The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 65 — The Signature of a Dead Man

Varek stared at his phone.

Naomi’s words kept repeating in his head.

Someone had used his identity to declare Daniel dead.

And the signature on the document matched his own.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Victor said.

Varek lowered the phone.

“I wasn’t even old enough to write.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you someone deliberately created that record before you could have known what it meant.”

Varek looked at the photograph in his hand. Eleanor stood beside a hospital cot, her expression serious. The woman beside her had her face crossed out.

“Naomi, can you identify the woman?”

“I’m trying. The original photograph has been damaged, but I found something written on the back.”

“What?”

“Baby Seven.”

Varek frowned.

“Baby Seven?”

“Yes. The original nursery had six registered subjects. This photograph suggests there was another child.”

Victor took the photograph from Varek.

“Seven children?”

“Possibly. But there’s something else. The woman standing beside Eleanor was listed as the child’s temporary guardian.”

“What’s her name?”

Naomi hesitated.

“Isabel Thorne.”

Victor looked up sharply.

“Which Isabel?”

“That’s what I don’t know.”

Varek rubbed his forehead.

They had two women whose identities had been mixed, a woman who claimed to be Isabel, another who claimed to have become Mara, and a collection of records that seemed designed to confuse anyone searching for the truth.

“Naomi, send us the full record.”

“I’ll send what I have. But listen carefully. The original birth register may contain a separate section for Baby Seven. If Richard gets it, he could use it to complete the Black Ledger.”

Varek looked at the open file.

“Then we need to find that section before him.”

“There’s another problem,” Naomi said.

“What now?”

“Richard has accessed the original system again.”

Varek’s expression hardened.

“How?”

“Someone has activated Jonathan’s biometric identity.”

Victor stepped closer.

“But Jonathan is supposed to be dead.”

Naomi replied quietly.

“Apparently, someone doesn’t agree.”

The call ended.

For a moment, Varek remained still.

Then he turned to Victor.

“We’re leaving.”

“What about Matthew?”

“He knows we’re here. He’ll either return or send someone else.”

“And Miriam?”

Varek looked toward the staircase.

“She stays with us until she explains everything she knows.”

⸻

They found Miriam near the entrance.

She was holding her phone, staring at something on the screen.

When she noticed them, she quickly locked it.

Varek stopped in front of her.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Nobody.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Miriam looked between him and Victor.

“I received a message.”

“From whom?”

“I don’t know.”

“Show me.”

She hesitated before handing him the phone.

The message contained only one sentence.

THE BOY YOU CALLED ADRIAN WAS NOT THE BOY YOU DELIVERED.

Varek read it twice.

Then he looked at Miriam.

“What does this mean?”

Her lips trembled.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re a doctor. You told me you delivered Adrian. You said you knew his mother. Now someone is telling you that the boy you called Adrian wasn’t the baby you delivered.”

“I said I believed I delivered him.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

Miriam lowered her head.

“No.”

Victor folded his arms.

“How many babies were delivered that night?”

“Three.”

Varek’s eyes narrowed.

“Three?”

Miriam nodded.

“Two boys and a girl.”

“Who were the boys?”

“Adrian and another baby whose name was never entered into the public register.”

“And the girl?”

“I was told she died.”

Varek stared at her.

“Did you see her body?”

“No.”

“Did you sign a death certificate?”

Miriam shook her head.

“Then how do you know she died?”

“Because that was what I was told.”

Victor gave a frustrated laugh.

“Another child declared dead without anyone seeing a body.”

Miriam looked at him.

“That was how they operated. They didn’t need children to die. They only needed the records to say they were dead.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Who was the third baby?”

“I don’t know.”

“Was it Baby Seven?”

Miriam’s eyes widened.

“Where did you hear that name?”

Varek studied her face.

“That means you’ve heard it before.”

Miriam slowly sat on the nearest chair.

“Baby Seven was not supposed to be part of the original arrangement. The child was born during an emergency delivery. Alistair ordered the records sealed.”

“Who was the mother?”

“I never saw her face clearly.”

“Was she Isabel?”

“I don’t know.”

Varek took a breath.

“Then tell me something you do know. Why was Adrian accused of killing Daniel?”

Miriam looked up.

“Because Daniel was supposed to be the first child transferred out of the nursery. Adrian discovered the plan and tried to stop it. During the confusion, Daniel disappeared.”

“Was he alive?”

“Yes.”

“Did Adrian know?”

Miriam nodded.

“He believed Daniel had been taken somewhere safe. But Richard told everyone that the boy died because of Adrian’s actions.”

Varek looked at Victor.

That explained why Adrian had been so disturbed by Richard’s accusation. It did not explain why he had kept the story from Varek.

“Why didn’t Adrian tell me?” Varek asked.

Miriam looked away.

“Perhaps he was protecting you.”

“From what?”

She didn’t answer.

Varek’s phone vibrated.

A message from Naomi.

I FOUND THE ORIGINAL NURSERY LOCATION.

Below it was an address and a photograph of a building.

Varek recognized it immediately.

The old medical facility.

The same place where Eleanor had been held.

He called Naomi.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. The original transfer records were moved there after the nursery was closed. I also found a note showing that the original register was divided into two parts.”

“Where is the second part?”

“That’s the problem. The first part is at the estate. The second part was transferred to the medical facility.”

Varek looked at Victor.

“We’re going there.”

Naomi’s voice became urgent.

“Wait. There’s a name attached to the transfer.”

“Whose?”

“Adrian Thorne.”

Varek closed his eyes briefly.

“Send me everything.”

“I will. But there’s something else. The facility’s security system was activated ten minutes ago.”

“By whom?”

“I don’t know. But the camera feed shows someone entering the building.”

“Can you identify the person?”

Naomi sent a screenshot.

Varek opened it.

A man stood outside the entrance, wearing a dark coat.

His face was turned toward the camera.

Varek recognized him.

It was the old man who had appeared in the wheelchair and whom Marcus had identified as Jonathan Thorne.

But the man was standing.

He wasn’t in a wheelchair.

And he was holding a little boy’s hand.

Varek zoomed in.

The boy looked about six years old.

He had dark eyes and a small scar above his left eyebrow.

The same face as Varek.

Victor stared at the screen.

“Who is that child?”

Varek couldn’t answer.

Naomi spoke through the phone.

“Varek, I checked the security footage from the previous night. That man has been visiting the facility for several days.”

“Who is he meeting?”

“The records don’t show anyone else entering.”

“Then who’s the child?”

Naomi went quiet.

A few seconds later, she said something that made Varek’s blood run cold.

“The boy’s name is Daniel.”

⸻

At the medical facility, the old man stood before a locked door.

The little boy beside him looked up.

“Are we going to see my brother?”

The man smiled faintly.

“Yes.”

“Which one?”

The man paused.

“All of them, eventually.”

He placed his hand against the scanner.

The door opened.

Inside the room, Adrian sat tied to a metal chair.

His face was bruised, but his eyes were alert.

When he saw the child, he stopped struggling.

“Daniel?”

The little boy ran toward him.

Adrian pulled against the restraints.

“Don’t come closer!”

The old man caught the boy’s shoulder.

“He’s your son, Adrian. You should be happy to see him.”

Adrian looked at the child again.

Then he turned toward the old man.

“That’s not my son.”

The man’s smile disappeared.

“Careful.”

“I know my son. That’s not Daniel.”

The child looked confused.

“Why is Daddy saying that?”

Adrian’s face tightened.

He looked at the boy’s left hand.

There was a small mark beneath the thumb.

The same mark Varek had.

Adrian’s breathing became uneven.

“Who are you?” he whispered.

The old man stepped forward.

“Someone who has been waiting a very long time for you to remember.”

He placed a folder on the table.

Inside was a birth certificate.

The name printed at the top was Daniel Thorne.

But the photograph attached to it was not the little boy standing beside him.

It was Varek.

Adrian stared at the certificate.

Then he looked at the old man.

“Where did you get this?”

The old man leaned closer.

“Ask your brother why he was given your name.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Varek wasn’t given my name.”

The old man smiled.

“Then why does his original birth register say Adrian?”

Adrian stopped breathing for a moment.

The old man turned toward the little boy.

“Tell your father what you remember.”

The child looked at Adrian.

Then, in a quiet voice, he said:

“Grandfather told me I was supposed to die so my brother could live.”

Adrian’s face went pale.

And somewhere outside the room, a door opened.

A familiar voice called out.

“Nobody moves.”

It was Richard.