The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 72 — The Bullet That Changed Everything

The gunshot echoed through the original nursery.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then the emergency lights came on.

Varek was on the floor, one hand gripping Samuel’s shoulder. The little boy was trembling, his eyes wide with fear.

But the bullet hadn’t hit either of them.

It had struck the glass cabinet behind the table.

Victor stood near the doorway, holding his gun.

Jonathan was on the floor.

Blood spread across his left shoulder.

“Who fired?” Adrian shouted.

Victor pointed towards the corridor.

“Someone outside.”

Matthew rushed towards the door, but Varek stopped him.

“Don’t move.”

“We need to get out of here!”

“Not until I know who is shooting.”

Alistair was standing beside the table, completely calm.

Varek noticed something strange.

The old man wasn’t looking at Jonathan.

He was looking at Samuel.

“Get away from him,” Varek ordered.

Alistair raised both hands.

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Get away!”

Alistair stepped back.

Grace was still tied to the chair. She looked towards Samuel with desperate eyes.

“Varek, please. You have to get him out of here.”

Varek pulled Samuel closer.

“Who is shooting at us?”

Grace shook her head.

“They aren’t shooting at you.”

“Then who?”

“They’re shooting at the boy.”

Before Varek could respond, another bullet struck the doorframe.

Victor pulled Adrian behind the table.

“Everyone down!”

Matthew crawled towards the control panel beside the wall.

“I can unlock the emergency exit.”

“Do it!” Adrian shouted.

Matthew began entering a code.

A red warning appeared.

ACCESS DENIED.

He tried again.

The same message appeared.

“Someone has taken control of the system.”

Alistair smiled.

“Of course.”

Varek turned towards him.

“What have you done?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“Ask Jonathan.”

Everyone looked towards the wounded man.

Jonathan was struggling to sit up. Victor approached him, but Jonathan pushed his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

Varek walked towards him.

“Who is trying to kill Samuel?”

Jonathan laughed weakly.

“You still don’t understand. Nobody is trying to kill him.”

“Grace says otherwise.”

“Grace has always been afraid of the truth.”

Jonathan looked at Samuel.

“That boy is the key to everything. If he dies, the original records become inaccessible.”

Varek frowned.

“You said the memories were inside him.”

“They are.”

“Then why would anyone want him dead?”

“Because someone has discovered how to transfer them.”

Matthew stopped typing.

“Transfer them to whom?”

Jonathan looked at Varek.

“To you.”

The room went silent.

Varek stared at him.

“What?”

“Your guardian assignment was never about protecting Samuel. It was about receiving what he carries.”

Samuel began crying.

Varek crouched beside him.

“Listen to me. Nobody is taking you anywhere.”

The boy looked up.

“Promise?”

Varek hesitated.

He had spent years searching for the truth about himself. Now a child was looking at him as if he were the only person who could keep him safe.

“I promise I’ll protect you.”

Alistair laughed.

“Be careful with promises, Varek. You have no idea what you’re agreeing to.”

Varek stood.

“One more word from you and I’ll forget you’re an old man.”

Alistair’s smile disappeared.

“That temper is exactly why they chose you.”

“Who chose me?”

“Your mother.”

Varek froze.

Before he could ask another question, the emergency exit unlocked.

Matthew looked at the panel.

“I didn’t do that.”

The door opened slowly.

A woman stood outside.

She wore a dark coat, and her hair was tied behind her head. Her face was partly hidden by the shadow of the corridor.

Victor raised his gun.

“Identify yourself.”

The woman stepped forward.

Grace gasped.

“Helena.”

Varek turned.

Helena entered the nursery without looking at anyone else.

Her eyes went straight to Samuel.

“Move away from my son.”

Jonathan tried to stand.

“Helena, don’t.”

She pointed a gun at him.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Samuel stared at her.

“Who are you?”

Helena’s expression softened.

For a moment, she looked like a mother seeing her child after a long separation.

Then she answered.

“I’m your mother.”

Samuel shook his head.

“No.”

Helena’s eyes filled with tears.

“Samuel…”

“The woman who sang to me said my mother was dead.”

Helena looked towards Grace.

“What did you tell him?”

Grace shook her head.

“Nothing. I didn’t tell him anything.”

Varek stepped between Helena and the boy.

“You’re not taking him.”

Helena looked at him.

“You don’t understand. He’s my child.”

“Then why was he hidden?”

“Because they wanted to use him.”

“And you let them?”

Her expression hardened.

“I was trying to keep him alive.”

Varek laughed bitterly.

“That’s what everyone says.”

Helena raised her gun.

“I don’t have time to explain this to you.”

Victor moved forward.

“Put the weapon down.”

“Stay where you are.”

Adrian looked at Helena carefully.

“You’re the woman who came to the secure location.”

Helena glanced at him.

“Yes.”

“You tried to take Isabella.”

“I was looking for my daughter.”

“Which one?”

Helena didn’t answer.

Varek noticed the silence.

“Isabella or Evelyn?”

Helena lowered her weapon slightly.

“Both names belong to children who were taken from me.”

Matthew stepped forward.

“That’s impossible. Their records show different mothers.”

Helena laughed.

“Those records were written by people who changed names whenever it suited them.”

Varek looked at her.

“Are you saying you’re their mother too?”

“No.”

“Then explain.”

Helena looked towards Samuel.

“Because the boy is not the only child they separated from his mother.”

Samuel suddenly grabbed Varek’s hand.

“Please don’t let her take me.”

Helena’s face crumpled.

“Samuel, sweetheart. I came to bring you home.”

The boy shook his head.

“I don’t know you.”

She took a step forward.

“I know you remember the song.”

Samuel began crying harder.

Varek turned towards Grace.

“Is she his mother?”

Grace looked at Helena for a long moment.

Then she answered.

“Yes.”

Helena closed her eyes.

“But she isn’t the woman who raised him.”

Varek looked between them.

“Who raised him?”

Grace swallowed.

“Mary.”

The name seemed to change the air in the room.

Varek felt his heartbeat quicken.

“Where is she?”

Grace looked at him.

“She’s been closer than you think.”

Alistair suddenly moved.

He grabbed the register from the table and headed towards the corridor.

Matthew noticed first.

“He’s escaping!”

Victor fired a warning shot.

Alistair dropped the register, but he didn’t stop running.

Adrian rushed after him.

Varek remained beside Samuel.

“Go!” he shouted at Victor. “Don’t let him escape!”

Victor disappeared into the corridor.

Matthew began working on the control panel again.

Helena lowered her gun and approached Samuel.

“Please, let me hold him.”

Varek blocked her.

“Not yet.”

She looked at him with anger and desperation.

“You don’t have the right to keep him from me.”

“And you don’t have the right to demand that I trust you.”

Helena’s eyes moved towards the mark beneath Samuel’s thumb.

“Has he shown you that?”

Varek nodded.

“Why does he have the same mark as me?”

Helena looked away.

“Because you were both part of the same experiment.”

“What experiment?”

She took a deep breath.

“The first transfer wasn’t between two children. It was between three.”

Varek stared at her.

“Three?”

“One child was supposed to carry the memories. One was supposed to receive them. The third was supposed to protect the transfer.”

“Who were they?”

Helena looked at Samuel.

“He was the first.”

Then she pointed at Varek.

“You were the second.”

Varek’s mouth went dry.

“And the third?”

Helena’s eyes shifted towards Adrian.

Adrian stood frozen in the doorway.

“No,” he whispered.

Helena nodded.

“You.”

Before anyone could speak, Matthew’s device began ringing.

He answered immediately.

Naomi’s voice came through.

“Matthew, you need to listen carefully. I’ve found the original transfer list.”

“Where?”

“Inside the medical archive. But there’s something wrong with it.”

“What?”

Naomi took a breath.

“The three children were not assigned their roles after birth. Their roles were recorded before they were born.”

Varek took the device from Matthew.

“Naomi, what are you seeing?”

There was a pause.

Then she answered.

“Varek, the original list identifies Samuel as the memory keeper, you as the receiver, and Adrian as the protector.”

Varek closed his eyes briefly.

“Who assigned those roles?”

Naomi’s voice dropped.

“That’s the problem.”

A second file opened on her screen.

It contained a signature.

Not Alistair’s.

Not Jonathan’s.

Not Richard’s.

Naomi read the name aloud.

“Mary Thorne.”

Varek stared at Helena.

“Who is Mary Thorne?”

Helena’s face had gone pale.

She looked towards the open doorway.

Then she whispered:

“Your grandmother.”

A new message appeared on Naomi’s screen.

MARY THORNE — STATUS: ALIVE.

LOCATION: ORIGINAL NURSERY.

Varek slowly turned towards the corridor.

Someone was standing at the far end.

A woman in a white dress.

Her face was hidden beneath a veil.

And she was holding a photograph of Varek as a newborn.

“Hello, my son,” she said.

Varek raised his gun.

The woman smiled.

“Don’t point that at me. I am the reason you are alive.”

Then she lifted the photograph.

“And I am the reason your mother was declared dead.”