The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 45 — The Dead Man’s Return

Nobody moved.

The old man sat in his wheelchair, looking at Adrian as though he had been waiting years for this moment.

“I am the real Daniel Thorne,” he repeated.

Adrian stared at him.

“That’s impossible. Daniel Thorne died twenty-five years ago.”

The old man smiled faintly.

“That’s what they wanted you to believe.”

Richard’s name seemed to hang in the air.

Varek looked toward Grace.

“You knew about this?”

Grace shook her head.

“I knew Daniel survived the fire. I didn’t know he was still alive.”

The old man gave a dry laugh.

“Of course you didn’t. You were never allowed to know everything.”

Marcus stood behind the wheelchair, his expression unreadable. Victor was beside him, watching Varek.

Varek pointed his weapon toward them.

“Get away from him.”

Victor raised both hands.

“Relax, brother. Nobody is here to hurt you.”

“Stop calling me that.”

Victor smiled.

“You will get used to it.”

Adrian stepped forward.

“Who is this man?”

The old man looked at him.

“You really don’t recognize me?”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“Of course not. You were too young when they took you.”

Adrian’s expression tightened.

“Who took me?”

“Richard.”

The old man leaned back in his wheelchair.

“Richard was never your father. He was your uncle. He took you from Helena and raised you under another name because he wanted to control the Thorne inheritance.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Matthew already told us that Helena was my mother.”

“Matthew knows only what he was allowed to know.”

The old man turned toward Grace.

“And you know that better than anyone.”

Grace lowered her eyes.

Varek stepped forward.

“Enough. If you’re really Daniel Thorne, prove it.”

The old man nodded toward Marcus.

“Show him.”

Marcus reached into his jacket and removed a small envelope.

He handed it to Varek.

Inside were three photographs and a medical report.

The first photograph showed a younger man standing beside Alistair Thorne.

The second showed the same man holding a newborn baby.

The third showed the man lying on a hospital bed, his face covered in bandages.

Varek looked at the medical report.

The patient’s name was Daniel Thorne.

The admission date was twenty-five years earlier.

The report stated that the patient had survived severe burns and had been transferred to a private medical facility.

Varek looked at the old man.

“This proves someone named Daniel survived the fire. It doesn’t prove you’re him.”

The old man nodded.

“Then look at the last page.”

Varek turned it over.

A handwritten note appeared beneath the medical details.

PATIENT IDENTIFIED BY MATERNAL DNA. SAMPLE MATCH: HELENA VALE.

Adrian took the paper.

“Helena?”

The old man nodded.

“She was my mother.”

Varek frowned.

“Helena was your mother?”

“Yes. And she was also the mother of the child who was registered as Adrian.”

Adrian looked confused.

“Then why did she tell us I was her son?”

“Because you were.”

The old man looked at him carefully.

“But you weren’t the only one.”

Silence followed.

Varek glanced at Adrian.

“Twins again?”

“No,” the old man replied. “Not twins. Two boys born to two different women, registered under the same family record.”

He pointed toward Adrian.

“Your mother was Helena. Your father was Jonathan Thorne.”

Adrian stared at him.

“And Richard?”

“Richard was Jonathan’s younger brother. He wanted the inheritance, but he knew Jonathan’s children had a stronger claim. So he took one of them and changed his identity.”

Varek looked at the old man.

“Why?”

“Because he needed a child he could control. He needed someone who would eventually inherit the Thorne name without knowing where he came from.”

Adrian’s face hardened.

“So Richard raised me as his son.”

“Yes.”

“And Daniel?”

The old man looked at the boy standing beside Adrian.

“Your son carries a name that belonged to another child. Richard wanted him because he believed the original Daniel’s bloodline could activate the Black Ledger.”

Adrian pulled Daniel closer.

“Stay away from my son.”

The old man raised both hands.

“I have no intention of hurting him.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To stop Alistair.”

Varek glanced toward Victor.

“Why are you working with them?”

The old man followed his gaze.

“Because Marcus and Victor are the only people who can help me reach the original trust records.”

Victor stepped forward.

“And because I know who our mother is.”

Varek looked at him.

“Grace?”

Victor shook his head.

“Not Grace.”

He looked directly at Varek.

“Our mother is Helena Vale.”

Varek felt a strange heaviness in his chest.

“Helena?”

Victor nodded.

“She gave birth to us. She gave birth to you and me. But she was told one of us died.”

Varek looked toward Grace.

“Is that true?”

Grace’s eyes filled with tears.

“Yes.”

“Which one?”

She hesitated.

“Victor.”

Varek turned toward his supposed twin.

“You were declared dead?”

Victor nodded.

“But I wasn’t.”

“Who raised you?”

“Mara Mercer.”

Varek remembered the orphanage photograph.

The name beneath Victor’s childhood picture.

Mara Mercer.

“Why did she tell me she was my mother?”

Victor gave a bitter smile.

“Because she needed you to believe that I was the one who had been abandoned.”

Varek looked down at the photographs.

Too many people had used the same names.

Too many children had been moved between families.

But one question remained.

“Why does the Black Ledger need all of us?”

The old man answered.

“Because Alistair built it around the original six children. Each child was connected to a different part of the trust. One could open it. One could protect it. One could control it. One could expose it. One could transfer it. And the sixth could claim ownership.”

Samuel stepped forward.

“Which one am I?”

The old man looked at him.

“You’re the child Matthew was instructed to protect.”

Samuel frowned.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Because your identity was never supposed to be public.”

Varek turned toward him.

“Then why does the system recognize Samuel Cross?”

The old man smiled.

“Because Matthew gave you the name of the child he was supposed to hide.”

Samuel looked sick.

“Who was I before Samuel Cross?”

The old man leaned forward.

“Your original name was—”

A gunshot interrupted him.

The old man jerked in his wheelchair.

Evelyn screamed.

Varek turned toward the sound.

A man stood on the upper parking level, holding a rifle.

“Get down!” Adrian shouted.

Varek pulled Samuel behind a concrete pillar while Grace dragged Evelyn away from the open area.

Marcus pushed the wheelchair behind a parked vehicle.

Victor disappeared behind another pillar.

The attacker fired again.

The bullet struck the side of the SUV.

Adrian covered Daniel with his body.

“Don’t move!”

Varek raised his weapon toward the upper level, but the shooter had already moved.

“Naomi!” he shouted into his earpiece. “Find the shooter!”

“I’m checking the cameras. The signal is unstable.”

Varek looked toward the old man.

“Daniel!”

Marcus was crouched beside the wheelchair.

“He’s alive!”

The old man’s eyes were open, but he was struggling to breathe.

Varek rushed toward him.

“Who shot you?”

The old man grabbed his wrist.

“Alistair.”

“Where is he?”

The old man shook his head.

“Not Alistair.”

He struggled to speak.

“Someone closer.”

Varek leaned nearer.

“Who?”

The old man gripped his wrist harder.

“One of the six.”

Then his hand fell.

For a moment, Varek thought he was dead.

But Marcus checked his pulse.

“He’s alive. We need to get him out of here.”

Naomi’s voice suddenly came through.

“Varek, I found the shooter.”

“Who?”

She sent a photograph to his phone.

Varek opened it.

The image showed a man standing on the upper parking level.

He recognized the face immediately.

It was Matthew Cross.

Evelyn stared at the photograph.

“My father?”

Varek looked at the wounded old man.

“He’s the one who shot Daniel?”

Naomi answered.

“Yes. But that’s not the worst part.”

“What?”

“The security camera recorded Matthew entering the parking area with someone else.”

A second image appeared.

The person beside Matthew was a woman.

Her face was clearly visible.

Varek stared at the screen.

He knew her.

Everyone in the room knew her.

It was Helena Vale.

Adrian stepped closer.

“That’s my mother.”

Varek enlarged the photograph.

Helena was holding a small hospital identification card.

Naomi read the information beneath it.

ORIGINAL BENEFICIARY: HELENA VALE.

TRANSFER AUTHORITY: MATTHEW CROSS.

FINAL ACCESS: ALISTAIR THORNE.

Varek looked toward the exit.

“Where are they now?”

Naomi’s answer came immediately.

“They’re heading to the original maternity ward.”

Samuel looked at the others.

“Why?”

The laptop in his hand suddenly activated.

A final message appeared.

THE SIXTH CHILD HAS BEEN LOCATED.

THE FINAL TRANSFER WILL BEGIN IN ONE HOUR.

Beneath it was a photograph.

A little girl.

And written under her face was a name.

HELENA VALE’S DAUGHTER — THE ORIGINAL SIXTH BENEFICIARY.

Varek stared at the photograph.

The girl had the same eyes as Evelyn.

But the date beneath her picture was only twenty years old.

Which meant she had not been buried twenty-five years ago.

She had been alive all along.