CHAPTER 9 — THE BLOODLINE SECRET
Victoria's finger tightened around the trigger.
Elena stood beside her, terrified.
“Don't move,” Victoria said.
Nathan slowly raised his hands.
“Let her go.”
Victoria smiled.
“You always think you can command people.”
“She is a child.”
“So were you.”
Nathan's eyes hardened.
“You don't want me.”
Victoria laughed softly.
“Don't I?”
She pulled Elena closer.
“I've spent years protecting this little girl.”
Grace stepped forward.
“You kidnapped her.”
Victoria's expression changed.
“No.”
“You lied to her.”
“I protected her from the truth.”
“What truth?”
Victoria looked at Nathan.
“That he isn't her father.”
Nathan froze.
Elena looked at him.
“Daddy?”
Nathan's heart broke.
Victoria whispered:
“Tell her.”
Nathan stared at Elena.
He could not lie.
But he couldn't destroy her world either.
“I'm your father.”
Victoria smiled.
“Are you?”
Nathan looked at Daniel.
His supposed father.
Daniel's face was pale.
Victoria continued:
“Ask Daniel who donated the genetic material.”
Grace stared.
“What?”
Victoria laughed.
“The great Daniel Cole didn't create Nathan.”
Nathan turned.
“Then who did?”
Daniel remained silent.
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
“Go ahead.”
Nathan's voice hardened.
“Tell me.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Victoria laughed.
“You always were a coward.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“You know.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Daniel whispered:
“Your mother.”
Nathan froze.
“My mother?”
“She was artificially inseminated.”
Grace stared.
“By whom?”
Daniel looked at Nathan.
“Your grandfather.”
Nathan's face went blank.
Victoria smiled.
“Now you understand.”
“No.”
“You are not Daniel's son.”
Nathan stared.
“Then whose?”
Victoria's smile disappeared.
“Your bloodline belongs to the Bennett family.”
Grace stepped backward.
“That isn't possible.”
Victoria looked at her.
“Your family created him.”
Nathan's breathing became shallow.
Daniel finally spoke.
“She's telling the truth.”
Nathan turned.
“You knew?”
“I discovered it years later.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I tried.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father would have killed you.”
“My father?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Nathaniel.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You said he wasn't my father.”
“He raised you.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Daniel looked toward Victoria.
“She knows.”
Victoria laughed.
“Oh, I know everything.”
Nathan stared.
“Then tell me.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“Your grandfather wanted a perfect heir.”
“For what?”
“The Bennett trust.”
Grace frowned.
“Why would a Bennett create a Cole heir?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Because the Bennett family was dying.”
“What?”
“Your grandfather had no surviving sons.”
Grace stared.
“My grandfather had children.”
“Not the right kind.”
Victoria smiled.
“He needed someone genetically compatible with the trust.”
Nathan understood.
“You were trying to create a legal heir.”
“Yes.”
“Using my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And Nathaniel stole me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted the empire.”
Victoria looked at Daniel.
“And Daniel wanted revenge.”
Daniel said nothing.
Victoria continued.
“They both used you.”
Nathan felt sick.
He looked at Grace.
“Then what are we?”
Grace's voice trembled.
“Victims.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at the children.
“You are the inheritance.”
Elena began crying.
“Mommy.”
Grace stepped forward.
Victoria immediately pointed the gun at her.
“Stop.”
Grace froze.
Elena whispered:
“I want Mommy.”
Victoria looked at her.
“She isn't your mother.”
Elena shook her head.
“Yes, she is.”
Victoria's face tightened.
“She's the woman who was told to love you.”
Elena cried harder.
Grace's heart broke.
“That's enough.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Victoria stared at him.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
“You think this is about money.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Then what is it about?”
“Power.”
Victoria's voice became cold.
“The Bennett trust controls assets worth more than your entire company.”
Nathan stared.
“Then why not take the money?”
“Because the trust isn't just money.”
“What?”
“Control.”
Victoria smiled.
“Ports. Railways. Energy. Land. Banks.”
Grace whispered:
“And political influence.”
“Yes.”
Nathan understood.
“Whoever controls the heirs controls the trust.”
Victoria nodded.
“And whoever controls the trust controls half the country.”
Silence.
Reeves stepped into the room.
“That's enough.”
Victoria spun.
She fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Reeves ducked.
Nathan moved toward Elena.
Victoria grabbed the girl.
“Back!”
Grace screamed:
“Don't hurt her!”
Victoria backed toward the exit.
“You'll never find her again.”
Nathan followed.
“You won't get away.”
Victoria smiled.
“Watch me.”
She pulled Elena through the doorway.
Nathan ran after them.
Grace followed.
The corridor was empty.
Only footsteps echoed.
Nathan reached the stairwell.
“Which way?”
Reeves pointed.
“Down!”
They ran.
At the bottom, they found a loading dock.
An engine roared.
A black van sped away.
Nathan ran outside.
Too late.
He stood in the street.
Rain began falling.
Grace reached him.
“Elena.”
Nathan stared at the van disappearing into the distance.
“We'll get her back.”
Grace shook her head.
“How?”
Nathan turned.
His eyes were cold.
“We follow the money.”
Three hours later, the team gathered in a secure office.
Reeves had mapped Victoria's financial network.
Dozens of shell companies.
Six offshore accounts.
Four private foundations.
Three medical corporations.
And one recurring payment.
Every month.
To a company called Northstar Child Services.
Grace frowned.
“Child services?”
Reeves nodded.
“It's a front.”
“For what?”
“Private adoptions.”
Nathan stared.
“Children.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Reeves looked at the screen.
“Thirty-seven.”
Grace's face went pale.
“Thirty-seven?”
“Possibly more.”
Nathan clenched his fists.
“My father sold children.”
“Not exactly.”
“What then?”
“Transferred them.”
“For money?”
“Sometimes.”
“For political favors?”
“Yes.”
“For leverage?”
“Yes.”
Grace stared at the screen.
“Where were they taken?”
Reeves opened a map.
“Across the country.”
Nathan stared at the locations.
Texas.
Virginia.
New York.
California.
Illinois.
Florida.
Grace whispered:
“This is bigger than Victoria.”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at Reeves.
“Who runs Northstar?”
Reeves hesitated.
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“The registered owner is you.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
“Northstar Child Services is legally owned by Cole Meridian Holdings.”
Nathan stared.
“My company.”
“Yes.”
“I never authorized that.”
“Your father did.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“Then I need to shut it down.”
Reeves shook his head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because shutting it down will trigger an automatic transfer.”
“To whom?”
“The children.”
Nathan frowned.
“How?”
“The trust requires an independent administrator.”
“Who?”
Reeves looked at him.
“Grace.”
Grace stared.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked confused.
“Why her?”
“Because the trust recognizes her as the surviving Bennett representative.”
Grace whispered:
“My family.”
“Yes.”
Nathan realized.
“If Grace becomes administrator, Victoria loses control.”
“Exactly.”
“And that's why she wants Grace dead.”
Reeves nodded.
Meanwhile, Victoria sat inside a moving vehicle.
Elena was beside her.
The child was crying silently.
Victoria glanced at her.
“Stop crying.”
Elena looked away.
“I want Mommy.”
“You'll see her again.”
“When?”
“When she understands.”
“Understands what?”
Victoria stared through the windshield.
“That she cannot protect you.”
Elena hugged herself.
“She can.”
Victoria almost smiled.
“You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Daddy will save me.”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“Your father doesn't even know who he is.”
Elena looked at her.
“He's Nathan.”
Victoria laughed.
“Maybe.”
She opened a folder.
Inside was a DNA report.
She studied it.
Then whispered:
“Maybe you're the one who knows.”
Elena didn't understand.
Victoria closed the folder.
The vehicle stopped.
The rear door opened.
A man climbed inside.
Elena stared at him.
Victoria looked up.
“Did you get it?”
The man nodded.
“The original records.”
Victoria smiled.
“Finally.”
He handed her a black case.
Victoria opened it.
Inside was a single file.
She removed it.
The cover read:
NATHAN COLE — ORIGINAL BIRTH RECORD.
Victoria smiled.
“Now we can prove who he really is.”
Back at the safe house, Grace was reading the Bennett trust.
She suddenly stopped.
“Nathan.”
He looked up.
“What?”
“Come here.”
Nathan approached.
Grace pointed at a clause.
“Read this.”
Nathan did.
His face changed.
“What?”
“The trust doesn't activate because of three heirs.”
“Then why?”
“Because of one.”
Nathan frowned.
“Who?”
Grace pointed.
“The firstborn.”
“That's Elena.”
“No.”
Nathan stared.
“Then who?”
Grace turned the page.
A hidden amendment appeared.
THE FIRSTBORN SHALL BE DEFINED NOT BY DATE OF BIRTH, BUT BY GENETIC ORIGIN.
Nathan froze.
“What does that mean?”
Grace's eyes filled.
“It means the first child created from Claire's genetic material.”
Nathan stared.
“That's Elena.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed to another line.
THE FIRSTBORN WAS CONCEIVED BEFORE THE COLE-BENNETT AGREEMENT.
Nathan's face went pale.
“Before the agreement.”
“Yes.”
“Then who?”
Grace looked at him.
“You.”
Nathan stared.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Nathan suddenly understood.
His entire identity had been manipulated.
His father had stolen Daniel's identity.
His grandfather had created him.
His mother had hidden him.
The Bennett trust had been built around him.
And the three girls—
Lily.
Emma.
Elena—
were all descendants of the same bloodline.
Nathan whispered:
“My daughters aren't the heirs.”
Grace nodded.
“They're descendants.”
“Then who owns the trust?”
Grace looked at him.
“You.”
Nathan stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“But I'm not a Bennett.”
“You are.”
“I don't want it.”
“You don't have a choice.”
Nathan stared at the document.
Then he noticed something else.
A signature.
His grandfather's.
And beneath it—
another name.
CLAIRE BENNETT.
Grace froze.
“That's my sister.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Claire signed the trust.”
“Yes.”
“But she died before it was activated.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
“Claire didn't die.”
Silence.
Grace stared at the signature.
“She disappeared.”
Nathan's eyes widened.
“Victoria said she died.”
“She lied.”
Reeves stepped forward.
“If Claire is alive…”
“The trust can be challenged.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“Where is she?”
Grace's voice trembled.
“I don't know.”
Then the office phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Nathan answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Nathan.”
He recognized it immediately.
Claire.
His daughters' biological mother.
Grace's sister.
Nathan's voice broke.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Don't ask.”
“Are you alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is Elena?”
Claire was silent.
Then:
“She is with me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Give her to me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because Victoria is listening.”
Nathan looked at Reeves.
They began tracing the call.
Claire whispered:
“Nathan, you have to listen.”
“I'm listening.”
“Your father didn't create the children.”
Nathan frowned.
“Then who did?”
“Your grandfather.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Claire's voice trembled.
“You don't know the worst part.”
Nathan's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Your grandfather didn't create you to inherit the Bennett trust.”
“Then why?”
“Because he needed a weapon.”
Nathan froze.
“A weapon against whom?”
Claire whispered:
“Against the Ashfords.”
Grace stepped forward.
“What did my grandfather know?”
Claire's voice cracked.
“He knew Victoria wasn't humanly connected to the Ashfords.”
Grace frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Claire whispered:
“She is the daughter of the man who destroyed both our families.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“Who?”
Claire took a shaky breath.
“The original owner of the Cole fortune.”
Nathan stared.
“My grandfather?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Claire answered:
“His father.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“The founder.”
“Yes.”
“But he's dead.”
Claire whispered:
“That's what everyone believes.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“What?”
Claire's voice became urgent.
“He is alive.”
The line went dead.
Nathan stared at the phone.
Reeves looked at him.
“Can you trace it?”
“Too late.”
Grace whispered:
“Victoria's grandfather.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“The man who started all of this.”
Then the lights went out.
A single message appeared on every screen.
WELCOME HOME, NATHAN.
The speakers crackled.
An elderly man's voice filled the room.
Calm.
Cold.
Almost amused.
“It's time you met your real grandfather.”
Nathan stood frozen.
The voice continued:
“And Nathan…”
A pause.
“I have your daughter.”
Grace screamed:
“ELENA!”
May you like
The old man's laughter echoed through the darkness.
Then the entire building lost power.
