The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 25 THE THIRD HEIR IS NAOMI CROSS

The photograph remained on the giant screen.

Naomi Cross.

The woman who had helped Varek uncover every hidden account, every forged document, and every secret buried inside the Thorne family.

Now her face was staring back at him from a hospital photograph taken twenty-nine years ago.

Varek stepped closer.

“That’s impossible.”

Jonathan Junior stood beside the staircase.

“Is it?”

“Naomi is a forensic accountant. She’s not connected to this family.”

Jonathan smiled.

“That’s what she wanted you to believe.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Naomi has been helping us from the beginning. She has risked her life for Varek.”

“Exactly,” Jonathan replied. “She needed to stay close to the two original heirs.”

Varek turned toward him.

“Stop talking like you know everything. Explain the photograph.”

Jonathan walked toward the screen.

“Twenty-nine years ago, three children were born into three powerful families. Their identities were changed, their birth records were manipulated, and their inheritance rights were separated.”

He pointed at Naomi’s photograph.

“But there was another child.”

Varek frowned.

“Another child?”

“A fourth child. Not the fourth identity your grandfather created on paper. A real child.”

Adrian looked at the photograph.

“Are you saying Naomi is that child?”

Jonathan nodded.

“Naomi was born that same night.”

Varek shook his head.

“Then why was she never mentioned in the birth register?”

“Because her birth was hidden.”

“By whom?”

Jonathan looked toward Helena.

She had remained silent since entering the room.

“Ask her.”

Varek turned.

“Mother?”

Helena looked at the photograph.

Then she nodded.

“It’s true.”

Varek stared at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t know where she was.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

Helena wiped her eyes.

“I gave birth to two boys. But another woman gave birth to a girl that night. Her name was Grace Cross.”

Varek’s expression changed.

“Naomi’s mother?”

“Yes.”

Helena continued.

“Grace was a nurse at the hospital. She discovered that the newborn records were being altered. She threatened to expose everyone involved.”

“What happened to her?”

Helena looked away.

“She disappeared.”

Jonathan interrupted.

“She was murdered.”

Varek turned sharply.

“By whom?”

Jonathan’s expression remained cold.

“Your grandfather.”

Varek looked toward the portrait of Alistair hanging on the wall.

The old man had spent twenty-nine years manipulating identities, stealing children, and controlling their lives.

Now he was being accused of another murder.

“Why would he kill a nurse?”

“Because Grace had something he couldn’t allow anyone to see.”

“What?”

Jonathan walked toward the screen.

“A blood sample.”

He pressed a button.

A new document appeared.

It contained the results of an old genetic examination.

Varek recognized the names immediately.

VAREK VALE.

ADRIAN THORNE.

NAOMI CROSS.

A fourth name appeared beneath them.

JONATHAN THORNE JUNIOR.

Beside each name was a genetic classification.

Varek leaned forward.

“What am I looking at?”

Jonathan pointed to the results.

“The original family connection.”

Varek studied the document.

Then he noticed something strange.

The genetic results did not identify all four individuals as siblings.

Instead, three were connected through one parent, while the fourth had a different genetic connection.

“Explain this.”

Jonathan smiled.

“Your grandfather didn’t create the inheritance system to reward biological children. He created it to identify four specific bloodlines.”

Adrian frowned.

“Four?”

“Yes. The Thorne bloodline, the Vale bloodline, the Mercer bloodline, and the Cross bloodline.”

Varek looked at Naomi’s photograph again.

“Why would Naomi be part of the inheritance?”

“Because Grace Cross was the only person who knew how to unlock the original trust.”

“And Naomi inherited that ability?”

“Not exactly. She inherited something more important.”

Jonathan pointed to the genetic report.

“Her blood completes the original security sequence.”

Adrian stepped forward.

“So the third heir isn’t Naomi?”

Jonathan shook his head.

“She is the fourth biological key.”

Varek’s expression hardened.

“Then who is the third heir?”

Jonathan looked directly at him.

“You already know him.”

Varek frowned.

“Who?”

Jonathan smiled.

“Sebastian Blackstone.”

⸻

The revelation changed everything.

Varek remembered the hospital footage.

The Blackstone vault.

The strange promises Sebastian had made.

The way he always appeared whenever the truth was close to being uncovered.

“You’re telling me Sebastian is one of the heirs?”

Jonathan nodded.

“He was born into the Blackstone family, but his original identity was different.”

Adrian looked confused.

“Then why did he help us?”

“Because he needed both of you alive.”

Varek stared at Jonathan.

“For what?”

“To complete the inheritance sequence.”

Jonathan walked toward the centre of the room.

“Your grandfather divided the original fortune into four sections. Three were assigned to the original heirs. The fourth was reserved for the person who could prove that the identities had been changed.”

“And that person is Naomi,” Varek said.

Jonathan nodded.

“Correct.”

Varek’s phone suddenly vibrated.

A message appeared from an unknown number.

NAOMI IS NOT SAFE.

Another message followed.

SHE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE OLD THORNE HOSPITAL.

Varek immediately called her.

The call rang.

Once.

Twice.

Then it connected.

“Varek?”

Naomi’s voice sounded weak.

“Where are you?”

“Don’t come here.”

“Naomi, where are you?”

“Listen to me. I found something.”

Varek looked toward Jonathan.

“What did you find?”

“The original DNA report.”

“Where?”

“In the hospital archive. The report confirms everything.”

Varek’s heart raced.

“Tell me what it says.”

Naomi hesitated.

Then she whispered:

“Varek, you and Adrian are not twins.”

Varek closed his eyes.

He had expected another revelation.

But hearing it from Naomi made it worse.

“Who are we, then?”

“Adrian is Richard’s biological son.”

Varek looked at Richard’s photograph on the table.

“And me?”

Naomi’s breathing became uneven.

“You are Jonathan’s son.”

Varek glanced toward the man standing before him.

“I already know that.”

“No, Varek. You don’t understand.”

Her voice cracked.

“Jonathan Thorne is not your biological father.”

Varek went still.

“What?”

“He adopted the identity of your real father.”

Jonathan Junior’s smile vanished.

Naomi continued.

“The DNA report shows that your biological father is—”

A loud crash interrupted her.

“Naomi?”

“Varek, get away from Jonathan!”

The call suddenly became filled with noise.

Someone shouted.

Then Naomi screamed.

The line disconnected.

Varek immediately turned toward Jonathan Junior.

“What have you done?”

Jonathan raised both hands.

“I haven’t touched her.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Ask Sebastian.”

Varek’s eyes narrowed.

“Where is he?”

Jonathan pointed toward the staircase.

“Upstairs.”

Varek rushed past him.

Adrian followed.

They reached the upper corridor and found a door slightly open.

Inside was a small office.

Sebastian sat behind a desk.

He was holding a glass of water.

He looked up as Varek entered.

“Good evening.”

Varek raised his gun.

“Where is Naomi?”

Sebastian placed the glass down.

“She’s safe.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Sebastian sighed.

“You’ve become very difficult to manage.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Did you take her?”

“No.”

“Did you order anyone to take her?”

Sebastian remained silent.

Varek aimed directly at his chest.

“Answer me!”

Sebastian slowly opened a drawer.

He removed a photograph and placed it on the desk.

It showed a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.

The baby had a small silver bracelet around his wrist.

Varek recognized the bracelet.

It was the same one from the hospital photograph.

Sebastian turned the picture around.

On the back was a handwritten name.

MARCUS BLACKSTONE.

Varek stared.

“Who is Marcus Blackstone?”

Sebastian looked into his eyes.

“My son.”

Varek’s gun lowered slightly.

“You have a son?”

“I had a son.”

“What happened to him?”

Sebastian’s face hardened.

“He was declared dead twenty-five years ago.”

Varek remembered the hospital report.

Jonathan Thorne Junior.

Declared dead at four.

He looked toward the staircase.

Then back at Sebastian.

“Are you saying Jonathan Junior is your son?”

Sebastian nodded.

Varek felt a cold wave pass through him.

“Then why does he call himself Jonathan Thorne Junior?”

“Because his father stole his name.”

Varek’s eyes narrowed.

“His father?”

Sebastian leaned forward.

“Jonathan Thorne was never the man you think he was.”

Varek gripped the gun.

“Tell me the truth.”

Sebastian looked at the photograph.

Then he whispered:

“The man standing upstairs is not Jonathan Thorne Junior.”

Varek froze.

“Who is he?”

Sebastian’s eyes filled with something Varek had never seen before.

Fear.

“He is the boy who was supposed to die twenty-five years ago.”

A loud explosion shook the building.

The lights went out.

Adrian shouted from the corridor.

“Varek!”

Gunshots followed.

Varek turned toward the doorway.

When the emergency lights came on, Sebastian was gone.

The photograph remained on the desk.

And beneath it was a small note.

YOUR REAL FATHER IS ALREADY DEAD.

Varek picked it up.

There was one more line written beneath the message.

ASK NAOMI WHO KILLED HIM.