Chapter 14: The Sister Who Was Erased
Charlotte couldn't breathe.
The woman behind the glass looked exactly like her.
Not similar.
Not related.
Identical.
Same dark eyes.
Same jawline.
Same small scar near the thumb.
Same face.
Even the same expression her mother had described as a newborn.
Charlotte slowly stepped toward the glass.
The woman smiled.
“It's been a long time.”
Charlotte's voice shook.
“Who are you?”
The woman tilted her head.
“You already know.”
“No.”
“You've spent your entire life hearing about me.”
Charlotte looked at Elena.
Her mother was crying.
“You told me I was your only child.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Charlotte's anger exploded.
“Everyone says that!”
She pointed toward the woman.
“Who is she?”
Elena whispered:
“Her name is Catherine.”
Charlotte stared.
“Catherine Vale.”
The woman smiled.
“Your twin.”
Charlotte's knees weakened.
Alexander grabbed her arm.
“Charlotte.”
She pulled away.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You didn't know I had a twin?”
Alexander shook his head.
“I swear.”
Charlotte turned toward Elena.
“You knew.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“For twenty years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Catherine wasn't safe.”
Charlotte looked at Catherine.
“She looks fine.”
Elena shook her head.
“She wasn't raised like you.”
Charlotte's heart tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Catherine answered from behind the glass.
“It means I was raised to hate you.”
Silence.
Charlotte stared.
“By whom?”
Catherine's smile disappeared.
“By our father.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Edward?”
“Yes.”
Catherine looked at him.
“You're Alexander.”
He nodded.
“I've seen you before.”
Alexander frowned.
“When?”
“When I was a child.”
Catherine looked away.
“You were always his favorite.”
Alexander's face tightened.
“I didn't know you existed.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
Charlotte looked at her sister.
“Why did he keep you?”
Catherine laughed bitterly.
“Because I was useful.”
“For what?”
“The Founder Protocol.”
Charlotte frowned.
“But I have the Founder Marker.”
“So do I.”
Charlotte froze.
Catherine lifted her hand.
A small scar appeared near her thumb.
The same scar.
Charlotte stared.
“Then why did they need me?”
Catherine smiled sadly.
“They didn't.”
“What?”
“They needed both of us.”
Charlotte looked at Elena.
“What does she mean?”
Elena walked toward them.
“The Founder Trust was never designed for one heir.”
Charlotte remembered the documents.
“The two keys.”
“Yes.”
“Alexander was one.”
“And you and Catherine were the other two.”
Alexander looked confused.
“Three bloodlines.”
Elena nodded.
“The original founder created the system to prevent any single descendant from controlling Solmere.”
Charlotte stared.
“So all three of us…”
“Were required.”
Catherine smiled.
“But Edward wanted complete control.”
Charlotte's eyes narrowed.
“He separated us.”
“Yes.”
“He kept you hidden.”
“Yes.”
“He made me believe I was alone.”
“Yes.”
“And he made Alexander believe Mom abandoned him.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte's voice trembled.
“He destroyed our family.”
Catherine looked at her.
“He didn't just destroy it.”
She stepped closer to the glass.
“He designed it.”
A deep mechanical sound echoed through the chamber.
The black box began glowing.
Words appeared on the wall.
FOUNDER SUCCESSION PROTOCOL INITIATED.
Charlotte stared.
“What happens now?”
Elena looked terrified.
“If the three heirs are together, the original trust will unlock.”
Alexander looked at Catherine.
“And then?”
“The empire becomes legally impossible to steal.”
Charlotte understood.
“That's what Edward has been trying to prevent.”
“Yes.”
A loud metallic bang shook the chamber.
Damian's voice came through the speakers.
“You have five minutes.”
Charlotte looked toward the glass.
“Five minutes until what?”
Damian laughed.
“Until this entire chamber becomes your tomb.”
Elena looked at the ceiling.
“He's going to collapse the chamber.”
Alexander raised his weapon.
“Then we stop him.”
Catherine shook her head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because Damian isn't alone.”
Charlotte looked at her.
“Who is with him?”
Catherine's expression became grim.
“Richard.”
Charlotte's blood ran cold.
“Richard Hale?”
“Yes.”
“And Edward?”
Catherine nodded.
“All three.”
Alexander looked at Elena.
“Then how do we get out?”
Elena pointed toward the black box.
“The Founder Archive.”
Charlotte frowned.
“What about it?”
“It has one emergency exit.”
“Where?”
“Inside the archive.”
Charlotte opened the box again.
She searched through the files.
Nothing.
“No exit.”
Elena looked at the third symbol.
“Look beneath the document.”
Charlotte lifted the file.
A hidden panel appeared.
Inside was a small metal key.
Catherine smiled.
“You found it.”
Charlotte picked it up.
“What does it open?”
Catherine pointed toward the floor.
A circular slot appeared.
Charlotte inserted the key.
The floor split open.
A staircase descended.
Alexander stared.
“Of course.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“What?”
“Your family never built one exit when they could build three.”
Despite everything, Charlotte almost smiled.
Then a massive explosion shook the chamber.
The ceiling cracked.
Dust rained down.
Elena shouted:
“Move!”
They rushed toward the staircase.
Catherine stopped.
Charlotte turned.
“What?”
Catherine looked toward the corridor.
“I can't leave.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm not alone.”
Charlotte froze.
“What?”
Catherine placed a hand against her stomach.
Charlotte stared.
“Are you pregnant?”
Catherine nodded.
“Seven months.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“Whose?”
Catherine looked toward the ceiling.
“Edward's.”
Silence.
Charlotte felt sick.
“He…”
“Yes.”
“He used you.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte looked at her sister.
Then she understood.
“That's why he kept you alive.”
Catherine nodded.
“The child carries the Founder Marker too.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“He planned everything.”
Catherine whispered:
“He wanted a new generation of heirs under his control.”
Charlotte stepped closer.
“Then we're taking you with us.”
Catherine shook her head.
“If I go, he'll follow.”
“Let him.”
“He'll kill everyone.”
Charlotte grabbed her hand.
“I don't care.”
Catherine stared.
Charlotte's voice became firm.
“You're my sister.”
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't even know me.”
“I know enough.”
She tightened her grip.
“You were erased because they were afraid of you.”
Catherine looked at her.
“And now?”
Charlotte smiled through her tears.
“Now you're going to be impossible to erase.”
Catherine finally nodded.
They descended.
Above them, Damian watched the chamber collapse.
“She's trapped.”
Richard looked at the monitors.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Richard frowned.
“Where's Edward?”
Damian turned.
“He went after them.”
“Alone?”
Damian smiled.
“No.”
He pointed toward another monitor.
Edward was walking through the lower tunnel.
But he wasn't alone.
A dozen armed men followed him.
Richard looked uneasy.
“Something's wrong.”
Damian laughed.
“You're finally realizing that?”
Richard stared at him.
“What?”
Damian looked at the security screen.
“Edward never intended to give us Solmere.”
Richard's face changed.
“What are you saying?”
“He intends to take it for himself.”
Richard reached for his weapon.
Damian suddenly shot him.
Richard collapsed.
Damian walked closer.
“You were useful.”
He looked down.
“But you were never family.”
Then Damian turned toward the tunnel.
“Now I just need Charlotte.”
The underground escape tunnel led to an old elevator.
Elena pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
Charlotte looked at her.
“Broken?”
“No.”
Elena looked worried.
“Locked from above.”
Alexander examined the control panel.
“Someone has disabled it.”
Catherine sat against the wall, exhausted.
Charlotte looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
Catherine nodded.
“For now.”
Charlotte knelt beside her.
“You're really my twin.”
Catherine smiled.
“Yes.”
“I don't know what to say.”
“You don't have to say anything.”
Charlotte touched her hand.
“I'm glad you're alive.”
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
“I'm glad you found me.”
A sudden sound came from above.
Footsteps.
Lots of them.
Alexander stood.
“They're here.”
Elena looked toward the elevator.
“There's another way.”
“Where?”
Elena pointed toward a narrow tunnel.
“The Founder Chapel.”
Charlotte frowned.
“There was a chapel beneath Solmere?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Elena looked at the three siblings.
“Because the founder believed an empire needed more than money.”
“What?”
“An oath.”
They entered the chapel.
It was surprisingly beautiful.
Old stone walls.
Candles.
A massive wooden table.
At its center was a symbol.
Three circles intertwined.
Charlotte recognized it from the Founder Archive.
Elena walked toward it.
“This is where every Vale heir took the Founder Oath.”
Alexander looked around.
“What's the oath?”
Elena didn't answer.
She pointed to the wall.
Three names appeared.
ALEXANDER VALE
CHARLOTTE VALE
CATHERINE VALE
Then another line appeared.
ONE FAMILY. ONE EMPIRE. ONE CHOICE.
Charlotte looked at Elena.
“What choice?”
Elena's expression became serious.
“To decide who controls Solmere.”
Charlotte frowned.
“That's obvious.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“The Founder Oath requires one heir to surrender.”
Alexander immediately stepped forward.
“I'll do it.”
Charlotte grabbed him.
“No.”
Catherine shook her head.
“Not you.”
Elena looked at them.
“One of you must surrender your legal claim.”
Charlotte stared.
“Why?”
“Because the trust was designed to prevent permanent concentration of power.”
Alexander shook his head.
“Then the empire stays locked.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte looked at the three circles.
“So we have to choose.”
A loud explosion shook the chapel.
The door behind them began cracking.
Edward's voice echoed through the corridor.
“Charlotte!”
She froze.
“Your mother never told you the most important part.”
Edward's footsteps approached.
“The Founder Oath doesn't require one heir to surrender.”
The door exploded inward.
Edward stepped through.
His gun was raised.
Behind him stood Damian.
And several armed men.
Edward looked at his three children.
Then he smiled.
“It requires one heir to die.”
Charlotte froze.
Catherine grabbed her stomach.
Alexander raised his weapon.
Edward smiled.
“Choose.”
And behind him, the chapel doors locked.
There was no escape.
Only three siblings.
May you like
One empire.
And one final choice.
