My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 198: A Very Familiar Last Name

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I noticed Adrien take that in, his shoulders relaxing a little even though the tension in his jaw remained. He nodded slowly, accepting it because it aligned with the mother he remembered from the journal—flawed, scared, but fiercely principled.

"Then who was L.S. to her?" I asked, shifting closer to Adrien on the sagging couch. "Why did she keep writing about feeling so guilty every time they got together? She said she hoped you’d understand if you ever found out."

Rachel closed her eyes for a long moment, rubbing her temples like the question was physically painful. The radiator clanked again, and her mother’s wheelchair creaked as the old woman adjusted slightly, still watching us with that eerie silence.

"Do you two really believe she was murdered?" Rachel finally whispered, her eyes opening to meet Adrien’s. "Because to everyone else—to the police, to newspapers, even for a long time to me—it appeared to be just a tragic car accident. Black ice, bad luck, wrong place at the wrong time."

Adrien’s voice was raw when he replied. "I’ve never thought it was just an accident. Not since I was twelve and realized what the adults were quietly discussing. There were too many things that didn’t add up, too many questions no one wanted to voice." He glanced down at his hands before looking back at her. "I wasn’t the best son back then. I shut her out whenever she tried to talk about being scared. This—finding the truth—is the least I owe her. I need to know what really happened."

Rachel studied him for what felt like a heavy eternity, tears shimmering again. Then she released a shaky breath that seemed to come from a weary place deep within her.

"L.S. wasn’t a lover," she said softly. "He was a lawyer and his full name is Logan Seymour." She paused, as if even the name left a bitter taste. "I... I met him online a few years before everything went down. We dated for a bit—nothing too serious, just dinners and long phone calls. He was kind, really good at listening. When Joanne started opening up about how bad things were with Keith—money vanishing, arguments that got ugly, her feeling trapped—I thought Logan might be able to help. He specialized in family law, divorce, asset protection. So I gave her his number. Told her he was discreet and would understand."

My heart was thudding loud enough that I could feel it in my throat.

Logan Seymour.

Seymour...

Seymour?!

The hell?

The name hit me like a slap, sharp, familiar, impossible to ignore.

Rachel continued, her voice shaking. "She felt guilty for reasons I had no idea about...Meeting with a lawyer behind her husband’s back probably felt like betrayal to her, even if it wasn’t romantic. She hated the secrecy. But she was desperate."

Adrien’s eyes widened, taking it all in, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Rachel. My mouth felt dry.

"Seymour," I said, the word escaping before I could stop myself. "Logan Seymour?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Rachel nodded, puzzled by my intensity. "Yes. Why?"

Adrien turned to me, picking up on the shock on my face. "Noah? What is it?"

I opened my mouth, but at first, nothing came out. The name hung in the air like thick smoke, impossible to push away. "N–nothing, I’m fine."

Adrien raised an eyebrow at me, I didn’t blame him...I probably didn’t look or sound convincing.

Seymour.

Ethan Seymour.

For a wild second, my mind raced through every crazy thought, Ethan’s warm blue eyes came rushing back, his easy laugh during basketball practice, and the way he said, "I’ll wait," like it was the simplest promise ever.

Could it really be? The lawyer Joanne had relied on, who’d been helping her dodge Keith, shared the same last name as my...well, ex-for-now—boyfriend? It felt too coincidental, almost cruel, like the universe was playing a twisted prank on me.

Was this Logan, a family relative of Ethan?

But as quickly as the panic struck, I calmed down. Seymour isn’t exactly an uncommon name. There must be thousands out there, doctors, teachers, guys playing pickup basketball. Ethan’s family was definitely not middle class, sure they were not as rich as the Fells...but they were low-key millionaires at their own right, so this lawyer surely couldn’t be a part of their family, right?

...Right?!

No way they were linked to some shady lawyer from six years ago. I took a deep breath, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth, reminding myself to not jump to conclusions before checking the situation.

Rachel was completely unaware of my fleeting panic; she was too lost in her own thoughts, twisting her cardigan’s hem between her fingers as she continued her story.

"After Joanne’s father passed away...Adrien’s grandfather, may he rest in peace, she inherited the vineyard and the entire wine operation near Clearwater. It was a big deal, old money and family legacy and all that. But her dad... well, he was a bit of a rolling stone in his younger years. He had a handful of sons out of wedlock with different women. Once the will named Joanne as the primary heir, those half-brothers started circling like vultures. Lawsuits, threats, and nasty letters from lawyers claiming she didn’t deserve it because she was ’just the legitimate daughter.’"

Rachel’s mouth twisted in bitterness. "Like that mattered to how hard she worked to keep things running."

Adrien’s face went blank, quiet in a way that felt like a storm brewing. I could see him piecing together information he hadn’t had before. "I think I remember something about mom having troubles about the vineyards...and the estate, but she told me she handled it and I shouldn’t worry about it."

"Maybe she did but, either way..." Rachel shrugged helplessly. "Joanne became more and more paranoid...receiving calls at odd hours, papers disappearing from her office, even someone following her car home once. She was convinced one of her half-brothers, or maybe someone they’d hired, was trying to scare her into selling. I didn’t know what else to do, so I gave her Logan’s number, thinking a good lawyer might help her protect what was hers and maybe scare the others off. I barely knew the guy myself—only talked online for a few months and swapped a couple of photos. Nice smile, seemed smart, but a bit rude at times. I don’t even have those pictures anymore; my old phone died years ago, and I never backed anything up."