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Allison Mayer
Allison Mayer
Author

Novels by Allison Mayer

THE SON THEY BURIED WAS THEIR ONLY HEIR

THE SON THEY BURIED WAS THEIR ONLY HEIR

For twenty-five years, Benedict Vandross gave everything to the Ashcroft family. He sacrificed his dreams to build their billion-dollar empire, worked tirelessly to protect their legacy, and loved them as if they were his own. Yet to them, he was only the quiet young man who never complained, never refused, and never asked for anything in return. Then the family's "long-lost heir" finally comes home. Overnight, Benedict is cast aside. The father he admired no longer looks his way. The mother who unknowingly cherished him is told to forget him. The sister he protected turns against him. Even the woman who promised to spend her life with him chooses the newly returned heir instead. Humiliated, betrayed, and left with nothing, Benedict walks away without a single word. But the Ashcroft family has made one fatal mistake. The son they abandoned was never an outsider. He is the only one who carries the true Ashcroft blood. As old secrets buried for decades begin to surface, a ruthless conspiracy threatens to destroy the empire from within. The "heir" they welcomed may be nothing more than a carefully placed pawn, while the son they threw away becomes the only man capable of saving everything they hold dear. When the truth is finally revealed, will regret be enough to mend a family that buried its own heir? Or will the man they never valued choose to let their empire fall? Sometimes the greatest betrayal isn't losing your family-- it's discovering they never knew who you truly were.
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Chapter: Chapter Sixty Nine: The Bloodline 
“Mom!”Damian pressed his hand against Eleanor's shoulder.“She's losing blood.”Edmund immediately pointed toward the crypt.“Bring her inside.”Benedict helped Damian carry Eleanor into the old stone chamber.Daniel followed, watching the cemetery entrance.“They're gone.”“For now,” Edmund said.Benedict looked at him.“Can you stop the bleeding?”Edmund nodded.“There are supplies inside.”Within minutes, Eleanor was lying on an old wooden table.The bullet had passed through her shoulder.She was conscious, but pale.Damian stayed beside her.“Why didn't you tell me?”Eleanor looked at him.“Because knowing the truth made you a target.”“You kept me in the dark.”“I was trying to keep you alive.”Benedict stepped closer.“You said Magnus knows about our children.”Eleanor closed her eyes.“I shouldn't have said that.”“Why?”“Because I don't mean that you already have children.”Daniel frowned.“Then what did you mean?”Eleanor looked at both brothers.“The succession protects th
Last Updated: 2026-08-23
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Eight: The Grave That Wasn't Empty 
The rain had become heavier by the time they reached the Ashcroft cemetery.Damian parked beside the iron gate.Samuel remained in the car.“I won't go inside.”Benedict looked at him.“Why?”“Because if I'm right, the person we're looking for already knows we're coming.”Daniel opened his door.“Then we should hurry.”They entered the cemetery together.Rows of Ashcroft graves disappeared into the darkness.Damian switched on his flashlight.“Where are we going?”Samuel had given them only one instruction.Find the grave with no name.Benedict remembered something from childhood.A section of the cemetery his grandfather had forbidden anyone to enter.“The old family crypt.”Daniel looked at him.“You've been there?”“Once.”“How old were you?”“Seven.”“What happened?”Benedict stopped walking.“I don't remember.”Daniel studied his face.“Maybe you do.”Benedict looked at him.“What?”“You've been remembering pieces all night.”Benedict said nothing.They continued.At the far end
Last Updated: 2026-08-23
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Seven: The Names They Buried 
The underground door shook again.Samuel stepped away from the table.“They're here.”Damian looked at the narrow passage behind them.“Is there another exit?”Samuel nodded.“But it won't take all of us.”Benedict looked at the document in his hand.“Then we'll make one.”Daniel glanced at him.“With what?”Benedict looked toward the stone wall.“The same thing they used to hide this place.”Samuel's expression changed.“You understand.”“Not completely.”Benedict placed his hand against the wall.“But I'm starting to.”A faint click sounded beneath his fingers.A section of stone moved.Behind it was a narrow opening.Damian stared.“You found another passage?”Samuel smiled faintly.“Your mother would have been proud.”The underground door shook again.This time, a crack appeared across its center.Samuel gathered the remaining papers.“Go.”Benedict looked at him.“You're coming.”“I have to.”“Then move.”They entered the passage.Samuel closed the stone panel behind them.A few
Last Updated: 2026-08-23
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Six:The Two Heirs
The manor shook again.Dust fell from the ceiling.Damian rushed toward the window.“Someone is attacking the main gate.”Victor turned to the security officers.“Lock every entrance.”“They've already breached the outer grounds.”Victor's expression hardened.“How many?”“We don't know.”Benedict remained beside Daniel.For the first time, neither brother looked like a stranger.They looked like men who had finally discovered the same enemy.Grace slipped the verification seal into her pocket.“We have to leave.”Victor looked at her.“Where?”“The old chapel.”Victor's face changed.“No.”Benedict noticed.“Why?”Victor shook his head.That's where your grandfather stored the old records.Grace nodded.“And that's where the attackers will look first.”Damian frowned.“Then why go there?”“Because the original succession document isn't there.”Everyone turned toward Grace.“Where is it?”Grace looked at Benedict.“Your mother moved it before she disappeared.”Benedict's eyes narrowed
Last Updated: 2026-08-22
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Five:The Witness
When they got back to Ashcroft Manor, it had already started raining.Damian parked away from the main entrance.No lights were visible in the east wing.That bothered him.The manor was never completely dark.“Are you sure this is the place?” Daniel asked.Benedict picked up the key that Mara had forgotten.“This is what she wanted us to find.”Jonathan looked toward the upper windows.“Or what someone wanted us to find.”Benedict glanced at him.“You're becoming very suspicious.”“I'm trying to stay alive.”Damian opened the car door.“Then stay close.”They crossed the grounds.The east wing had been closed for years.Victor had always told Damian it was structurally unsafe.It slowly dawned on Damian that he had likely been deceived once again.Benedict inserted the key into the side entrance.The lock turned immediately.Too easily.Jonathan noticed it too.“Someone has used this recently.”Benedict pushed the door open.Dust covered the hallway.But there were fresh footprints a
Last Updated: 2026-08-22
Chapter: Chapter Sixty Four: The Man Who Designed the Lie 
The gunshot echoed through the tunnel.Jonathan's hand slipped.Benedict caught his wrist before he fell.“Hold on!”Damian was still gripping Benedict's other arm.Daniel had one hand against the broken edge of the dock.Water rushed beneath them.Another shot struck the concrete.“Get up!” Benedict shouted.Daniel pulled himself onto the remaining platform.Then he reached for Damian.Together, they dragged Benedict upward.Jonathan collapsed beside them.Blood spread across his shoulder.Damian looked at him.“You've been shot.”Jonathan gritted his teeth.“I'm aware.”Benedict looked toward the darkness.Magnus was gone.“Where did he go?”Daniel pointed toward the far end of the tunnel.“He won't stay.”“Then we move.”Jonathan struggled to stand.Damian helped him.“You can't walk.”“I can.”“You're bleeding.”“I've been worse.”Benedict looked at Daniel.“You said there's another entrance.”Daniel nodded.“Under the water.”Damian stared at him.“You want us to swim through tha
Last Updated: 2026-08-22
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