Chapter 10 - The Man Who Wasn't Their FatherEmily stared at Margaret.
“That's impossible.”
“We tested twice.”
“You said Blake was their father.”
“I said that's what the records claimed.”
“Then whose children are they?”
Margaret looked at Adrian.
Emily followed her gaze.
“No.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Emily.”
“No.”
She backed away.
“You.”
He didn't speak.
Emily's voice cracked.
“Are you their father?”
Adrian finally answered.
“Yes.”
The world seemed to vanish.
She remembered the years before her marriage.
There had been only one man she had loved before Blake.
A man she had lost.
A man who vanished from her life without explanation.
Adrian Sterling.
Emily stared at him.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You left.”
“I was forced to.”
“By whom?”
“Charles.”
Emily shook her head.
“This doesn't make sense.”
Adrian's eyes filled with old pain.
“Your grandmother knew about us.”
Emily's mind raced.
“You're the man in the photograph.”
“Yes.”
“The young man beside her.”
“Yes.”
“You knew me before Blake.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
Emily stared.
“Blake intercepted the message.”
Suddenly memories surfaced.
A letter she had once received.
A phone call that never came.
A package returned unopened.
Emily had assumed Adrian had moved on.
But he hadn't.
Blake had erased him.
Emily looked at the children.
“My children.”
“Our children.”
The words nearly broke her.
“How did Blake know?”
“He didn't.”
“Then why did my medical records list him as the father?”
Adrian looked at Thomas's file.
“Because the clinic was paid to falsify the records.”
“By whom?”
Charles.
“And why?”
“To control the trust.”
Emily's face hardened.
The entire scheme suddenly became clear.
Her grandmother had left a succession structure based on Emily's biological descendants.
Charles needed those descendants hidden.
Blake needed Emily gone.
Sienna had been placed beside Blake to create a political and financial alliance.
And Adrian had been removed from the picture.
But there was still something missing.
Why did Charles fear the children so much?
Thomas answered.
“The trust gives them ownership.”
Emily looked at him.
“That's not enough.”
Thomas nodded.
“There is another clause.”
He opened the document.
Emily read.
Her face changed.
“When the youngest beneficiary reaches eighteen, all restricted shares become unrestricted.”
Adrian nodded.
“The children don't just inherit half.”
“They unlock everything.”
“Exactly.”
Emily stared at the paperwork.
Charles had spent years trying to prevent three children from existing publicly because, once their identities were confirmed, his entire plan would collapse.
Emily looked at Adrian.
“Why did you hide them?”
“Because I knew Charles would hunt them.”
“But you could have told me.”
“I tried.”
“You should have tried harder.”
Adrian accepted it.
“I know.”
Emily walked away.
For the first time, she allowed herself to feel the full weight of the truth.
She had lost seven years.
Her husband had betrayed her.
Her grandmother had hidden the truth to protect her.
Her children had grown up without her.
And the man she once loved had protected them without telling her.
It was almost too much to bear.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from Charles.
YOU KNOW WHO THEIR FATHER IS NOW.
Another message.
YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHY I FEAR HIM.
Emily stared.
A third message appeared.
ASK ADRIAN WHAT HE DID TO MY FAMILY.
Emily looked at Adrian.
He knew immediately.
“What?”
She showed him the phone.
His expression darkened.
“Don't answer.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants you to ask.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Then answer me.”
Adrian was silent.
“What did you do?”
He looked at her.
“When I was twenty-four, I found evidence that Charles had murdered his own brother.”
Emily froze.
“His brother?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To seize the original family shares.”
Emily stared.
“And you exposed him?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“He sent people after me.”
“And you ran.”
“No.”
Adrian's voice was low.
“I fought back.”
Emily understood.
The man in front of her wasn't the gentle young man she remembered.
He had survived something brutal.
“What did you do?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I destroyed his empire.”
Emily whispered:
“You're the reason Carson Meridian almost collapsed?”
“Yes.”
“Then Blake rebuilt it.”
“Using your grandmother's money.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Everything connected.
The wealth.
The trust.
The marriage.
The children.
The betrayal.
She opened her eyes.
“I want to meet the children.”
Adrian nodded.
This time, he didn't stop her.
They arrived at a quiet estate just after midnight.
Emily stepped through the door.
The three children were asleep.
She stood in the doorway.
Mia woke first.
“Mommy?”
Emily smiled.
“Yes.”
Mia ran to her.
Lucas followed.
Ethan came last.
Emily knelt and opened her arms.
All three climbed into them.
She cried silently.
Then Ethan whispered:
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Grandma said you're supposed to save Daddy.”
Emily looked at Adrian.
“What?”
Ethan pointed at a drawer beside the bed.
“She left something there.”
Emily opened it.
Inside was a recording.
Her grandmother's voice filled the room.
“Emily, if you are hearing this, then Adrian has finally told you who he is.”
Emily froze.
The recording continued.
“Your children are safe.”
A pause.
“But their father is in danger.”
Emily looked at Adrian.
Her grandmother's voice became quieter.
“Because Blake knows something about Adrian that even Adrian doesn't know.”
The recording ended.
Emily's heart pounded.
Then a second file appeared.
Its title:
BLAKE CARSON: BIOLOGICAL RECORDS.
May you like
Emily stared.
Whatever Blake had been hiding was about to change everything.
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