Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE
I stared at Roman.
"Eli wasn't even born when the explosion happened."
"I know."
"Then what are you talking about?"
Roman opened another folder.
Inside were medical records.
A photograph of a baby.
And a hospital identification bracelet.
The name printed on it made my blood run cold.
ELIJAH MERCER.
I couldn't breathe.
"That's not possible."
Roman remained silent.
I picked up the bracelet.
The birth date matched Eli's.
The hospital matched the one where he'd been born.
But the surname was wrong.
Or maybe everything I believed was wrong.
"Who is Elijah Mercer?" I whispered.
Roman looked at me.
"Your brother."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Tessa—"
"No."
I stepped backward.
"Eli is my father's son."
Roman swallowed.
"Daniel raised him."
"That wasn't my question."
He looked away.
I gripped the edge of the desk.
"Who are his parents?"
Roman closed his eyes.
Then answered.
"My younger sister, Caroline, was his mother."
I stared.
"Your sister?"
"She died when Eli was eleven months old."
My throat tightened.
"And his father?"
Roman hesitated.
"We don't know for certain."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's convenient."
Roman didn't respond.
He explained that Caroline Mercer had become pregnant at twenty-one.
Her father, Charles Mercer, considered the pregnancy a scandal.
Caroline refused to reveal the father's identity.
After Eli was born with a serious heart condition, she fought to keep him.
Then she died in a car accident.
"Your father was working as a mechanic for one of our contractors," Roman said. "Caroline trusted him."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Because he was the only person in the company who had stood up to our father."
Roman continued.
"Before she died, Caroline asked Daniel to protect her son if anything happened."
I swallowed.
"And he did."
"Yes."
I thought of Dad carrying Eli through hospital corridors.
Learning medication schedules.
Working extra shifts.
Sleeping in waiting rooms.
"He never told me."
Roman's voice softened.
"He wanted you to be siblings. Not a girl caring for someone else's child."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Eli is my brother."
Roman nodded.
"Yes."
I looked at the medical records again.
"Does Eli know?"
Roman shook his head.
"Not everything."
My heart began pounding.
"What does that mean?"
Roman hesitated.
"Your father told him part of the truth before he died."
I stared.
"And Eli didn't tell me?"
Roman looked at me.
"He was afraid you'd stop loving him."
That broke something inside me.
I grabbed my bag.
"I need to go."
Roman stood.
"Tessa—"
I turned.
"Don't follow me."
He stopped immediately.
I walked out of Mercer Tower with tears streaming down my face.
For twenty years, I'd believed my family was small, poor, and ordinary.
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Now I knew my brother was connected to one of Chicago's richest families.
And my father had spent his life protecting a secret that could destroy us all.
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