“She hid it from me,” Thomas snarled. “She let me rot in foster care and prison while you got to be the golden child who went to college. So when I got out, Rachel and I found each other. Rachel knew how much money you were sending. We gave Mom a choice: hand over the deed to the house and the land rights, or we tell Marcus the truth about how his perfect life was funded by his criminal brother’s stolen birthright.”
Rachel looked at Marcus, tears welling in her eyes, though they were tears of fear, not regret. “Marcus, I did it for us. Thomas was going to sue you for everything you earned overseas, claiming it was built on his half of the family assets. I blackmailed your mother to protect your career!”
“You didn’t protect me,” Marcus whispered, the betrayal cutting through him like glass. “You tortured the woman who gave me everything. You told her I would hate her if I knew the truth.”
Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen showed an active call.
“Did you get all of that, Detective?” Marcus asked into the receiver.
