CHAPTER 6 The Bloodline That Was Stolen
CHAPTER 6
The Bloodline That Was Stolen
The alarm continued screaming.
Red lights flashed across the restaurant.
The golden walls that once represented luxury now looked like the walls of a prison.
Everyone stood frozen.
But Ethan heard nothing.
Not the alarms.
Not the shouting.
Not the security guards rushing around.
Only one sentence repeated inside his mind.
“Richard Vale is not your biological father.”
For fifteen years, Ethan had searched for the person who destroyed his life.
He believed it was his father.
He believed Richard betrayed him.
But now…
The man he hated was not even the man who gave him life.
Everything he knew about himself had collapsed.
Ethan slowly looked at Richard.
“Is it true?”
The old man said nothing.
That silence was enough.
The billionaire’s expression changed.
“You spent my entire life pretending.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I understand perfectly.”
His voice became colder.
“You stole my identity.”
Richard stared at him.
“You think blood creates a family?”
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
“I raised you.”
Ethan laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
“You raised me?”
He pointed at his wheelchair.
“You destroyed my body.”
He pointed at the documents.
“You destroyed my family.”
Then he looked at him.
“And now I find out you stole my name.”
The room remained silent.
The first boy watched his father.
For the first time, he saw Ethan not as a billionaire.
Not as a powerful man.
But as someone who had lost himself.
Alexander stood motionless.
His entire belief system was collapsing too.
The man who raised him.
The man who taught him everything.
The man he called grandfather.
Was built on lies.
“Grandfather…”
Richard looked at him.
Alexander’s voice was quiet.
“Did you know?”
Richard didn’t answer.
“Did you know he wasn’t your son?”
Still nothing.
Alexander’s eyes changed.
Pain replaced anger.
“All these years…”
He swallowed.
“You knew everything.”
Richard finally spoke.
“I protected this family.”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the room.
“You controlled it.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know enough.”
Alexander looked at Ethan.
“You hated him because you thought he abandoned you.”
Then he looked at Richard.
“But you were the one who kept everyone apart.”
For a moment, Richard looked almost disappointed.
Not angry.
Disappointed.
Like a man watching his creation stop obeying.
“You sound like him.”
Alexander frowned.
“Like who?”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Your real grandfather.”
The room went quiet again.
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
“My real grandfather?”
Richard smiled.
“Yes.”
He walked toward the table.
“Because the truth is much older than any of you realize.”
He picked up the old photograph.
“The Vale family name was never supposed to belong to you.”
Ethan stared.
“What are you saying?”
Richard looked at the picture.
“Your mother was part of another family.”
“Your real family.”
A pause.
“A family that created something more powerful than money.”
The boy looked confused.
“What?”
Richard turned toward him.
“Knowledge.”
Nobody spoke.
Richard continued.
“Your biological grandfather was not a businessman.”
“He was a scientist.”
Ethan frowned.
“Scientist?”
“Yes.”
“He created technology that could repair damaged nerves.”
The billionaire looked at his legs.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The strange device.
The boy’s ability.
The movement.
Richard smiled.
“The technology that healed you was created by your own bloodline.”
The boy stepped forward.
“My grandfather taught me.”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you tried to destroy it.”
Richard’s expression changed.
“Because I knew what it could become.”
The first boy looked at him.
“A way to help millions.”
Richard shook his head.
“A weapon.”
The room became tense.
Ethan looked between them.
“What are you hiding?”
Richard remained silent.
The billionaire moved his wheelchair closer.
“Tell me.”
No answer.
“Tell me!”
His voice echoed.
For fifteen years, Ethan had been patient.
He had accepted pain.
He had accepted failure.
But now…
He wanted the truth.
Richard finally sighed.
“The technology could restore damaged nerves.”
“That’s what everyone knows.”
He looked at Ethan.
“But what nobody knows…”
“It could also alter the human body.”
The billionaire frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Richard’s eyes became darker.
“It could create people who recover from injuries faster than normal.”
“People who could survive things others couldn’t.”
Alexander looked disturbed.
“That’s impossible.”
Richard smiled.
“Is it?”
He pointed at the boy.
“Look at him.”
Everyone turned.
The boy lowered his eyes.
Ethan noticed.
“Wait.”
He looked at his son.
“You knew?”
The boy hesitated.
“My grandfather told me some things.”
“What things?”
“That my body is different.”
The billionaire froze.
“Different how?”
The boy didn’t answer.
Emma stepped forward.
“He was born with the treatment.”
Ethan looked at her.
“What?”
Emma cried.
“When I was pregnant, my father was desperate.”
“The technology was incomplete.”
“He didn’t know if it would work.”
Ethan stared.
“You experimented on our child?”
Emma shook her head quickly.
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“He saved him.”
The boy looked at his own hands.
“My grandfather wanted to make sure I survived.”
Richard interrupted.
“And he succeeded.”
Everyone looked at him.
Richard smiled.
“That boy is proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Richard stepped closer.
“That your family created something the world would kill for.”
Suddenly…
A loud explosion shook the building.
The windows shattered.
Everyone fell to the floor.
Smoke filled the restaurant.
Security rushed toward the entrance.
“Everyone move!”
Ethan searched through the smoke.
“Where’s my son?”
No answer.
“Where is he?!”
Emma screamed:
“Ethan!”
The billionaire turned.
Through the smoke…
He saw someone dragging the boy away.
A masked figure.
Ethan tried to move.
His legs shook.
But he forced himself forward.
For the first time in fifteen years…
He pushed his body beyond its limit.
He fell.
But he got up again.
Everyone stared.
The billionaire who had been trapped for fifteen years was standing.
Barely.
But standing.
He looked at the person taking his son.
And shouted:
“DON’T TOUCH MY CHILD!”
The masked figure stopped.
Then slowly turned.
And said something that made Ethan’s blood run cold.
“Finally.”
A pause.
“You’re walking again.”
The figure removed the mask.
And everyone recognized him.
May you like
Because he was the one person who should have been dead.
Ethan’s real father.
