The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 81 — The Name Beneath the Name

The nursery fell silent.

Adrian stared at the computer.

ORIGINAL DANIEL THORNE — DESCENDANT RECORD.

CHILDREN: TWO.

FIRST DESCENDANT: DANIEL CROSS.

SECOND DESCENDANT: CURRENTLY IN THORNE CUSTODY.

He read the final line again.

“I have only one child.”

Nobody answered.

Samuel stood beside Varek, staring at the screen with a frightened expression.

“Adrian,” he whispered.

Adrian turned towards him.

“What?”

“The other boy.”

“What other boy?”

Samuel swallowed.

“The one they kept in the room beneath the hospital.”

Varek crouched in front of him.

“Do you know his name?”

Samuel shook his head.

“They never called him by his name. They called him the second Daniel.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“How old was he?”

“Small. Smaller than me.”

“Did you see his face?”

Samuel nodded.

“Yes.”

“What did he look like?”

The boy looked towards Varek.

“He looked like you.”

Varek’s expression changed.

Victor moved closer.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Samuel shook his head.

“He had Adrian’s eyes, but he looked like Varek.”

Adrian rubbed his forehead.

“Stop. This is getting ridiculous.”

Alistair watched him quietly.

“You should be careful about dismissing memories simply because they frighten you.”

Adrian turned towards him.

“How many children did Richard take from this family?”

“More than you know.”

“How many?”

Alistair looked at the screen.

“That depends on how you count them.”

Varek stepped forward.

“Enough riddles. Who is the second Daniel?”

Alistair hesitated.

Then the computer beeped.

A new file appeared.

SECOND DESCENDANT — MEDICAL RECORD.

STATUS: ALIVE.

LOCATION: PRIVATE THORNE MEDICAL WARD.

Matthew Cross immediately began searching the facility database.

“I can access the ward’s old camera system.”

“Do it,” Varek ordered.

Matthew typed rapidly.

A video appeared.

It showed a small room with white walls and a single hospital bed. A child was lying beneath a blanket. His face was turned away from the camera.

A man stood beside the bed.

Richard.

Adrian moved closer to the screen.

“Zoom in.”

Matthew enlarged the image.

Richard placed a hand on the child’s head.

Then he leaned down and said something.

The audio was weak, but the computer managed to recover part of it.

“Your brother is coming home.”

Adrian’s face went pale.

The child opened his eyes.

“Which brother?”

Richard smiled.

“The one who doesn’t know he belongs to us.”

The recording ended.

For several seconds, Adrian couldn’t speak.

Then he turned towards Varek.

“Find that ward.”

⸻

At the secure location, Naomi was trying to calm Daniel.

The little boy had become unusually quiet.

Evelyn stood near the door while Isabella checked the security system.

“Has he said anything else about the visitor?” Evelyn asked.

Naomi shook her head.

“He keeps saying the man knew his father.”

“Maybe Richard sent someone.”

“Then why didn’t he take Daniel?”

Evelyn looked towards the window.

“Perhaps taking him wasn’t the plan.”

Naomi frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe he wanted us to know that he could reach him.”

Naomi hugged her son.

“I won’t let anyone use my child.”

Daniel lifted his head.

“Mummy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Do I have a brother?”

Naomi froze.

Evelyn slowly turned around.

“Who told you that?”

Daniel pointed towards the window.

“The man said I have a brother.”

Naomi felt her stomach tighten.

“What did he look like?”

Daniel thought for a moment.

“He was in a picture.”

“What picture?”

“The one Daddy showed me.”

Naomi looked confused.

“Your daddy never showed you any picture of a brother.”

Daniel shook his head.

“He did. Before.”

Naomi crouched in front of him.

“Daniel, listen to me. What picture are you talking about?”

The boy looked towards the table.

“The one with the little boy wearing the blue shirt.”

Naomi followed his gaze.

There was a photograph on the table.

It was an old picture of Adrian as a child.

She had kept it because Daniel liked looking at it.

Naomi picked it up.

“Is this the picture?”

Daniel nodded.

“Yes. But there was another boy beside him.”

Naomi turned the photograph over.

She had never noticed anything unusual about it.

The picture showed Adrian standing beside another little boy. Both were smiling.

Naomi’s fingers began to tremble.

She had always assumed the other child was a cousin.

There was writing on the back.

DANIEL AND HIS BROTHER.

Underneath it was a date.

Twenty-nine years ago.

⸻

Back in the underground nursery, Matthew finally accessed the medical ward.

“I found it.”

Varek moved closer.

“Where?”

“Below the old family estate. It’s connected to the private medical archive.”

Victor picked up his weapon.

“We’re going.”

Jonathan shook his head.

“You can’t enter that ward without Richard’s approval.”

Varek looked at him.

“Then we’ll enter without it.”

“The security system is different from this one.”

“Good thing we have you.”

Jonathan stared at him.

“You’re asking me to help you break into a facility I helped build.”

“I’m asking you to help rescue a child.”

Jonathan lowered his eyes.

For the first time, he looked ashamed.

“I know where the entrance is.”

Alistair laughed.

“You’re all making a mistake.”

Varek turned towards him.

“What mistake?”

“You’re assuming that the child in that room is a prisoner.”

“What else could he be?”

Alistair looked at Adrian.

“Ask his father.”

Adrian grabbed him.

“What do you know?”

Alistair did not resist.

“Richard didn’t keep that boy because he wanted another heir. He kept him because the boy carries something the rest of you don’t.”

“What’s that?”

“The original family memory.”

Samuel suddenly stepped backwards.

“No.”

Varek turned.

“Samuel?”

The little boy looked terrified.

“He mustn’t wake up.”

“Who?”

Samuel pointed at the screen.

“The second Daniel.”

Matthew examined the medical file again.

A new warning appeared.

PATIENT CONDITION: MEMORY SUPPRESSION.

RECOVERY INITIATED.

AWAKENING IN PROGRESS.

Adrian stared at the message.

“How long?”

Matthew checked the countdown.

“Less than ten minutes.”

Varek immediately turned towards Jonathan.

“Show us the entrance.”

Jonathan started towards the passage.

But before anyone could follow, the computer displayed another message.

FAMILY RECOGNITION COMPLETE.

SIXTH CHILD IDENTIFIED.

ADRIAN THORNE — ACCESS GRANTED.

A hidden door opened behind them.

Everyone turned.

A narrow corridor stretched into darkness.

At the far end stood a man wearing a black suit.

He looked exactly like Adrian.

Except he was older.

And he was holding a photograph of two children.

Adrian stared at him.

The stranger smiled.

“Hello, Daniel.”

Then he looked at Varek.

“And you must be the brother they stole.”