The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 42 — The Girl They Buried

“Your sister is alive.”

Eleanor’s words continued to echo in Varek’s mind even after the call ended.

He stared at the phone, hoping she would call again.

She didn’t.

Evelyn wiped her tears and looked at him.

“What did she say?”

Varek slowly lowered the phone.

“She said Grace gave birth to two children. But neither of them was the child Alistair wanted.”

Samuel stepped forward.

“And the girl?”

Varek looked at him.

“She said my sister was supposed to have died twenty-five years ago. But she’s alive.”

Adrian glanced at the laptop.

“Then why does the system identify an unknown female as the sixth beneficiary?”

“Because someone has been hiding her identity,” Varek replied.

Naomi’s voice came through the earpiece.

“There’s something else. The hospital has just received a remote instruction to transfer the original maternity records to an external server.”

“Can you stop it?”

“I’m trying, but the instruction is coming from an authorized account.”

“Whose account?”

Naomi paused.

“Alistair Thorne.”

Varek clenched his jaw.

“Then we need to find out where he’s sending the records.”

“I’ve traced the connection to a private medical archive. It’s not far from the hospital.”

Adrian checked the corridor.

“We’re not leaving until we know the exits are clear.”

A sound came from Daniel.

“Daddy?”

Adrian turned immediately.

“Yes, son?”

“Can we go now?”

Adrian crouched and held his face.

“I promise we’ll leave soon.”

Daniel looked at Varek.

“Is the bad man coming back?”

Varek knelt beside him.

“Not if we get there first.”

The boy nodded.

Samuel picked up the photograph of Grace and the two babies.

“There’s something strange about this picture.”

Varek looked at him.

“What?”

Samuel pointed at the woman holding the second baby.

“Eleanor.”

“Yes?”

“Look at her left hand.”

Varek examined the photograph.

Eleanor was wearing a ring.

A simple silver ring with six small lines engraved around a black circle.

The same symbol appeared on Samuel’s document.

“That’s the Black Ledger symbol,” Evelyn said.

Samuel nodded.

“She was wearing it before the system was created.”

Naomi interrupted.

“That’s impossible. The symbol was designed for the trust.”

“Maybe the trust wasn’t created when Alistair said it was,” Samuel replied.

Varek looked at the photograph again.

“Or the symbol belonged to something older.”

He turned the picture over.

There was another line of writing at the bottom.

THE CHILDREN WERE NEVER THE INHERITANCE. THEY WERE THE KEYS.

Adrian frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Samuel answered.

“Maybe the Black Ledger was never about choosing one heir. Maybe each child was created or selected to control a different part of the system.”

“That still doesn’t explain why Alistair wants the sixth child,” Varek said.

Samuel looked at him.

“Because the sixth child may be the only one who can control all the others.”

Before Varek could respond, Naomi spoke.

“I’ve found the archive.”

A map appeared on the laptop.

The location was an old private medical building outside the main hospital grounds.

“There are no active public records for this place,” Naomi explained. “But it has a direct connection to St. Catherine’s old maternity database.”

Evelyn looked at the map.

“That building was closed years ago.”

“You know it?” Varek asked.

She nodded.

“My mother used to take me there when I was little. She said it was a storage facility.”

“Did you ever go inside?”

“Once. She left me in the car and went in. When she came back, she was crying.”

Varek studied her.

“Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“Because I didn’t know it was important.”

Samuel moved toward the door.

“Then we should go there.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Not with Daniel.”

“I can take him somewhere safe,” Evelyn offered.

Adrian looked at her.

“I don’t know if I can trust you yet.”

Evelyn swallowed.

“I understand.”

Varek stepped between them.

“We’re wasting time. Naomi, can you find us a secure route?”

“Yes. But I need you to understand something. The archive has an active security signal. Someone is already inside.”

“Who?”

“I can’t identify the person.”

Varek picked up his weapon.

“Then let’s find out.”

⸻

The private medical archive stood behind a rusted metal gate.

Its sign had almost fallen off.

The windows were covered with thick dust, and the entrance looked as if nobody had used it in years.

But the security camera above the door was moving.

Someone was watching them.

Adrian stayed behind with Daniel at a small security office Naomi had identified as temporarily safe. Evelyn joined Varek and Samuel at the entrance.

“Do you remember the last time you came here?” Varek asked her.

“Not clearly. I was about seven or eight.”

“Did Grace bring anyone with her?”

Evelyn thought for a moment.

“Yes. A woman.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. My mother called her Auntie.”

Samuel looked at her.

“Did the woman have a child?”

Evelyn nodded slowly.

“I think so.”

“What did the child look like?”

“I can’t remember.”

Varek pushed open the door.

The building smelled of dust and old medicine.

They entered a narrow reception area. Broken chairs stood against the walls, and several cabinets had been emptied.

At the far end was a corridor leading to a restricted records room.

Naomi guided them through the earpiece.

“Take the second door on your left. There’s an old computer terminal inside.”

They entered the room.

A single monitor was still running.

Varek approached it.

The screen displayed a list of archived patient files.

There were six folders.

Five carried familiar names.

VAREK VALE.

ADRIAN THORNE.

MARCUS BLACKSTONE.

DANIEL THORNE.

SAMUEL CROSS.

The sixth folder was locked.

Its name was simply:

THE GIRL.

Samuel tried opening it.

A warning appeared.

ACCESS DENIED.

“Naomi?”

“I’m here.”

“Can you unlock this?”

“I’m trying. The file requires two separate authorization codes.”

“Where do we get them?”

“One is linked to Matthew Cross. The other belongs to the original beneficiary.”

Samuel stepped forward.

“That’s me.”

He placed his hand on the small scanner attached to the computer.

A red light appeared.

IDENTITY NOT RECOGNIZED.

Samuel frowned.

“But the hospital confirmed my identity.”

Naomi replied, “The system recognizes Samuel Cross as the beneficiary, but this archive uses the name he had before the transfer.”

Varek turned toward him.

“What name?”

Samuel stared at the screen.

“I don’t know.”

A small drawer opened beneath the computer.

Inside was an old photograph and a folded piece of paper.

Samuel picked up the paper.

His expression changed as he read it.

“What is it?” Evelyn asked.

He handed it to Varek.

The paper contained a handwritten statement.

THE BOY WE REGISTERED AS SAMUEL CROSS WAS NOT THE CHILD WE WERE PROTECTING.

Beneath it was a signature.

GRACE CROSS.

Varek looked at Samuel.

“Then who are you?”

Samuel shook his head.

“I don’t know anymore.”

Suddenly, the monitor flashed.

The locked folder opened by itself.

A video began playing.

Grace appeared on the screen.

She looked younger, but there was no mistaking her face.

“If you’re watching this,” she said, “then Alistair has found a way to activate the sixth beneficiary.”

She looked directly into the camera.

“Varek, I need you to understand something. The girl you’re searching for is not your sister in the way Eleanor told you.”

Varek moved closer.

“What does that mean?”

Grace continued.

“She was born before you. She was registered as dead. But the child they buried was not her.”

Evelyn covered her mouth.

Grace’s eyes filled with tears.

“I tried to protect her. I gave her to someone I trusted, but that person betrayed me.”

The video paused.

A second file opened.

It contained a scanned photograph of a woman holding a little girl.

Varek stared at the photograph.

The woman was Grace.

The little girl looked about four years old.

On the back of the photograph was a name.

MARA MERCER.

Evelyn looked at him.

“Mara?”

Varek nodded slowly.

“Mara was the woman who once claimed she gave birth to me.”

Samuel looked at the photograph.

“Then she raised the girl?”

Before Varek could answer, another video opened.

This time, a man appeared.

It was Matthew.

His face was bruised, and he seemed to be speaking from inside a locked room.

“Varek, if you found this archive, then Grace has already told you about the girl.”

He looked over his shoulder before continuing.

“Do not trust Mara Mercer. She didn’t raise the child because she loved her. She raised her because Alistair ordered her to.”

The video flickered.

Matthew leaned closer to the camera.

“And there is something you must know about the sixth beneficiary.”

He swallowed.

“She is not the only child who was declared dead.”

The video ended.

A new document appeared.

It contained a list of names.

At the bottom were two entries.

CHILD SEVEN — DECEASED.

CHILD EIGHT — DECEASED.

Varek stared at the screen.

“Eight children?”

Naomi’s voice came through.

“Varek, we need to leave. Someone has just entered the building.”

A heavy door slammed somewhere behind them.

Evelyn turned toward the corridor.

“Who is it?”

Naomi checked the security feed.

Then she went silent.

“Naomi?” Varek called.

Her voice finally returned.

“Varek, it’s Marcus.”

Varek looked toward the entrance.

“Marcus?”

“Yes. And he’s not alone.”

A second figure appeared on the security monitor.

The man standing beside Marcus looked exactly like Varek.

But this time, it wasn’t a photograph or an old recording.

He was alive.

He looked directly into the camera.

Then he smiled.

“Hello, little brother.”

Varek raised his weapon.

The man spoke again.

“Did you really think there was only one of me?”