The Gala Where a Boy's Birthmark Revealed a Billionaire's Secret Twin

The Baroness's Secret Unravels in a Flood of Old Letters

The gala ended in chaos. Guests swarmed the Rosewoods with congratulations, but Julian wasn't interested in pleasantries. He pulled Ethan and Evan into a private study, his hand shaking as he locked the door.

'Tell me everything,' he said, kneeling before Ethan. 'Where have you been? Who raised you?'

Ethan clutched his half-medallion. 'St. Mary's Home for Children. They found me on the steps when I was a baby. A note pinned to my blanket said my mother loved me but couldn't keep me.'

Victoria gasped. 'A note? Do you still have it?'

Ethan shook his head. 'Sister Margaret kept it. She said it was my only belonging, besides the medallion.'

Julian's jaw tightened. 'Sister Margaret. I've donated to St. Mary's for years. She never mentioned a child with a Rosewood crest.'

Evan stepped forward, still holding the ivory king. 'Dad, what if someone took Ethan? What if he was stolen?'

The word hung in the air like a curse. Victoria's face went pale. 'The nurse,' she whispered. 'The one who told me my baby died. She was… she was a friend of Astrid's.'

Julian's eyes went cold. 'Astrid Von Berg. She's been trying to get on our board for years. She hates the orphanage — she tried to shut it down last spring.'

Ethan's stomach twisted. The Baroness had looked at him with such disgust. Was it just snobbery — or something worse?

Two hours later, Julian's private investigator arrived with a manila folder. 'I found Sister Margaret,' he said. 'She's been holding this for seven years.'

The note was yellowed and folded, written in elegant cursive. Victoria read it aloud, her voice breaking: 'To whoever finds my son — his name is Ethan. He has a brother, a twin. They were separated at birth by a cruel lie. Please, keep him safe. Tell him he is loved. — M.R.'

Julian grabbed the folder and flipped through it. 'M.R. — Margaret Rosewood. My sister.'

Ethan's head spun. 'Your sister? But then… she's my mother?'

Julian's hands were shaking. 'Margaret left the family after a fight with my father — and with Astrid. She was engaged to Astrid's brother, but he died in a car accident. Astrid blamed Margaret.'

Victoria clutched Ethan's hand. 'Where is she now? Where's Margaret?'

The investigator lowered his head. 'She passed away three years ago. She'd been living in a small town, working as a nurse. She never stopped searching for Ethan.'

Ethan felt the world tilt. His mother had been alive — had been looking for him — and now she was gone. He never got to know her.

'But wait,' Evan said, frowning. 'If Aunt Margaret was your sister, then Ethan is my cousin, not my brother.'

Julian shook his head. 'No. Margaret adopted you, Evan. She was your birth mother too. She had twins — you and Ethan — and Astrid convinced her that giving one to me would ruin the family name. So Margaret gave me Evan, and she kept Ethan hidden.'

Victoria broke down. 'All these years, I raised Evan thinking he was my son. And he was — he is. But Ethan… Ethan is also my son now.'

Ethan felt tears slide down his cheeks. 'So I'm not a street kid?'

'You're a Rosewood,' Julian said, pulling him close. 'You're my son. Both of you are my sons.'

But outside the study door, a shadow moved. The Baroness had been listening, and her face was twisted with rage.

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. 'It's Astrid. The boy is alive. He's with Julian now. We have to move fast before he tells them the rest.'

On the other end, a voice crackled: 'The rest of what?'

Astrid smiled, cold as marble. 'About the trust fund. And about who really killed Margaret.'