Chapter 8: The Brother Who Chose the Darkness
For a moment, nobody moved.
Not Ethan.
Not me.
Not even Richard Carter.
The abandoned hallway felt like it was holding its breath.
Because one sentence had destroyed everything we thought we knew.
*Lucas Carter helped Andrew build the entire operation.*
Ethan stared at his father.
I had never seen him look so lost.
Not angry.
Not betrayed.
Lost.
“No.””
The word came out quietly.
Richard’s expression tightened.
“Ethan—”
“No.””
This time, louder.
“You don’t get to come back after twelve years and say that.””
Richard looked down.
“I know.””
“You were dead.””
“I needed people to believe that.””
Ethan laughed once.
But there was no humor in it.
“You needed people to believe you were dead?””
“Yes.””
“And Lucas?””
Richard closed his eyes.
“I was trying to protect him.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Protect him?””
His voice broke.
“You let me believe my brother was gone.””
“I know.””
“You let me search for him for twelve years.””
“I know.””
“You let me hate myself for not saving him.””
Richard looked away.
“I know.””
The pain in Ethan’s voice was worse than anger.
Because anger meant there was still something left to fight for.
This was grief.
Old grief.
A wound that had never closed.
I stepped closer.
“Richard.””
His eyes moved to me.
“You knew my mother.””
His expression changed.
A flicker of recognition.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“How?””
Richard looked toward the empty rooms.
“She was one of the few people who tried to stop us.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Us?””
He nodded.
“Andrew. Lucas. Me.””
Ethan looked at him.
“What are you saying?””
Richard leaned against his cane.
“The Carter family fortune wasn’t built only on technology and investments.””
His voice became heavier.
“It was built on medical research.””
Ethan shook his head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“I built my company myself.””
“You built it after.””
Richard looked at him.
“After you lost everything.””
The silence that followed was painful.
Ethan looked at the floor.
“What happened to Lucas?””
Richard looked at the recording device in Ethan’s hand.
“He found out what Andrew was doing.””
“But you said he helped him.””
“He did.””
I looked at Richard.
“Why?””
Richard’s face showed regret.
“Because at first, he believed he was helping people.””
The explanation sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Andrew’s pattern.
Hope first.
Control later.
“Lucas was brilliant,” Richard continued.
“He thought he could create treatments nobody else could. He thought the rules were slowing progress.””
Ethan whispered:
“And Andrew?””
“Andrew knew exactly how to use that.””
Richard looked at me.
“He turned Lucas’s ambition into something dangerous.””
I thought about Andrew.
The way he manipulated people.
The way he convinced them they were doing something necessary.
“How did my mother find out?””
Richard became quiet.
“She discovered the patient files.””
My throat tightened.
“She tried to expose you.””
“Yes.””
“And what happened?””
Richard looked at the ground.
“Andrew handled it.””
Ethan’s expression changed.
“What does that mean?””
Richard didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
My hands trembled.
My mother had always told me she was afraid of powerful people.
I thought she was afraid because she was weak.
I was wrong.
She was afraid because she knew exactly what powerful people could do.
“She disappeared from the hospital records,” I whispered.
Richard nodded.
“She was removed.””
“Removed?””
“Her employment history. Her reports. Everything.””
My heart sank.
“But why did she survive?””
Richard looked at me.
“Because Lucas protected her.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He told Andrew she knew nothing.””
I shook my head.
“My mother knew.””
“Yes.””
“Then why protect her?””
Richard looked away.
“Because Lucas still had a conscience.””
The words were strange.
Almost painful.
Because they suggested Lucas wasn’t simply a villain.
He was something worse.
Someone who knew right from wrong and still crossed the line.
Ethan stared at his father.
“Where is Lucas?””
Richard didn’t answer.
“Where is he?””
“I don’t know.””
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“After everything?””
Richard nodded slowly.
“I lost track of him years ago.””
“Why?””
“Because he realized Andrew was no longer following his plan.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What plan?””
Richard looked at me.
“The original plan was research.””
He looked at Ethan.
“But Andrew changed it.””
“How?””
Richard’s voice lowered.
“He started using people.””
The hallway seemed colder.
“Patients became experiments.””
Silence.
“And Lucas?””
“Lucas tried to stop him.””
Ethan looked confused.
“But the recording…”
“He was guilty.””
Richard’s answer was immediate.
“He helped create the system. He helped build the foundation Andrew used.””
He looked at the recording device.
“But when he realized what Andrew became, he tried to destroy it.””
I thought about Andrew’s message.
The truth was never in the file.
Maybe he wasn’t afraid of Lucas.
Maybe he was afraid of what Lucas knew.
Ethan looked at Richard.
“Why come here now?””
Richard hesitated.
Then reached inside his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I received this yesterday.””
Ethan took it.
Inside was a photograph.
A recent photograph.
A man standing outside a train station.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably Lucas.
“He’s alive,” Ethan whispered.
Richard nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why tell me he was dangerous?””
“Because he is.””
Ethan looked up.
Richard’s eyes were full of regret.
“Both things can be true.””
The words stayed in the air.
Lucas was alive.
Lucas was involved.
Lucas was also the person who might be able to destroy Andrew.
Nothing was simple anymore.
Then Ethan’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
Ethan answered.
“Hello?””
No response.
Then a voice.
Lucas.
“You found him.””
Ethan’s face changed.
“Lucas.””
A pause.
“I told you not to come looking.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Where are you?””
Another pause.
“You shouldn’t trust Dad.””
Richard looked away.
Ethan glanced at him.
“Why?””
Lucas’s voice became quieter.
“Because he’s the reason Andrew got away.””
Richard closed his eyes.
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Lucas, listen to me—”
“No.””
A sharp breath.
“You don’t understand.””
“I want to.””
Silence.
Then Lucas said:
“I didn’t disappear because Andrew wanted me gone.””
Ethan waited.
“I disappeared because I found out what Dad did.””
Richard looked alarmed.
“What is he saying?””
Ethan ignored him.
“What did Dad do?””
Lucas’s voice shook.
“He didn’t just hide the experiments.””
A pause.
“He created them.””
The line crackled.
Ethan’s face went pale.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
Lucas whispered.
“It’s the truth.””
Then another voice appeared in the background.
A woman.
Older.
Frightened.
I recognized it instantly.
My blood turned cold.
“My mother?””
Ethan looked at me.
The phone was still on speaker.
The woman spoke.
“Ava?””
I couldn’t breathe.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it every night of my childhood.
“Mom?””
Silence.
Then her voice broke.
“Ava, listen to me.””
Tears filled my eyes.
“You’re alive?””
“I couldn’t come back.””
“Why?””
A pause.
Then:
“Because Andrew wasn’t the one who hurt your life.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
The woman’s voice trembled.
“Your entire life was built on a lie.””
Ethan looked at me.
And I knew.
Whatever truth was coming next would change everything.
My mother continued:
“Ava…”
“Yes?””
“The reason Andrew found you…”
The line crackled.
“The reason he targeted you…”
I held my breath.
“Was because you are the last person who knows what happened to Lucas Carter.””
I froze.
“What are you talking about?””
Then my mother whispered the words I never expected.
May you like
“Because you were there the night Lucas disappeared.””
The call ended.
