The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 31 — THE CHILD IN GRACE’S ARMS

Varek stared at the photograph.

Grace Cross was holding a little boy.

The boy was Adrian.

There was no doubt about it. Even though the photograph was old, his face was unmistakable.

But something didn’t make sense.

Grace was supposed to be Naomi and Evelyn’s mother. She had supposedly given birth to Varek.

So why was she holding Adrian?

Varek picked up the photograph and examined the back.

There was a date written in faded ink.

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO.

Beneath it were four words.

THE FIRST CHILD RETURNED.

“Adrian.”

His friend turned toward him.

“What?”

Varek showed him the photograph.

Adrian’s expression changed immediately.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was on the table.”

Adrian took it from him.

He stared at the picture for several seconds before shaking his head.

“That’s impossible.”

“Do you remember Grace?”

“No.”

“Look carefully.”

“I said I don’t remember her.”

Varek studied his face.

“Are you sure?”

Adrian threw the photograph onto the table.

“Why are you questioning me? I was barely old enough to remember anything.”

“Because every time we discover something, you act as if you’re hearing it for the first time.”

“Maybe because I am!”

Sebastian stepped between them.

“Both of you need to calm down.”

Varek turned sharply.

“You have spent years collecting information about us. You knew about the four children. You knew about the trust. You knew about Marcus. And now you’re telling me Grace raised Adrian?”

Sebastian looked at the photograph.

“Grace didn’t raise him.”

“Then why was she holding him?”

“Because she was the nurse who helped deliver him.”

Adrian frowned.

“Grace was a nurse?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did everyone say she was Naomi’s mother?”

Sebastian didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he walked toward one of the metal cabinets and unlocked it.

He removed a thick folder.

“Because Grace had two identities. One as a nurse, and another as the woman who secretly protected the children.”

He placed the folder on the table.

Varek opened it.

Inside were several hospital records, photographs, and handwritten notes.

The first document contained a list of newborns delivered at St. Agnes Medical Centre.

Four names appeared.

Varek Vale.

Adrian Thorne.

Marcus Blackstone.

Naomi Cross.

But there was another name written beneath them.

CHILD FIVE — IDENTITY SEALED.

Varek looked up.

“Five children?”

Sebastian nodded.

“Four children were part of the original inheritance system. The fifth was never supposed to exist.”

“Who was the fifth child?”

Sebastian looked toward Adrian.

“That’s what we have been trying to find out.”

Adrian laughed bitterly.

“So we’re back to another mystery.”

Varek continued examining the documents.

A second report caught his attention.

It showed that Grace Cross had been assigned to two deliveries on the same night.

One was Helena Vale’s delivery.

The other was listed under an unknown mother’s name.

Beside the second delivery was a handwritten note.

BABY TRANSFERRED TO PRIVATE CARE.

Varek pointed at it.

“Who was transferred?”

Sebastian leaned closer.

“The record doesn’t say.”

“Who signed it?”

Sebastian looked at the bottom.

“Richard Thorne.”

Varek’s jaw tightened.

“Of course.”

Adrian picked up the report.

“Richard was involved in everything.”

“Yes,” Sebastian replied.

“Then we need to find him.”

Sebastian shook his head.

“That won’t be easy.”

“Why?”

“Because Richard isn’t the only person hiding.”

Varek stared at him.

“Who else?”

Sebastian looked at the door.

Before he could answer, Evelyn entered the room.

She was holding a small black device.

“We have a problem.”

Varek turned.

“What happened?”

“Someone accessed the estate’s security system.”

“Who?”

“I traced the connection. It came from inside this building.”

Adrian looked around.

“That’s impossible. We are the only people here.”

Evelyn placed the device on the table.

“Not anymore.”

She pressed a button.

A screen lit up.

It showed footage from the archive corridor.

The recording began several minutes before the lights went out.

Varek watched himself enter the room with Adrian.

Then Sebastian appeared.

Then Daniel.

But there was something strange.

Just before the lights went out, a second person entered the corridor.

A woman.

She walked past the camera without looking at it.

Varek leaned closer.

“Who is that?”

Evelyn paused the footage.

The woman’s face became visible.

Varek felt his stomach tighten.

It was Helena Vale.

Adrian moved closer to the screen.

“That’s my mother.”

Varek looked at him.

“Your mother?”

Adrian nodded.

“I remember her.”

Sebastian frowned.

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Helena is dead.”

Adrian stared at him.

“Who told you that?”

Sebastian didn’t answer.

The footage continued.

Helena entered the archive chamber.

A few minutes later, Daniel disappeared.

But the camera showed something else.

Helena did not leave.

She remained inside the room.

Then, just before the recording ended, she walked toward the table and picked up the photograph of Grace holding Adrian.

She turned toward the camera.

And smiled.

⸻

“She’s alive.”

Adrian’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Varek looked at him.

“You said you remembered her.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Adrian looked away.

“Because I didn’t know what to believe.”

“Do you remember where you last saw her?”

Adrian nodded slowly.

“When I was young, I remember a woman coming to our house. She used to bring me gifts. I was told she was a family friend.”

“Was it Helena?”

“I think so.”

Varek studied him.

“Why didn’t she raise you?”

Adrian’s face hardened.

“Because Richard told me she abandoned me.”

Varek looked at Sebastian.

“Another lie.”

Sebastian sighed.

“Not necessarily.”

Adrian turned toward him.

“What does that mean?”

“Helena was involved in the original arrangement. She may have been forced to give up one of her children.”

“Which child?”

Sebastian looked at Varek.

“That is what we need to establish.”

Varek was tired of hearing that sentence.

“Enough. I want the original records. Not copies. Not edited documents. The originals.”

Evelyn nodded.

“I know where they are.”

Everyone turned toward her.

“Where?” Varek asked.

“Under the old Thorne family residence.”

Sebastian shook his head.

“That archive was destroyed.”

“Only the upper level.”

Varek frowned.

“You knew this and didn’t tell us?”

Evelyn looked at him.

“I wasn’t sure who I could trust.”

Adrian laughed.

“Apparently, nobody.”

Evelyn ignored him.

“The original hospital records were moved there after Grace disappeared. I believe Richard kept them because he was afraid Alistair would discover what he had changed.”

Varek picked up the black key from the table.

“Then we’re going there.”

Sebastian stepped forward.

“Wait.”

Varek turned.

“What now?”

“You need to understand something about the photograph.”

“What?”

“Grace wasn’t simply holding Adrian. Look at her left hand.”

Varek returned to the picture.

There was a small bracelet around the baby’s wrist.

He enlarged the photograph on his phone.

The bracelet had a number.

017.

Sebastian pointed toward it.

“That’s not a hospital identification number. It’s a trust registration number.”

Varek frowned.

“What does it mean?”

“It means Adrian was registered as the first heir.”

Adrian stepped back.

“But you said Varek was the first child.”

“I said Varek was born first. I didn’t say he was registered first.”

Varek looked at Adrian.

“So you were selected as the heir before either of us could walk.”

Sebastian nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then why did the trust recognize my identity?”

“Because someone changed the registration after the original transfer.”

“Who?”

Sebastian looked at Evelyn.

She shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Varek looked at the document again.

There was a signature beside the registration number.

A name he recognized.

JONATHAN THORNE.

Beneath it was another signature.

GRACE CROSS.

Varek’s expression changed.

“Grace signed this?”

“Yes,” Sebastian replied.

“Then she wasn’t just protecting the children. She was involved in the inheritance system.”

“Correct.”

Adrian shook his head.

“I don’t care about the inheritance. I want to know why my mother disappeared.”

Sebastian looked at him.

“Then you should ask Helena.”

Adrian turned toward the screen.

“Where is she?”

Evelyn checked her device.

“She left the building five minutes ago.”

Varek immediately moved toward the exit.

“Can you track her?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

⸻

The tracking signal led them to an old hotel on the outskirts of the city.

Varek and Adrian entered through the main reception while Evelyn remained outside to monitor the security cameras.

The receptionist looked nervous when Varek showed her Helena’s photograph.

“Has this woman checked in?”

The woman glanced at the picture.

“I can’t disclose guest information.”

Varek placed a thick bundle of cash on the counter.

The receptionist looked at it, then at him.

“Room 214.”

Varek took the key card.

Adrian moved toward the stairs.

They reached the second floor and stopped outside the room.

Varek knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

“Helena, it’s Varek.”

Silence.

Adrian tried the handle.

The door opened.

The room was empty.

But someone had left a handbag on the bed.

Varek entered carefully.

A cup of tea sat on the table, still warm.

Adrian searched the bathroom.

“Nobody’s here.”

Varek examined the handbag.

Inside was a passport, some cash, and a folded piece of paper.

He opened it.

It was a hospital bracelet.

The name printed on it made his heart stop.

ADRIAN THORNE.

But the date was different from the one on his birth certificate.

He turned it over.

A handwritten message appeared.

MY SON WAS NEVER THE SECOND CHILD.

Varek looked toward Adrian.

“Come and see this.”

Adrian took the bracelet.

His face changed.

“That’s my name.”

“Look at the date.”

Adrian compared it with his official birth date.

They were different by three days.

“Someone changed my birthday.”

Varek nodded.

“Apparently.”

Adrian looked at the bracelet again.

“Why would they do that?”

Before Varek could answer, a phone began ringing inside the handbag.

He pulled it out.

Unknown number.

He answered.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice spoke.

“Varek.”

He recognized her immediately.

Helena.

“Where are you?”

“Somewhere you cannot find me.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Because I saw who came with you.”

“Where is my father?”

There was a long silence.

Then Helena replied.

“Your father is not the man who raised you. He is not the man who stole you. And he is certainly not the man who claims to have returned from the dead.”

Varek’s jaw tightened.

“Then who is he?”

“Your father was killed before you were old enough to remember his face.”

“Who killed him?”

Helena’s voice trembled.

“His own son.”

Varek went still.

“Which son?”

“Varek, listen to me. The child who was registered as Adrian was not the child born to me.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Mother?”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end.

“Adrian?”

He grabbed the phone.

“It’s me. Where are you?”

“My son…”

“Why did you leave me?”

Helena began crying.

“I didn’t leave you.”

“Then why did I grow up believing you abandoned me?”

“Because I was told you had died.”

Adrian closed his eyes.

“Who told you?”

“Richard.”

Varek took the phone back.

“Helena, we need to meet.”

“No. You need to find Grace.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s alive.”

Varek’s heart began pounding.

“Where?”

Helena spoke quickly.

“She is the only person who can tell you which child was born first.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because the boy who was born first was not the boy who inherited the Thorne blood.”

Varek looked at Adrian.

Helena continued.

“And Varek, whatever you do, don’t let Richard find the fifth child.”

The call disconnected.

Varek stared at the phone.

Adrian looked at him.

“Who is the fifth child?”

Varek had no answer.

Then his phone vibrated.

A message from Evelyn appeared.

I FOUND THE PERSON WHO ENTERED THE ARCHIVE.

A photograph followed.

It showed the woman who had appeared in the security footage.

Helena.

But the second photograph was different.

It showed her standing beside a young man.

The man’s face was partly turned away.

Varek enlarged the picture.

Then he felt his blood run cold.

He recognized the man.

It was the same person who had called himself Jonathan Thorne Junior.

The man Sebastian had identified as Marcus Blackstone.

But the photograph had been taken only three days earlier.

And beneath it was a message from Evelyn.

VAREK, MARCUS IS NOT SEBASTIAN’S SON.

Another message followed.

HE IS YOUR TWIN.