The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 11 THE THIRD BROTHER

“Your third brother has been standing beside you all along.”

Eleanor’s words echoed through Varek’s mind.

He stared at Adrian, who was struggling to remain upright beside him.

Then he looked toward the armed men surrounding the pillar.

“Mother, what do you mean?” he demanded into the phone.

Static crackled.

“Varek, listen to me. The man you trust most is—”

A gunshot exploded through the mausoleum.

The call disconnected.

“Mother!”

Varek stared at his phone, but the screen had gone dark.

Adrian grabbed his shoulder.

“Forget the call. We need to move.”

“Not until I know what she meant.”

“Do you want to die here?”

Varek looked at him.

For years, Adrian had been his greatest enemy. He had stolen opportunities, manipulated their father, and made Varek’s life miserable. Yet now they were standing together, trapped inside a mausoleum while armed men hunted them.

Varek hated the circumstances.

But he wasn’t going to abandon him.

“Stay behind me,” Varek ordered.

Adrian gave a bitter laugh.

“You still think you’re better than me.”

“No. I think you’re injured and barely able to stand.”

“Same difference.”

Another bullet struck the pillar.

Varek glanced toward the opposite wall.

There had to be another exit.

His eyes landed on a narrow doorway partially concealed behind a marble memorial.

He remembered Sebastian mentioning the private passage beneath the estate.

Perhaps this was it.

“Can you run?”

Adrian nodded.

“Then run when I tell you.”

Varek waited until the gunmen began moving toward the pillar.

“NOW!”

He grabbed Adrian’s arm and sprinted toward the concealed doorway.

A gunman shouted behind them.

Bullets struck the marble floor as the brothers disappeared into the passage.

Varek slammed the hidden door shut.

Darkness swallowed them.

For several seconds, neither man spoke.

Then Adrian doubled over, coughing.

“Where are we?”

“Somewhere our family doesn’t want us to be.”

Varek activated the flashlight on his phone.

The narrow passage descended beneath the mausoleum. Its walls were lined with old pipes, electrical cables, and faded photographs of the Thorne family.

They began moving deeper underground.

After several minutes, Adrian stopped beside a photograph.

“Wait.”

Varek turned.

“What?”

Adrian pointed at the image.

It showed Richard Thorne standing beside three younger men.

One was Jonathan.

Another was Cassian Vale.

The third man wore a Blackstone International security badge.

Varek’s stomach tightened.

“Who is that?”

Adrian looked at him.

“Sebastian Blackstone.”

Varek studied the photograph.

Sebastian appeared much younger, but there was no mistaking his face.

He stood beside Richard and Cassian with one hand resting on the shoulder of a little boy.

The boy looked about five years old.

And he looked exactly like Varek.

Varek stepped closer to the photograph.

“Why is Sebastian holding a child who looks like me?”

Adrian’s expression became unreadable.

“Because he raised him.”

Varek turned sharply.

“What?”

Adrian swallowed.

“Before you were born, Sebastian worked closely with your grandfather. He was responsible for protecting the family and handling certain matters that couldn’t be made public.”

“That doesn’t explain the child.”

“No. It doesn’t.”

Varek grabbed Adrian’s shirt.

“Tell me what you know.”

Adrian’s eyes flashed with anger.

“I don’t know everything! Richard never told me the whole story. All I know is that Sebastian had a son who supposedly died in an accident.”

Varek slowly released him.

A dead son.

A missing child.

A man who had spent years helping Varek uncover a conspiracy that seemed to involve everyone he had ever trusted.

“What’s the boy’s name?” Varek asked.

Adrian hesitated.

“Damian.”

The name struck Varek like a physical blow.

Damian Mercer.

The child declared dead.

The man whose identity had appeared in the financial records.

The person whose face seemed to match his own.

Varek stepped away from the photograph.

“No.”

Adrian watched him carefully.

“You’re beginning to understand.”

“Sebastian told me Damian was connected to Cassian.”

“Maybe he was. But that doesn’t mean Cassian was his father.”

Varek looked back at the image.

If Sebastian had raised Damian, then why had he never mentioned the boy?

Why had he helped Varek search for a brother whose existence he already knew about?

And why had Eleanor warned him that the third brother had been standing beside him all along?

A terrible possibility formed in his mind.

“Adrian, how long have you known Sebastian?”

“Since I was a child.”

“And did he ever tell you anything about his son?”

“No.”

“Did he ever claim that the boy was dead?”

Adrian nodded.

“Richard attended the funeral.”

Varek stared at him.

“Whose funeral?”

“Sebastian’s son’s funeral.”

Silence filled the passage.

Varek looked again at the photograph.

If the child was Damian, then the funeral might have been a lie.

And if Sebastian had secretly raised him, then perhaps he had spent years hiding his own son in plain sight.

But why?

Before Varek could ask another question, footsteps echoed behind them.

Someone had entered the passage.

Adrian grabbed his arm.

“We need to move.”

They hurried down the corridor until they reached a heavy steel door.

A digital keypad was mounted beside it.

Varek examined the lock.

“Do you know the code?”

Adrian shook his head.

“Try your birthday.”

Varek entered the numbers.

The keypad flashed red.

ACCESS DENIED.

He tried Richard’s birthday.

Denied.

Then he remembered the silver key Adrian had given him.

He inserted it into a narrow slot beneath the keypad.

A green light appeared.

The lock clicked.

Varek pushed the door open.

Beyond it was a small underground chamber filled with filing cabinets, old computers, and sealed document boxes.

At the center stood a black metal vault.

A brass plate was attached to its front.

THORNE FAMILY PRIVATE ARCHIVE.

Varek approached it slowly.

“This is what Jonathan wanted.”

Adrian looked around the chamber.

“No. He wanted the key.”

Varek examined the vault.

Two separate keyholes were built into the door.

One was marked with the Thorne family crest.

The other bore a symbol Varek had never seen before.

A circle divided into three sections.

Beneath it were three engraved initials.

V. A. D.

Varek stared at the letters.

“Varek. Adrian. Damian.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Why would a vault require all three names?”

“Because our grandfather didn’t trust any one of us to open it alone.”

Varek inserted the silver key into the second lock.

It turned smoothly.

But the first lock remained secured.

A small screen lit up above the vault.

FIRST HEIR IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.

A fingerprint scanner slid out from beneath the panel.

Varek placed his thumb against it.

The screen flashed green.

IDENTITY CONFIRMED.

Then another message appeared.

SECOND HEIR IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.

Adrian stared at the scanner.

“What happens if I try?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Adrian placed his thumb against the panel.

The screen flashed red.

IDENTITY NOT RECOGNIZED.

Adrian stepped back.

“What?”

He tried again.

The same result appeared.

Varek looked at him.

“You said Richard raised you as his son.”

“He did.”

“Then why doesn’t the vault recognize you?”

Adrian’s face had gone pale.

“I don’t know.”

The screen changed.

SECOND HEIR IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.

EXPECTED IDENTITY: DAMIAN MERCER.

Varek stared at the words.

The vault didn’t recognize Adrian as the second heir.

It recognized Damian.

A soft electronic chime sounded.

Then a voice came through a speaker hidden inside the wall.

“Welcome, Varek.”

Both brothers froze.

The voice was familiar.

Too familiar.

Sebastian Blackstone.

“Your grandfather left instructions that would only activate when you and your brother reached this chamber.”

Varek moved toward the speaker.

“Which brother?”

A pause followed.

Then Sebastian answered.

“That’s the question your grandfather wanted you to ask.”

Varek clenched his fists.

“Stop playing games with me! Where is Damian?”

“Closer than you think.”

“Are you Damian?”

Silence.

“Sebastian, answer me!”

A faint sound came through the speaker.

It almost sounded like a sigh.

Then Sebastian spoke.

“No, Varek. I am not Damian.”

Varek’s stomach tightened.

“Then who is?”

The vault screen suddenly changed.

A live video appeared.

Sebastian stood inside a luxurious office, his expression unusually serious.

Behind him was a wall covered with photographs.

Photographs of Varek at different stages of his life.

His first day at school.

His graduation.

His first day working at Thorne International.

Photographs that should never have been available to a stranger.

Sebastian stepped closer to the camera.

“Your grandfather made me promise to protect all three boys. I failed two of them.”

Varek felt his throat tighten.

“What happened to them?”

Sebastian looked away.

“One was stolen. One was hidden. And one was raised to believe he was the victim.”

Adrian took a step toward the screen.

“Who are you talking about?”

Sebastian’s expression changed when he saw Adrian.

For a moment, the powerful billionaire looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Then he whispered a name.

“Damian.”

Adrian stared at him.

“What did you call me?”

Sebastian closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his expression was filled with a grief Varek had never seen before.

“Adrian, your real name is not Adrian Thorne.”

The chamber fell silent.

Adrian shook his head.

“No.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No! Richard is my father!”

Sebastian said nothing.

Adrian backed away from the screen.

His breathing became ragged.

“Tell me he’s lying, Varek.”

Varek didn’t know what to say.

For years, he had believed Adrian was Richard’s biological son.

But the records were corrupted, the identities had been altered, and the vault had rejected Adrian’s fingerprint.

Now Sebastian was claiming that Adrian was Damian Mercer.

The child who had supposedly died.

The boy whose identity had been erased.

The man who might have been Varek’s missing brother all along.

Then the screen flickered.

A new message appeared.

THIRD HEIR IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.

Varek stared at the words.

“Third heir?”

Sebastian looked directly into the camera.

“Your grandfather’s final condition was that the archive could only be opened when all three heirs were present.”

“Where is the third heir?”

Sebastian’s face grew grave.

“Standing in front of you.”

Varek slowly turned toward Adrian.

Adrian stared back at him, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Then a loud click echoed from the vault.

A narrow compartment opened.

Inside lay a sealed envelope bearing Varek’s name.

He reached for it.

The moment he broke the seal, a small photograph slipped out.

It showed Eleanor holding three newborn babies.

On the back, she had written a single sentence.

ONLY ONE OF MY SONS KNOWS WHO KILLED HIS FATHER.

Varek looked up.

Adrian was staring at the photograph.

His face had become completely white.

“Adrian?”

His brother slowly stepped backward.

Then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small pistol.

Varek froze.

“Put it down.”

Adrian’s hand trembled.

“I didn’t know.”

“Put the gun down!”

Tears filled Adrian’s eyes.

“I didn’t know he was your father.”

Varek felt the blood drain from his face.

“Who?”

Adrian looked directly at him.

Then he whispered the words that shattered everything Varek thought he understood.

“I killed Cassian Vale.”