CHAPTER 6 THE BLOODLINE THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
For several seconds, I could hear nothing except the pounding of my own heart.
Victor Sloane.
My father's greatest enemy.
The man who had spent years infiltrating my company.
The man who had orchestrated the custody plan.
The man who had tried to destroy me.
Was supposedly Alexander's father.
My brother.
I looked at Alexander.
“No.”
He didn't move.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
My father stepped forward.
“Adrian, listen to me.”
I turned on him.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“You've lied to me my entire life.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You let me believe my brother was dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You let me believe Mom was dead.”
His voice broke.
“I had no choice.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Then maybe tell me what choice you actually made.”
My mother whispered:
“Jonathan…”
He looked at her.
“It's time.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“It already is.”
Alexander stood between us.
“Dad.”
My father looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“You should have told him years ago.”
“I wanted to.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
My father looked at me.
“Because if Adrian knew the truth, Victor would have killed him.”
I felt a chill.
“What truth?”
Alexander answered.
“Victor isn't just my biological father.”
I waited.
“He is the reason you exist.”
My stomach turned.
“What?”
Alexander continued.
“Your grandfather and Victor worked together.”
“On the network.”
“Yes.”
“They built the entire system.”
“Yes.”
“And my father tried to expose them.”
Alexander nodded.
“That's why he disappeared.”
I looked at Jonathan.
“Is that true?”
He nodded.
“I discovered what they were doing.”
“What exactly?”
“The network wasn't just about money.”
He looked toward the tunnel.
“It was about inheritance.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Certain families were selected.”
“Selected for what?”
“To control entire sectors.”
Finance.
Energy.
Technology.
Media.
Politics.
“Victor believed power shouldn't belong to governments.”
My father looked at me.
“He believed power should belong to bloodlines.”
I stared at him.
“That's insane.”
“Yes.”
“And my family?”
“Your family was one of the original bloodlines.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“But there was a problem.”
“What?”
“You.”
I didn't understand.
“I was a child.”
“Exactly.”
Alexander looked at Noah.
“Your grandfather believed the next generation could be controlled.”
“He wanted me controlled?”
“No.”
“He wanted your children.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Your grandfather believed Noah and Lily would become the next legal holders of the family assets.”
I shook my head.
“They're children.”
“That's why.”
He pointed toward the documents.
“Children can be controlled through guardianship.”
I suddenly understood.
The custody plan.
The medical records.
The recordings.
The accusations.
The contract.
None of it was about destroying me.
It was about removing me.
They didn't need me dead.
They needed me legally powerless.
So they could control my children.
And through my children, everything else.
I looked at Lena.
“That's why they chose you.”
She nodded.
“They needed someone close to you.”
“You married me knowing this?”
“I didn't know the whole plan.”
“But you knew enough.”
“Yes.”
I stared at her.
“How did you meet Victor?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“He saved my brother.”
“Hale.”
She nodded.
“He disappeared when we were children.”
“And Victor found him?”
“Yes.”
“What did Victor want?”
“My loyalty.”
I shook my head.
“So you became his agent.”
“I became his prisoner.”
“That doesn't explain the basement.”
“I was trying to create evidence.”
“Against me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor told me if I didn't, they would take Noah and Lily.”
My jaw tightened.
“And you believed him?”
“I saw what they did to other families.”
She looked at my mother.
“Ask her.”
My mother lowered her head.
“I've seen it too.”
A sound came from the tunnel.
Footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Someone's coming.”
Alexander listened.
“Three people.”
My father whispered:
“Turn off the lights.”
Marcus killed the flashlight.
We stood in complete darkness.
The footsteps grew louder.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then stopped.
A voice came from the tunnel.
“Adrian?”
I recognized it.
Daniel Mercer.
My CFO.
I whispered:
“Stay back.”
Daniel laughed.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“You're running in the wrong direction.”
“Where's Victor?”
“He's not here.”
“Then where is he?”
Daniel paused.
“At your company.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“The board meeting starts in twenty minutes.”
I looked at the time.
2:11 a.m.
“What board meeting?”
Daniel laughed again.
“The emergency board meeting.”
My blood ran cold.
“They're voting.”
“On what?”
“Your removal.”
I looked at Marcus.
“Can they do that?”
“Not without proper notice.”
Daniel interrupted.
“They have notice.”
“Impossible.”
“No.”
Daniel's voice became colder.
“They've been preparing for this for months.”
He stepped closer.
“Your signature was already provided.”
I felt my stomach twist.
“My signature?”
“Yes.”
“Forged.”
“No.”
Daniel laughed.
“Not forged.”
He said the next words slowly.
“Biometric.”
Silence.
I suddenly remembered the fingerprint scanner.
The documents.
Noah's fingerprints.
My children's fingerprints.
“They used my children's biometric data.”
Daniel didn't answer.
“That's why Lena made them open the cabinet.”
Silence.
I turned toward Lena.
She began crying.
“I didn't know what they were collecting.”
My father stepped forward.
“They weren't collecting fingerprints.”
Everyone looked at him.
“They were collecting authorization.”
I frowned.
“What authorization?”
“The family trust recognizes biological descendants.”
He pointed toward Noah.
“His fingerprint activates one level.”
Then Lily.
“Hers activates another.”
Then he looked at me.
“Yours activates the final level.”
My heart sank.
“What happens when all three are used?”
My father didn't answer.
Alexander did.
“The trust transfers.”
“To whom?”
He looked at me.
“To whoever controls the legal guardian.”
My blood ran cold.
“And who is that?”
“Victor.”
A notification appeared on my phone.
One new email.
FROM: COLE FAMILY TRUST.
SUBJECT:
GUARDIANSHIP TRANSFER COMPLETE.
I opened it.
The first line made my hands go numb.
Effective immediately, Adrian Cole has been removed as guardian of Noah Cole and Lily Cole.
I looked at Noah.
His face went white.
“Dad?”
I couldn't speak.
The next line appeared.
Temporary guardian: Lena Cole.
Lena stared at the screen.
“No.”
Then another line loaded.
Trust administrator: Victor Sloane.
My father closed his eyes.
“They've already done it.”
I looked at Lena.
She shook her head violently.
“I didn't sign anything.”
“Neither did I.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“The transfer isn't the end.”
“What is?”
He pointed toward Noah and Lily.
“The system is waiting for one final authorization.”
I looked at my children.
“What authorization?”
Alexander's voice became barely audible.
“Consent from the biological heir.”
“Which one?”
He looked at Noah.
“Noah.”
My son stepped backward.
“No.”
My father suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“We have to move.”
“Where?”
“Up.”
“Why?”
“Because the people upstairs aren't here to arrest you.”
He looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“They're here to make Noah sign.”
I pulled Noah behind me.
“No.”
The basement shook.
A loud mechanical sound echoed through the walls.
Then the lights turned red.
A voice came through the speakers.
Victor.
“Adrian.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“Leave my children alone.”
Victor laughed softly.
“I'm not interested in your children.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You.”
I clenched my fists.
“You already tried to destroy me.”
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“I tried to remove you.”
“Why?”
“Because you're the only person who can open the final vault.”
My blood froze.
“The vault is already open.”
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“That was only the entrance.”
I looked at Alexander.
His face had gone pale.
Victor continued:
“The real vault requires two sons.”
I stared at my brother.
“Two?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather designed it that way.”
Victor paused.
“Blood of the first son.”
He paused again.
“Blood of the replacement.”
My heart pounded.
Alexander looked at me.
Then Victor said the words that changed everything.
“And Adrian…”
The speakers crackled.
“You are not the replacement.”
Silence.
“You are the original.”
I stared at my father.
He looked away.
Victor continued:
“The boy they told you died twenty-seven years ago…”
A pause.
“…was never Alexander.”
My mother's knees buckled.
I caught her.
Victor's voice became almost a whisper.
“Your entire identity is a lie.”
Then the speakers went silent.
A metal door opened somewhere above us.
Footsteps began descending.
Dozens of them.
My father grabbed my arm.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“We need to get Noah out.”
“Why?”
He looked at my son.
“Because if Victor gets Noah…”
He swallowed.
“…he'll finally have the heir he was looking for.”
Noah stared at us.
“Dad…”
I knelt in front of him.
“Don't worry.”
But even as I said it, I knew I was lying.
Because for the first time, I wasn't sure who my son was.
May you like
And worse…
I wasn't sure who I was.
