The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 20 THE BODY BURIED UNDER HER NAME

Varek read the message again.

IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR BROTHER, FIND THE BODY BURIED UNDER MY NAME.

He called Eleanor immediately.

The number was unavailable.

He tried again.

Nothing.

“Damn it!”

He shoved the phone into his pocket and hurried toward his car.

Adrian.

His brother.

The revelation refused to settle in his mind.

If Eleanor had given birth to Adrian, then who had given birth to Varek? Mara had claimed to be his biological mother, while Cassian insisted Richard was his biological father.

Nothing made sense.

But one thing was clear.

Eleanor had sent him to a cemetery, and she had warned him that someone would die before midnight.

Varek started the engine.

Before he could pull out, the passenger door opened.

Richard climbed inside.

“Get out,” Varek ordered.

“No.”

“I don’t have time for you.”

“Then listen quickly. I know that cemetery.”

Varek glanced at him.

“How?”

Richard stared through the windscreen.

“Because I buried someone there.”

Varek’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.

“Who?”

Richard hesitated.

“Your mother.”

“Which one?”

Richard looked at him.

“The woman who gave birth to you.”

Varek went still.

“Mara?”

“No.”

“Eleanor?”

Richard shook his head.

“Her name was never recorded in the original hospital register. Your grandfather ordered it erased.”

Varek stared at him.

“Then how do you know she was buried there?”

“Because I was the one who arranged the burial.”

Varek turned the key.

The engine roared.

“Start talking.”

Richard swallowed.

“Twenty-nine years ago, three women entered that hospital. Eleanor, Mara, and another woman whose identity was protected by your grandfather. By morning, three children had been recorded, but only two mothers were listed.”

“And the third woman?”

“She died.”

“Who killed her?”

Richard didn’t answer.

Varek pulled out of the parking area.

“I’m asking you a question.”

“I don’t know.”

“You arranged her burial!”

“I was told she had died during childbirth. I never saw her body.”

Varek laughed bitterly.

“Another convenient story.”

Richard looked at him.

“That’s why you must be careful. The body buried under Eleanor’s name may not be Eleanor’s.”

Varek pressed the accelerator.

⸻

The cemetery stood outside the city, surrounded by a rusted iron fence and overgrown trees.

It was almost deserted.

Varek parked near the entrance and stepped out with Richard following behind.

His phone showed 10:43 p.m.

They had little time.

“Where is the grave?” Varek asked.

Richard pointed toward the older section.

“Near the eastern wall.”

They walked between rows of neglected graves until Richard stopped before a large marble tombstone.

ELEANOR THORNE

BELOVED WIFE AND MOTHER

REST IN PEACE.

Varek stared at the inscription.

“This is where you buried her?”

Richard nodded.

“According to the records, yes.”

“Then why did Eleanor tell me to find the body?”

Richard looked uncomfortable.

“Because I never confirmed who was inside.”

Varek crouched and examined the grave.

Something about the tombstone bothered him.

The date of death was twenty years earlier.

But the inscription had no birth date.

He brushed away the dirt near the bottom.

A small metal plate had been fixed beneath the stone.

It contained a series of numbers.

TH-003-VALE.

Varek stood.

“Do you recognize this?”

Richard’s face changed.

“Yes.”

“What does it mean?”

Richard looked around before answering.

“It’s a hospital identification code.”

“For whom?”

“Not for Eleanor.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Then whose?”

Richard opened his mouth.

A gunshot exploded through the cemetery.

The bullet struck the marble tombstone beside Varek’s head.

“DOWN!”

Richard dragged him behind a nearby concrete grave.

Another shot followed.

Varek pulled out his gun.

Two men emerged from behind the trees.

One wore a black jacket. The other carried a rifle.

“Stay here,” Varek ordered.

Richard grabbed his arm.

“Don’t chase them. They’re not ordinary guards.”

Varek pulled free.

“Neither am I.”

He moved between the graves, using the tombstones for cover.

The man with the rifle fired again.

Varek returned fire.

The attacker dropped behind a stone monument.

The second man rushed toward Richard.

Richard tried to defend himself, but the attacker struck him across the face and knocked him to the ground.

Varek turned at the sound.

“Richard!”

The attacker raised his weapon.

Varek fired.

The man collapsed.

The second attacker disappeared into the darkness.

Varek hurried back to Richard.

Blood ran down the side of his face.

“Can you stand?”

Richard nodded weakly.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Varek helped him up.

Then a phone began ringing inside the grave.

Both men froze.

Varek looked at the tombstone.

The sound was coming from beneath it.

He approached carefully and noticed that the marble base had been slightly shifted.

Someone had opened the grave recently.

He pulled at the loose edge.

A narrow compartment appeared underneath.

Inside lay a small black phone, a hospital identification bracelet, and a sealed envelope.

Varek picked up the bracelet.

The name printed on it made his blood run cold.

BABY BOY — TH-003-VALE.

Below the name was a date.

The same date he had been born.

He opened the envelope.

There was a photograph inside.

Three newborn babies lay beside one another in a hospital cot.

On the back, someone had written:

ONE BELONGED TO RICHARD. ONE BELONGED TO MARA. ONE BELONGED TO ELEANOR.

Varek stared at the photograph.

Then he noticed something else.

A fourth line had been written beneath the message.

THE FOURTH CHILD WAS NEVER BORN.

“What does that mean?” he whispered.

Richard looked over his shoulder.

His expression changed instantly.

“Where did you get that?”

“Inside the grave.”

Richard snatched the photograph.

Varek grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t touch it.”

Richard struggled.

“You don’t understand what you’re looking at!”

“Then explain it!”

Richard looked terrified.

“The three children in that photograph weren’t the only children involved.”

Varek released him slowly.

“Who was the fourth?”

Richard stared at the ground.

“Your grandfather created a fourth identity. A child who existed only in the records. That identity was used to hide the real ownership of the inheritance.”

Varek frowned.

“Then why does the photograph say the fourth child was never born?”

“Because someone wanted the world to believe there were four heirs when there were only three.”

Varek studied the photograph again.

Three babies.

Three names.

Three mothers.

And an identity that had never belonged to a real child.

His phone vibrated.

A new message had arrived.

It contained a photograph of Adrian.

He was sitting in a dark room with his hands tied behind his back.

A man stood behind him, holding a gun to his head.

The message read:

YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES. BRING THE ORIGINAL BIRTH REGISTER.

Varek’s jaw tightened.

A second message followed.

AND COME ALONE.

Richard looked at the phone.

“Who sent that?”

“Lucian.”

“You can’t go.”

“Watch me.”

Richard caught his arm.

“Varek, listen. The original register is not in the hospital.”

“Where is it?”

Richard hesitated.

“Your grandfather kept it in the Blackstone vault.”

Varek stared at him.

“The vault that was attacked?”

“Yes.”

“Alistair is dead.”

Richard shook his head.

“You don’t know that.”

Varek’s phone rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

A man’s voice came through.

“Hello, Varek.”

Varek recognized it immediately.

Sebastian Blackstone.

“Where have you been?” Varek demanded.

“Trying to keep you alive.”

“Then tell me where Alistair is.”

There was a pause.

“Why are you asking about him?”

“Because I need the original birth register.”

Sebastian exhaled.

“You found the cemetery.”

Varek froze.

“How do you know?”

“Because I know what Eleanor buried there.”

Varek looked at the grave.

“What did she bury?”

“Not a body.”

Varek’s blood ran cold.

“What?”

“The original birth register. The grave was a hiding place. The body was moved years ago.”

Varek stared at the open compartment.

The identification bracelet.

The photograph.

The envelope.

None of them had been there by accident.

“Where is the register?”

Sebastian’s voice dropped.

“Look beneath the cemetery.”

Varek looked around.

“What are you talking about?”

“There is an underground passage beneath the eastern wall. It leads to an old storage chamber.”

Richard suddenly stepped backward.

Varek noticed.

“Richard?”

But before he could turn fully, Richard struck him across the back of the head.

Pain exploded through Varek’s skull.

He stumbled forward.

His gun slipped from his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Richard whispered.

Varek tried to fight, but his vision blurred.

Richard picked up the phone.

“Sebastian, it’s done.”

Varek dropped to one knee.

Through his fading vision, he saw Richard walk toward the cemetery gate.

Then Sebastian’s voice came from the phone.

“Good. Bring him to me.”

Richard paused.

“And the boy?”

Sebastian answered calmly.

“Adrian must remain alive until the register is destroyed.”

Varek tried to rise.

But his body refused to obey.

Richard leaned over him.

“I’m sorry, son.”

Then he whispered something that made Varek’s heart stop.

“Because Adrian isn’t your brother.”

The world went black.