Chapter 1 - The Man In The Snow
The oak front doors of Hawthorne Manor swung open just as the grandfather clock struck eight.
A rush of icy wind carrying white snow poured into the marble foyer.
And the man standing outside made everyone go still.
Alexander Hawthorne.
Nearly six-foot-three, broad-shouldered, and powerfully built beneath a long black overcoat dusted with snow, he stood motionless in the winter night.
Wet dark hair fell across his forehead.
The black suit beneath his coat framed his tall, muscular body, making him look both elegant and dangerous.
But Alexander was not looking at the servants.
He was not looking at the mansion he had left behind nearly two years ago.
He was only looking at the woman standing in the center of the foyer.
Evelyn Carter.
She wore an ivory silk gown with soft off-the-shoulder sleeves, graceful and refined, so beautiful she seemed almost untouched by the freezing world outside.
Her long brown hair spilled over one shoulder.
Her delicate face turned pale the instant she saw Alexander.
Two children clung tightly to her.
A boy of about eight had both arms wrapped around her waist, as if he were afraid someone might pull her away.
A younger girl pressed herself against Evelyn's skirt, her wide eyes full of confusion.
Even the golden retriever lying near the door jumped to its feet.
It stared at Alexander for a few seconds.
Then its tail began thumping wildly against the floor.
"Alexander..."
Evelyn's voice was barely more than a breath.
The elderly housekeeper behind her dropped a silver tray.
Clang.
The sound echoed through the grand hall, which had become terrifyingly silent.
Alexander stepped over the threshold.
His black leather shoes left melting footprints across the polished stone floor.
"It seems not everyone is happy to see me back."
No one answered.
The little boy holding onto Evelyn suddenly turned around.
"Who are you?"
Alexander stopped.
For one brief second, a flicker of pain crossed his cold face.
"Daniel."
The boy flinched.
"How do you know my name?"
Evelyn immediately pulled Daniel closer to her.
"Don't."
Just one word.
But it made Alexander lift his eyes to her.
"Don't what?"
Evelyn swallowed hard.
"Don't do this in front of the children."
Alexander tightened his jaw.
Two years ago, he had disappeared after a plane crash that led the family to receive word that he was dead.
No body.
No real funeral.
Only an empty coffin.
And a gravestone bearing his name.
And yet Alexander was standing here now.
Alive.
Strong.
And very clearly carrying a truth Evelyn did not want revealed.
He glanced down at the two children.
Then his eyes settled on the little girl's hand gripping Evelyn's dress.
"Rose."
The little girl looked up.
"How do you know my name too?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Alexander took one more step forward.
"Because I'm your father."
The entire room seemed to freeze.
Rose looked at Evelyn.
Daniel let go of her.
"Aunt Evelyn?" he whispered. "What is he talking about?"
Before Evelyn could answer, a man's voice came from the staircase behind them.
"You don't have the right to call yourself their father."
Alexander turned.
A man in a gray tuxedo was coming down the stairs.
Nathan Hawthorne.
Alexander's younger brother.
And the very man Evelyn was supposed to marry the next morning.
Alexander's expression changed instantly.
"Nathan."
Nathan stepped onto the last stair.
"You should never have come back."
Alexander gave a quiet smile.
There was nothing warm about it.
"That's exactly what they told me before they tried to kill me the second time."
Evelyn went still.
Nathan's face drained of color.
Alexander reached into his coat.
The housekeeper gasped and stepped back.
But what he pulled out was not a weapon.
It was an old brown envelope.
He tossed it onto the stone table near the stairs.
A stack of documents slid out.
Bank records.
Insurance files.
And a death certificate.
The name on it read:
ALEXANDER JAMES HAWTHORNE.
Alexander looked at his brother.
"The signature confirming the body..." he said slowly. "...was yours."
Nathan said nothing.
Evelyn raised a hand to cover her mouth.
Alexander continued.
"But the most interesting part is not that you declared me dead."
He pulled out another sheet of paper.
"Three weeks later, you took control of all my assets."
Nathan's voice turned cold.
"You were missing for nearly two years."
"And six months after I 'died'..."
Alexander turned to Evelyn.
"...you proposed to my wife."
Daniel gasped.
"Wife?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Rose stared at her in confusion.
Nathan stepped forward.
"Evelyn is not your wife anymore."
Alexander locked eyes with him.
"Isn't she?"
"She signed the papers."
"What papers?"
The air in the room suddenly became heavy.
Evelyn slowly turned toward Nathan.
"What is he talking about?"
Nathan remained silent.
Alexander looked at Evelyn.
For the first time, the harshness left his face.
In its place was something far deeper.
Pain.
"You never signed divorce papers?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"No."
Alexander looked back at Nathan.
Nathan took a step backward.
And in that moment, Evelyn understood.
For two years, Nathan had told her that Alexander had left behind a letter.
That before his death, Alexander wanted her to move on.
Wanted her to stop waiting for him.
Wanted her to remarry someday.
Nathan had even shown her legal documents claiming that her marriage to Alexander had been settled after he had been declared dead.
But if Alexander had never truly died...
Evelyn looked down at the ivory gown she was wearing.
The dress she had been fitted for, for tomorrow's wedding.
Then she looked at the man standing amid the melting snow.
The husband she had mourned for hundreds of nights, believing she had lost him forever.
"Alexander..."
Tears began spilling down her face.
"Where have you been?"
Alexander looked at her for a long moment.
"Held in a private hospital in Switzerland under another name."
Nathan whipped around sharply.
Alexander continued.
"No phone."
"No passport."
"No identity records."
He stared straight at his brother.
"And every month, someone paid to make sure I never left."
Nathan's voice hardened.
"You can't prove any of this."
Alexander bent down and picked up one final file.
"I can."
He laid it on the table.
"That's why the police are already on their way."
Nathan immediately glanced toward the door.
Evelyn suddenly noticed that his hand was trembling.
But Alexander was no longer looking at Nathan.
He was looking at the children.
At Daniel and Rose.
Then he looked at Evelyn.
"There's one last thing you need to know."
Evelyn's throat tightened.
"What is it?"
Alexander pulled an old photograph from his pocket.
It showed Evelyn lying in a hospital bed eight years earlier, just after Daniel was born.
At the edge of the photograph, standing near the doorway, was Nathan.
Alexander placed the photograph on the table.
"The plane crash was not the first time Nathan tried to remove me from this family."
A chill swept through Evelyn's entire body.
Alexander looked at Daniel.
Then at Nathan.
"The secret he fears most..."
He paused.
"...has nothing to do with money."
Daniel clutched Evelyn's hand.
May you like
Alexander spoke the final words slowly.
"It has to do with who Daniel's real father is."
