Chapter 12: The DNA Lie
Charlotte stared at Isabella.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The underground hospital seemed to hold its breath.
Edward's voice continued through the speakers.
“She changed the DNA report.”
Isabella shook her head.
“No.”
Charlotte's voice was barely audible.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did you alter my records?”
“No.”
“Did you tell me you were my biological mother?”
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
“I said I was your mother.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Isabella lowered her head.
Charlotte felt something inside her crack.
“You lied to me.”
“I lied to protect you.”
“Everyone says that!”
Charlotte's voice echoed down the corridor.
“My mother lied to protect me.”
“My father lied to protect me.”
“My brother lied to protect me.”
“And now you are doing the same thing.”
Alexander stepped toward her.
“Charlotte…”
She turned on him.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I need the truth.”
Alexander nodded slowly.
“You deserve it.”
Charlotte looked at Isabella.
“Start talking.”
Isabella wiped her tears.
“I changed the DNA report.”
Charlotte's face went cold.
“So he was telling the truth.”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
“The report was altered.”
“By you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Isabella took a trembling breath.
“Because Edward ordered the original test.”
Charlotte stared at the monitor.
Edward remained silent.
Isabella continued.
“He wanted to know whether you carried the Founder Marker.”
Charlotte frowned.
“And?”
“You did.”
The room went quiet.
“But the result was hidden.”
“Why?”
“Because Edward wasn't looking for a daughter.”
Isabella's voice broke.
“He was looking for a weapon.”
Charlotte felt a chill.
“What does that mean?”
Isabella walked toward an old medical cabinet.
She opened it and removed a sealed folder.
“Your mother discovered what Edward intended to do.”
Charlotte looked at the folder.
“What?”
“He wanted to use your genetic marker to unlock the Founder Trust.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“And then?”
“He planned to transfer the entire empire into a private structure controlled by the Crown Circle.”
Charlotte stared.
“So they needed me alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why attack me at the hotel?”
“Because the plan changed.”
Isabella handed Charlotte the folder.
“Once you returned, they realized you could activate the trust without them.”
Charlotte opened it.
Inside were medical reports, legal documents, and photographs.
Then she saw one page.
FOUNDER PROTOCOL: PRIMARY GENETIC KEY
Underneath was her name.
Charlotte Vale.
Her hands began shaking.
“This is real.”
“Yes.”
She turned another page.
A handwritten note appeared.
The handwriting was unmistakably her mother's.
Charlotte recognized it immediately.
If Charlotte ever returns, do not let Edward reach her first.
Charlotte's eyes burned.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“She knew everything.”
“She knew enough.”
Charlotte looked at Isabella.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she believed you would never be safe while you knew.”
Charlotte's voice cracked.
“So she let me hate my own family.”
Isabella shook her head.
“She wanted you to have a normal life.”
Charlotte laughed bitterly.
“Normal?”
She gestured toward the underground hospital.
“Look around.”
Then she pointed toward the monitor.
“My father is leading an armed army through the building.”
She looked at Alexander.
“My brother is a secret operative.”
“And I'm apparently some kind of biological key to a corporate empire.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“That's not a normal life.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“But it can still be your life.”
Before Charlotte could respond, the lights flickered.
The security monitor suddenly changed.
A countdown appeared.
02:59
Charlotte looked at Isabella.
“What is that?”
Isabella's face went pale.
“The Founder Protocol.”
Alexander moved toward the terminal.
“Why is it activated?”
Isabella shook her head.
“It shouldn't be.”
The countdown continued.
02:41
Charlotte stared.
“What happens when it reaches zero?”
Isabella whispered:
“The trust transfers.”
“To whom?”
Isabella looked at Charlotte.
“To the person whose biometric identity is currently registered.”
Charlotte swallowed.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Alexander looked at the monitor.
“But someone else is accessing the system.”
A second name appeared.
AUTHORIZED USER: EDWARD VALE
Charlotte froze.
“How can he access it?”
Isabella shook her head.
“He shouldn't be able to.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“Unless…”
He looked at Charlotte.
“Unless Dad never lost his access.”
Charlotte's stomach dropped.
“He can take the empire.”
“Not if we stop him.”
Alexander began typing.
“Can you override it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“The Founder Protocol requires two keys.”
Charlotte frowned.
“Two?”
Isabella nodded.
“Your genetic key.”
“And?”
“Your brother.”
Alexander stopped.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“You're the second key.”
Isabella nodded.
“Your mother designed it that way.”
Charlotte's eyes widened.
“So we have to activate it together.”
“Yes.”
Alexander stepped toward the terminal.
“Then let's do it.”
Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the hospital.
The countdown jumped.
01:58
Charlotte nearly fell.
Security alarms screamed.
The corridor doors slammed shut.
Then Edward's voice returned.
“You have exactly two minutes.”
Charlotte looked toward the monitor.
Edward appeared on every screen.
His expression was calm.
“You've discovered the Founder Protocol.”
Alexander shouted:
“You can't access it!”
Edward smiled.
“Actually, I already have.”
Charlotte stared.
“Why?”
Edward looked directly into the camera.
“Because I designed the original system.”
“You created the Crown Circle.”
“Yes.”
“You killed Mom.”
Edward's expression darkened.
“I didn't kill Elena.”
Charlotte froze.
“What?”
“She was betrayed.”
“By whom?”
Edward looked at Isabella.
“Ask her.”
Charlotte turned.
Isabella's face went white.
Edward continued.
“She was the one who gave the order.”
Charlotte stared at Isabella.
“No.”
Isabella shook her head.
“Don't listen to him.”
Edward smiled.
“She knows what she did.”
Charlotte's voice trembled.
“What did you do?”
Isabella said nothing.
Edward's voice became colder.
“She told the Crown Circle where Elena was hiding.”
Charlotte felt her chest tighten.
“Is that true?”
Isabella began crying.
“I had no choice.”
Charlotte stepped backward.
“You gave them my mother?”
“I was trying to save you.”
“You gave them her!”
“I thought they would spare her!”
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
“They killed her.”
“I know.”
“Because of you.”
Isabella collapsed to her knees.
“Yes.”
The countdown continued.
01:21
Alexander grabbed Charlotte's hand.
“We don't have time.”
She pulled away.
“How can I trust anyone?”
“You don't.”
He pointed at the screen.
“You trust the evidence.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“What evidence?”
“The Founder Protocol.”
Alexander opened another file.
A hidden recording appeared.
Elena Vale sat alone in a dark room.
She looked exhausted.
But alive.
Charlotte froze.
“Mom?”
Alexander stared at the screen.
The recording began.
“If you're watching this, Charlotte, then I failed to protect you.”
Charlotte covered her mouth.
Elena continued:
“I need you to know one thing.”
“I never abandoned you.”
Charlotte's tears fell.
“I loved you from the moment I held you.”
The recording flickered.
“I also need you to know that Edward is not the greatest threat.”
Charlotte froze.
Elena looked directly into the camera.
“The greatest threat is someone who has been beside you since childhood.”
The recording ended.
Charlotte stared at the blank screen.
“Who?”
Alexander looked toward the door.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“I think we just found out.”
The security door opened.
Someone stepped into the corridor.
Charlotte raised her weapon.
A man walked through the smoke.
He wasn't Edward.
He wasn't Richard.
It was Victor.
Charlotte stared.
“Victor?”
He slowly raised his hands.
“I can explain.”
Alexander aimed his gun.
“You have ten seconds.”
Victor looked at Charlotte.
“Your mother asked me to watch you.”
Charlotte's eyes narrowed.
“For how long?”
Victor swallowed.
“Since the day you were born.”
Charlotte's blood ran cold.
“You knew about the Founder Marker.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Edward was after me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Isabella betrayed my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Victor looked at her.
“Because your mother gave me one final order.”
“What order?”
Victor's expression became grim.
“Never let you discover who your real enemy was…”
He paused.
“…until your brother returned.”
Alexander's face changed.
“Why me?”
Victor looked at him.
“Because your mother knew only you could survive what came next.”
The countdown reached:
00:42
Victor pointed toward Charlotte.
“And now that you two are together…”
He looked toward the security doors.
“…the Founder Protocol can finally be completed.”
Charlotte stared.
“Then let's complete it.”
Alexander stepped beside her.
Their hands moved toward the biometric console.
But before either could touch it, every screen in the hospital suddenly went black.
A single message appeared.
FOUNDER PROTOCOL CANCELLED.
Charlotte's heart stopped.
Then another line appeared.
PRIMARY KEY TRANSFERRED.
A name appeared beneath it.
Charlotte's.
But beside her name was another word.
DECEASED.
Charlotte stared in horror.
Alexander whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Then the hospital doors opened.
A woman's voice came from the darkness.
“You're right.”
Charlotte slowly turned.
A woman stepped into the corridor.
Long black hair.
Pale face.
And Elena Vale's eyes.
Charlotte stopped breathing.
The woman smiled.
“Because I died twenty years ago.”
She looked directly at Charlotte.
“And yet…”
May you like
She raised a hand.
“…here I am.”
