Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother-Chapter 411: Memories From The Past

Justin entered the room that once belonged to his father. It was the first time he was seeing it, and he tried to find any sense of familiarity—tried to recall if he had any memories of it.

If he had visited this place as a child, he was sure he must have been in this room. But he could recall nothing. He looked around the room, which was well-kept, though it was clear no one had stayed there for a long time.

The room was spacious but simple and elegant, dominated by white tones—a king-sized bed, minimal decor. The person who had once lived here clearly didn’t spend much time in it.

Justin’s attention was drawn to a cluster of small picture frames hung on the wall. They held photos of his father from childhood to adulthood, capturing significant moments—Marina holding baby Alex, a school picture, Alex as a young man riding a horse, and others.

None of the pictures included Aeldric or any other family members besides Marina. There were no photos of Alex with Serena or the children. It was understandable—he had been hiding them from Aeldric.

Just as Justin turned around, his gaze fell on a wooden door on the other side of the room. Unconsciously, he stepped toward it, only to suddenly stop and clutch his head in pain, closing his eyes as blurry memories began to surface.

A woman talking to a man—her voice filled with worry, distant and echoing.

"Alex, promise me, you and Aaron will make it there safely."

"I promise," a man’s voice replied.

"Mom, I’ll take care of both Dad and myself," a young boy’s voice added. "Just take care of Aiden. He’s naughty."

The woman hugged the boy. "Aaron, I and Aiden will wait for you and your dad. Okay?"

"Serena, it’s time for you to leave," the man said. "Don’t worry about us. You should leave with Aaron before my father changes his mind."

The woman hugged the man for a moment, then stepped out of the very room, holding the hand of another boy—one who looked back at his brother with worried eyes.

"Aaron, I’ll wait for you," the boy said while leaving with his mother. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

The flash of memories stopped, and Justin came back to his senses. For the first time, he saw something from the past other than the haunting nightmares of drowning in the sea—and it was overwhelming.

He could feel the emotions the boy—his younger self—had felt while leaving his twin brother behind. He wasn’t just worried, but terrified for his brother’s safety, and regretted leaving while letting his brother take his place. He was angry inside, but he had to listen to his parents because it was for their good.

Finally, he understood—that young boy truly loved his twin brother Aaron, but didn’t know how to express it back then.

Justin steadied himself and walked toward the door, which opened into a study—Alexander’s private study room. From the heavy structure of the door, he could tell it was soundproof and well-secured against any kind of bugging.

There was a chair behind the desk, a single couch, some wall decor, and a cupboard. The desk was empty, so he began opening its drawers, finding only old documents that didn’t seem particularly useful. He opened the cupboard, which contained more files but nothing of real interest.

But if this study was so heavily secured, there had to be something important hidden here.

Unable to find anything on the surface, Justin sat down in the chair behind the desk. That’s when something caught his eye.

A painting hung on the opposite wall—one that didn’t quite match the silent decor of the room. It was a painting of a vast landscape, a buckwheat field shining under the setting sun. A silhouette of a woman stood facing the horizon, her long hair and flowing white dress trailing with the wind.

It was beautiful—deeply emotional. It held the longing of the painter, who clearly missed the woman depicted.

Justin stood up and went to the painting. He moved it aside and knocked on the wall behind it. The surface echoed—hollow.

He pressed against the wall. The panel shifted outward and opened like a door, revealing a small hidden locker. Inside, there was a box.

Without hesitation, Justin took it and returned to the desk. He opened the box.

Inside were numerous photographs—pictures of Serena and two kids at various stages of their childhood. There were also video files, and a stack of letters written by Serena to Alexander.

Finally—he had something from his childhood. Alexander must have kept these to make up for not being with them. It was all he had—images, memories frozen in time.

Justin hesitated but opened the letters, even though he knew he shouldn’t. It was his parents’ privacy. But he needed to know what his mother had gone through—raising two children on her own, in hiding.

From the letters, he could see how deeply both of them had loved each other and their kids. All they wanted was to have a small family and live a happy, ordinary life—but that dream had never come true.

Justin put the letters back and leaned back in the chair. Though he had no memories tied to those words, all he could feel was a deep ache—If only I could have done something for them. If only I had been capable enough to protect them back then...

How different their lives would have been.

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The next day, Justin went downstairs where he was expected to have breakfast with the family—Aeldric’s family, which included his daughter, her husband, and their two sons.

Now that he had decided to stay here, he was going to play along.

Just as he was about to reach the dining room, he heard the displeased voice of a woman.

"Father, he’s just returned, and you’ve already decided to make him your heir?" Mallory questioned Aeldric’s decision. "What does he even know about our family’s work and business? Can he even handle it without knowing anything about our world? He’s nothing but a businessman—far from the mafia world. What were you thinking when you announced him as your heir at that gathering?"

"Then what do you expect me to do? He is my only grandson," Aeldric’s cold voice echoed through the room. He was clearly not pleased with her tone.

"You have two other grandsons—my sons. Aren’t they your blood too?" she countered. "Both of them have followed you since they were young, and now you’re sidelining them for a grandson who just appeared out of nowhere?"

"Your sons are not Riverdale," Aeldric replied coldly. "And it seems like after living in the Riverdale estate all your life—instead of at your husband’s home—you’ve forgotten that truth."

"Father, after you lost Alexander, my sons and I were the ones by your side. Are you dismissing us just because I’m your daughter and not your son? That’s truly unfair," she said angrily. "And what good is that grandson of yours? He might just faint at the sight of real bloodshed!"

"It’s in his blood. He won’t be afraid," Aeldric replied calmly.

Just then, Mallory noticed Justin coming downstairs and heard their conversation. She turned to him and asked, "You—a plain businessman—have you ever used a gun in your life and killed someone?"

"I’m not fond of guns," Justin replied coolly, unfazed by her words, which sounded like a foolish cry for attention to his ears. He preferred knives.

After learning he had once sliced a woman’s throat as a child, he understood where his obsession with blades had originated. It was satisfying to kill the enemy while making them suffer in the most brutal way than a bullet which was no fun.

But whose gonna tell this woman. She might be scared to her wits to know what he was even capable of.

"See? This is your grandson," Mallory turned to Aeldric. "He might give up right away if I have my son point a gun at him."

Aeldric warned. "Stop looking down on my grandson. I know what he is."

"Father, can he even bear to see what happens in our world? All that killing and—?"

"Better than you can imagine," Justin cut in, his gaze turning cold. "And you are nobody to question my abilities. I especially don’t appreciate being challenged like this. You might want to reconsider your words next time."

His cold, dark gaze made Mallory step back. He scared her—just like Alexander used to scare her sometimes.