CHAPTER 97: NOT MY BROTHER?

Evelyn’s voice trembled. "Jake... are you saying...?"

"Yes, mom!" Jake snapped. "If Helena and I had been talking, if there was even a chance of it, maybe it would’ve made sense. But I never liked her! I never even had her number! Yet somehow, she ends up in my house claiming I called her and gave her my address."

Charles drew in a steadying breath, trying to calm the storm spiraling before him. "Jake," he began evenly, though his knuckles tightened on the chair’s back, "if this is just about him calling Helena over, then we can all sit down and talk about it. I’ll personally invite Helena and let her know this was all a mistake and you won’t have to take responsibility. There’s no need to be this furious—"

Jake’s glare snapped to him, blazing. "It’s not just about calling Helena, Dad!" His voice thundered through the hall. "Raymond didn’t just call her—he drugged me. He set me up! Aren’t you all listening to me?"

The silence that followed was suffocating. Charles looked at Raymond and from the way he was blinking rapidly, he knew Jake wasn’t just saying these things.

"This definitely can’t be true," she said, almost in disbelief since even she had started seeing the truth but just didn’t want to believe it. "Raymond, tell me he’s lying."

Charles turned to his youngest son, his tone hardening. "Raymond. Your brother’s making serious accusations. Speak except you want us to believe all he’d said."

He needed to give him a chance to defend himself. Even though he knew Raymond had done nothing but bring shame to the Stone’s name, it was still hard to believe he’d do something like that.

Raymond blinked slowly, the muscles in his jaw tightening as if holding back the flicker of panic. But when he spoke, his voice was steady. "He’s delusional. I don’t know what nonsense he’s talking about. I’d never do that to him. Never."

Jake let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "You’re really good at this, you know that? Standing there acting all calm while lying through your teeth."

"I’m not lying," Raymond snapped back, a little too quickly. "You’re just angry because you messed up with Bella and don’t want to admit it."

"Bella? Who’s Bella?" Evelyn asked in confusion.

"That’s not the point here, mom––"

"Of course it is. You wouldn’t be this mad if it’s not because you’ve lost her..."

"Enough!" Charles barked, his patience thinning. "Jake, do you have proof of what you’re saying?"

Jake’s answer was wordless. Just a slow, furious smirk as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "Oh, I’ve got proof."

He swiped across the screen, found the video, and turned the phone toward his parents. "Here. Watch this."

Evelyn leaned closer, her brows furrowed. The footage was grainy but clear enough to see Raymond seated beside Jake at the lounge table, glancing around before discreetly pouring something into Jake’s drink while his brother looked away.

Evelyn gasped, stepping back as if she’d been struck. "Raymond..." Her voice trembled, disbelief clouding her features. "Tell me this isn’t you."

Raymond froze, face pale. "That— That’s not—" he stammered. "That’s edited! He’s twisting this!"

"Edited?" Jake barked, his voice rising. "That video came straight from the lounge’s CCTV, Raymond! You think you can lie your way out of this?"

"Raymond!" Evelyn shouted suddenly, her voice cracking with emotion. "How could you?!" Before anyone could stop her, she strode forward and slapped him across the face, the sound echoing sharply through the dining room.

Raymond’s head turned with the impact, a faint red mark blooming across his cheek. He stood still for a moment, blinking rapidly, more in shock than pain.

Evelyn’s voice shook as tears welled in her eyes. "I know you could be a lot of things but how could you do something so vile to your brother? What has gotten into you, Raymond? What has this family done to deserve such cruelty from you?!"

Charles’s face was grim, lined with anger and disappointment. "I can’t believe what I just saw," he said coldly. "You’ve shamed yourself, Raymond. Drugging your own brother—for what? What did you hope to gain?"

Raymond’s jaw clenched. He took a step back, his chest heaving. "Don’t—" His voice cracked. "Don’t you dare look at me like that."

Charles’s tone hardened. "Like what? Like a father disgusted by his son’s betrayal? Because that’s exactly what I am right now. You drugged your own brother? Your brother!"

Raymond’s composure finally cracked. "Stop it!" he shouted, the words bursting out of him. "Stop calling him my brother! Stop acting like I did something unforgivable when he did worse to me first!"

Evelyn flinched. "What are you talking about?"

Jake frowned, his fury briefly giving way to confusion. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Raymond’s laugh was bitter, cold, and edged with years of resentment. "Oh, so you’ve forgotten already?" he sneered. "Seven years ago. When you knew I liked Olivia. You remember her, don’t you?"

Jake blinked, startled. "Olivia?"

"Yes!" Raymond’s voice cracked with emotion, his mask slipping further. "The one girl I ever truly liked. You knew how I felt about her, Jake! I told you! You knew how much I cared and you still set her up with Frank behind my back!"

Jake stared at him, incredulous. "What are you talking about? Raymond, that’s not what happened—"

"Don’t you dare lie to me!" Raymond roared. "You think I didn’t see it? You think I didn’t know how you humiliated me? Or that I wouldn’t find out you lured me there? You made me watch the girl I loved hang off another man’s arm and then told me it was for my own good!"

Jake shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. "Raymond, that’s not true. Olivia was already dating Frank! She was using you! She came to me herself that week and bragged about it—"

"Lies!" Raymond spat. "You’ve always had an excuse ready, haven’t you?"

"Raymond," Jake said firmly, voice cutting through the tension, "you never even gave me the chance to explain. If you’d asked me back then, I would’ve told you the truth. I would’ve told you that I only did that because I didn’t know how else to make you see what she really was. I tried to tell you off her but you just wouldn’t back off."

"Don’t try to justify it," Raymond snapped. "You just didn’t want me to be happy! You weren’t happy she wasn’t chasing after you like the other girls!"

Jake exhaled sharply, his voice rough. "I wanted to protect you! You were so sure she loved you, but she didn’t. She was sleeping with Frank while toying with you. The night you said you were going to confess, I caught her with him in the restroom. I knew that if I told you straight, you’d never believe me. So, yes, I made you see it for yourself."

Raymond’s face twisted in disbelief, anger, and pain all at once. "You expect me to believe that?"

"It’s the truth, whether you believe it or not," Jake said quietly. "You’ve been holding on to a lie for seven years. You turned your pain into hate, Raymond. You let it rot inside you until this—until tonight. Do you even love me as your brother?"

Evelyn’s voice trembled as she looked between them, the two children she’d called her own. "So... all this—this madness—is because of something that happened seven years ago? A misunderstanding you refused to let go of? Something you could’ve resolved if you’d said something? You bottled it up just to pay him back? Raymond, how could you? We’re supposed to be a family."

Raymond’s voice broke. "It wasn’t just a misunderstanding, Mother. It was betrayal. That day broke me. You wonder why I became the family disgrace, the one you all whispered about?" He laughed bitterly. "That was when it started. When I realized nothing in this family is real. Not your pride, not your perfection, not your precious brotherhood."

Charles’s eyes hardened. "That’s no excuse to destroy your brother’s life, Raymond. You let bitterness turn you into someone I barely recognize. And you wonder why I let your brother run the company."

Raymond snapped, his voice rising with raw emotion. "Just stop calling him my brother because I know he’s not."

Immediately the words left his mouth, everyone froze.

The words rang loud and jagged through the room, cutting the air like glass.

What did he mean by not his brother?

Jake’s expression went blank, shock flickering across his face. Evelyn blinked, unsure she’d heard right. "What... what did you just say?" she whispered.

Raymond’s chest rose and fell rapidly. His lips curled into a bitter smile. "You heard me," he said, his tone eerily calm now. "Stop calling Jake my brother. Because I know he’s not."

A stunned silence followed. Even the ticking clock in the hallway seemed to stop as everyone’s mind spun with questions.

*****

I’m so sorry for the mixup earlier. If I’d known sooner, I would’ve corrected it immediately. Thank you all for pointing it out.