CHAPTER 16 — THE CHILD WHO WAS ERASED FROM HISTORY
The old stone building stood silent beneath the Paris night sky.
For decades, it had been forgotten.
No visitors.
No records.
No mention in the Laurent family archives.
But inside those walls...
A secret had waited.
A secret protected by time.
A secret that had survived generations.
And now...
Lucas Laurent held the truth in his hands.
The letter.
The documents.
The impossible words.
"Adrian Laurent was never supposed to inherit the empire."
Everyone stood frozen.
Alexander read the sentence again.
Then again.
As if the meaning might change.
But it didn't.
The words remained.
A new mystery had appeared.
One that was even deeper than the disappearance fifteen years ago.
"That's impossible."
Alexander's voice was low.
Lucas looked at him.
"Why?"
Alexander stared at the letter.
"Because you are my only son."
Isabelle looked confused.
"Alexander..."
He shook his head.
"No."
He pointed at the documents.
"This doesn't make sense."
Elena carefully picked up the papers.
"Maybe we should read everything before making assumptions."
Alexander nodded slowly.
He knew she was right.
The Laurent family had already learned one painful lesson.
Half-truths could destroy lives.
They returned to the mansion with the documents.
No one slept.
Not that night.
The entire family gathered in the library.
The same room where Lucas had first discovered his mother's letter.
The same room where the truth had begun to unfold.
Alexander placed the documents on the table.
"We find answers."
His voice was firm.
"No more secrets."
Lucas watched his father.
For the first time, he saw something different.
Not a powerful businessman.
Not the head of an empire.
A father.
A father who was terrified of losing his son again.
The first document was an old family record.
A birth registry.
But something was wrong.
The page had been altered.
Someone had removed a name.
Elena examined it carefully.
"This wasn't done recently."
Alexander looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"The ink."
She pointed.
"Someone changed this decades ago."
Everyone became silent.
Decades.
This wasn't about Sebastian.
This wasn't about the recent family war.
This secret was much older.
Then Isabelle noticed something.
A small symbol.
The same symbol from the necklace.
"The founder's mark."
Alexander looked surprised.
"You know this?"
Isabelle nodded.
"I saw it before."
"When?"
"During my investigation."
She touched the paper.
"Your grandfather was hiding something."
They opened another document.
A family tree.
The Laurent bloodline.
Generation after generation.
But there was a strange gap.
One name had been removed.
A child.
Born before Alexander.
A child who disappeared from the records.
Lucas looked at the empty space.
"Someone erased them."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew the reason.
A person was erased when someone wanted the world to forget.
Suddenly...
The mansion security system activated.
A loud alarm echoed.
Everyone stood.
Alexander immediately moved toward Lucas.
"What happened?"
A security officer entered.
"Sir, someone entered the old Laurent archive room."
Alexander frowned.
"Impossible."
"The room was locked."
"Who is inside?"
The officer hesitated.
"We don't know."
They rushed to the archive room.
The door was open.
Inside, hundreds of old files had been scattered.
Someone had searched everything.
But they were too late.
The intruder was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A photograph placed carefully on the table.
Lucas picked it up.
His face changed.
It was a photograph of a woman.
A young woman.
Holding a baby.
Alexander looked over his shoulder.
Then froze.
Because he recognized the woman.
"Isabelle..."
She stepped closer.
Her face turned pale.
"No."
Lucas looked between them.
"Who is she?"
Alexander didn't answer.
Because the truth was impossible.
The woman in the photograph was Elise Laurent.
The hidden founder.
The woman whose name had been erased from history.
But the baby in her arms...
Was marked with the Laurent family symbol.
And written on the back of the photograph were four words:
"The first heir."
Nobody spoke.
Lucas looked at Alexander.
"Who was the first heir?"
Alexander shook his head.
"I don't know."
But then Isabelle noticed something else.
The baby's necklace.
A smaller version of the blue pendant.
She whispered:
"Another necklace."
The mystery became even deeper.
There were not one...
But two heirs.
Two children.
Two bloodlines.
And one family empire.
Later that night...
Lucas couldn't sleep.
He sat by the window.
The city lights reflected in his eyes.
Alexander found him there.
"You're thinking again."
Lucas smiled slightly.
"You know me too well."
Alexander sat beside him.
After a moment, Lucas asked:
"Do you ever wish I wasn't involved in all this?"
Alexander looked shocked.
"Never."
"Even with all the danger?"
"Especially because of the danger."
Lucas looked at him.
Alexander continued:
"Lucas, I spent fifteen years wishing I could protect you."
"Now that I have you back..."
"I will protect you no matter what comes."
The next morning...
A package arrived.
Again.
No sender.
No address.
Only Lucas's name.
Everyone became cautious.
Alexander opened it personally.
Inside was a handwritten journal.
Old.
Damaged.
The first page contained a name.
ELISE LAURENT'S PRIVATE JOURNAL
Everyone froze.
The journal that could reveal the forgotten history of the Laurent Empire had been found.
Lucas opened the first page.
The writing was faded.
But readable.
"The day my son was born, I knew the Laurent family would never be the same."
Lucas continued.
"Because he was not the only child born that night."
Alexander looked up.
"What?"
Lucas turned the page.
His hands began shaking.
The next sentence changed everything.
"I gave birth to twins."
The room went completely silent.
Twins.
Two Laurent children.
Two heirs.
One hidden.
One known.
The entire family history was built on a lie.
Lucas looked at Alexander.
"Father..."
Alexander couldn't answer.
Because if the journal was true...
Then somewhere in the world...
There was another Laurent heir.
Someone with the same blood.
Someone who had been hidden for generations.
Someone who might believe the Laurent Empire belonged to them.
That evening...
In a luxury apartment overlooking Paris...
A person watched the news about Lucas Laurent.
The television showed his face.
The lost heir.
The returned son.
The survivor.
The person smiled.
On the table beside them was the other half of the blue necklace.
The missing half.
They touched it gently.
May you like
And whispered:
"Welcome home, brother."
