MasukThe Secret Beneath the StudyAlexander POVAlexander Carter was never supposed to exist.I read the sentence again.Then a third time.The words didn't change.For years, I had struggled to understand my place in the Carter family.I had been raised among people who treated secrets like family traditions.Now I was discovering that my very existence was connected to one."Alexander?"Emma's voice interrupted my thoughts.I quickly folded the paper.She was standing beside the door."Are you coming?"I looked at her."Yes."She studied my face."Are you okay?"I almost laughed.Was anyone in that room okay?"I'm fine."She didn't look convinced.But she nodded and walked away.I slipped the letter into my pocket.I needed answers.And for once, I wasn't going to wait for someone else to decide what I deserved to know.Dylan POVThe journey to the Carter residence felt longer than usual.Emma sat beside me, staring through the window.Nathan was in the front passenger seat, reviewing th
The Brother Who Knew Too MuchDylan POV"Alexander."My voice stopped him.He stood near the exit, his hand inches from the door.Slowly, he turned."What?"I looked at Nathan's screen.Then back at him."Why were you in my father's study this morning?"Alexander frowned."Your father's study?""Don't make me repeat myself."He looked at Nathan."What exactly did you find?"Nathan turned the computer toward him."Your access credentials were used at 7:42 this morning."Alexander stared at the record.Then laughed."You think I went there?""Did you?""No."I stepped closer."Then explain the record."His expression hardened."Someone used my credentials.""Who?""How would I know?"For a moment, we stared at each other.Alexander was my brother.At least, that was how I had come to know him.But our family history had taught me something painful.Blood didn't guarantee loyalty.And secrets didn't disappear simply because people shared a surname."Empty your pockets," I said.His face
The Price of a Mother's LifeEmma POVCOME ALONE IF YOU WANT HER BACK.I stared at the message until the words blurred.My mother was alive.Somewhere in Riverside, Richard Carter was holding her.And he wanted me."Absolutely not."Dylan's voice cut through the silence.I turned toward him."You don't even know what I'm thinking.""I know you're considering going.""She's my mother, Dylan.""And Richard knows you'll do anything to reach her."I looked at the photograph again.My mother's tired face.Her frightened eyes.For years, I had believed she abandoned me.Now that I knew the truth, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her again."What if he hurts her?"Dylan took my hands."Then we find another way."I shook my head."We've been finding another way for weeks. Every answer leads to another secret."Nathan stepped forward."Emma, Richard isn't asking you to come alone because he wants to talk."I looked at him."Then what does he want?""The original certificate."Charles Whit
The Name That Shouldn't ExistEmma POVRICHARD CARTER.I stared at the name beneath the word Father.For a moment, everything around me disappeared.Richard Carter.Dylan's uncle.The man who had helped destroy my family.The man holding my mother somewhere against her will."No."My voice sounded distant."That can't be right."Nathan looked at me."Emma, this is what the record says.""Then the record is wrong."Dylan stood beside me, completely motionless.I turned toward him."Dylan, say something."He looked at the screen.Then at me."Richard isn't your father."I wanted to believe him.But the certainty in his voice frightened me."How do you know?"He hesitated.And that hesitation hurt.Charles Whitmore finally spoke."Because the document wasn't created to establish parentage."Everyone turned.Nathan frowned."What?"Charles approached the screen."It was created to establish legal ownership."My stomach tightened."Ownership of what?"Charles looked directly at me."Your i
The Betrayal That Changed EverythingEmma POV"He was the one who told Victor where Daniel was hiding."I stared at my mother.For a moment, I couldn't understand what she had said.Adrian had spent the last hour convincing us he wanted to find my brother.Now my mother was accusing him of betraying Daniel."Mom, are you sure?"Her eyes filled with tears."I wish I wasn't."The speaker crackled.Adrian laughed softly."Elizabeth, seventeen years and you're still telling that story?"My mother's expression hardened."Because it's the truth.""Your version of it.""Daniel trusted you!"Silence.I looked toward the speaker.For the first time, Adrian didn't respond immediately.My mother leaned closer to the camera."Emma, Daniel escaped the facility with Adrian's help. We arranged to meet outside Riverside."She swallowed."But Victor arrived before I did."My chest tightened."How?"She closed her eyes."Someone told him where Daniel would be."Adrian finally spoke."You have no proof.
The Identity Behind the NameEmma POV"He's not your brother."My mother's words echoed through the room.I stared at the screen, waiting for her to explain.But the recording had ended."No."I turned toward Nathan."Play it again."He hesitated."Emma—""Please."He restarted the recording.My mother's face appeared.Her frightened eyes.Her trembling voice.The same warning.The same terrible revelation.And then silence.I looked at Charles."You told us Daniel existed.""He did.""You told us he escaped.""Yes.""Then what does she mean?"Charles looked at the screen."I don't know."I laughed bitterly."Of course you don't."Dylan stepped beside me."Someone is using Daniel's identity."Nathan nodded."That would explain the messages."I shook my head."But whoever contacted us knew things only my family should know."Charles finally spoke."Knowing someone's secrets doesn't make you family."The words struck harder than I expected.For most of my life, I had called the Bennetts
Emma POV I woke up several hours later to the sound of raised voices downstairs. Dylan's voice was angry and sharp. And another voice, male, equally angry.I got out of bed and crept to the top of the stairs, staying in the shadows where I couldn't be seen.Dylan was in the foyer, and standing wit
Emma POVI'd never seen Dylan look at me like that before. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd looked at me with hatred plenty of times, with disgust and contempt and barely concealed loathing. But this was different. This was rage mixed with something else, something darker that made my blood run
Emma POVA strong hand caught my arms, steadying me before I could fall."Careful there."I looked up, and my heart stopped.It was Dylan's younger brother, Marcus Carter. I'd only met him once, briefly, at the wedding. He'd been away on business ever since, somewhere overseas. I didn't even know h







