My Husband Is An International Idol

Liliana’s hospital room had never been so full.

The private suite had been transformed into a temporary meeting room.

Grandmother Lucia Sterling sat beside the window, her hands folded quietly on her lap. Uncle Robert stood near the door with Aunt Melanie beside him. Gideon leaned silently against the wall. Matthew and Amanda St. Claire occupied the sofa opposite the bed.

The Pulse members had gathered together, unusually quiet. The Sterling cousins stood near Liliana’s bedside.

Henry, Matthew’s longtime bodyguard, remained near the entrance as always, silently observing.

Victor Reyes and Sarah Clifford entered last.

Victor carried several thick folders. Sarah held a weathered leather journal inside a transparent evidence bag.

The atmosphere was heavy. No one smiled. No one joked. Everyone knew why they were there.

Chris looked toward Liliana before speaking.

"Lily..."

His voice was gentle.

"You don’t have to do this today. We can wait until you’ve recovered."

Liliana slowly shook her head.

"No."

Her voice was soft but steady.

"I’ve waited twenty years."

She looked around the room.

"If my parents really didn’t die in an accident... I want to know."

Chris searched her eyes for a moment.

Finally...

He nodded.

"Then we’ll do it together."

He took her hand.

"I won’t let go."

Liliana smiled faintly.

"I know."

.......

Victor placed the folders on the table. Sarah carefully laid the old journal beside them.

"This..."

Sarah began,

"...was recovered from Harry Finn’s bedroom."

She gently touched the journal.

"It belonged to Harry’s father. Oliver Finn."

Liliana looked at the worn cover.

"So...My classmate’s father..."

Sarah nodded.

"He was an accountant."

Victor continued.

"He worked for Sterling Corporation before it collapsed. He wasn’t an executive nor a board member. He simply handled financial records."

Victor opened one of the folders.

"According to Oliver’s journal, everythig began with a routine audit. He discovered that an unusually large amount of money could not be accounted for."

Matthew frowned.

"How much?"

Victor looked down at the copied records.

"Enough to threaten the company’s stability."

Silence settled across the room.

Sarah continued.

"At first, Oliver believed it was a bookkeeping error. He checked every ledger. Every transaction. Every receipt. The numbers never matched."

She turned another page.

"That’s when he reported everything to Edward Sterling."

Liliana listened without blinking.

"My father..."

Victor nodded.

"According to Oliver’s own handwriting, Edward initially refused to believe someone inside the company could be responsible. He trusted his employees. Especially his own family."

Sarah opened the journal.

"Oliver wrote that Edward apologized for doubting him. Because after investigating together, they discovered much more."

She slowly looked around the room.

"There were ghost projects."

Matthew immediately asked,

"Ghost projects?"

Victor explained.

"Projects that existed only on paper. Millions were supposedly invested. But the developments never existed. No construction. No employees. No equipment. Nothing."

Sarah added,

"There were also fraudulent investment agreements. Companies that received funding only to disappear."

Victor turned another page.

"And every major approval carried the same signature."

He paused before saying the name.

"Arthur Jones."

The room became completely silent.

Liliana looked toward her grandmother.

"Grandma, who is Arthur Jones?"

Before Lucia could answer, Uncle Robert quietly spoke.

"I’ll explain."

Everyone turned toward him.

Robert took a slow breath.

"Arthur..."

"...is our half-brother."

Several of the younger family members looked surprised.

"Our father..."

Robert continued,

"...had an affair during his marriage with Mother."

"And a son was born. When Arthur’s mother passed away, Mother..."

He looked toward Lucia.

"...chose to adopt him."

Lucia nodded sadly.

"I couldn’t blame the child. He had done nothing wrong. So I raised him as my own."

Robert smiled faintly.

"Arthur grew up with us. He wasn’t treated differently. He called Mother ’Mom’ just like the rest of us. He and Edward were especially close."

Gideon nodded.

"They were inseparable. They studied and worked together. Edward trusted Arthur completely.

Liliana felt her chest tighten.

"My father trusted him..."

Robert answered quietly.

"More than almost anyone."

Victor slowly closed one folder.

"That makes Oliver’s journal even more significant."

........

Sarah carefully removed another copied page.

"This entry was written only days before Edward and Vanessa died."

She read aloud.

"Edward finally believes me. Arthur insists everything is a misunderstanding. Edward wants one final meeting before taking everything to the authorities."

The room fell silent again.

Chris slowly looked toward Victor.

"So, my father-in-law was preparing to expose the fraud?"

Victor nodded.

"That’s exactly what the journal suggests."

Liliana instinctively squeezed Chris’s hand tighter.

...

Henry finally spoke.

It was rare.

Everyone immediately looked toward him.

"I remember Arthur."

Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"You met him?"

Henry nodded.

"Once."

"It was shortly before the accident. I was still new to working with Chairman Matthew. He visited the mansion."

Henry frowned slightly.

"I remember thinking..."

"...he looked nervous."

Victor immediately asked,

"Did he say anything unusual?"

Henry thought carefully.

"Only one thing. He kept asking where Edward was. And whether he’d already left."

Sarah quickly wrote the detail down.

"It may be important."

...

Robert continued quietly.

"After Edward and Vanessa died, Arthur completely disappeared. He told Mother that staying close to the family was too painful."

Lucia slowly closed her eyes.

"He cried. He hugged every one of us. He said looking at all of us reminds him of Edward.’"

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"So, I respected his decision."

Robert nodded.

"We all did. For years, we believed he simply wanted to grieve alone."

Victor looked down at another report.

"But he didn’t disappear. He built something."

Matthew accepted the document.

His eyes widened.

"The largest technology company in the country."

Sarah nodded.

"Within a year after Edward and Vanessa’s deaths. The company expanded rapidly. From acquisitions and government contracts to international investors. His fortune multiplied faster than almost any businessman of his generation."

Amanda quietly whispered,

"And not once did he return?"

Lucia slowly shook her head.

"Not once. Not on any occasion. There was no letter. No phone call. He..."

Her voice broke.

"...forgot us."

Victor slowly closed the final folder.

"We cannot accuse Arthur Jones of murder based solely on Oliver Finn’s journal."

He looked around the room.

"But we now have three independent pieces of evidence."

He counted them carefully.

"Oliver Finn’s written records."

"Harry Finn’s dying statement."

"And financial documents connecting Arthur Jones to the missing corporate funds."

Sarah looked toward Liliana.

"For twenty years, everyone believed your parents died in a tragic accident."

She paused.

"Now, it appears someone wanted the world to believe exactly that."

The room remained silent.

For the first time in two decades, Edward and Vanessa Sterling’s story was no longer about a tragic accident.

It had become a murder investigation.

And Arthur Jones...

The trusted brother who had vanished without looking back had just become the center of it.