Chapter 53: The Name I Gave Him

Nobody spoke during the drive back.

Rain streaked across the windshield, blurring the city lights into long silver lines.

The folded sketch remained on Victor's lap.

One sentence echoed inside my head.

"Ask Eleanor about the first child."

Damien finally broke the silence.

"There wasn't another child."

"My mother would've told me."

Victor didn't look up.

"Would she?"

Damien said nothing.

Deep down, he already knew the answer.

The estate was still awake when we arrived.

Every light inside the main house burned brightly.

Rose met us in the foyer.

"Mrs. Eleanor is in the library."

"She's been waiting."

Victor folded the sketch and slipped it into his coat.

"Good."

"Let's stop waiting too."

The library doors stood open.

Eleanor sat beside the fireplace with a book resting unopened in her lap.

She looked up as we entered.

"You're all soaking wet," she said calmly.

"Interesting observation," Victor replied.

"We came with a question."

Her eyes settled on him.

"You always did."

Damien frowned.

"You know each other?"

"Professionally," Eleanor answered before Victor could speak.

"Many years ago."

Victor ignored the explanation.

"How many children did you have?"

The room became perfectly still.

Eleanor's expression didn't change.

"One."

"Are you certain?" Victor asked.

"Very."

Victor unfolded the rain-damaged sketch and placed it on the coffee table.

"Then explain this."

Eleanor looked at the blank branch.

Only for a second.

But it was enough.

A flicker.

Barely visible.

Fear.

She recovered immediately.

"A childish drawing proves nothing."

"Neither does lying," Victor answered.

"Nathaniel believed there was another child."

"Nathaniel believed many things."

"Most of them turned out to be true," I said quietly.

Eleanor turned toward me.

"You think you understand this family?"

"I'm beginning to."

She stood.

"There's nothing more to discuss."

"Actually," Damien interrupted.

"There is."

His voice surprised all of us.

"Mother..."

"Was there another baby?"

For the first time in years, Eleanor couldn't meet her son's eyes.

The silence stretched.

Then she whispered...

"He never lived long enough to become your brother."

Nobody moved.

"What?" Damien asked.

"I gave birth before you," Eleanor said quietly.

"A little boy."

"He survived only three days."

"His records were sealed."

"Your father insisted nobody speak about him again."

"Why?" Victor asked.

"Because he blamed me."

"He said the child died because I worked too much during the pregnancy."

Damien looked as though the floor had disappeared beneath him.

"You never told me."

"I wasn't allowed to."

"Your father destroyed every photograph."

"Every document."

"Every birth certificate."

Victor's eyes narrowed.

"What was his name?"

Eleanor closed her eyes.

For several seconds she couldn't answer.

When she finally spoke, her voice barely carried across the room.

"Julian."

The room fell silent.

My heart skipped.

"Julian?" I repeated.

"Yes."

"Julian Ashford."

Victor slowly lowered his head.

"Mercer..." he whispered.

"Mercer wasn't his real surname."

Damien stared at him.

"You're saying Professor Julian Mercer..."

"May have stolen the name," Victor finished.

"Or perhaps someone gave it to him."

"No," Eleanor said firmly.

"That's impossible."

"My son died."

"I buried him myself."

Victor looked at her carefully.

"Did you see his body?"

Eleanor froze.

"What?"

"After the funeral."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Her lips parted.

No words came.

"My husband handled everything," she whispered.

"I wasn't allowed near the coffin."

"He said remembering would only make things worse."

Victor slowly stepped backward.

"Then you never confirmed who was buried."

The colour drained from Eleanor's face.

"No..."

"No... that's impossible..."

"Is it?" Victor asked softly.

Arthur rushed into the library before anyone could speak again.

"Victor!"

"You need to see this."

He held up his tablet.

"I finally recovered one frame from the deleted Verline security footage."

"Only one."

Everyone gathered around the screen.

The grainy image showed Colette entering my studio.

But she wasn't alone.

A man stood beside her.

His face remained hidden beneath a cap.

Only one detail was visible.

A large birthmark running down the left side of his neck.

Eleanor gasped.

The tablet slipped from Arthur's hands and struck the carpet.

"No..." she whispered.

"It can't be..."

Damien grabbed her arm.

"Mother."

"Do you know him?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"Not by that face..."

"But by the mark."

She looked directly at Victor.

"When my first baby was born..."

"He had the exact same birthmark."