Chapter : The Truth That Changed Everything
While Jennifer was slowly finding her way back to the family she had chosen...
Another family was about to discover a truth that had remained buried for twenty-eight years.
The Moreau mansion felt unusually quiet that afternoon.
Normally, the dining room echoed with casual conversations, business discussions, or Solomon enthusiastically talking about the latest novel he had finished. Today, however, the silence was heavy enough to make even the servants move more carefully.
Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the tall French windows, reflecting off the polished marble floor. The scent of freshly brewed tea lingered in the air, yet not a single cup had been touched.
Thomas sat at the head of the table.
His expression was darker than usual, carrying both confusion and hurt.
Since the previous night, he had been searching for answers.
He had questioned Nanny Joy repeatedly.
"Why was Madam so frightened?"
"Why did she rush to the hospital?"
"Why does she suddenly care so much about that young writer?"
Every single time, Joy simply bowed respectfully.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"That isn't my story to tell."
He had turned to Solomon next.
The younger man merely shrugged.
"I honestly don't know."
"I'm curious too."
"But I'm also very attached to living."
David had been much less willing to give up.
Unlike his younger brother, he questioned everyone.
The butler.
The drivers.
The housemaids.
Even the gardeners.
He even tried tricking Nanny Joy into speaking by pretending he already knew the truth.
She simply smiled politely.
"There is a reason Madam trusts me."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Eventually, even Thomas had begun quietly following Joy around the mansion, hoping she would accidentally reveal something.
She never did.
Not a word.
The sound of soft footsteps echoed from the staircase.
Everyone looked up.
Anita descended with her usual elegant composure.
She wore a simple deep-blue A-line gown that reached her ankles. A pair of pearl earrings rested against her neck while her silver-streaked hair was neatly arranged behind her shoulders.
Graceful.
Calm.
Untouchable.
Nanny Joy followed two steps behind in a perfectly pressed dark suit.
David immediately lowered his eyes.
He still remembered the look on Anita's face at the hospital.
If he had followed her inside John's room instead of remaining outside...
He knew he would have been even more shocked.
That wasn't the face of someone worried about a celebrity.
It was the face of a mother watching her child suffer.
Anita calmly sat down.
She lifted her teacup.
Took one slow sip.
Then looked around the table.
"If any of you wishes to ask questions," she said evenly,
"ask them now before I change my mind."
Thomas spoke immediately.
"It's about you."
His voice remained gentle.
"You've been acting differently ever since you heard about John Bello's accident."
He folded his hands together.
"At first, I assumed you were simply one of his readers."
His eyes shifted briefly toward Solomon.
"Our second son practically worships the young man."
"I admire him," Solomon corrected quietly.
David looked sideways.
"You own every collector's edition."
"...Continue, Father."
Thomas sighed.
"But yesterday..."
"You panicked."
"You rushed to the hospital."
"You barely spoke during the drive."
"You looked..."
He searched for the proper words.
"...heartbroken."
The memory still unsettled him.
"The servants have started whispering."
"I don't care about gossip."
"I simply want the truth."
He hesitated.
"...Or..."
"Is this because of the article accusing him of cheating?"
"Did someone hurt him?"
Anita almost smiled.
Thomas had imagined everything...
Except the truth.
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Why can't I worry about my son?"
"It isn't a crime."
The room froze.
A maid holding the teapot stopped pouring.
"...Son?"
Solomon whispered.
David frowned deeply.
His thoughts instantly became tangled.
Their mother only had two sons...
Didn't she?
Thomas laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because disbelief demanded sound.
"Your son?"
"Impossible."
David slowly nodded.
"Mother..."
"John Bello is twenty-eight."
"He's five years older than me."
"If he were truly your son..."
"...the ages don't make sense."
"Are you perhaps referring to a godson?"
"Or someone you raised?"
Meanwhile...
Something remarkable happened.
Solomon had begun counting on his fingers beneath the table.
Nanny Joy raised an eyebrow.
She had never seen him calculate this quickly before.
Anita calmly placed her cup down.
"No."
"John Bello is my biological son."
Silence.
The words echoed through the dining room.
"I gave birth to him years before I met your father."
Thomas stared blankly.
David forgot to blink.
Even the servants exchanged shocked glances.
Anita continued.
"Thomas."
"Before I married you..."
"I was married once."
"It ended in divorce."
"My son remained with his father."
"For many years..."
"We never saw each other."
"We never spoke."
"We became strangers."
Her gaze drifted toward the garden outside.
"Only after returning to Nigeria..."
"...did I finally find him again."
Thomas slowly leaned back in his chair.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Her panic.
Her tears.
The hospital.
Her concern.
She hadn't been worried about a famous writer.
She had been watching her firstborn son lying unconscious.
Anita turned toward Solomon.
"Do you remember the elderly gentleman waiting outside the hospital yesterday?"
Solomon nodded immediately.
"The one standing beside two younger men?"
"Yes."
"That man..."
"...was my former husband."
Silence returned.
"So..."
Solomon slowly raised his hand.
"...does that mean those two young men are my brothers too?"
Anita looked at him expressionlessly.
"Solomon."
"Do I look like a woman who gives birth every few years?"
He immediately lowered his hand.
"...No."
"Then no."
"They are not mine."
David sighed before lightly tapping his brother's shoulder.
"You really don't know when to stop asking."
"I was curious."
"You were dangerous."
Nanny Joy smiled helplessly.
Some people understood emotions.
Solomon understood curiosity.
Nothing else.
Thomas finally asked the question weighing on his heart.
"Why..."
"...didn't you tell me?"
His voice sounded tired.
Almost wounded.
Anita met his eyes calmly.
"You never asked."
That was all.
Simple.
Blunt.
Completely Anita.
Thomas opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Because she was right.
Not once during their marriage had he ever asked about the life she lived before meeting him.
He had simply assumed.
Slowly, he stood.
"I need some fresh air."
Without another word, he quietly left the dining room.
David rubbed his forehead.
"I suddenly have an older brother."
"My brain needs time to process this."
Meanwhile...
Solomon quietly moved his chair beside Anita.
His expression became unusually serious.
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"Does this mean..."
"...John Bello..."
"...my favorite author..."
"...my role model..."
"...is actually my half-brother?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Solomon sighed dramatically.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I could have been bragging about this to all my friends."
David covered his face.
Nanny Joy closed her eyes.
Even one of the maids couldn't stop herself from laughing softly.
For the first time that afternoon...
Anita laughed.
A genuine laugh.
"This child..."
She shook her head affectionately.
"...will truly be the end of me."