Chapter 13 - The Bullet That Changed EverythingEthan collapsed.
Adrian shouted.
Security tackled Clara.
Natalie screamed.
Maisie covered her ears.
Owen began crying.
Adrian dropped beside Ethan.
Blood spread across his shirt.
“Stay with me.”
Ethan tried to breathe.
“She knows.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
“He knows everything?”
Ethan nodded.
“He knows the fifth heir exists.”
Adrian froze.
“Then why isn't he here?”
Ethan looked toward the ceiling.
“He is.”
A voice echoed through the room.
“Correct.”
Adrian looked up.
His father stepped onto the balcony above them.
Alive.
Smiling.
“Put the baby down.”
Adrian raised his gun.
“Come get him.”
His father laughed.
“You still think this is about killing people.”
“What is it about?”
“Control.”
He pointed toward Maisie.
“She is the key.”
“No.”
“The trust requires her signature when she turns eighteen.”
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
“And Owen?”
“A legal decoy.”
“Why?”
“Because the world believes he is your son.”
Adrian's father smiled.
“Which makes him the perfect shield.”
Adrian felt sick.
His father continued:
“Everyone has been fighting over Owen while Maisie remained invisible.”
Adrian looked at the little girl.
“You knew.”
His father nodded.
“Of course.”
“Why let her live here?”
“To watch her.”
“Why let Sarah keep her?”
“To make sure she stayed obedient.”
Adrian's hands shook.
“You used a child.”
“I used an asset.”
Adrian raised his gun.
His father smiled.
“Shoot me.”
Adrian hesitated.
“Then the trust dies with me.”
“What?”
“The original contract is biological. Only I know where the final amendment is.”
Adrian lowered the weapon slightly.
“Where?”
His father touched his chest.
“Inside my pacemaker.”
Everyone stared.
He laughed.
“You wanted the truth. There it is.”
Daniel suddenly entered.
“Adrian!”
He held a file.
“I found the surgeon.”
Adrian turned.
“What surgeon?”
“The doctor who implanted it.”
Daniel was breathing hard.
“He says your father has been lying.”
Adrian frowned.
“He doesn't have a pacemaker.”
Everyone looked at the old man.
He smiled.
Then his smile vanished.
The balcony door slammed open.
Police stormed in.
“Drop the weapons!”
Adrian turned.
Clara disappeared into the chaos.
His father raised both hands.
But Daniel shouted:
“THAT MAN ISN'T ADRIAN'S FATHER!”
Everyone froze.
Daniel pointed at him.
“DNA results came back.”
Adrian stared.
“What?”
“That man is his father's identical twin.”
Adrian felt dizzy.
His father had been dead.
The man standing before him was someone else.
His father's twin.
The real architect.
He smiled.
“Finally.”
Police surrounded him.
But before they could arrest him, he reached into his jacket.
Adrian shouted.
A gunshot echoed.
The old man collapsed.
Silence.
Adrian ran.
“Who shot him?”
Daniel looked toward the balcony.
Clara stood there.
Gun in hand.
She had disappeared again.
Adrian looked down at the dying man.
He whispered:
“Why did you pretend to be my father?”
The man laughed weakly.
“Because…”
Blood reached his lips.
“…your father was the only man who ever scared me.”
He died.
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then Maisie tugged Adrian's sleeve.
She was holding something.
A small silver key.
“Mr. Vale.”
“Where did you get that?”
She pointed toward the body.
“It fell out of his pocket.”
Adrian took it.
There was an engraving.
ROOM 17.
Daniel stared at it.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“Room 17 was sealed after your brother's death.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Where is it?”
May you like
Daniel whispered:
“In the cemetery.”
