Chapter 5 - JonahAdrian spent the next hour reading every document Mr. Cross had hidden.
The name appeared again and again.
Jonah Vale.
A child erased from family history.
A child officially listed as stillborn.
A child who had never existed in the eyes of the law.
Yet someone's handwriting had added his name to a trust.
Jonah.
Adrian's son.
Victoria sat across from him.
She looked exhausted.
“Tell me everything.”
She took a slow breath.
“My father discovered the fertility project through one of your father's assistants.”
“What project?”
“A private genetic program.”
“Using whose DNA?”
“Several powerful families.”
Adrian's face darkened.
“Why?”
“To create heirs with selected genetic traits.”
“That sounds insane.”
“It was illegal.”
“And my father financed it?”
“Your father funded the clinic.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed the Vale family couldn't survive another generation unless the inheritance stayed within the bloodline.”
Adrian shook his head.
“My father had me.”
“He didn't trust you.”
The answer was painfully simple.
Victoria continued.
“Your father's biggest fear was Evelyn.”
“Because she knew?”
“Because she refused to cooperate.”
“She worked with my mother.”
“Yes.”
“What did they discover?”
“That the clinic had been using stolen DNA from wealthy clients.”
Adrian looked at Clara and Mia.
“So what does that have to do with them?”
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Your daughters are the proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“Evelyn discovered that someone had altered the records.”
Adrian frowned.
“What records?”
“Family bloodline records.”
Mr. Cross suddenly spoke.
“The children were registered under false identities.”
Adrian turned toward him.
“Why?”
“Because someone wanted the Vale inheritance split.”
“Between whom?”
The lawyer looked down.
“Between children who didn't legally exist.”
A knock sounded.
Everyone froze.
Adrian opened the door.
No one was there.
Only an envelope on the floor.
Inside was a photograph.
Clara and Mia were sitting in a garden.
Behind them stood an elderly woman.
Adrian recognized her immediately.
His mother.
The photograph had been taken only three months earlier.
On the back was a message.
She is alive.
Adrian stared at the words.
Then another message appeared beneath it.
But she is not where you think.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
Weak.
Older.
But unmistakable.
“Adrian.”
His entire body froze.
“Mother?”
A shaky breath.
“Yes.”
He couldn't speak.
“Where are you?”
“You must listen carefully.”
“I've been looking for you for twenty-two years.”
“I know.”
“Why did you leave me?”
She began crying.
“I didn't leave you.”
“Then what happened?”
“I was taken.”
“By Daniel?”
“No.”
Adrian's chest tightened.
“Then who?”
The woman paused.
“Your father.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Why?”
“Because I found out what he had done to Jonah.”
Adrian looked at Victoria.
She was staring at him.
His mother continued.
“Your father did not fear losing the inheritance.”
“What did he fear?”
“That Jonah would expose the truth.”
“What truth?”
Silence.
Then his mother whispered:
“Jonah was not the only child born from the clinic.”
Adrian felt cold.
“How many were there?”
“Seven.”
The call ended.
Adrian stood frozen.
Seven children.
Seven hidden heirs.
Seven lives erased from the records.
Then Clara grabbed his hand.
“Daddy.”
He looked down.
“Mommy told me something before she disappeared.”
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
“What did she tell you?”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“She said if you ever find Grandma…”
Adrian knelt.
“What?”
“She won't be alone.”
A shadow appeared behind the frosted glass of the room.
Adrian stood.
“Who's there?”
The door opened slowly.
A woman stepped inside.
She looked older.
Her hair was silver.
Her face was tired.
But Adrian knew her.
His mother.
Elena Vale.
She looked at Clara.
Then Mia.
Then Adrian.
And she whispered:
May you like
“They found us.”
A gunshot cracked outside.
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