The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 28 — THE MAN WHO WALKED OUT OF THE FIRE

Varek couldn’t move.

The man standing before him had just claimed to be his father.

Not Jonathan Thorne.

Not Daniel Mercer.

But the same man who had supposedly died in a fire twenty-nine years ago.

Richard took a step backward.

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

The newcomer smiled faintly.

“You said that before. Yet here I am.”

Richard’s face had lost its colour.

Varek looked between them.

“Somebody needs to explain what is happening.”

The man turned toward him.

“My name is Daniel Thorne. I am your biological father.”

Varek tightened his grip on the weapon.

“Then why did everyone call you Jonathan?”

“Because Jonathan Thorne was the name I used after I disappeared.”

“Why?”

Daniel glanced at Richard.

“Ask your uncle.”

Richard immediately shook his head.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s been lying for years.”

Daniel laughed.

“That’s rich coming from the man who buried his own brother’s identity.”

Naomi struggled to sit up.

“Daniel…”

He turned toward her.

“Naomi Cross.”

She looked frightened.

“You’re alive.”

“Unfortunately, that seems to disappoint many people.”

Varek lowered his weapon slightly.

“You know Naomi?”

“Of course. Her mother saved my life.”

Naomi’s eyes widened.

“My mother?”

Daniel nodded.

“Grace Cross was the nurse who helped me escape from the hospital. She knew what Alistair and Richard were planning. She knew four children had been delivered that night, and she knew someone intended to erase one of them from the records.”

“Then why did she disappear?” Varek asked.

Daniel’s expression darkened.

“Because she refused to keep quiet.”

Naomi looked down.

“She told me my mother died in an accident.”

“That was the story they gave you. Grace discovered that the children had been switched. She took copies of the original records and hid them before she disappeared.”

“Did you see her again?”

Daniel hesitated.

“No.”

Naomi’s eyes filled with tears.

“Did she die?”

“I don’t know.”

The answer seemed to hurt her more than a lie would have.

Varek turned toward Daniel.

“You said you walked out of the fire. Richard said he shot you.”

“Both statements are true.”

Varek frowned.

“Explain.”

Daniel slowly placed his walking stick against the desk.

“Twenty-nine years ago, Alistair arranged a meeting at the old Blackstone residence. He wanted to control the inheritance before the children grew old enough to claim it. I had discovered that the original birth records were being altered. I planned to expose him.”

He paused.

“Richard was sent to stop me.”

Richard shook his head.

“You were going to destroy the family.”

“I was going to expose what you had done.”

Daniel continued.

“Richard shot me. Alistair ordered the building to be set on fire. They believed I had died inside.”

Varek looked at Richard.

“Why did you tell me you killed him?”

“Because I believed I had.”

Daniel smiled without humour.

“You never checked the body. You were too busy running away.”

Richard’s hands curled into fists.

“How did you survive?”

“Grace found me before the fire spread. She helped me escape through an underground passage. She also helped me disappear.”

Naomi whispered, “And you left her behind.”

Daniel looked at her.

“I had no choice. Alistair had threatened everyone connected to me. If I returned, he would have killed her.”

“You could have found her later.”

“I tried.”

“Not hard enough.”

Daniel lowered his eyes.

For a moment, the room became quiet.

Then Varek spoke.

“If you’re my father, where were you when I was growing up?”

Daniel looked at him.

“I was watching.”

Varek felt anger rise in his chest.

“Watching?”

“I knew Eleanor had taken you. I knew she was raising you. I knew you were safe.”

“You watched me grow up without telling me who you were?”

“I couldn’t expose you to Alistair.”

“You couldn’t even send a message?”

Daniel had no answer.

Varek stepped closer.

“You let me believe Richard was my father. You let me believe my mother abandoned me. You allowed me to spend years searching for people who were standing right in front of me.”

“I thought I was protecting you.”

“Everyone keeps saying that!”

His voice echoed through the room.

“Every person who lied to me used the same excuse. Protection. Safety. Family. And somehow, I am always the one who pays for it.”

Daniel looked at him with something close to regret.

“I know you have every reason to hate me.”

“I don’t know you enough to hate you.”

The words seemed to strike Daniel harder than an insult.

Varek turned away.

“Now tell me about the four children.”

Daniel glanced at Naomi.

“Have you shown him the complete report?”

She shook her head.

“I only had a copy of the first page.”

Daniel reached into his coat and removed a small envelope.

He placed it on the desk.

Inside was a document bearing the stamp of St. Agnes Medical Centre.

Varek opened it.

The report listed four children.

The first was identified as a boy born to Helena Vale.

The second was identified as a boy born to Mara Mercer.

The third was identified as a boy born to an unnamed woman.

The fourth was a girl born to Grace Cross.

But there was something strange.

The children’s names had been replaced with numbers.

CHILD ONE.

CHILD TWO.

CHILD THREE.

CHILD FOUR.

Varek looked at Daniel.

“Why were their names removed?”

“Because the children were not supposed to grow up knowing who they were.”

“Who decided that?”

“Alistair.”

Daniel pointed at the bottom of the page.

A handwritten note appeared beneath the doctor’s signature.

THE FIRST CHILD WILL INHERIT. THE SECOND WILL PROTECT. THE THIRD WILL CONTROL. THE FOURTH WILL REMEMBER.

Varek read it twice.

“What does this mean?”

“It means your grandfather didn’t simply create a family inheritance. He created a system that depended on four people.”

Naomi looked at the document.

“The four biological keys.”

Daniel nodded.

“But there’s something else you need to understand. The inheritance was never meant to be divided among four children. Only one was supposed to receive it.”

“Then why did he need all four of us?” Varek asked.

“Because the other three were needed to keep the first one under control.”

Varek looked at the names on the report.

“Which child was I?”

Daniel didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he picked up the photograph from the desk.

“The first child.”

Varek stared at him.

“Then who was the second?”

Daniel looked toward Richard.

“Adrian.”

“And the third?”

“Marcus Blackstone.”

Varek’s eyes narrowed.

“Sebastian’s son?”

“Yes.”

Naomi spoke quietly.

“Then I am the fourth.”

Daniel nodded.

“Grace’s daughter.”

Varek looked at the document again.

“The first inherits. The second protects. The third controls. The fourth remembers.”

Daniel pointed at the last line.

“Grace was responsible for preserving the truth. That’s why Alistair wanted her records destroyed.”

Naomi looked at him.

“Then why did you say my mother saved you?”

“Because she did. And because she discovered something even more dangerous.”

“What?”

Daniel took a breath.

“The fourth child was never supposed to be Grace’s daughter.”

Naomi went still.

“What are you saying?”

“Grace was not your biological mother.”

Naomi stared at him.

“That’s impossible.”

“She raised you. She loved you. But she did not give birth to you.”

Naomi shook her head.

“You’re lying.”

Daniel looked genuinely uncomfortable.

“Your birth record was altered.”

“Who gave birth to me?”

Daniel’s eyes moved toward the doorway.

Before he could answer, a loud crash came from the corridor.

Richard suddenly reached for the weapon hidden beneath his coat.

Varek turned.

“Don’t!”

But Richard was already moving.

He fired toward Daniel.

The shot struck the desk.

Daniel dropped to the floor as Varek returned fire.

One of the guards outside shouted.

Then another gunshot rang through the corridor.

Naomi screamed.

Varek grabbed her and pulled her behind the metal cabinet.

“Stay down!”

Richard rushed toward the open doorway.

Daniel crawled toward his walking stick.

Varek fired again, forcing the guards outside to take cover.

When the shooting stopped, Richard was gone.

Varek ran to the doorway.

The corridor was empty.

Only a small trail of blood marked the floor.

“He’s escaping,” Daniel said.

Varek turned.

“Can you stand?”

Daniel nodded, struggling to get up.

“Where is he going?”

“There’s another exit behind the old storage room.”

Varek looked at Naomi.

“Can you move?”

She nodded weakly.

He helped her stand.

Daniel led them through a narrow passage behind the examination room. They reached an old service staircase that opened into the back courtyard.

A black vehicle was already moving toward the gate.

Richard was in the passenger seat.

Varek raised his weapon, but Daniel caught his arm.

“Don’t shoot.”

“He’s getting away!”

“If you kill him now, you’ll never know what he was trying to hide.”

Varek lowered the weapon reluctantly.

The vehicle disappeared into the night.

He turned toward Daniel.

“Where is Adrian?”

Daniel’s expression changed.

“Adrian?”

“He’s your son too.”

Daniel nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

“Then we need to find him.”

Daniel looked at Naomi.

“Not yet.”

Varek frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Daniel stepped closer.

“There’s something about Adrian you don’t know.”

Varek was growing tired of secrets.

“Say it.”

Daniel hesitated.

“Adrian was not raised as your brother because Richard wanted to hide his identity. He was raised that way because he was supposed to kill you.”

Varek stared at him.

“What?”

“Alistair selected Adrian as the second child. His purpose was to protect the first heir, but the protection system had another condition.”

“What condition?”

Daniel looked directly into Varek’s eyes.

“If the first heir ever discovered the truth and tried to destroy the trust, the second heir was supposed to eliminate him.”

Varek felt a chill move through his body.

“You’re saying Adrian was trained to kill me?”

“Yes.”

Naomi shook her head.

“That doesn’t make sense. Adrian has helped Varek.”

Daniel looked at her.

“Then perhaps he has finally chosen his own side.”

Varek pulled out his phone.

He called Adrian.

No answer.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Then a message arrived.

It was from an unknown number.

STOP LOOKING FOR YOUR FATHER. YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR YOUR BROTHER.

A second message followed.

It contained a photograph.

Varek opened it.

Adrian was sitting in a chair inside a dark room. His hands were tied behind his back, and his face was bruised.

Standing behind him was Sebastian Blackstone.

But Sebastian wasn’t holding a gun.

He was holding a document.

Varek enlarged the image.

At the bottom of the document was a familiar heading.

BLACK LEDGER TRUST — FINAL HEIR TRANSFER.

Then another message appeared.

ADRIAN HAS TWENTY-FOUR HOURS TO COMPLETE HIS PURPOSE.

Varek looked up.

Daniel was watching him.

“What happened?”

Varek showed him the photograph.

Daniel’s face turned pale.

“Where did they take him?”

“I don’t know.”

Daniel stared at the screen for a long moment.

Then he whispered something Varek wasn’t prepared to hear.

“Sebastian has started the final selection.”

“Selection for what?”

Daniel looked at him.

“For the child who gets to inherit everything.”

He pointed at Adrian’s photograph.

“And the child who gets buried.”

Varek’s phone vibrated again.

This time, there was a voice recording.

He pressed play.

Adrian’s voice came through, weak but clear.

“Varek, if you’re hearing this, don’t come looking for me.”

There was a pause.

Then Adrian continued.

“There’s something I need to tell you. I know who our mother is.”

A loud noise interrupted the recording.

Adrian spoke again, almost shouting.

“And Varek… she’s not Helena, Mara, or Eleanor.”

The recording ended.

A final message appeared.

ASK YOUR FATHER WHO GAVE BIRTH TO YOU.

Varek slowly turned toward Daniel.

The man who had just claimed to be his biological father looked away.

And for the first time, Varek understood something.

Even the man who had returned from the dead was still hiding the truth.