The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 21 THE BROTHER WHO WAS NEVER HIS BROTHER

Varek woke to the sound of dripping water.

His head throbbed.

For several seconds, he couldn’t remember where he was. Then the events at the cemetery returned.

The gunshots.

The hidden compartment.

Richard striking him.

And those final words.

Adrian isn’t your brother.

Varek opened his eyes.

He was lying on a cold concrete floor inside a dimly lit room. His hands were tied behind his back, and a metal chain secured his ankle to a pipe.

A single bulb hung from the ceiling.

Someone had removed his phone, watch, and gun.

He tried pulling against the chain.

It didn’t move.

“Finally awake.”

Varek turned.

Richard sat on a wooden chair near the wall.

His face was bruised from the cemetery attack, but he seemed perfectly comfortable.

“Where are we?” Varek asked.

“Somewhere nobody will find us.”

“Untie me.”

Richard shook his head.

“Not yet.”

Varek stared at him.

“You betrayed me.”

“I saved your life.”

“You knocked me unconscious.”

“Because you wouldn’t listen.”

Varek laughed bitterly.

“You expect me to believe that?”

Richard leaned forward.

“Listen carefully. Everything you’ve been told about your family is incomplete. Even the things you’ve discovered yourself.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

Richard looked at him for a long moment.

“Adrian is not your biological brother.”

Varek remained silent.

“His real name is Damian Mercer. He was born to Mara Mercer and another man.”

“Cassian?”

Richard nodded.

“Cassian raised him for a while, but he wasn’t his biological father either.”

Varek frowned.

“Then who was?”

Richard looked away.

“Jonathan Thorne.”

Varek felt a chill.

“Jonathan?”

“Yes.”

The name brought back memories of the man whose identity had haunted him since the beginning.

The man who had supposedly died twenty-nine years ago.

The man whose ring had appeared in hospital footage.

The man connected to the original identity switches.

“Are you saying Jonathan is Adrian’s father?”

“I’m saying Jonathan was recorded as Damian’s father.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

Richard gave a tired smile.

“Now you’re beginning to understand.”

Varek pulled against his restraints.

“Stop speaking in riddles!”

Richard stood.

“Your grandfather wanted three boys separated. He believed that if they grew up together, they would eventually discover what had happened to their parents. So he arranged for each child to carry a different identity.”

“And the fourth identity?”

“A legal identity created to control the inheritance.”

Varek stared at him.

“Why would Adrian be called Damian?”

“Because Damian Mercer was the identity Jonathan wanted erased.”

Richard paused.

“And Adrian Thorne was the identity your grandfather created to replace him.”

Varek’s mind raced.

“So Adrian was never supposed to know who he was?”

“No.”

“Who told him?”

“Cassian.”

Varek looked at him sharply.

“Cassian told him?”

“Years later. That’s why Adrian started searching for the truth.”

“Then why did he try to kill me?”

Richard’s expression darkened.

“Because he believed you had stolen the life that belonged to him.”

Varek shook his head.

“He had everything. The company, the money, the family name.”

“He had an identity, not a life.”

Richard moved closer.

“And someone convinced him that you were responsible for what happened to his mother.”

“Mara?”

Richard nodded.

Varek remembered Mara standing in the clinic, unable to deny Cassian’s accusations.

He remembered her tears.

Her confession.

Her claim that she had given birth to him.

“Where is Mara now?”

Richard didn’t answer.

“Where is she?”

“Lucian has her.”

Varek’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“Because she knows where the original birth register is hidden.”

Varek remembered Sebastian’s voice.

Look beneath the cemetery.

He looked around the room.

“Where did you bring me?”

Richard hesitated.

“An old Thorne property.”

“Near the cemetery?”

Richard nodded.

Varek studied him.

“You brought me here because you wanted me away from the others.”

“I brought you here because Lucian was going to kill you.”

“Yet you handed me over to him.”

Richard’s face tightened.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

Richard said nothing.

Then a door opened behind him.

A man walked inside.

Varek recognized him immediately.

Sebastian Blackstone.

He wore a dark suit, and his expression was calm.

“Good morning, Varek.”

Varek stared at him.

“You’re working with Richard now?”

Sebastian smiled faintly.

“Working with him? No. I’ve been working with him for twenty-nine years.”

The words landed like a blow.

Varek looked from Sebastian to Richard.

“Both of you?”

Richard lowered his eyes.

Sebastian pulled another chair forward and sat.

“You’ve been asking the wrong questions, Varek.”

“Then give me the right ones.”

Sebastian placed a photograph on the table.

It showed three newborn babies.

The same photograph Varek had found at the cemetery.

But this copy had something different.

Three names were written beneath the children.

VAREK BLACKSTONE.

DAMIAN MERCER.

ADRIAN THORNE.

Varek stared at the first name.

“Why am I listed as Blackstone?”

“Because that was the identity you were originally given.”

“By whom?”

“Your grandfather.”

“Why?”

Sebastian leaned back.

“Because he wanted you to inherit the Blackstone assets without being recognized as a Thorne heir.”

Varek looked at him.

“Then why did Richard raise me?”

“Because the plan changed.”

Richard finally spoke.

“Alistair discovered that the three boys had been registered under different identities. He wanted to bring you all together and restore your original names.”

“And you stopped him?”

Richard nodded.

“I thought I was protecting you.”

Varek laughed.

“Everybody keeps saying that.”

Sebastian slid another photograph across the table.

This one showed two women standing outside a hospital.

Eleanor was on the left.

Mara was on the right.

Between them stood a third woman Varek had never seen.

She was holding a baby.

On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message.

THE CHILDREN WERE NEVER THE SECRET. THE MOTHERS WERE.

Varek examined the woman’s face.

“Who is she?”

Sebastian’s expression changed.

For the first time, the billionaire looked genuinely uncomfortable.

“Her name was Helena Vale.”

Varek stared at him.

“Vale?”

“Yes.”

“Who was she?”

Sebastian took a slow breath.

“She was Cassian’s wife.”

Varek frowned.

“Cassian was married?”

“Before Mara entered his life.”

Richard looked toward Sebastian.

“That’s enough.”

“No,” Varek said. “Continue.”

Sebastian ignored Richard.

“Helena gave birth to a boy on the same night as you. But her child was declared dead before the birth records were completed.”

Varek’s heartbeat quickened.

“Was that child me?”

Sebastian didn’t answer immediately.

Then he said, “That’s what Cassian believed.”

Varek stared at him.

“But Cassian said Mara gave birth to me.”

“Cassian has been lying about several things.”

“Which things?”

Sebastian leaned forward.

“He never raised you.”

The room became silent.

“He never held you as a baby. He never took you home. He never protected you from Richard. He was given photographs and told that one of the children was his.”

Varek looked toward Richard.

“Is that true?”

Richard nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

“Then why did he say he raised me?”

“Because he wanted you to believe he had a claim over you.”

Varek’s jaw tightened.

“Why?”

“Because the original inheritance agreement gave Cassian control over the assets connected to the child born to Helena.”

Varek looked at the photograph again.

The woman holding the baby.

Helena Vale.

A woman whose name had never appeared in any of the records he had investigated.

“Where is she?”

Sebastian’s face hardened.

“Dead.”

“How?”

“An accident.”

Varek laughed.

“Another accident.”

Sebastian said nothing.

Varek looked down at the photograph.

Then he noticed something.

The baby in Helena’s arms wore a tiny silver bracelet.

He had seen that bracelet before.

On the newborn photograph Sebastian had shown him weeks earlier.

The same bracelet had appeared on the wrist of the child identified as Varek Blackstone.

Varek raised his head.

“Where is the original bracelet?”

Sebastian looked at Richard.

Richard’s face had gone pale.

“Where is it?” Varek repeated.

Before either man could answer, a loud crash came from outside.

Someone shouted.

Then gunshots rang through the building.

Sebastian stood immediately.

Richard reached for his weapon.

Varek struggled against the chain.

“What’s happening?”

Sebastian moved toward the door.

“Stay here.”

A second crash shook the room.

The door flew open.

A man stumbled inside, blood running down his forehead.

“Sir!”

Sebastian turned.

“What happened?”

The guard struggled to speak.

“They’re here.”

“Who?”

The man looked directly at Varek.

“Adrian Thorne.”

Varek’s heart jumped.

“Adrian is here?”

The guard nodded.

“But he didn’t come alone.”

Sebastian pulled out his gun.

“Who came with him?”

The guard swallowed.

“Cassian Vale.”

Varek stared.

“That is impossible. Cassian was at the clinic.”

The guard shook his head.

“Not anymore.”

He pointed toward the corridor.

“And there’s someone else with them.”

“Who?”

The guard’s voice dropped.

“Eleanor.”

Varek stopped breathing.

The door behind the guard slowly opened wider.

A woman stepped into the room.

Her face was pale, her clothes were dirty, and a fresh bandage covered her forehead.

But Varek knew her.

He had searched for her.

He had cried for her.

He had believed he would never see her again.

“Mother?”

Eleanor looked at him.

Tears filled her eyes.

“Varek.”

He pulled against the chain.

“Are you really here?”

She nodded.

Then her expression changed.

“Don’t let them untie you.”

Varek froze.

“What?”

Eleanor looked past him toward Richard and Sebastian.

“They’ve already found out that the wrong child was buried under my name.”

Sebastian raised his gun.

“Eleanor, don’t.”

She ignored him.

Then she looked directly at Varek.

“The child they called Varek Blackstone was never you.”

Varek’s heart pounded.

“Then who am I?”

Eleanor opened her mouth.

But before she could answer, a gunshot rang out.

She fell to the floor.

And the man standing behind her stepped into the light.

Alistair Thorne.