The Hidden heir’s revenge

Chapter 91 — The Man Wearing Jonathan’s Face

“That’s not your brother. That’s the man who stole his face.”

The woman’s words hung in the air.

Varek slowly turned towards Jonathan.

The man who had introduced himself as Jonathan Thorne stood completely still. His expression had changed, but he didn’t look surprised.

Instead, he smiled.

“Isabella. You always did enjoy making things complicated.”

The elderly woman struggled to sit up.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Would you prefer Mother?”

“You’re not my son.”

Adrian stepped between them.

“Who is he?”

The woman pointed at the man.

“His name is Lucian.”

Varek frowned.

“Lucian Vale?”

The name brought back a memory.

Samuel had once mentioned a child named Lucian, someone who had been transferred to Richard.

The man laughed.

“That name belongs to a dead child.”

Isabella shook her head.

“No. That is the name you were given before you stole Jonathan’s identity.”

Adrian looked at the photograph.

“Then where is the real Jonathan?”

The man called Lucian slowly removed his wristwatch.

“Dead.”

The little girl began shaking her head.

“No.”

He looked at her.

“You remember him?”

She nodded.

“He used to carry me.”

Lucian smiled.

“That was a long time ago.”

“You’re not him.”

His smile disappeared.

Varek raised his weapon.

“Where is the real Jonathan?”

Lucian looked at him.

“You are standing in front of the only Jonathan who matters.”

“Stop lying.”

“Do you know why your grandmother kept changing your names? Because names are the easiest things to steal. Faces are harder, but even those can be copied.”

He pointed at Isabella.

“Ask her how many times she has died.”

Adrian turned towards the elderly woman.

“Is that true?”

Isabella looked exhausted.

“I have been declared dead three times.”

“Why?”

“Because every time I tried to expose the family arrangement, someone needed me to disappear.”

Varek stepped closer.

“Who is Lucian?”

Isabella looked at the man.

“He was the fifth child. The one Richard claimed had been transferred to another family.”

Lucian laughed.

“She is confused.”

“No,” Isabella whispered. “I remember the day you were brought into the nursery. You were not Jonathan. You were the child they called Lucian.”

Varek looked at the photograph again.

There were seven babies, but only four names had been recorded.

He noticed something written beside the fourth child.

IDENTITY RESERVED.

Beside the fifth child was another note.

IDENTITY TO BE REPLACED.

He looked up.

“So you were given Jonathan’s identity.”

Lucian’s smile returned.

“Now you’re learning.”

⸻

At the secure location, Naomi was pacing.

Evelyn had managed to restore part of the security system, but Richard’s photograph was still on the screen.

Naomi kept looking at her mother’s image.

“He’s going to hurt her.”

Evelyn shook her head.

“Richard wants something. If he wanted her dead, he wouldn’t be negotiating.”

“The pendant.”

“Exactly.”

Naomi examined it again.

There was a tiny opening along its edge that she had never noticed.

She pressed it.

A small metal section slid out.

Inside was a folded strip of paper.

Naomi carefully opened it.

Her mother’s handwriting appeared.

Naomi, if you are reading this, the original archive has been opened. Do not give the pendant to Richard. It does not open the seventh compartment. It identifies the person who has the right to open it.

Naomi read the message again.

Evelyn leaned closer.

“Keep reading.”

There was another sentence.

The person you must protect is not the child they call Daniel. It is the woman who gave birth to him.

Naomi froze.

“What does that mean?”

Evelyn took the paper.

“Which woman?”

Naomi shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

Then Daniel walked out of the safe room.

“Mummy?”

Naomi immediately turned.

“Baby, I told you to stay inside.”

He looked at the photograph.

“That’s the woman Daddy showed me.”

Naomi crouched.

“What woman?”

He pointed at the elderly woman in the picture Richard had sent.

“Grandma.”

Naomi’s eyes widened.

“You know her?”

Daniel nodded.

“She came to my room before.”

Evelyn moved closer.

“When?”

“Before we travelled here. She said she wanted to see me.”

Naomi held his shoulders.

“What did she tell you?”

Daniel looked confused.

“She said I should remember her voice.”

Naomi’s phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID showed an unknown number.

She answered.

“Hello?”

A woman’s weak voice came through.

“Naomi?”

Naomi stopped breathing.

“Mum?”

“Don’t give Richard the pendant.”

Naomi began crying.

“Where are you? Are you safe?”

There was a pause.

Then her mother whispered:

“Your father is not the man you think he is.”

The call ended.

Naomi stared at her phone.

Evelyn immediately checked the call details.

“That number is coming from inside the building.”

Naomi looked up.

“What?”

Evelyn checked the security cameras.

A figure was standing behind the safe room door.

It was a woman.

And she was holding a key.

⸻

Back in the maternity ward, Isabella was trying to explain the photograph.

“The fourth child was supposed to inherit the original family identity. The fifth was supposed to carry the records. The sixth was meant to receive the memories.”

Varek interrupted.

“And the seventh?”

Isabella looked at the little girl.

“The seventh was never supposed to exist.”

The girl lowered her head.

Lucian laughed.

“That’s a beautiful story. But you have left out the most important part.”

Adrian turned towards him.

“What?”

Lucian pointed at the elderly woman.

“She was not the only one who gave birth to those children.”

Isabella closed her eyes.

Varek felt his stomach tighten.

“How many mothers were there?”

“Three,” Lucian replied. “Three women. Three pregnancies. Seven children.”

Adrian looked at Isabella.

“Who were the other two?”

She struggled to answer.

“Mary was one.”

“And the other?”

Isabella looked at the little girl.

“Her name was Eleanor.”

Varek went still.

“Eleanor?”

His adoptive mother.

The woman who had raised him.

The woman who had claimed to give birth to twins.

The woman who had switched their bracelets.

He shook his head.

“That’s impossible. Eleanor told me she was my mother.”

“She may have been,” Isabella replied. “But she wasn’t the only one.”

Varek stared at her.

“Which child did she give birth to?”

Isabella looked towards the photograph.

“One of the children whose identity was never recorded.”

Before Varek could ask another question, the computer beeped.

A new file appeared.

MATERNAL RECORD — ELEANOR THORNE.

CHILDREN DELIVERED: TWO.

FIRST CHILD: MALE.

SECOND CHILD: FEMALE.

DELIVERY DATE: 29 YEARS AGO.

Varek stared at the screen.

Then another line appeared.

BOTH CHILDREN DECLARED DECEASED.

The little girl began crying.

“That’s not true.”

Varek knelt beside her.

“Tell me what you remember.”

She wiped her face.

“Eleanor told me I was the first baby.”

Varek looked at the screen.

The computer refreshed.

FIRST CHILD: FEMALE.

SECOND CHILD: MALE.

He slowly stood up.

The woman in the hospital bed reached towards him.

“Varek, listen to me.”

He looked at her.

“What?”

She took a shaky breath.

“The boy who was born second was not you.”

Adrian frowned.

“Then who was he?”

Isabella looked directly at Lucian.

“Him.”

Lucian’s smile disappeared.

The computer suddenly displayed a final warning.

IDENTITY CONFLICT DETECTED.

CURRENT VAREK THORNE: UNAUTHORIZED IDENTITY.

Varek stared at the screen.

Then he looked at the woman who had just revealed the truth.

“Who am I?”

Isabella’s eyes filled with tears.

Before she could answer, Lucian raised his weapon.

“Don’t tell him.”

A gunshot exploded.

And the person who fell was not Varek.