The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 88 — The Boy Who Remembered Everything

The original Daniel began screaming.

“Don’t let her touch him!”

Adrian turned towards the hospital bed.

The little boy was trembling, his small hands gripping the white sheets. His eyes were fixed on the woman standing beside the medical table.

“She killed them,” he whispered.

The woman took a step towards him.

“Daniel, you don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Yes, I do!”

His voice broke.

“I remember the room. I remember the fire. I remember you locking the door.”

Varek moved between them.

“Stay where you are.”

The woman stopped.

Adrian looked at the boy.

“Who did she kill?”

The boy pointed at the photograph.

“The other children.”

Silence filled the room.

The woman shook her head.

“Those children were already dying. I did what I had to do.”

“You’re lying!” Daniel shouted.

He tried to climb out of the bed, but his legs were too weak. Adrian rushed forward and caught him before he fell.

“Easy. You’re safe.”

The boy held onto Adrian’s shirt.

“No, I’m not. She always comes back.”

Adrian looked at the woman.

“Why does he remember you?”

“Because I was there when he was born.”

“Then why did you leave him here?”

She looked at Adrian as though he had asked a foolish question.

“Because he was supposed to be dead.”

Adrian’s grip tightened around the boy.

“He’s a child.”

“He is the reason your life was built on a lie.”

Varek glanced at the computer.

The message remained on the screen.

MEMORY RECEIVER: ADRIAN THORNE.

He turned towards the woman.

“What does this mean?”

“It means the memories were never meant to belong to you.”

Varek frowned.

“Explain.”

“Your grandmother switched the babies because she believed she could protect the original memory source. But the system had already selected another receiver.”

Adrian looked down at the child in his arms.

“Me?”

The woman nodded.

“You were supposed to receive the memories of all the children. That was why Richard gave you another boy’s name. He needed you to grow up believing you were someone else.”

Adrian shook his head.

“Richard told me I was his son.”

“Richard tells people whatever keeps them useful.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Then who was I supposed to be?”

The woman studied him.

“You were supposed to be the heir.”

“Of the Black Ledger?”

“Of everything.”

Varek laughed bitterly.

“So you created all these children, gave us different names, and expected us to fight over an inheritance?”

“No. The inheritance was only the beginning.”

She pointed at the computer.

“The Black Ledger is not a bank account. It is a collection of identities, legal rights, medical records, ownership documents and hidden agreements. Whoever controls the original memory can access everything.”

Varek stared at the screen.

“And Adrian has that memory?”

“Not yet.”

The woman reached into her pocket.

She pulled out a small silver device.

Adrian immediately stepped back.

“What is that?”

“The final transfer key.”

The little Daniel began crying again.

“Don’t let her use it!”

The woman looked at him.

“You have no idea what you’re protecting.”

“I know what happens when you use it!”

He looked at Adrian.

“They forget who they are.”

⸻

At the secure location, Naomi’s phone began ringing.

It was Varek.

She answered immediately.

“Varek?”

There was no response.

“Varek, can you hear me?”

A faint noise came through the speaker.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Naomi.”

It was not Varek.

It was the stranger who had called himself Daniel Thorne.

Naomi stood up.

“Where are you?”

“Still where I belong.”

“How did you get my number?”

“Your mother gave it to me.”

Naomi looked towards Evelyn, who had just returned from checking the hallway.

“You’re supposed to be gone.”

The man laughed softly.

“I never left.”

Naomi’s stomach tightened.

She looked around the room.

“Where are you?”

“Look at the photograph.”

Naomi turned towards the old photograph on the table.

There were seven babies in it.

She had seen the picture before, but something was different.

The seventh child’s face was now visible.

It was a little girl.

Naomi slowly picked up the photograph.

“Who is this?”

“Your sister.”

Naomi’s breath caught.

“I don’t have a sister.”

“You do. But you have spent your entire life looking for the wrong person.”

“Where is she?”

The stranger paused.

“Ask the little girl standing beside Varek.”

Naomi froze.

Before she could respond, the call ended.

Evelyn approached her.

“What happened?”

Naomi handed her the photograph.

“Someone says the little girl with Varek is my sister.”

Evelyn examined the image.

Then she noticed something.

“Naomi, look at the back.”

Naomi turned it over.

There was a handwritten message.

THE SEVENTH CHILD WAS NOT BORN LAST. SHE WAS BORN FIRST.

Naomi stared at the words.

“That makes no sense.”

Evelyn looked at her.

“Unless the birth records were arranged to hide the real order.”

Naomi’s phone vibrated again.

This time, it was a message from an unknown number.

It contained only one sentence.

DO NOT LET ADRIAN REMEMBER HIS FIRST MOTHER.

⸻

Back in the maternity ward, Adrian was struggling to understand what he had heard.

“Who is my first mother?”

The older woman looked at him.

“You already know her.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You have seen her photograph.”

Adrian’s mind went back to the pictures he had discovered in the old archive.

The woman standing beside the two boys.

The woman with Naomi’s face.

He looked at her again.

“Is it you?”

She did not answer.

Instead, she placed the silver device on the table.

“The transfer must happen before the system shuts down.”

Varek moved towards it.

“Nobody is transferring anything.”

The woman pressed a button.

The lights flickered.

A warning appeared on the computer.

FINAL MEMORY SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.

RECEIVER: ADRIAN THORNE.

SOURCE: ORIGINAL DANIEL.

Adrian suddenly staggered.

A sharp pain spread through his head.

He saw a blue room.

A woman holding a newborn baby.

A man standing beside a hospital bed.

Then a voice.

“Give him the name Adrian. Daniel is already dead.”

Adrian grabbed his head.

“Stop!”

The images became clearer.

He saw himself as a small boy, standing outside a locked room.

Inside, someone was crying.

A little girl.

Then another voice spoke.

“Don’t let him see his brother.”

Adrian opened his eyes.

He looked at the woman.

“You were there.”

She nodded slowly.

“I was.”

“You carried me out of that room.”

“Yes.”

“And you left my brother behind.”

Her expression changed.

“I saved one child.”

Adrian looked towards the boy in his arms.

“Who is he?”

The woman answered quietly.

“Your first brother.”

The little boy shook his head.

“No.”

Adrian looked down.

The boy’s eyes were filled with tears.

“She’s wrong.”

The woman frowned.

“What are you saying?”

The boy reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a small metal bracelet.

Adrian recognized the symbol engraved on it.

It was the same symbol that appeared on the old photograph.

The boy held it towards him.

“Look at the name.”

Adrian took the bracelet.

There were two names engraved inside.

DANIEL THORNE.

And beneath it, in smaller letters:

TWIN ONE.

Adrian stared at it.

“Who is Twin Two?”

The boy looked directly at him.

Then he pointed at Varek.

The computer suddenly went dark.

A second later, a new message appeared.

TWIN TWO IDENTIFIED.

NAME: VAREK THORNE.

STATUS: NEVER TRANSFERRED.

Varek stepped back.

“That’s impossible.”

The older woman slowly turned towards him.

For the first time since entering the room, she looked genuinely afraid.

Then the hospital bed began moving.

The original Daniel reached for Adrian’s hand.

“Don’t believe her.”

Adrian bent closer.

“Why?”

The boy whispered something that made Adrian’s blood run cold.

“Because she’s not our mother.”

He looked towards the woman.

“She’s the woman who stole our mother.”