The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 34 — The Child Who Belonged to Him

Chapter 34 — The Child Who Belonged to Him

Varek stared at Grace.

“Say that again.”

Grace’s lips trembled.

“The fifth child was yours.”

“How can a child be mine when I was one of the babies born that night?”

“You were not the father, Varek. You were the person the child was connected to.”

Naomi stepped forward.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Grace looked at her.

“It will when you understand what they did.”

Varek’s patience was running out.

“Stop speaking in riddles. Who is this child?”

Grace shook her head.

“I don’t know where the child is now.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“A boy.”

“How old?”

“Almost your age.”

Varek felt his stomach tighten.

“You’re telling me there’s another man out there who was born the same night as me, and somehow he’s connected to my identity?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Grace looked toward the door.

“Because the fifth child was registered under your name after the original records were destroyed.”

Adrian slowly stood.

“So someone else lived as Varek?”

“Not exactly,” Grace replied. “The fifth child was given a different identity. But the name he was supposed to carry belonged to Varek.”

Naomi shook her head.

“This is impossible. We have DNA records.”

“Then examine them again,” Grace said. “You will find that the fifth child’s sample was never compared with Varek’s.”

Varek looked at Naomi.

“Can you check?”

She nodded, although her face showed concern.

“Give me a few minutes.”

She returned to the laptop and opened the copied DNA files.

Evelyn stood near the entrance, speaking quietly into her radio.

“Nobody leaves this building without my approval,” she ordered. “I want the surrounding streets checked. Find the vehicle that took Marcus.”

Varek turned back to Grace.

“Who was the woman who gave birth to the fifth child?”

Grace closed her eyes.

“Her name was Isabel.”

Varek stopped breathing for a moment.

“Isabel Thorne?”

Grace nodded.

“She was married to Daniel.”

Varek remembered the claims Daniel had made about Isabel being his mother. He also remembered Eleanor denying it, then claiming Helena was his mother.

“Daniel told me Isabel was my mother.”

“He was telling you part of the truth.”

“Part?”

“Isabel gave birth to a child that night. But that child was not the baby raised as Varek Vale.”

Varek gripped the edge of the table.

“Then who was Isabel’s child?”

Grace looked at him.

“The fifth child.”

Silence filled the room.

Adrian was the first to speak.

“Then why was Varek connected to that child?”

“Because Alistair wanted the fifth child to disappear. He believed the child could destroy the inheritance arrangement. So he ordered the records changed and gave the child another identity.”

“Who carried out the order?” Varek asked.

Grace swallowed.

“Eleanor.”

Varek stepped back.

For years, Eleanor had raised him. She had protected him, lied to him, and sometimes risked her life for him.

Now Grace was saying she had been responsible for hiding another child.

“Where did she take him?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why did the caller say you gave the child to Eleanor?”

Grace began to cry.

“Because I did.”

Varek’s expression hardened.

“You handed a baby to Eleanor and never asked what happened to him?”

“I was threatened. They told me that if I refused, all five children would die.”

“And you believed them?”

“I was a nurse, Varek. I had no power against the Thorne family.”

Naomi turned away from the laptop.

“There’s something here.”

Everyone looked at her.

She had opened another section of the DNA report.

“The fifth profile isn’t completely unknown. There is a partial match with Varek.”

“How close?” Varek asked.

Naomi studied the result.

“Very close. But it doesn’t show a normal sibling relationship.”

“Explain.”

“The system identifies a possible parent-child relationship, but the result is incomplete.”

Adrian frowned.

“Are you saying Varek could be the father of the fifth child?”

“No. That would be impossible if they were born on the same night.”

“Then what does it mean?”

Naomi looked at Grace.

“Unless the sample was deliberately entered under the wrong date.”

Grace suddenly stood.

“Don’t say that.”

Varek turned toward her.

“What are you hiding?”

Grace shook her head.

“That sample does not belong to the fifth child.”

“Whose sample is it?”

She said nothing.

Naomi looked at the report again.

Then she noticed something.

The profile had been entered using an authorization code that matched another record.

She opened the details.

A name appeared.

ELEANOR VALE.

Varek stared at the screen.

“Why is Eleanor’s DNA connected to the fifth child?”

Grace sat down slowly.

“Because she was the person who carried him away.”

Varek’s voice became cold.

“Was she his mother?”

“No.”

“Then what was she to him?”

Grace looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“She was the woman who promised to protect him.”

⸻

Meanwhile, inside a moving vehicle, Marcus struggled against the rope around his wrists.

The man sitting opposite him was wearing a dark coat and a black face mask.

“Where are you taking me?”

The man ignored him.

“Answer me!”

“You’re asking the wrong questions.”

Marcus pulled against the rope.

“Who sent you?”

The man leaned forward.

“Someone who has been waiting for you to remember your real name.”

Marcus frowned.

“My real name is Marcus.”

The man laughed.

“That’s what they called you after they stole you.”

Marcus went still.

The man removed a small photograph from his pocket and placed it on the seat.

It showed two newborn boys.

Marcus recognized the picture immediately.

He had seen it at Grace’s house.

But this version was different.

There was another name written on the back.

DANIEL AND VAREK.

The man pointed at the first name.

“That’s who you were.”

Marcus looked up.

“Who are you?”

The man removed his mask.

Marcus’s eyes widened.

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

The man smiled.

“Many people in this family have been dead for years.”

It was Daniel Thorne.

The same man who had disappeared during the blackout at the archive.

Marcus stared at him.

“You said you were Varek’s father.”

“I said many things.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

Daniel leaned back.

“The truth is that you’re the only person who can stop Richard from finding the fifth child.”

Marcus swallowed.

“Where is the child?”

Daniel’s smile disappeared.

“That’s what we’re going to find out.”

⸻

Back at the safe house, Varek was still staring at Eleanor’s name on the screen.

Naomi had printed the report.

“The DNA sample was submitted six months ago,” she said.

“Six months?” Adrian repeated.

“Yes. Someone was already investigating the fifth child long before we started.”

Varek took the paper.

“Who ordered the test?”

Naomi opened the authorization page.

The name was partially hidden.

She tried to remove the restriction, but the file requested another password.

“Can you unlock it?” Varek asked.

“I’m trying.”

A notification appeared.

ACCESS GRANTED.

Naomi looked surprised.

“I didn’t do that.”

A new document opened.

It was a private medical report.

At the top was a photograph of a woman holding a newborn baby.

Varek recognized her immediately.

Helena.

But the woman beside her was not Grace or Eleanor.

It was Isabel.

Below the photograph were three names.

HELENA VALE — MOTHER OF TWINS.

ISABEL THORNE — MOTHER OF THE FIFTH CHILD.

ELEANOR VALE — TEMPORARY GUARDIAN.

Varek read the document twice.

“Temporary guardian?”

Naomi scrolled down.

A handwritten note appeared.

THE CHILD WAS NOT GIVEN TO ELEANOR TO RAISE. SHE WAS INSTRUCTED TO KEEP HIM HIDDEN UNTIL THE INHERITANCE WAS SECURED.

Adrian pointed at the bottom of the page.

“There’s another signature.”

Varek leaned closer.

It was Richard’s.

But beneath his signature was a second name.

HELENA VALE.

Varek looked at Grace.

“Why would Helena agree to this?”

Grace’s voice was barely audible.

“Because she believed the fifth child was already dead.”

“Who told her?”

“Richard.”

Varek stepped away.

“So Helena was lied to, Adrian was declared dead, Marcus was stolen, and another child was hidden by Eleanor.”

Grace nodded.

“That’s only part of it.”

Varek turned sharply.

“What now?”

Grace reached into her handbag and brought out a small envelope.

“I kept something for twenty-five years. I was supposed to destroy it, but I couldn’t.”

She handed it to him.

Inside was a hospital wristband.

The name printed on it was clear.

DANIEL THORNE.

Varek stared at it.

“Is this Marcus’s?”

“No.”

“Then whose is it?”

Grace looked at him.

“It’s the bracelet worn by the fifth child.”

Before Varek could ask another question, Evelyn rushed into the room.

“We have a problem.”

“What happened?”

“Richard’s men have surrounded the building.”

Adrian reached for his weapon.

“How many?”

“At least twelve.”

Varek looked at Grace.

“Is there another exit?”

She nodded.

“Through the basement.”

“Then we’re leaving.”

Grace grabbed his arm.

“Varek, wait.”

“What?”

“There’s something I haven’t told you about the fifth child.”

He looked at her.

“Tell me while we move.”

Grace shook her head.

“No. You need to understand why Richard wants him.”

She leaned closer.

“The fifth child isn’t just connected to the inheritance. He’s the only person who can legally cancel the Black Ledger Trust.”

Varek’s expression changed.

“And if the Trust is cancelled?”

“Every secret account, hidden property, and inheritance transfer controlled by Alistair will become public.”

A loud bang came from the entrance.

Someone was trying to break through.

Grace held Varek’s hand.

“Richard doesn’t want the child dead anymore.”

“Then what does he want?”

Grace looked directly into his eyes.

“He wants the child to inherit everything.”

The door shook again.

Then Evelyn’s radio came alive.

“Varek, we have movement at the rear entrance.”

He turned.

A voice came through the radio.

It was Daniel.

“Don’t let them take Grace.”

Varek grabbed the radio.

“Where are you?”

Daniel’s reply was immediate.

“With Marcus.”

“Are you working with him?”

“No time to explain. Listen carefully.”

A gunshot sounded through the radio.

Daniel shouted something Varek couldn’t understand.

Then he spoke again.

“Richard has already found the fifth child.”

The transmission broke.

Varek looked at Adrian.

Neither man spoke.

Then Varek’s phone received a photograph.

It showed a young man sitting inside a room with his hands tied.

His face was partly covered, but his eyes were visible.

The message beneath the photograph contained only seven words.

YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THE WRONG BROTHER.

Varek enlarged the photograph.

The young man’s face looked familiar.

Not like Marcus.

Not like Adrian.

Like someone he had seen in his childhood.

Someone Eleanor had once shown him in an old family photograph.

Varek’s blood ran cold.

The man in the photograph was himself.

But older.

And beneath the picture was a name.

VAREK THORNE — ORIGINAL IDENTITY.