SHADOWS BEHIND THE LIE / Chapter 4 / 20

Chapter 4 - SHADOWS OF THE DYNASTYI left the hospital at break of dawn. Last night's rain had stopped, leaving behind a thick layer of fog enveloping the Chicago skyscrapers. My mind was in complete disarray. Grace's words burned away the flawless facade of my life and family.

I drove straight to the Brooks estate in Penthouse Heights—where my mother, Eleanor Brooks, resided.

The grand mansion was quiet in the early morning light. Eleanor was sitting in the dining room, sipping Earl Grey tea and reading the morning paper. Elegance, poise, and coldness had always been her signature traits.

"Ryan?" She raised her head, slightly surprised by my disheveled suit and haggard look. "What is this? Amelia called me all night. She said you walked out on the proposal. Do you realize how that impacts the company stock?"

I walked up to the dining table, leaning both hands heavily against the polished oak surface, staring right into her eyes: "Three years ago, what did you say to Grace?"

The teacup in Eleanor's hand paused for a fraction of a second. But very quickly, her calm composure returned. She set the cup down gracefully.

"So you found her?" she replied casually.

"You threatened her!" I shouted, losing all composure. "She was carrying my triplets! You forced her to vanish, forcing her to live in poverty for three years!"

"I did what was necessary to protect you and this corporation," Eleanor stood up, her gaze hardening. "A girl from a working-class background with no upbringing... how could she ever be the wife of the Chairman of the Brooks Group? She was a trap, Ryan! Getting pregnant right when you were up for promotion was nothing more than a scheme to latch onto our wealth!"

"They are your grandchildren!" I roared, my chest heaving with rage. "You cast away your own blood!"

"Blood?" Eleanor smiled bitterly. "Are you even sure they are yours? A woman disappears for three years and suddenly reappears with three sick children? You are far too naive, Ryan."

"I ran a DNA test! They are my children!" I slammed the report onto the table.

Eleanor glanced at the paper, her face completely unreadable. She let out a disappointed sigh: "Then it's even worse. Do you know what's wrong with the youngest girl? She has bone marrow failure—the genetic curse of our family. Letting this information leak will ruin the Brooks name. How do you think investors will react if they find out the future heir carries a fatal recessive gene?"

I stared at my mother in utter disbelief. To her, a three-year-old child's life was worth less than market share figures.

"Listen to me," I whispered, my voice dropping but carrying an absolute resolve. "I am bringing them back. I will save Chloe at all costs."

Eleanor looked at me, her smile vanishing into a cold, menacing glare:

"If you do this, Ryan, I will strip you of all your authority at the corporation. You will lose your position, your shares, and Amelia will cancel the marriage. Are you truly prepared to lose everything for a woman who abandoned you and three sick kids?"

I looked at her one last time without answering, turned around, and walked out. But as I stepped into the courtyard, my phone rang frantically.

It was Dr. Vance from the children's hospital.

"Mr. Brooks! You need to get back to the hospital immediately! Chloe's condition has suddenly taken a turn for the worse. We need to perform an urgent marrow compatibility test, but someone just arrived demanding to transfer Chloe to another facility!"