The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 36 — THE SON THEY HID

For a moment, nobody moved.

Varek stared at Richard.

“Daniel is the fifth child?”

Richard smiled.

“Now you’re beginning to understand.”

Adrian shook his head.

“No. My son has nothing to do with this.”

“Your son?” Richard laughed. “You still believe that boy belongs to you?”

Adrian raised his weapon.

“Say another word about him.”

Richard pointed his gun directly at Adrian.

“Put it down.”

“Where is Daniel?”

“Safe.”

“Where?”

“That depends on how cooperative you become.”

Varek stepped between them.

“You’re not taking anyone.”

Richard looked at him.

“You’re still making the same mistake. You think you can protect everyone simply because you carry the Thorne name.”

“I don’t care about the name.”

“Then you should care about the money. The Black Ledger Trust holds more wealth than you can imagine. And Daniel is the only person who can reverse the inheritance transfer.”

Varek tightened his grip on the silver key.

“Why would a child have that power?”

“Because the Trust was created before any of you were born. Alistair designed it to recognize a particular bloodline. The fifth child was supposed to remain hidden until the inheritance was challenged.”

Naomi stepped forward.

“You’re saying Daniel was deliberately kept away from Adrian?”

Richard nodded.

“Adrian was allowed to raise him because nobody believed the child would ever be needed. But when Varek signed away his inheritance, the system began searching for the missing bloodline.”

Adrian’s face tightened.

“Who gave you Daniel?”

Richard looked at him.

“Ask Eleanor.”

Everyone turned.

Eleanor was still on the floor, struggling to breathe.

Varek knelt beside her.

“Did you give Daniel to Adrian?”

Eleanor’s eyes moved toward him.

“I didn’t give him away.”

“Then explain.”

She tried to speak, but pain stopped her.

Varek held her hand.

“Please. I need the truth.”

Eleanor swallowed.

“Daniel was never supposed to grow up with you.”

Adrian stared at her.

“Why?”

“Because Richard wanted him close enough to control. I took him away before they could use him.”

“Then why did you let me believe he was my son?”

Eleanor looked at Adrian.

“Because you were the only person who could love him without asking what he could inherit.”

Adrian stepped back.

For years, he had believed that being Daniel’s father was the one part of his life that nobody could take away.

Now even that was being questioned.

Richard interrupted them.

“Enough. Give me the key.”

Varek stood.

“You’re not getting it.”

Richard sighed.

“I was hoping we could do this without another death.”

He raised his weapon.

Before he could fire, the lights went out.

A gunshot followed.

Then another.

Someone grabbed Varek’s shoulder.

“Move!”

It was Naomi.

She pulled him toward the tunnel as Adrian fired in Richard’s direction.

Varek looked back.

“Adrian!”

“I’m coming!”

A figure rushed through the darkness.

Varek raised his gun, but the person shouted.

“Don’t shoot!”

It was Evelyn.

She had returned with two armed guards.

“Richard is escaping through the east exit,” she said. “We have to leave now.”

“What about Eleanor?”

Evelyn looked toward the staircase.

Two guards were already carrying her.

“She’s alive. We’re getting her medical attention.”

Varek nodded.

They rushed through the tunnel.

Behind them, Richard shouted something, but the sound disappeared as the metal door closed.

⸻

Twenty minutes later, they reached a secure apartment.

Eleanor was taken into a bedroom, where a private doctor began treating her wound.

Varek stood outside the room.

Adrian paced across the sitting room.

Naomi sat at the dining table, examining the silver key.

“This isn’t an ordinary key,” she said.

Varek turned.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the markings.”

She placed it under a small light.

There were five tiny symbols engraved along its surface.

Each symbol represented a different number.

“Five keys?” Adrian asked.

“Not exactly. I think these are five identification marks.”

Varek picked it up.

“Can it open the Black Ledger?”

“Possibly. But we need to know where it belongs.”

Evelyn entered.

“There’s been an update.”

Varek looked at her.

“Did you find Marcus?”

“No.”

“Daniel?”

“Still missing.”

Adrian stopped pacing.

“Then what update?”

Evelyn placed her phone on the table.

“I traced the vehicle Richard used to leave the medical centre. It was abandoned near an old warehouse.”

“Was Daniel inside?”

“No.”

“Was Marcus inside?”

“No.”

Adrian looked frustrated.

“Then what did you find?”

“A phone.”

She showed them a photograph.

The device had been left on the passenger seat.

Naomi examined the image.

“That’s an encrypted phone.”

“Can you access it?” Varek asked.

“Not without the password.”

Varek looked at the silver key.

“Try using the markings.”

Naomi connected the phone to her laptop.

She entered the five numbers engraved on the key.

The screen flashed.

ACCESS DENIED.

She tried again.

This time, a different message appeared.

IDENTITY REQUIRED.

Naomi looked up.

“It needs a biometric confirmation.”

“Whose?”

Before she could answer, the phone’s camera activated.

A photograph appeared.

It showed Daniel.

The boy was sitting on a chair, holding a small toy car.

Adrian rushed toward the screen.

“Daniel!”

A message appeared beneath the photograph.

THE FIFTH CHILD HAS BEEN LOCATED.

Then another message followed.

THE FATHER MUST COME ALONE.

Adrian stared at the screen.

“Where is he?”

Naomi scrolled down.

A location appeared.

An abandoned building outside the city.

Adrian immediately reached for his jacket.

Varek blocked him.

“You’re not going alone.”

“The message says I must come alone.”

“Richard wrote that message. Do you think he’s going to keep his word?”

“I don’t care. That’s my son.”

“Adrian, listen to me. If you walk into a trap, Daniel loses the only person who has been protecting him.”

Adrian looked at him.

“What if we wait and Richard moves him again?”

Varek had no answer.

Then Naomi noticed something.

“Wait.”

She enlarged the photograph.

“Look at Daniel’s left hand.”

Adrian leaned closer.

There was a small band around the boy’s wrist.

A hospital identification band.

The same type of band they had found in the old photograph.

Naomi zoomed in.

The name was almost invisible.

She adjusted the image.

The letters became clearer.

DANIEL THORNE.

But there was another line beneath it.

BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: HELENA VALE.

Adrian stepped away.

“That’s impossible.”

Varek looked at the screen.

“Helena?”

Naomi nodded slowly.

“If this document is genuine, Daniel is connected to Helena’s bloodline.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Helena told me she lost a child. She said Richard told her I was dead.”

Varek remembered the hospital bracelet and the strange birth records.

“Maybe she wasn’t talking about you.”

Adrian looked at him.

“Then who was she talking about?”

Nobody answered.

⸻

Inside the bedroom, Eleanor suddenly opened her eyes.

The doctor was adjusting the bandage around her shoulder.

“Where is Varek?” she whispered.

“He’s outside.”

“I need to see him.”

The doctor stepped out and called him.

Varek entered immediately.

“How are you feeling?”

Eleanor ignored the question.

“Did Richard escape?”

“Yes.”

“Did he take the key?”

“No.”

She closed her eyes in relief.

“Good.”

Varek pulled a chair closer.

“I need you to tell me about Daniel.”

Eleanor looked at him.

“What did Richard tell you?”

“He said Daniel is the fifth child.”

Eleanor nodded.

“That’s true.”

“Is Helena his mother?”

She hesitated.

“Yes.”

Varek leaned forward.

“Then whose child am I?”

Eleanor stared at him for a long moment.

“You’re Helena’s first surviving son.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you were not the only child she gave birth to.”

Varek felt his chest tighten.

“How many children did she have?”

“Two.”

“Marcus and me?”

Eleanor shook her head.

“No.”

Varek went still.

“Then who?”

Eleanor reached for his hand.

“Marcus was never Helena’s child.”

Varek stared at her.

“Then whose son is he?”

“Isabel’s.”

The room became silent.

“Daniel told me Isabel was my mother.”

“He lied.”

“Why?”

“Because he wanted you to believe you belonged to him.”

Varek pulled his hand away.

“You’re telling me Marcus is Isabel’s son, I’m Helena’s son, and Daniel is Helena’s other child?”

Eleanor nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then how are Adrian and I twins?”

“You’re not.”

Varek stood.

For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

Every person had given him a different story, and Eleanor had just destroyed another one.

“Then why does Adrian look like me?”

“Because the records were designed to make you believe you were connected.”

“Who is Adrian’s mother?”

Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears.

“Richard’s wife.”

Varek turned away.

“And Daniel?”

“Daniel is Helena’s second child. The child who was hidden.”

Varek looked back at her.

“Why did you tell me Marcus was my twin?”

“I never said he was.”

“You allowed everyone to believe it.”

Eleanor lowered her head.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“From the truth?”

“From Richard.”

Varek stared at her.

“Where is Helena now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who knows?”

Eleanor looked toward the window.

Then she whispered:

“Marcus.”

Varek frowned.

“Marcus knows where Helena is?”

“Yes. He was taken away from Isabel, but he was raised by someone who knew Helena. He knows where she went after the hospital.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Who raised him?”

Eleanor looked at him.

“Sebastian.”

Varek’s expression changed.

“Sebastian raised Marcus as his son because he knew about Helena?”

“Yes.”

Before Varek could ask another question, the door opened.

Naomi rushed inside.

“Varek, we have a problem.”

“What now?”

She held up her laptop.

“I accessed another file from Richard’s phone.”

“What’s inside?”

“A recording.”

She pressed play.

Richard’s voice filled the room.

“If Adrian refuses to cooperate, use the boy. He is the only person who can activate the original inheritance.”

A second voice replied.

“What about the other child?”

Richard answered without hesitation.

“Leave him where he is. He’s not important anymore.”

The second voice asked:

“And the mother?”

Richard laughed.

“Helena must never see either of them again.”

The recording ended.

Varek looked at Eleanor.

“Who is the other child?”

Eleanor began to cry.

Then she whispered:

“Your brother.”

Varek’s phone rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

A familiar voice spoke.

“Varek, I know you’ve been looking for me.”

It was Marcus.

“Where are you?”

“With someone who can answer every question you’ve been asking.”

“Who?”

Marcus paused.

Then a woman’s voice came through.

“Varek?”

His heart stopped.

It was Helena.

“I need you to listen carefully,” she said. “Richard has lied about the children, but there is one thing he hasn’t told you.”

“What?”

Helena began to cry.

“Adrian is not the child you think he is.”

Varek looked toward Adrian.

Helena continued.

“And the boy you’re trying to rescue is not my fifth child.”

The call ended.

A message arrived seconds later.

It contained a photograph of Helena standing beside Marcus and another young man.

The young man had Adrian’s face.

Beneath the photograph were six words:

THERE WERE NEVER FIVE CHILDREN. THERE WERE SIX.