Chapter 6 - THE BILLIONAIRE'S MISSING BROTHER
Nicholas Vale had disappeared fourteen months earlier.
He was thirty-four.
A biomedical engineer.
Brilliant.
Quiet.
And completely uninterested in the family business.
Julian showed me a photograph.
Two brothers standing beside a sailboat.
Laughing.
I smiled.
“You look happy.”
Julian nodded.
“We were.”
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
He hesitated.
Then answered:
“Nicholas discovered irregularities in one of our medical research subsidiaries.”
My stomach tightened.
“What kind?”
“Financial transfers.”
He paused.
“Clinical-trial records.”
I stared.
“That's serious.”
“Yes.”
He continued.
“He told me he had evidence.”
“And then?”
Julian looked down.
“He disappeared.”
Silence.
I studied his face.
“Did you believe him?”
Julian closed his eyes.
“No.”
My heart tightened.
He whispered:
“I thought he was overreacting.”
I looked at him.
“And now?”
His eyes filled.
“Now I'd give everything I own to have one more conversation with him.”
I reached across the table.
Took his hand.
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And for a moment, Julian Vale wasn't a billionaire.
He was simply a brother who missed someone he loved.
