The Hidden heir’s revenge

CHAPTER 7 THE MAN WHO HELD BOTH SECRETS

The video continued playing.

Varek stared at the screen as Jonathan Thorne entered the hospital room, his silver ring catching the light.

Twenty-nine years ago, the man had looked younger, but his face was unmistakable.

Jonathan approached Richard and examined the two newborns.

Then he said something that made Varek’s blood run cold.

“Which one are we keeping?”

Richard glanced at the babies.

“The one Eleanor gave birth to.”

Jonathan shook his head.

“You still don’t understand. Neither of them can be allowed to inherit everything.”

Cassian Vale stepped forward.

“My son deserves his birthright.”

“Your son?” Richard laughed bitterly. “You abandoned your wife and children for money. Don’t pretend this is about fatherhood.”

Cassian’s expression darkened.

“I created the opportunity that made this family powerful. Your father stole what should have been mine.”

“And now you want to steal my son?”

“I want what belongs to me.”

The video crackled.

Eleanor, lying weakly in the hospital bed, turned her head toward the camera.

Her lips moved.

Varek leaned closer to the screen.

Although the audio was distorted, he could make out the words.

“Don’t let them take my baby.”

Then the video ended.

Varek stood motionless.

Sebastian slowly lowered himself into a chair.

“Your grandfather was right,” he murmured.

Varek turned sharply.

“About what?”

“About the family destroying itself.”

“Stop speaking in riddles!”

Sebastian met his eyes.

“Your grandfather suspected that Cassian had a child who could legally challenge the Thorne inheritance. He also suspected Richard was willing to do anything to protect his position. But he never told me that there were two children.”

Varek looked at the frozen image on his phone.

Two babies.

Two men fighting over their identities.

And a mother begging someone to save her child.

“Who was the baby they wanted to take?” he asked.

Sebastian shook his head.

“We need the complete recording.”

“Then get it.”

“Naomi is working on that.”

Varek called her again.

“Tell me you recovered the rest of the video.”

“I recovered another eleven minutes,” Naomi replied. “But I think you should see it yourself.”

“Send it.”

The new footage began with Jonathan standing beside the hospital window.

Richard was pacing.

Cassian sat in a chair, his hands clasped together.

Eleanor was no longer visible.

A doctor entered the room carrying a folder.

“It’s done,” the doctor said.

Richard stopped pacing.

“Both records?”

“Both.”

“And the death certificate?”

“Prepared.”

Cassian rose slowly.

“You promised me my son would survive.”

The doctor looked uncomfortable.

“The child is alive. But his identity has been changed.”

Jonathan approached Cassian.

“That’s the only way to keep him safe.”

“Safe?” Cassian snapped. “You expect me to believe that?”

Jonathan’s voice hardened.

“If the truth comes out, both boys will be targets. Your enemies will use them against you, and Richard will use them against each other.”

Richard slammed his hand against the table.

“Enough. The matter is settled.”

He turned toward the doctor.

“Which child has been declared dead?”

The doctor hesitated.

Then he opened the folder.

Varek held his breath.

The camera zoomed in on the document.

The image was blurry, but one detail remained visible.

The name beside the death certificate was not Damian Mercer.

It was VAREK VALE.

Varek felt the room tilt.

“No,” he whispered.

Sebastian leaned toward the screen.

“That’s impossible.”

The footage continued.

Cassian snatched the document from the doctor’s hands.

“You told me Damian would be protected!”

“He will be,” Jonathan replied. “The dead child is registered as Varek Vale. Damian will live under another identity.”

Cassian stared at him.

“And who will raise my son?”

Jonathan looked toward Richard.

“Richard will.”

Richard gave a cold smile.

“He will grow up believing he is mine. He will inherit the Thorne name, and nobody will ever question it.”

Varek stopped the video.

His fingers had gone numb.

The supposedly dead child had been registered under his name.

Damian had survived.

And Richard had raised Damian as his own son.

Which meant the man known as Adrian Thorne might not be Damian at all.

Varek’s mind raced.

If Adrian was Damian, then who was the man in the hospital footage?

And why did he look exactly like Varek?

He replayed the final seconds of the video.

Jonathan turned toward the camera.

For a brief moment, he looked directly into the lens.

Then he spoke.

“There is one more thing you need to understand, Richard. The child who carries the Thorne name will never know what happened here.”

Richard answered without hesitation.

“He won’t need to know. Once my father is gone, I’ll control the inheritance.”

The recording ended.

Varek slowly lowered his phone.

“Richard knew everything.”

Sebastian nodded grimly.

“He knew you weren’t his biological son. He knew the identity records had been altered. And he knew someone had arranged for a child to be declared dead.”

“He didn’t just steal my inheritance,” Varek said. “He stole my entire life.”

His phone vibrated.

A message from Naomi appeared.

I found the original hospital registry. There are three names connected to the birth records, not two.

Another message followed.

Varek Vale. Damian Mercer. Adrian Thorne.

Then a final message.

One of these identities was used by two different people.

Varek stared at the screen.

Before he could reply, the hospital’s security chief rushed into the corridor.

“Mr. Thorne, we have a problem.”

“What now?”

“The man who entered your mother’s room has been identified.”

“Who is he?”

The security chief looked toward Sebastian before answering.

“According to the hospital’s visitor records, his name is Jonathan Thorne.”

“We already know that name is fake.”

“Yes, sir. But we checked his fingerprints against an old government archive.”

He handed Varek a printed report.

The fingerprint match was confirmed.

The man from the footage was Jonathan Thorne.

The same Jonathan who had supposedly died decades ago.

Varek looked at Sebastian.

“You said he was dead.”

“I believed he was.”

“Then someone has spent twenty-nine years making powerful people believe a lie.”

The security chief cleared his throat.

“There’s something else. The man left a message for you.”

Varek took the small envelope the officer held out.

Inside was a photograph of a building.

The old Thorne family mausoleum.

On the back, someone had written a single sentence.

COME ALONE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHICH BROTHER IS REALLY DEAD.

Beneath the sentence was a time.

Midnight.

Varek folded the photograph and slipped it into his pocket.

Sebastian immediately shook his head.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“I’m going.”

“It’s an obvious trap.”

“Of course it is.”

“Then why would you walk into it?”

Varek looked toward the operating room where his mother was fighting for her life.

“Because the man who sent this message knows the truth about my birth. He knows who was buried in my name. And he knows why someone has spent years moving money through accounts connected to my identity.”

He turned toward Sebastian.

“If I wait, he’ll disappear again.”

“And if you die?”

Varek’s expression became cold.

“Then Richard gets what he wanted.”

Sebastian studied him for a long moment.

Finally, he reached inside his jacket and removed a small black device.

“Wear this. It transmits your location and records everything within a few meters. My security team will follow you from a distance.”

Varek accepted it.

“Don’t interfere unless I give the signal.”

“I make no promises.”

For the first time that night, Varek almost smiled.

Then his phone rang.

The caller ID displayed an unknown number.

He answered.

A man’s voice came through, low and strangely familiar.

“Varek.”

“Who is this?”

“You have your mother’s eyes.”

“Jonathan?”

A quiet laugh.

“So the old man finally told you my name.”

“Why did you send the photograph?”

“Because you’re asking the wrong questions.”

“Then give me the right answers.”

“Very well. At midnight, come to the mausoleum. Bring the black case your mother gave you.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Your mother will never wake up.”

Varek’s blood ran cold.

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing yet.”

The line went silent for a moment.

Then the man spoke again.

“But there is someone inside that hospital who has already decided she shouldn’t survive.”

Varek turned toward the surgical ward.

A nurse was standing outside Eleanor’s room.

She looked directly at him.

Then she slowly raised her hand.

Between her fingers was a small silver ring bearing the Thorne family crest.

Varek’s phone crackled.

Jonathan’s final words came through the speaker.

“Look carefully, Varek. The person who tried to kill your mother isn’t outside the family.”

A pause.

“The person is already standing beside you.”