Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Owned the KnifeThe Betrayal Was Much Closer Than We Thought

We found the speaker in the corner.

A man in a dark suit.

He had been hiding behind the storage cabinets.

Roman's men surrounded him.

The stranger didn't resist.

Instead, he smiled.

"You've been waiting five years for answers."

Roman approached.

"You work for my mother."

The man's smile vanished.

"I work for the person who will still be alive when this is over."

Roman raised his gun.

"Who?"

The man looked at me.

"Your mother."

Roman's jaw tightened.

He ordered the man restrained.

Then everything happened at once.

An alarm screamed.

The house lights flashed red.

Security cameras went dead.

A vehicle crashed through the front gate.

Roman grabbed me.

"Stay with Leo."

"What about you?"

"I'm ending this."

He disappeared with his men.

I ran upstairs.

Leo was crying.

I grabbed him.

"It's okay."

He clung to my neck.

"Mama, I want to go home."

"I know."

The windows shattered.

Someone fired from outside.

I ducked.

Then a hand grabbed my arm.

I spun.

Roman.

"Move."

We ran into a concealed safe room.

Leo hid against my chest.

Roman locked the door.

"What is happening?"

"My mother activated an emergency protocol."

"What does that mean?"

"It means someone inside the family has betrayed everyone."

Then my phone rang.

I looked at the screen.

Unknown number.

Roman shook his head.

"Don't answer."

I did.

A woman's voice whispered:

"Megan."

My heart stopped.

"Mom?"

"I don't have much time."

"Where are you?"

"Listen to me."

She was crying.

"I never wanted this."

"What did you do?"

"I saved you."

"By taking my son?"

Silence.

Then:

"Leo was never supposed to be yours."

I felt like the floor disappeared.

"What?"

"The baby you brought home was not the baby born in that hospital room."

I looked at Leo.

My entire body went cold.

"What are you talking about?"

"There were two newborns."

"No."

"One belonged to Ethan."

"And the other?"

My mother whispered:

"Was already dead."

The call ended.

I stared at Roman.

He looked equally stunned.

"What did she say?"

I couldn't speak.

Then a thought struck me.

The photograph.

The hospital records.

The missing DNA test.

The altered birth certificate.

Roman took my phone.

"Call her back."

The number was unavailable.

Then he looked at Leo.

"Where is the birthmark?"

I blinked.

"What?"

"Ethan had a distinctive birthmark behind his left shoulder."

"I've seen it."

"Does Leo have one?"

I couldn't answer.

Roman gently lifted Leo's shirt.

There was a small mark beneath his shoulder blade.

Three faint lines forming a circle.

Roman stepped back.

"No."

"What?"

He looked horrified.

"That isn't Ethan's birthmark."

He stared at the symbol.

"It's the Vale family mark."

I felt dizzy.

"What does that mean?"

"It means Leo isn't just connected to my family."

Roman looked at me.

"He was marked by someone before you ever met him."

A gunshot sounded outside.

Then another.

A security alarm flashed.

Roman grabbed my hand.

"We're leaving."

"Where?"

"Somewhere my mother can't reach."

"Where is that?"

He looked at Leo.

"Underground."

He opened a hidden door beneath the floor.

And we descended into darkness.

But when the door closed above us, Roman found something carved into the wall.

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Three words.

I KNEW YOU'D COME.