officers.
“There are things I can’t say with other people here.””
Lucas’s expression became cold.
“You don’t get to decide what happens next.””
Vanessa nodded.
“You’re right.””
She looked toward the door.
“Call the police.””
Everyone looked surprised.
Even Lucas.
“What?””
Vanessa stood.
“Call them.””
Marcus reached for his phone.
But Lucas stopped him.
“Wait.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Why?””
Because he didn’t know.
That was the truth.
For months, he had been searching for answers about his illness.
Now he had too many.
The woman he loved had poisoned him.
His father had hidden a child.
And somehow, those two secrets were connected.
Lucas looked at Vanessa.
“You said my father abandoned her.””
“Yes.””
“When?””
Vanessa took a breath.
“Twenty-nine years ago.””
Lucas frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because my father was married.””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
The answer made his stomach tighten.
Lucas’s mother had died when he was fourteen.
His father never remarried.
Everyone knew that.
Everyone believed their family had been perfect.
“You’re saying my father had another relationship?””
Vanessa looked away.
“I’m saying your father made a mistake.””
Lucas stared at her.
“No.””
His voice became quieter.
“You’re saying my father had a secret.””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew he was right.
Lucas rolled toward the window.
Outside, the sun was setting over the massive property.
The same view he had looked at every day while his body slowly failed.
He remembered his father telling him something years ago.
A sentence he had forgotten until now.
*“The Hale name is worth more than money. Protect it.””*
At the time, Lucas thought his father meant reputation.
Business.
Legacy.
But now he wondered.
What was his father really protecting?
“Where did you get this photograph?”” Lucas asked.
Vanessa hesitated.
“From Emma.””
Lucas turned around.
“You know her?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Vanessa looked at the floor.
“Because she found me.””
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“When?””
“Two years ago.””
The timing made his blood run cold.
Two years ago.
The same year his symptoms started.
The same year Vanessa entered his life.
The same year everything changed.
“You met her before you met me.””
“Yes.””
“What did she want?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Lucas’s voice sharpened.
“What did she want?””
“She wanted the truth.””
“About what?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“About why your father left her mother.””
Lucas waited.
“And?””
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“And she believed your father stole something from her.””
Marcus crossed his arms.
“What?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Documents.””
“What documents?””
“I don’t know exactly.””
Lucas stared.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“You’re telling me you helped someone destroy my health but you don’t know why?””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with frustration.
“I didn’t say I helped her.””
Lucas looked at the cabinet.
“You just admitted poisoning me.””
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“I slowed you down.””
The words landed harder than a scream.
Lucas froze.
“What?””
“I never wanted to kill you.””
Marcus immediately stepped forward.
“That’s supposed to make it better?””
Vanessa ignored him.
“I needed you alive.””
Lucas stared at her.
“Alive?””
“Yes.””
“Why would you need me alive?””
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
“Because someone else wanted you gone.””
A cold silence filled the room.
Lucas felt a familiar pressure in his chest.
Not from his illness.
From fear.
“Who?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because they almost succeeded.””
Lucas looked around the room.
The mansion.
The security cameras.
The locked cabinets.
His entire life.
Someone had been close enough to him to control his health.
Someone had access.
Someone had a reason.
“Who knew about Emma?”” he asked.
Vanessa answered immediately.
“Your father.””
“He’s dead.””
“Your father’s lawyer.””
Lucas went still.
“What lawyer?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Richard Voss.””
The name meant nothing.
But Marcus reacted.
Only slightly.
A tiny movement.
A tightening of his jaw.
Lucas noticed.
“Marcus.””
The security chief looked uncomfortable.
“Yes, sir?””
“You know that name?””
A long pause.
Then:
“Yes.””
Lucas stared.
“Why?””
Marcus looked at the photograph.
“Because Richard Voss was your father’s personal attorney.””
Lucas felt the room shift.
“And?””
Marcus took a breath.
“And after your father died, he was the person who handled the inheritance documents.””
Lucas looked back at Vanessa.
The sentence from the notebook returned to his mind.
*Wait until the inheritance transfer is complete.*
His voice dropped.
“The inheritance.””
Vanessa didn’t speak.
Lucas rolled closer.
“Who benefits from my death?””
Vanessa looked away.
That was enough.
Lucas turned to Marcus.
“Find everything about Richard Voss.””
“Already doing it.””
“And find Emma Hale.””
Marcus nodded.
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“Lucas.””
He looked at her.
“If you find her…”
She stopped.
“What?””
Vanessa’s face became serious.
“Don’t trust the first story she tells you.””
Lucas stared.
“You’re warning me about my own sister?””
“Yes.””
“After lying to me for months?””
Vanessa looked down.
“I know how that sounds.””
“It sounds like you’re still hiding something.””
She didn’t deny it.
Lucas felt his anger rise again.
“What else?””
Vanessa remained silent.
“What else, Vanessa?””
Her eyes slowly lifted.
And this time, there was no fear.
Only regret.
“The reason your father abandoned Emma…”
She paused.
“Wasn’t because he didn’t love her.””
Lucas waited.
“It was because he was trying to protect you.””
Lucas’s face changed.
“Protect me from what?””
Vanessa looked toward the photograph.
May you like
Then whispered:
“From the person who killed your mother.””
