Chapter 163 CHAPTER 163:BLOOD ISNT LOYALTY
~Wayne & Elara's Pov ~
Wayne didn’t want to believe it.
Even when the name appeared.
Even when the pattern connected.
Even when the evidence stacked itself neatly in front of him like a cruel joke.
He didn’t want to believe it.
But facts didn’t care about denial.
Victor’s voice had been steady over the phone.
“We pulled deeper financial links from the shell company.”
Wayne stood in his office, staring at the paused CCTV footage of the black-hooded figure in the baby store aisle.
“And?” he asked quietly.
“It wasn’t random. The original funding source traces back to a private account.”
Wayne’s jaw tightened.
“Whose?”
There was a pause.
Longer than normal.
“Wayne… you need to sit down.”
He didn’t.
“Say it.”
Another breath.
“It’s Calvin.”
Silence.
Pure.
Heavy.
Unforgiving silence.
Wayne’s mind rejected it immediately.
“No.”
“I triple-checked.”
“No.”
“The VIN registration, the prepaid device funding, the vehicle lease under a shell photography business all of it connects back to a holding account Calvin controls.”
Wayne’s fingers slowly curled into fists.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not.”
Calvin.
His younger brother.
The charming one.
The impulsive one.
The one who had always smiled too easily and wanted too much.
Wayne remembered the subtle tension years ago before Elara and Wayne became serious.
Calvin had met her once at a family gathering.
And he had stared.
Too long.
Wayne had noticed.
He had ignored it.
Family didn’t cross lines like that.
Family didn’t stalk.
Family didn’t threaten.
Family didn’t park outside your home and send messages like:
“She shouldn’t walk alone.”
Wayne’s chest felt tight.
“Are you sure?” he asked Victor one last time.
“Yes.”
“And the camera found in the car?”
“Purchased using a corporate card linked to Calvin’s investment firm.”
That was it.
Confirmation.
Wayne ended the call slowly.
His reflection stared back at him in the darkened screen.
Controlled.
But something darker flickered beneath.
Betrayal cut deeper than fear ever could.
Wayne pulled up more surveillance records.
He didn’t look at the hooded figure as a stranger anymore.
He looked at posture.
Height.
The slight tilt of the shoulders.
The way the man leaned when standing still.
And suddenly
He saw it.
Calvin had always stood that way.
Weight slightly shifted to the right.
Head angled just a fraction lower when observing.
Wayne’s stomach turned.
“How long?” he muttered.
He pulled more data.
Bank transfers.
Vehicle movements.
Location pings.
Three weeks.
Three weeks of watching.
Three weeks of documenting.
Three weeks of studying Elara’s pregnancy.
That wasn’t obsession.
That was calculation.
And Calvin had always been calculated when he wanted something.
Wayne leaned back in his chair slowly.
Why?
The question echoed.
Calvin hadn’t spoken much to Wayne since the wedding.
There had been distance.
Subtle coldness.
But nothing explosive.
Nothing openly hostile.
Then Wayne remembered something Elara once said casually:
“Your brother asks strange questions.”
“What kind?”
“About us. About timing. About whether we were planning kids.”
Wayne hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Now?
It felt deliberate.
Was it jealousy?
Resentment?
Did Calvin believe Elara should’ve chosen him?
Or worse…
Did he think the baby should’ve been his legacy instead of Wayne’s?
Wayne’s jaw tightened painfully.
This wasn’t random desire.
This was personal.
Wayne needed more than financial trails.
He needed undeniable proof.
So he did something simple.
He invited Calvin to dinner.
Calvin arrived that evening, casual as ever.
Confident.
Relaxed.
“Big brother,” he greeted with a half-smile.
Wayne studied him carefully.
Same height as the hooded figure.
Same build.
Same voice.
“Sit,” Wayne said calmly.
Calvin glanced around.
“Where’s Elara?”
“Resting.”
Calvin’s eyes flickered for half a second.
Concern?
Or disappointment?
“How’s she doing?” Calvin asked.
“Healthy.”
“Good.”
Wayne leaned back.
“You’ve been busy lately.”
Calvin shrugged lightly.
“Business never sleeps.”
“Photography business?”
There it was.
The smallest pause.
Barely visible.
But Wayne saw it.
“What photography business?” Calvin asked smoothly.
Wayne didn’t blink.
“The one registered under Cole Visual Holdings.”
Calvin’s smile faded just slightly.
“I invest in a lot of ventures.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
Wayne leaned forward slowly.
“Did you invest in a black sedan too?”
Silence.
Calvin didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he studied Wayne.
As if calculating how much he knew.
Wayne’s voice dropped lower.
“Did you follow my wife?”
The air changed.
Thicker.
Colder.
Calvin exhaled slowly.
“You’re accusing me?”
“I’m asking you.”
“Based on what?”
“Evidence.”
Calvin’s jaw tightened.
“You think I’d stalk Elara?”
Wayne’s eyes hardened.
“I think you’ve always wanted what was mine.”
That hit.
Calvin’s expression shifted.
“You always assume that,” he said quietly.
“Because it’s true.”
Calvin laughed softly but there was no humor in it.
“You really think she chose you without hesitation?”
Wayne stood abruptly.
“Careful.”
Calvin stood too.
“You’ve always been first,” Calvin said. “First in business. First in father’s approval. First in everything.”
“This isn’t about that.”
“Isn’t it?”
Wayne’s voice turned dangerously calm.
“You parked outside my house.”
Calvin didn’t deny it.
“You tracked her.”
Silence.
“You documented her.”
Calvin’s jaw flexed.
“Answer me.”
Finally
“Yes.”
The word fell like a bomb.
Wayne didn’t move.
He didn’t shout.
He didn’t swing.
But something inside him went very, very still.
“Why?” he asked quietly.
Calvin’s eyes darkened.
“Because you don’t deserve everything.”
Wayne’s fists clenched.
“She’s not a trophy.”
“She could’ve been with me.”
“She didn’t choose you.”
“She didn’t know me.”
Wayne stepped closer.
“She knew enough.”
Calvin’s voice sharpened.
“You think I would’ve let her struggle? You think I wouldn’t have protected her?”
“You’re stalking a pregnant woman.”
“I was watching.”
“Without her consent.”
“I never touched her.”
“You terrified her.”
Calvin’s expression flickered.
“That wasn’t the intention.”
“Then what was?”
Calvin hesitated.
And in that hesitation
Wayne saw it.
Jealousy.
Obsession.
And something unhinged.
“I just needed to see,” Calvin said quietly.
“See what?”
“If she looked happy.”
Wayne stared at him in disbelief.
“And?”
Calvin’s lips pressed thin.
“She does.”
Wayne’s voice turned ice-cold.
“So you thought documenting her pregnancy was appropriate?”
Calvin didn’t answer.
Because he had no defense.
Wayne stepped forward, nose-to-nose with his brother.
“If you ever come near her again…”
Calvin’s eyes flickered with challenge.
“Or what?”
Wayne’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“You won’t be my brother anymore.”
The weight of that sentence landed heavy.
Calvin swallowed.
“You’d choose her over blood?”
Wayne didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Pure and absolute.
Because Calvin finally understood something:
Wayne wasn’t bluffing.
Calvin left without another word.
But as the door closed, Wayne knew this wasn’t over.
Not yet.
Because obsession doesn’t vanish after confrontation.
It either retreats.
Or it escalates.
Wayne immediately called Victor.
“It’s confirmed.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want to do?”
Wayne looked toward the hallway where Elara rested.
Protectively.
Peacefully.
Unaware that betrayal had just entered their home.
“I want legal action prepared,” Wayne said calmly.
“And?”
“And if he so much as drives past this street again…”
His voice went cold.
“I won’t handle it as a brother.”
When Wayne entered the bedroom, Elara looked up.
“You look tense.”
He sat beside her.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Her expression shifted instantly.
“What?”
He took her hand.
“It’s Calvin.”
Her face drained of color.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes immediately.
“Your brother?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He says jealousy.”
Her voice trembled.
“Wayne… what if he doesn’t stop?”
Wayne placed his hand gently over her stomach.
“He will.”
“How can you be sure?”
His eyes hardened slightly.
“Because now he knows I know.”
She leaned into him slowly.
And for the first time
The threat had a face.
Not a stranger.
Not a shadow.
Blood.
And that made it more dangerous than anything else.