The quiet room felt completely frozen as everyone watched the stranger's hands.
Arthur took two slow steps forward along the marble aisle.
Arthur: It cannot be you.
Stranger: You thought I was gone forever, didn't you?
The stranger pulled the first layer of cloth away from his chin.
The dusty bandage unravelled slowly and dropped onto the floor.
A strong jawline appeared, covered in rough dark stubble.
Julian gasped as he recognized the sharp line of the stranger's chin.
Julian: Mark?
Clara: Who is Mark, Julian?
Julian: My older brother who vanished five years ago.
The crowd began whispering rapidly among themselves in total confusion.
Everyone believed Mark Vance had left the country after a terrible scandal.
Mark pulled off the remaining bandages covering his face completely.
His face showed tiredness and deep stress, but his eyes were sharp and clear.
Mark: I never left the city, brother.
Arthur: Mark, my son, where have you been all these years?
Mark: I was hidden away in a small house outside town.
Mark looked directly into Arthur's eyes with steady anger.
Mark: Someone paid a medical clinic to keep me locked away from society.
Julian: That is crazy, Mark!
Julian: Why would anyone do something so terrible to you?
Mark: Ask our father's business lawyer sitting in the front row.
Every head turned toward a quiet lawyer named Richard Vance.
Richard sat in the third row, his face turning bright red.
Richard: He is lying and clearly confused from his long absence!
Mark: I have the legal papers right here in my coat pocket, Richard.
Mark pulled out a thick yellow envelope tied with brown string.
He held the envelope high so every guest could see it clearly.
Mark: This holds the truth about the Vance estate inheritance.
Clara stepped closer to Mark and looked at his exhausted face.
Clara: You were hidden away to stop you from inheriting the company?
Mark: Yes, Clara, exactly that.
Arthur: Richard, is this true?
Richard stood up quickly and grabbed his leather briefcase from the floor.
Richard: I do not have to answer these absurd accusations today!
Two guards immediately stepped in front of Richard to block his path.
Guard: Stay right where you are, sir.
Julian felt a wave of guilt wash over his mind instantly.
He had spent five years believing his brother abandoned the family business.
Julian: Mark, I am so sorry I did not search harder for you.
Mark: You did not know, Julian.
Mark: But today, the truth comes out completely.