CHAPTER 7 — ADRIAN
For several seconds, Emily couldn't process what she was seeing.
The stranger stood outside the wrecked car, rain sliding down his face.
He looked like Thomas.
Not exactly.
But enough to make Emily's stomach twist.
The same dark eyes.
The same sharp jaw.
The same scar near the cheek.
Yet there was something different about him.
His expression was colder.
Almost empty.
Daniel stared at him through the broken window.
"You're lying."
The stranger smiled.
"I've been waiting years for you to say that."
"Who are you?"
"Adrian."
"Adrian what?"
"Adrian Carter."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Adrian leaned closer.
"You were told I died."
Daniel's breathing stopped.
"Mother said there were three children."
Adrian smiled.
"Mother wasn't the one who told you."
Daniel turned toward Eleanor.
She was still trapped in the back seat.
Her face had gone completely white.
"Mother?"
Eleanor couldn't answer.
Adrian looked at her.
"Hello, Eleanor."
Her lips trembled.
"You..."
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"You remember me."
Eleanor stared at him as if she were looking at a ghost.
"I thought you were dead."
"Everyone did."
"Who told you that?"
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"You did."
Eleanor shook her head.
"No."
"You handed me to Richard."
"No!"
Adrian suddenly slammed his fist against the car.
Emily flinched.
"You don't get to lie anymore!"
Daniel moved in front of Emily.
"Stay away from her."
Adrian laughed.
"You still protect her."
"She's my sister."
Adrian looked at him.
"Is she?"
Daniel froze.
Adrian's eyes shifted toward Emily.
"That's the question, isn't it?"
Emily stared.
"What are you talking about?"
Adrian crouched beside the broken window.
"You've been told three children were born that night."
"Yes."
"That's not the truth."
Emily frowned.
"What?"
Adrian smiled.
"There were four."
Silence.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Daniel looked at her.
"Mother?"
Eleanor whispered:
"Adrian..."
Adrian's expression changed.
"You knew."
"I didn't know about the fourth."
"You knew enough."
Emily's voice trembled.
"Four children?"
Adrian nodded.
"Four."
Daniel stared at him.
"Then who was the fourth?"
Adrian looked toward the wrecked car.
"That's what Richard spent the last twenty-seven years hiding."
A distant siren sounded.
Adrian looked toward the road.
"We don't have much time."
Daniel tightened his grip on Emily.
"You're not taking her."
Adrian shook his head.
"I'm not here to take her."
"Then why are you here?"
"To warn her."
Emily looked at him.
"About what?"
Adrian's expression became serious.
"Your mother."
Emily's stomach dropped.
"My mother?"
"Margaret."
"She's alive."
"I know."
"Where is she?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Not where you think."
Emily stepped closer.
"Tell me."
Adrian looked at Eleanor.
"She was never the woman who raised you."
Emily's face tightened.
"I know."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
He pointed toward Eleanor.
"You don't know the half of it."
Eleanor looked terrified.
Adrian continued.
"The woman who raised you was a replacement."
Emily felt dizzy.
"Replacement for who?"
"Margaret."
"But my mother..."
"Was taken."
"By Richard?"
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Margaret discovered the fourth child."
Emily's heart stopped.
"The fourth child?"
Adrian nodded.
"Margaret found out Richard had another baby."
Daniel frowned.
"His?"
"Yes."
"With who?"
Adrian looked at Eleanor.
"That's the part she wasn't supposed to discover."
Eleanor's face went blank.
Emily stared at her.
"Who was the mother?"
Eleanor whispered:
"I don't know."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
"No."
He pointed at her.
"Because you were there."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"I was manipulated."
"Everyone was manipulated."
Adrian looked at Daniel.
"Except Richard."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Tell me about him."
Adrian paused.
"Richard wasn't just trying to control the Whitmore fortune."
"What was he doing?"
"He was building something."
"What?"
"A new family."
Emily frowned.
Adrian continued.
"Children without records. Children with no known relatives. Children who could be controlled."
Daniel stared.
"Why?"
"Because he needed heirs."
Emily whispered:
"He collected children?"
"Not exactly."
Adrian looked at her.
"He replaced them."
A cold silence filled the car.
Emily shook her head.
"Explain."
Adrian sighed.
"Richard believed bloodlines were everything."
He looked at Daniel.
"Your family had money."
Then at Emily.
"And your family had something Richard couldn't buy."
"What?"
"Legitimacy."
Emily frowned.
Adrian continued.
"Thomas Carter was the rightful heir to part of the Whitmore estate."
Thomas, still unconscious in the driver's seat, suddenly moved.
Everyone froze.
His eyes opened.
He looked at Adrian.
"No."
Adrian smiled.
"Hello, Thomas."
Thomas's face turned pale.
"You."
Adrian stepped backward.
"You remember me."
Thomas struggled to breathe.
"I watched you die."
Adrian shook his head.
"You watched someone else die."
Thomas's expression changed.
"Then who..."
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward the road.
Police lights were getting closer.
"We need to leave."
Daniel shook his head.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Adrian looked at him.
"Then you'll die here."
"What?"
Adrian pointed behind them.
The black SUV had stopped.
Three men stepped out.
All wearing black.
They weren't police.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"They're Richard's men."
Thomas tried to sit up.
"How?"
Adrian looked at him.
"They've been following you for years."
Daniel stared.
"Why?"
"Because they were looking for Rose."
Emily swallowed.
"Why me?"
Adrian's answer was immediate.
"Because you're the key."
"To what?"
"The Whitmore vault."
Daniel frowned.
"What vault?"
Adrian smiled.
"Now you're asking the right question."
One of the armed men raised a weapon.
Adrian shouted:
"DOWN!"
Gunfire erupted.
BANG!
The windshield shattered.
Thomas grabbed Eleanor.
Daniel pulled Emily onto the floor.
Bullets tore through the vehicle.
Adrian returned fire from behind the car.
"Move!"
Daniel opened the passenger door.
"Emily, go!"
They crawled through the wreckage.
Thomas pulled himself free.
Eleanor followed.
Adrian covered them.
They ran toward the trees.
Another gunshot.
Thomas stumbled.
Emily screamed.
"Father!"
Thomas fell to his knees.
Adrian turned.
"Keep going!"
Emily stopped.
"No!"
Thomas grabbed her wrist.
"Run!"
"I won't leave you."
"You have to."
Daniel pulled her away.
"Emily!"
They ran.
Branches tore at Emily's wedding dress.
The lace was already ruined.
Now it dragged through mud and rain.
Behind them, gunfire continued.
Then silence.
Emily stopped.
"Thomas!"
No answer.
She turned.
Adrian stood among the trees.
Alone.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
"Where's my father?"
Adrian didn't answer.
"Where is he?"
Adrian looked at Emily.
"He's alive."
Emily exhaled.
"Then where is he?"
Adrian pointed toward the road.
"Taken."
"By who?"
Adrian's face became grim.
"By the person who sent those men."
Emily's heart sank.
"Richard?"
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Adrian looked at Eleanor.
She was standing several meters away.
Completely still.
Then Adrian whispered:
"Your mother."
Emily turned.
Eleanor was holding something.
A small black device.
A remote control.
Adrian stared at it.
"You shouldn't have brought that."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"I had no choice."
Emily looked between them.
"What is that?"
Eleanor pressed a button.
A loud explosion shook the forest.
BOOM!
Emily screamed.
The old Whitmore mansion, visible in the distance, suddenly erupted into flames.
Daniel stared.
"What did you do?"
Eleanor dropped the remote.
"I destroyed the evidence."
Adrian's face went pale.
"All of it?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Everything Richard left behind."
Emily stared at her mother.
"Why?"
Eleanor looked at her.
"Because if you find those records..."
She swallowed.
"...you'll discover what you really are."
Emily's blood ran cold.
"What am I?"
Eleanor didn't answer.
Adrian did.
"You're not the heir."
Emily stared.
"Then who is?"
Adrian looked at Daniel.
"The heir is him."
Daniel's face went blank.
"But..."
Adrian continued:
"And Richard didn't separate you because he wanted Daniel to inherit."
He looked toward the burning mansion.
"He separated you because he was terrified of what would happen if the twins ever found each other."
Emily whispered:
"What would happen?"
Adrian smiled sadly.
"The trust would open."
"That's all?"
"No."
He looked at Eleanor.
"The trust would also reveal the fourth child."
Emily stared.
"And who is that?"
Adrian's expression became unreadable.
"You've already met him."
Daniel looked confused.
"Who?"
Adrian slowly pointed toward the burning mansion.
"The man you thought was Richard."
Emily froze.
"But Richard is dead."
Adrian shook his head.
"The man in the mansion isn't Richard."
"Then who?"
Adrian's answer came softly.
"Your fourth brother."
The world seemed to stop.
Emily looked at Eleanor.
Eleanor couldn't meet her eyes.
Daniel whispered:
"Mother..."
Eleanor finally spoke.
"I was never supposed to have four children."
Adrian nodded.
"But you did."
A phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
It was Emily's phone.
She slowly pulled it from her pocket.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice whispered:
"Rose."
Emily couldn't breathe.
"Who is this?"
The voice laughed.
"Your father is alive."
Emily's heart raced.
"Where?"
"At the old house."
"But it's burning."
"I know."
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"Ask your mother why she killed my father."
Emily looked at Eleanor.
The voice continued:
"And ask her why she buried the wrong man."
The call ended.
Emily stared at the screen.
Then she looked at Eleanor.
"Did you kill Richard?"
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"No."
She looked toward the burning mansion.
"I killed the man I thought was Richard."
Emily's face went pale.
"Then who did you kill?"
May you like
Eleanor whispered:
"Your fourth brother."
