The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 54 — The Brother Who Was Never Dead

The gunshot shattered the silence.

Varek dropped to the floor, pulling Grace down with him.

Victor stumbled backward and crashed against the staircase.

Someone screamed.

Then the emergency lights came on.

Richard was no longer standing in the living room.

Varek quickly checked his weapon.

“Victor!”

“I’m here.”

Victor was holding his shoulder. Blood ran between his fingers.

Grace crawled toward him.

“Let me see.”

“Don’t touch me!”

“Victor, you’re bleeding.”

“I said don’t touch me!”

Varek looked toward the entrance.

Richard had escaped.

“Naomi, can you hear me?”

There was no response.

He tried again.

“Naomi!”

A few seconds later, her voice came through.

“I’m here. What happened?”

“Richard was here. He escaped. I need you to trace his vehicle.”

“I’m checking the road cameras.”

Varek turned toward Victor.

“Can you stand?”

Victor nodded, although his face was pale.

“Who fired the shot?” Varek asked.

Victor looked toward the staircase.

“I don’t know.”

Varek examined the room.

The bullet had struck the wall behind them. Richard had fired to create confusion, not to kill anyone.

But why?

He moved toward the table and picked up the document Richard had left behind.

The name Jonathan Thorne Junior was still visible.

Victor stared at it.

“Is that really my name?”

Grace said nothing.

Victor looked at her.

“Tell me the truth. Am I Isabel’s son?”

Grace swallowed.

“That’s what the document says.”

“I’m not asking what the document says!”

His voice echoed through the house.

“Was I born to Isabel?”

Grace slowly nodded.

Victor looked away.

For years, he had believed Mara Mercer was his mother. He had believed he was an ordinary child who had been pulled into a wealthy family’s inheritance battle.

Now he was being told that his entire identity had been manufactured.

Varek approached him.

“Richard said you’re my brother.”

Victor laughed bitterly.

“After everything we’ve heard, do you still believe him?”

“No.”

“Good. Because I don’t believe him either.”

Varek looked at the photograph again.

“Then we’ll find the original records.”

⸻

Evelyn called.

Varek answered immediately.

“Where are you?”

“We’re at the safe location Naomi arranged. Adrian is here with Daniel. Samuel is also here.”

“Is everyone safe?”

“Yes. But there’s something you need to hear.”

“What?”

“Daniel woke up.”

Varek waited.

“He keeps asking for the woman with the two-circle necklace.”

Varek looked toward Grace.

“Did he say anything else?”

Evelyn hesitated.

“He said the woman told him that his real name wasn’t Daniel.”

Varek closed his eyes.

“Did he say what it was?”

“No. But he remembered something else. He said she told him that his father was not the man who raised him.”

Varek glanced at Victor.

“Put Adrian on the phone.”

A moment later, Adrian answered.

“Varek.”

“How is Daniel?”

“He’s frightened, but he’s resting.”

“Did he tell you anything about the woman?”

“Yes. He said she visited him when he was younger. She used to bring him small toys and tell him stories about a boy who lived in a house with two brothers.”

Varek frowned.

“Two brothers?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Did he mention their names?”

Adrian paused.

“One was called Jonathan. The other was called Varek.”

Varek looked at Victor.

Adrian continued.

“Daniel also said the woman told him that one of the boys had been taken away before he could remember his family.”

Varek’s voice became quiet.

“Adrian, I need you to keep him safe. Don’t let anyone near him.”

“I won’t.”

“Not even someone claiming to be family.”

Adrian understood.

“I promise.”

The call ended.

⸻

Naomi finally returned with an update.

“I traced Richard’s vehicle.”

“Where is he?”

“His car was seen leaving the area, but he abandoned it about two kilometres away.”

“Did he get into another vehicle?”

“Yes. A black SUV. The registration belongs to a company called Mercer Medical Holdings.”

Varek looked at Grace.

“Mara Mercer.”

Grace nodded.

“That’s one of her companies.”

Naomi continued.

“There’s more. I found an old employment record for Mara. She worked at St. Catherine’s for nearly twelve years.”

Varek frowned.

“As what?”

“Medical records administrator.”

Miriam’s earlier explanation came back to him.

The altered records.

The children.

The transfers.

“Find her current address.”

“I’m trying. Her company was dissolved, but a payment was made to her account three days ago.”

“From whom?”

“Richard Thorne.”

Varek looked at Victor.

“Your guardian is working with Richard.”

Victor shook his head.

“Mara disappeared years ago.”

“Apparently, she didn’t disappear completely.”

Naomi sent a location to his phone.

“I found the address. It’s an old residential property outside the city. The payment came from an account connected to that address.”

Varek picked up his jacket.

“We’re going there.”

Grace stepped forward.

“Wait.”

He turned.

“What now?”

“Mara may not be alone.”

“Who else?”

Grace looked at Victor.

“The other child.”

Victor frowned.

“What other child?”

Grace hesitated.

“Before Mara disappeared, she was caring for three children. You, Varek, and a third boy.”

Varek stared at her.

“You said there were two boys and one girl.”

“Yes.”

“Who was the third boy?”

Grace shook her head.

“I don’t know his real name.”

Victor looked angry.

“How many children were in that house?”

Grace’s voice trembled.

“Three children were living there. But only two were recorded in the family documents.”

Varek looked at the photograph again.

It showed two boys and a girl.

There was no third boy.

“Where is he?”

Grace looked at the floor.

“I was told he died.”

Varek studied her.

“By whom?”

“Matthew.”

That name changed everything.

Matthew had been missing since the hospital blackout.

He had been connected to Samuel’s identity, the old Daniel Thorne, and the altered medical records.

Now his name was appearing again.

Varek called Naomi.

“Search for Matthew Cross and Mara Mercer. Find every connection between them.”

“Already doing it.”

A few seconds passed.

Then Naomi spoke.

“Varek, there’s something you should see.”

She sent a photograph.

It showed a hospital registration card.

The patient’s name was MATTHEW CROSS.

The date of admission was twenty-five years earlier.

The attending physician was DR. MARA MERCER.

But the most disturbing detail was the patient’s age.

SIX YEARS OLD.

Varek stared at the screen.

“Matthew was six?”

“According to this record, yes.”

Victor leaned over his shoulder.

“Then who was the adult Matthew we knew?”

Naomi answered quietly.

“That’s what I’m trying to establish.”

Varek examined the photograph again.

The child’s face was partly covered by a medical label.

He zoomed in.

There was a handwritten note beneath the patient’s name.

CHILD THREE — RETAINED FOR OBSERVATION.

Grace covered her mouth.

Varek turned toward her.

“Who was child three?”

She began to cry.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re going to stop saying that.”

Grace shook her head.

“I was never allowed to see him. Matthew told me the child had died, and I believed him.”

“Why would Mara keep a six-year-old boy in a hospital?”

Grace looked at the photograph.

“Because he was not supposed to survive the transfer.”

Varek’s phone vibrated.

A message had arrived from an unknown number.

There was no greeting.

Only a photograph.

It showed a little boy sitting beside an old woman.

The woman was Mara Mercer.

The boy looked about six years old.

Varek enlarged the image.

He recognized the child’s face.

It was Matthew.

But the message beneath the photograph made his blood run cold.

YOU HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG BROTHER.

Another message appeared.

THE BOY YOU CALL VICTOR IS NOT THE FIRSTBORN.

Varek stared at the screen.

Then a final message arrived.

THE FIRSTBORN IS THE MAN WHO RAISED YOU.

Varek slowly lifted his head.

Grace looked at him.

“What is it?”

He showed her the message.

Her lips parted.

“No.”

Victor stepped closer.

“What does it mean?”

Varek looked at the photograph of six-year-old Matthew.

Then he looked toward the staircase where Richard had disappeared.

“Matthew isn’t just connected to the children.”

He paused.

“He’s one of them.”

Grace began shaking her head.

“That cannot be true.”

Varek’s phone rang.

It was Eleanor.

He answered immediately.

“Eleanor, where are you?”

Her voice sounded weak.

“Varek, thank God.”

“Who took you?”

“Richard.”

“Where are you now?”

“I escaped. But you must listen to me.”

“What is happening?”

Eleanor began crying.

“I finally remembered what happened the night I brought you home.”

Varek waited.

“You weren’t the only baby I was carrying.”

His heart stopped.

“What?”

“I had two children in my arms. One was you.”

“And the other?”

Eleanor’s voice broke.

“Matthew.”

Before Varek could speak, she whispered:

“Matthew is your older brother.”