Chapter 9 - David Finally Meets His Brother Honestly
Daniel met David only after attorneys approved the conversation.
No costumes.
No replica ring.
No pretending.
David looked less like Daniel in person than the photographs suggested.
The resemblance was strongest around the eyes.
Henry’s eyes.
Daniel hated noticing.
David placed one replica wedding band on the table.
“Victoria gave me the first one.”
“Why wear it?”
“She said staff would ask fewer questions from a distance.”
“And you were comfortable confusing my son?”
David looked down.
“No.”
“But you did it.”
“Yes.”
Daniel appreciated the answer more than an excuse.
David explained that Sloan approached him after Henry’s death.
Sloan told him Margaret had stolen his inheritance.
That part was partly true through concealment, though not theft.
Then Sloan claimed Daniel knew about David and deliberately excluded him.
False.
Resentment did the rest.
David agreed to gather information about the trust.
Victoria later turned the operation personal.
She wanted Daniel emotionally dependent on her.
She complained that Noah’s attachment to Claire weakened her position in the household.
David said he warned Victoria not to involve the child physically.
Daniel responded:
“You were already involving him.”
David nodded.
Again, no excuse.
Then he gave Daniel a storage key.
Sloan had ordered him to keep a box “in case things went wrong.”
Inside were copies of Henry’s undelivered letters.
Sloan had kept the originals.
Daniel opened his.
Henry wrote:
I failed both my sons differently. One received my name without the truth. One received my money without my name.
May you like
Daniel stopped reading.
For the first time, David cried.
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