Chapter 13 - Adrian stared at the man in the doorway.Same jaw.
Same gray eyes.
Same height.
He looked like Adrian had stepped into a mirror twenty years older.
The man raised his weapon.
“Adrian Vale.”
Adrian pointed his gun.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“Your uncle.”
Adrian's father had never mentioned an uncle.
The stranger removed his badge.
The symbol of the Black Ledger was engraved beneath the name.
THOMAS VALE.
Adrian's father appeared on the screen again.
“Thomas was the first heir.”
Adrian looked at the stranger.
“Why didn't I know about you?”
“Because your mother wanted you free.”
“From what?”
“The family.”
Thomas lowered his weapon.
“Your father chose Marcus.”
“Your grandmother chose Evelyn.”
“Your mother chose you.”
Adrian looked at the girls.
“And the girls?”
Thomas smiled.
“They chose themselves.”
Olivia stepped forward.
“We don't want the Ledger.”
Thomas laughed.
“Of course you don't.”
“Then why did Mom build one?”
“Because she wanted the family destroyed.”
Adrian looked at him.
“She made you inherit the system so you could dismantle it.”
Thomas nodded.
“But she needed someone the Black Ledger would obey.”
Adrian understood.
“Me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you're the only heir they don't control.”
Thomas looked toward Evelyn's image.
“She spent fourteen months preparing you.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“She manipulated me.”
“Yes.”
“She broke my life.”
“Yes.”
“And you call that preparation?”
Thomas smiled.
“She gave you something your father never had.”
“What?”
“A choice.”
Suddenly the lights went red.
Security alarms screamed.
Thomas looked at his men.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
“The real government.”
Adrian frowned.
“FBI?”
“No.”
Thomas looked toward the windows.
Outside, helicopters filled the sky.
But their insignia wasn't American.
Thomas whispered:
“Your father's private army.”
Adrian stared.
His father had built something much bigger than he imagined.
Thomas stepped forward.
“They're coming for the girls.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
“Then they'll have to come through me.”
Thomas smiled.
“That's what Evelyn hoped you'd say.”
The mansion doors exploded inward.
Armed men stormed the foyer.
Gunfire erupted.
Adrian grabbed the girls.
“Down!”
Cora appeared from the stairwell.
She fired at the attackers.
Victor ran in behind her.
Together they pushed the agents back.
“Move!” Victor shouted.
Adrian led the girls through the library.
A hidden door opened.
Inside was a bunker.
“Get in.”
They entered.
The door closed.
Adrian looked at the girls.
All four were alive.
For the first time, he believed they might actually survive.
Then he saw Emma.
She wasn't crying.
She was staring at the floor.
“Emma?”
She looked up.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“There's someone missing.”
Adrian looked around.
“Who?”
“Mom.”
Adrian frowned.
Evelyn wasn't in the bunker.
“She's downstairs.”
“No.”
Emma shook her head.
“She left.”
“When?”
“While everyone was fighting.”
Adrian turned toward the door.
Victor stopped him.
“Don't.”
“My wife is out there.”
“It's a trap.”
Adrian shoved him aside.
“I don't care.”
Victor grabbed him.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
Victor whispered:
“The woman you saw on the screens wasn't Evelyn.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Victor took out his phone.
He showed Adrian a file.
FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION.
The image showed Evelyn.
Then a second face.
A woman who looked almost identical.
Victor whispered:
“Evelyn has a twin.”
Adrian stared.
“Her name is Eleanor.”
The bunker door suddenly unlocked.
A woman's voice came through the intercom.
“Adrian.”
He knew the voice.
Evelyn.
But Victor shook his head.
“No.”
Adrian stared at the speaker.
The voice continued.
“Open the door.”
Adrian whispered:
“That's not Evelyn.”
Then the voice changed.
It became colder.
“Open the door, or I kill your real wife.”
Adrian's blood turned to ice.
A live video appeared.
Evelyn was tied to a chair.
A gun pressed against her head.
And standing behind her was the woman who looked exactly like her.
Eleanor.
May you like
She smiled.
“Hello, Adrian.”
