The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 49 — The Child Behind the Black Ledger

The screen went black.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Varek stared at the phone, trying to understand what Isabella had just revealed.

Daniel was the sixth child.

Not Isabella.

Not Evelyn.

Not Samuel.

Daniel.

Adrian snatched the phone from Varek.

“Open the video again.”

Naomi’s voice came through the earpiece.

“I can’t. The connection has been terminated.”

“Then reconnect it!”

“I’m trying, Adrian.”

Adrian paced in frustration.

“My son is four years old. What could he possibly have to do with your inheritance?”

Grace looked at him.

“Everything.”

Adrian turned sharply.

“Explain yourself.”

“Daniel was born with something the others didn’t have.”

“What?”

“The original blood marker.”

Samuel shook his head.

“That doesn’t make sense. Matthew told me I was the original beneficiary.”

“Matthew was protecting you,” Grace replied.

“From what?”

“From the people who wanted to use your identity to unlock the Trust.”

Varek stepped between them.

“Enough. We’re wasting time.”

He turned to Naomi.

“Find the underground facility. I want every entrance, every exit, and every security camera.”

“I’m working on it. But there’s something strange about the system.”

“What?”

“The facility has registered Daniel as the sixth beneficiary, but the transfer is not being initiated by Alistair.”

Varek frowned.

“Who is initiating it?”

Naomi hesitated.

“Daniel.”

Adrian went still.

“That’s impossible.”

“The system is receiving a biological authorization from inside the room. It is using Daniel’s fingerprint and blood sample.”

Varek looked toward the estate.

“Someone is making him do it.”

“Maybe,” Naomi answered. “But the system is also showing that Daniel has been recognized as the original owner.”

Samuel stared at the screen.

“So the little boy is the one who can control the Black Ledger.”

Grace nodded.

“That’s why Alistair wanted him.”

Adrian looked at her with anger.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“Because I didn’t know he had survived.”

“Who?”

Grace’s eyes filled with tears.

“The first child.”

Varek frowned.

“Daniel?”

“No. Daniel was the name given to him later. The child was born under another name.”

She looked at Varek.

“His original name was Jonathan.”

Samuel stepped back.

“Jonathan Thorne Junior?”

Grace nodded.

“But the bracelet belonged to the boy who was supposed to be erased. The girl was registered under his identity later. Alistair changed the records because he needed to hide the fact that the original boy had survived.”

Varek looked at the bracelet again.

“Then who is Daniel’s mother?”

Grace hesitated.

“Isabel.”

Evelyn shook her head.

“But Isabella said she was Isabel’s daughter.”

“She may be. Isabel had twins, but one of them was taken before the birth records were completed. The girl was raised under a false identity.”

“Then why does Isabella say Daniel is the sixth child?”

Grace looked at Evelyn.

“Because she knows who he really is.”

A metallic sound came from the direction of the estate.

The underground door had opened.

Victor checked his phone.

“The maintenance entrance is active.”

Varek drew his weapon.

“We move now.”

They crossed the grounds and reached the old chapel. It stood behind the main building, surrounded by overgrown plants and broken stone statues.

Victor pushed aside a wooden panel near the altar.

A narrow staircase appeared.

“That’s the entrance.”

Adrian moved forward.

Varek stopped him.

“Let me go first.”

“I’m not leaving my son.”

“Nobody is asking you to.”

Varek descended the stairs.

The air became colder as they moved deeper underground. Small lights flickered along the walls. At the bottom, they found a steel door with a fingerprint scanner.

Samuel stepped forward.

“Let me try.”

He placed his finger on the scanner.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

The screen turned red.

ACCESS DENIED.

Samuel frowned.

“Why isn’t it working?”

Naomi spoke through the earpiece.

“Wait. The system is asking for a second verification.”

A message appeared.

GUARDIAN AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.

Varek looked at Samuel.

“Who was your guardian?”

“Matthew.”

“Then we need his identity.”

Samuel shook his head.

“Matthew isn’t here.”

Grace moved forward.

“I know the code.”

Everyone turned toward her.

“How?”

Grace stared at the scanner.

“Because I helped Matthew create the original access system.”

Varek’s expression hardened.

“You helped him?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To keep the children safe.”

“Your idea of keeping children safe was allowing Alistair to move them between families?”

Grace lowered her head.

“I made mistakes.”

“You made more than mistakes.”

Grace placed her hand on the scanner and entered a sequence.

The screen flashed green.

GUARDIAN AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.

The door opened.

Inside was a long corridor lined with glass rooms.

Some contained medical equipment. Others held old computers, files, and empty hospital beds.

Evelyn looked through one of the glass walls.

There were photographs of children arranged in rows.

Each photograph had a number.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Then two additional photographs marked seven and eight.

“These are the children,” she whispered.

Varek approached.

“Look at the names.”

The first five photographs had names written beneath them.

But the sixth photograph was different.

It showed Daniel.

Not Adrian’s son as he looked now.

It was a photograph of him as a baby.

Beneath it was a name.

JONATHAN THORNE JUNIOR.

Adrian stared at the picture.

“No.”

He stepped closer.

“That’s my son.”

Varek examined the photograph.

“How old is this picture?”

Naomi answered through the earpiece.

“Based on the image data, it was taken four years ago.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Daniel was born four years ago. How could they have had his photograph before his birth?”

Grace moved toward the display.

“Because that is not a photograph of Daniel.”

Everyone turned to her.

She pointed to a small mark beside the baby’s left ear.

“Look closely.”

Varek examined it.

The baby had a small dark mark shaped like a crescent.

Then he looked at the photograph of Daniel on Adrian’s phone.

Daniel had the same mark.

Adrian’s face went pale.

“That’s impossible.”

Grace looked at him.

“Daniel’s appearance was changed in the hospital records. His original birth photograph was kept here.”

“Are you saying someone gave my son another child’s identity?”

“I’m saying the child you know as Daniel may have been registered under a name that belonged to someone else.”

Adrian stepped backward.

“Who gave him to me?”

Grace didn’t answer.

A door opened at the end of the corridor.

A woman stepped out.

She wore a white coat and held a medical file.

Varek raised his weapon.

“Stop right there!”

The woman froze.

Her eyes moved from Varek to Grace.

Then she looked at Adrian.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Who are you?” Varek demanded.

“My name is Dr. Miriam Cole. I worked with Isabel Thorne.”

Grace stared at her.

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

Miriam gave a tired smile.

“That’s what Alistair wanted everyone to believe.”

Varek lowered his weapon slightly.

“Where is Daniel?”

Miriam pointed toward the room behind her.

“He’s in the transfer chamber.”

Adrian rushed forward.

Miriam stepped in front of him.

“Don’t.”

“Move!”

“If you open that door before the process is stopped, the system will permanently register him as the owner of the Black Ledger.”

Adrian’s face twisted with anger.

“He’s my son!”

Miriam looked at him.

“Then you should be very careful about what you call him.”

Varek stepped closer.

“What do you mean?”

Miriam opened the medical file.

Inside was a birth certificate.

The name of the mother was clearly written.

ISABEL THORNE.

The child’s name was:

JONATHAN THORNE JUNIOR.

But the father’s name was missing.

Instead, someone had written a single word.

UNKNOWN.

Miriam looked at Adrian.

“Your son was not born as Daniel.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Who was he?”

Miriam turned the page.

There was a photograph of a man holding a newborn baby.

Varek recognized him immediately.

It was the old Daniel Thorne.

But the man in the photograph was much younger.

Miriam pointed to the baby.

“This is the original sixth child.”

Adrian stared at the photograph.

“Then who is the boy I raised?”

Miriam’s answer came quietly.

“He’s the child Isabel hid from Alistair. The child she exchanged with Jonathan Thorne Junior.”

Samuel looked confused.

“Two children exchanged places?”

Miriam nodded.

“One child was supposed to inherit the Trust. The other was supposed to disappear. Isabel switched their identities before Alistair could complete the transfer.”

Varek looked at the closed chamber door.

“Which one is Daniel?”

Miriam looked at him.

“That’s what the final test will reveal.”

A loud alarm sounded.

Red lights flashed across the corridor.

Naomi’s voice came through the earpiece.

“Varek! The transfer has started!”

The steel door at the end of the corridor began closing.

Adrian ran toward it.

“Daniel!”

Through the narrow glass window, they saw the little boy lying on a medical bed.

A machine was connected to his arm.

Beside him stood Alistair.

And behind Alistair was Helena, holding a second medical file.

She looked directly at the camera.

Then she raised the file.

Written across its cover were four words:

ADRIAN IS NOT HIS FATHER.