The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 50 — The Father Who Never Was

The words on Helena’s medical file seemed to freeze everyone in place.

ADRIAN IS NOT HIS FATHER.

Adrian stared through the glass.

His little boy was lying helplessly on the medical bed, while Alistair stood beside him with the calm expression of a man who believed he had finally won.

“Open that door!” Adrian shouted.

Dr. Miriam Cole stepped forward.

“Don’t touch the controls.”

“That’s my son!”

“Adrian, listen to me. The chamber is connected to the Black Ledger. If you interrupt the process incorrectly, the system will lock permanently.”

“Then tell me how to open it!”

Miriam looked at the medical equipment.

“We need to stop the transfer from the control room.”

Varek turned toward her.

“Where is it?”

“At the end of this corridor.”

“Take us there.”

They hurried down the passage, but Adrian remained behind for a moment, watching Daniel through the glass.

“Daniel,” he whispered. “Daddy is coming.”

The boy moved slightly.

His eyes opened.

He looked toward the glass and lifted one hand.

Adrian pressed his palm against the window.

Then a nurse appeared beside Daniel and injected something into his arm.

The boy’s hand dropped.

Adrian’s expression changed.

He struck the glass with his fist.

“WHAT DID YOU GIVE HIM?”

Alistair looked toward the window.

For the first time, he smiled.

Then the curtains inside the chamber closed.

Adrian turned and followed the others.

⸻

The control room was larger than Varek expected.

Rows of old computers stood against the walls. Several monitors displayed medical records, family photographs, and the current status of the Black Ledger.

Miriam moved toward the main terminal.

“Naomi, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to connect to the central system.”

Naomi responded immediately.

“I’m already inside the external network. But the main server is protected by three authorization layers.”

“Can you bypass them?”

“Not without a biological key.”

Samuel stepped forward.

“Use me.”

Miriam shook her head.

“It won’t work.”

“Why?”

“Because your access was created through a guardian registration. You’re not the original biological owner.”

Samuel looked down.

“So Matthew lied to me.”

“He protected you,” Miriam replied. “But he also used your identity.”

Varek approached the terminal.

“What about me?”

Miriam examined him.

“Your blood may open the first layer, but not the second.”

“Then who opens it?”

Miriam looked toward the chamber.

“Daniel.”

Adrian clenched his fists.

“You’re telling me the only way to save my son is to use him?”

“No. I’m telling you Alistair has designed the system so that Daniel’s blood is required. We need to stop the process before the final verification.”

Naomi interrupted.

“I found something.”

“What?” Varek asked.

“The system has two separate transfer requests. One is for the Black Ledger. The other is for a family identity record.”

Miriam’s face changed.

“That’s not supposed to be there.”

“What’s the identity record?” Evelyn asked.

Naomi enlarged the file.

A name appeared.

ADRIAN THORNE — BIOLOGICAL STATUS: UNCONFIRMED.

Beneath it was another line.

ORIGINAL NAME: DAMIAN MERCER.

Adrian stared at the screen.

“I already know I was registered as Damian Mercer.”

Naomi shook her head.

“No. There’s another entry.”

She opened it.

MOTHER: HELENA VALE.

FATHER: RICHARD THORNE.

Adrian stepped closer.

“That’s the record we found before.”

“There’s a second record,” Naomi said.

She opened it.

MOTHER: ISABEL THORNE.

FATHER: UNKNOWN.

Adrian stared at the screen.

“Why are there two mothers?”

Miriam looked at him.

“Because one record belongs to the child who was registered as Damian Mercer. The other belongs to the child who was given the name Adrian Thorne.”

Varek’s expression hardened.

“Are you saying Adrian and Damian were two different people?”

Miriam nodded.

“That’s what the records suggest.”

Adrian shook his head.

“No. I have memories of growing up with Richard. I remember his house. I remember the things he taught me.”

“Memories can be built around a false identity,” Miriam replied. “But that doesn’t mean your life was meaningless.”

Adrian turned away.

He had spent years trying to discover who he was.

Now the answers seemed to create even more questions.

Evelyn touched his arm.

“Whatever your original name was, Daniel knows you as his father.”

Adrian looked at her.

“And what if I’m not?”

“Then Alistair doesn’t get to decide what that means.”

For a moment, Adrian said nothing.

Then he returned his attention to the screen.

“Open the chamber.”

⸻

Naomi continued working.

“I’ve found a way to interrupt the transfer.”

“Do it,” Varek ordered.

“I need the system to recognize a conflicting beneficiary.”

Samuel looked at Miriam.

“What does that mean?”

Miriam opened another file.

“It means the system must receive evidence that two people are claiming the same identity.”

Varek understood.

“Marcus.”

Naomi nodded.

“Exactly. If Marcus is still registered as Jonathan Thorne Junior, his identity could interrupt the transfer.”

Varek pulled out his phone and called Marcus.

It rang several times.

Finally, someone answered.

“Varek?”

It was Marcus.

“Where are you?”

“At the clinic.”

“Is Daniel Thorne alive?”

A brief silence followed.

“He’s alive, but unconscious. Why?”

“Can you get him to a computer?”

“What’s happening?”

“Alistair is transferring the Black Ledger. I need you to confirm your identity against the original Jonathan Thorne Junior record.”

Marcus went quiet.

“Varek, there’s something you need to know.”

“Not now.”

“It concerns the old man.”

“What?”

Marcus lowered his voice.

“The man I brought to the clinic isn’t Daniel Thorne.”

Varek closed his eyes briefly.

“Then who is he?”

“I don’t know. But before he lost consciousness, he called me by another name.”

“Which name?”

Marcus hesitated.

“Jonathan.”

Varek looked at Miriam.

She had heard him.

“Ask him whether he knows Isabel Thorne,” she said.

Varek repeated the question.

Marcus answered after a few seconds.

“He said she was his wife.”

Miriam’s face went pale.

“That’s impossible.”

Varek looked at her.

“Why?”

“Because Isabel’s husband was buried twenty-five years ago.”

“Then who is the man at the clinic?”

Miriam stared at the screen.

“I think Alistair has been using a dead man’s identity.”

⸻

Inside the transfer chamber, Daniel began to wake.

His eyes moved slowly around the room.

Alistair leaned closer.

“Hello, little one.”

Daniel looked at him.

“Where is my daddy?”

“Your father isn’t here.”

Daniel shook his head.

“Adrian is my daddy.”

Alistair gave a small laugh.

“That’s what they made you believe.”

Daniel looked frightened.

“Please, I want to go home.”

Alistair placed a document beside him.

“Do you know what this is?”

Daniel shook his head.

“It’s your real birth certificate.”

The boy looked at the paper.

Alistair pointed to the name.

“Jonathan Thorne Junior.”

Daniel struggled to sit up.

“I don’t want that name.”

Alistair’s smile disappeared.

“You don’t get to choose.”

A door opened.

Helena entered.

“Alistair, the system is responding to another identity claim.”

He turned sharply.

“From whom?”

“Marcus Blackstone.”

Alistair looked at the screen.

Then his expression darkened.

“That boy has no idea what he’s doing.”

Helena stepped closer.

“The transfer is no longer stable. We should stop.”

“We are not stopping.”

“Daniel is too young.”

“He’s the only one who can complete it.”

Helena looked at the little boy.

For a moment, something like regret crossed her face.

Then she turned toward Alistair.

“You promised me you would let the children live.”

Alistair grabbed her arm.

“I promised you nothing.”

He pressed a button.

The machine beside Daniel began to beep.

⸻

Back in the control room, Naomi shouted.

“Varek! Something has changed!”

“What?”

“The transfer has accelerated.”

Miriam rushed toward the monitor.

“He’s forcing the final verification.”

Adrian moved toward the door.

“Then I’m going in.”

“Wait!” Varek shouted.

But Adrian was already running.

Varek followed him.

They reached the chamber just as the lights turned red.

Adrian struck the glass.

“Daniel!”

The little boy turned his head.

“Daddy!”

Adrian placed both hands against the window.

“I’m here, son!”

Alistair turned toward them.

He pressed another button.

The chamber door unlocked.

Adrian rushed inside.

Varek followed, weapon raised.

“Step away from the child!”

Alistair slowly turned.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

Adrian reached Daniel and began removing the medical equipment.

“Don’t touch my son again.”

Alistair laughed.

“Your son?”

He picked up a second medical file.

“Then perhaps you should see this.”

He threw it at Adrian.

The papers scattered across the floor.

Adrian picked up the first page.

His eyes moved across the lines.

CHILD: DANIEL THORNE.

BIOLOGICAL FATHER: ADRIAN THORNE.

For one brief moment, relief crossed his face.

Then he turned the page.

The next document carried a different result.

PATERNITY CONFIRMATION: 99.98%.

BIOLOGICAL FATHER: JONATHAN THORNE.

Adrian stared at it.

Alistair stepped closer.

“Now you understand.”

Varek raised his weapon.

“Get away from him.”

Alistair ignored him.

“Adrian, you have spent your entire life believing you were the father of a child who was never yours.”

Adrian looked at Daniel.

The boy was crying.

“That’s a lie.”

Alistair smiled.

“Ask him what name he remembers from before you adopted him.”

Adrian turned toward his son.

“Daniel?”

The boy reached for him.

“Daddy, please.”

Adrian picked him up.

“You’re my son. Nothing changes that.”

But as he turned to leave, Daniel whispered something into his ear.

Something that made Adrian stop breathing.

“Daddy, that man told me something.”

Adrian looked down.

“What did he tell you?”

Daniel pointed at Alistair.

“He said you were the one who brought me here.”

Adrian froze.

Varek turned toward Alistair.

“What did you do?”

Alistair’s smile widened.

“Nothing. The boy is remembering.”

Then Daniel looked at Adrian again.

And whispered the words that shattered the room.

“Before you became my daddy, you were the man who gave me to him.”