Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER WHO CARRIED FIVE YEARS OF GUILT
"You knew Marian was dead before Mother's funeral?" Adrian asked.
Nicholas nodded.
"Victor told me the night after Mother died."
"And you said nothing?"
"He told me she'd fallen down the hospital's service stairs. He said it was an accident."
Adrian stared at him.
"You believed that?"
"No. But by then I was frightened of what else he might do."
Nicholas sat heavily in the leather chair.
Five years earlier, he had been thirty-four, desperate to prove he deserved a place in the family business.
Victor had spent years telling him Adrian would never respect him unless he took responsibility.
So when Victor asked him to authorize Margaret's medication change, Nicholas had signed.
He believed he was helping his mother.
Two days later, Victor showed him a photograph of Marian Vale lying dead on a hospital gurney.
He warned Nicholas that police would investigate both deaths if anyone questioned the medication order.
"Victor said my signature made me responsible," Nicholas explained. "He said if I went to you, you'd have to choose between protecting me and protecting the family."
Adrian turned away.
The accusation hurt because Nicholas wasn't entirely wrong about the man he'd been five years earlier.
Back then, Adrian had treated every problem like a threat to be controlled.
He rarely listened to explanations.
And Victor had encouraged that habit.
"Why did you disappear?" Adrian asked.
"Because Marian's daughter was missing. I thought finding her was the only way to learn what happened."
"You could've asked for my help."
"I tried."
Adrian looked back.
Nicholas pulled a folded letter from his pocket.
It was dated three weeks after Margaret's funeral.
The envelope bore Adrian's name and the mansion's address.
The letter explained Nicholas's suspicions about Victor, Marian's disappearance, and the medication order.
Across the front, someone had written:
RETURNED BY FAMILY OFFICE.
Adrian recognized the handwriting.
Victor's.
"He told me you refused to speak to me," Nicholas said.
Adrian looked at the letter for a long time.
Then he whispered, "I never saw this."
Neither brother moved.
The years between them suddenly looked less like abandonment and more like something deliberately built.
Emily watched from beside the fireplace.
She thought about how easily Vanessa had controlled her through Jacob's medical care.
Victor had used a different weapon against Nicholas.
Guilt.
And he had known exactly where to press.
"What happened after you left?" Emily asked.
Nicholas rubbed his face.
"I followed Elise's trail through three cities. I found people who'd received money to keep quiet. Every time I got close, she disappeared again."
He explained that he had spent several years working under another name while gathering records from clinics connected to Sterling Pediatric Services.
He had also discovered that funds intended for children's treatment were passing through companies Victor controlled.
But proving fraudulent billing wasn't the same as proving murder.
And proving murder meant locating the woman who knew why Marian had died.
"I returned to Chicago four months ago," Nicholas said. "I contacted Vanessa because I learned her father was holding Elise."
Adrian turned toward the doorway.
"Vanessa helped you?"
"At first, she refused. Then she found out what was happening to Owen."
Nicholas hesitated.
"We made a terrible bargain. She would keep Elise where Graham couldn't take her away without warning. I'd find the documents we needed to get Owen out."
Emily felt anger rise again.
"You call locking a mother behind a wall protection?"
"No," Nicholas said. "I call it something I should have stopped."
His answer didn't excuse him.
But it was the first time anyone had admitted the truth without demanding forgiveness.
Later that evening, Marcus brought a small velvet box from Margaret's belongings.
It contained her gold wristwatch.
Adrian had given it to her on her fiftieth birthday.
She wore it everywhere.
After the funeral, Victor claimed it had been misplaced during her final hospital stay.
Marcus had recovered it from a storage box among the possessions Nicholas had collected.
Its hands were frozen at 2:17.
Adrian held it carefully.
"That's the time on the death certificate."
Nicholas nodded.
"Marian found it on the floor beside Mother's bed. It was damaged, and she kept it instead of letting Victor take it."
"How did you get it?"
"She gave it to me before she disappeared."
Adrian opened the clasp.
Inside was a tiny engraving.
MY BOYS, MY JOY.
He remembered his mother laughing when he surprised her with it.
"Now you'll always know what time it is," he'd told her.
Margaret had kissed his cheek.
"Darling, I already know when you're late."
For the first time that night, Adrian's eyes filled.
Emily quietly stepped toward the door.
"Emily," he said.
She stopped.
"Please stay."
His voice sounded nothing like the commanding man she'd worked for.
It sounded like a son missing his mother.
So she stayed.
The next morning, Adrian requested a private meeting with Victor Romano.
He chose the family office rather than the mansion.
Victor arrived wearing a charcoal suit and an expensive silver tie.
He embraced Adrian as usual.
"Your message sounded urgent."
"It is."
Adrian placed a copy of Nicholas's old letter on the desk.
Victor's expression barely changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"Why didn't you deliver it?"
"I was protecting you. Nicholas was unstable after Margaret died."
"Did you read the letter?"
"Of course. He was making wild accusations."
"Did you investigate them?"
Victor sighed.
"Adrian, your brother made mistakes. Serious mistakes. I tried to keep them from destroying him."
Adrian watched his uncle carefully.
"Marian Vale."
Victor stopped adjusting his cuff.
"What about her?"
"She's buried in Mother's coffin."
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then Victor sat.
"Who told you that?"
"Is it true?"
Victor looked older suddenly.
"Your mother asked me to handle certain arrangements privately."
"She asked you to bury somebody else under her name?"
"I did what I believed was necessary to protect this family."
Adrian leaned forward.
"That isn't an explanation."
Victor's eyes hardened.
"You've enjoyed the benefits of this family for twenty years without asking how difficult decisions were made."
Adrian felt something shift.
His uncle was no longer talking like a grieving relative.
He sounded like a man discussing a business transaction.
"What happened to Mother's body?" Adrian asked.
Victor looked toward the window.
"You should leave the dead alone."
Adrian stood.
"No."
Victor's voice became cold.
"Be careful. You might discover your mother wasn't the saint you remember."
After Victor left, Adrian ordered an independent examination of every foundation account.
That evening, the auditors discovered an old partnership agreement.
It had established the original medical reimbursement system used by Sterling Pediatric Services.
The agreement predated Margaret's death.
Adrian opened it.
Graham Sterling's signature appeared on the final page.
Below it was Victor's.
And above both names, in unmistakable handwriting, was a third signature.
Margaret Romano.
Attached to the agreement was a handwritten note approving the first transfer of funds.
Adrian read it twice.
His mother's signature was genuine.
And the authorization had been written three years before her death.
Nicholas stared at the page.
"Adrian..."
Adrian slowly lowered the document.
May you like
His mother hadn't simply discovered the system that had stolen money from sick children.
She had helped create it.
