CHAPTER 10 — THE TRUTH INSIDE THE BLOOD
The hospital room erupted into chaos.
Nurses ran through the hallway.
Security guards flooded the floor.
Detective Reed shouted orders into his radio while Samuel searched every corridor.
But Ethan was gone.
No broken lock.
No alarm.
No witness.
Whoever had taken him had moved through the hospital like a shadow.
Claire stood beside the empty bed, staring at the silver chain left behind.
Her hands were trembling.
"He was here."
Samuel nodded.
"I know."
"Someone was watching him."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't anyone see them?"
Reed approached.
"Because whoever did this had access."
Claire turned.
"What do you mean?"
Reed looked toward the security cameras.
"Half the cameras on this floor stopped recording twelve minutes before Ethan disappeared."
Samuel's expression hardened.
"Someone inside the hospital helped them."
Reed nodded.
"That's what it looks like."
Claire stared at the empty doorway.
"Edward."
"Most likely."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Edward doesn't do anything himself."
Reed looked at her.
"Then who?"
Claire whispered:
"Someone who has been working for him for years."
Richard sat on the edge of the hospital bed.
His shoulder burned.
But the pain meant nothing.
"Ethan."
He looked at the note again.
COME ALONE, SON.
Then:
BRING CLAIRE.
And finally:
VICTOR HAWTHORNE.
Richard stared at the name.
"Victor."
Samuel looked at him.
"Who is Victor Hawthorne?"
Richard swallowed.
"The man everyone believes is dead."
Claire stepped closer.
"He isn't."
Richard looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because he saved Ethan's life."
Samuel frowned.
"When?"
"The night I disappeared."
Claire's voice dropped.
"He came into Ethan's room after Edward ordered the nurses to take him."
Richard stared.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't trust you."
Richard looked away.
"I understand."
Claire touched the note.
"But this changes everything."
Samuel asked:
"Why?"
Claire pointed to Victor's name.
"Edward wouldn't write his name unless he knew where Victor was."
Richard's face tightened.
"Then he knows."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Claire looked toward the window.
"Boston."
Ethan woke in darkness.
He didn't know how long he had been unconscious.
His head hurt.
His hands were not tied.
He sat up slowly.
"Hello?"
No answer.
He looked around.
A small room.
Concrete walls.
One wooden chair.
One table.
And a window covered by thick curtains.
Then he heard footsteps.
The door opened.
Ethan's eyes widened.
A man entered.
Not Edward.
Not Jonathan.
Not Thomas.
Someone Ethan had never seen before.
The man carried a glass of water.
He placed it on the table.
"You're thirsty."
Ethan didn't move.
"Who are you?"
The man sat down.
"My name is Daniel."
"Where's my mom?"
"Safe."
"My dad?"
"Alive."
"Sam?"
"Alive."
Ethan stared at him.
"Then let me go."
Daniel smiled.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because someone is coming for you."
"Who?"
Daniel looked toward the door.
"The man who has been waiting eight years."
Ethan frowned.
"Grandpa?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Edward?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Daniel looked at Ethan carefully.
"Your biological father."
Ethan froze.
"My father?"
Daniel nodded.
"You've been told Richard Hawthorne is your father."
Ethan shook his head.
"He is."
"Not by blood."
Ethan's eyes filled with confusion.
"Then who is?"
Daniel leaned closer.
"Do you really want to know?"
Ethan nodded.
Daniel pulled out an old photograph.
He placed it on the table.
Ethan stared.
A younger Claire.
A hospital room.
And beside her...
a man.
Ethan had seen him before.
In dreams.
In photographs.
In the shadows of memories he couldn't explain.
Ethan whispered:
"Victor."
Daniel nodded.
"No."
Ethan looked up.
"Then who?"
Daniel turned the photograph over.
A name was written on the back.
ALEXANDER BENNETT.
Ethan's face went pale.
"Who is that?"
Daniel whispered:
"Your real father."
At the Hawthorne estate, Edward stood in the library.
Jonathan entered.
"He's awake."
Edward didn't turn.
"Good."
"Daniel has him."
Edward smiled.
"Excellent."
Jonathan hesitated.
"There's a problem."
"What?"
"Richard knows."
Edward's smile disappeared.
"How much?"
"Enough to be dangerous."
Edward turned.
"Then Richard must be removed."
Jonathan nodded.
"And Claire?"
"She knows too much."
"Samuel?"
"Eliminate him."
Jonathan paused.
"And Ethan?"
Edward looked toward the portrait of himself.
"Ethan stays alive."
"Why?"
Edward's voice became quiet.
"Because Alexander's blood runs through him."
Jonathan stared.
"So it's true."
Edward nodded.
"The boy is the last living heir."
In Boston, a man sat inside a small apartment overlooking the harbor.
He was older now.
His hair had turned gray.
A scar ran from his left eyebrow to his cheek.
On the table before him lay an old photograph.
Claire.
Ethan.
And himself.
Victor Hawthorne.
He stared at the photograph for a long time.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice whispered:
"They took Ethan."
Victor closed his eyes.
"I know."
"Edward has him."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"Then it's time."
"Time for what?"
Victor looked at the photograph.
"To come home."
Richard, Claire, Samuel, and Reed gathered inside a private conference room.
Reed placed documents across the table.
"We found the original hospital records."
Claire leaned forward.
"Where?"
"Boston Medical Archives."
Richard stared.
"That's where Edward sent everyone."
Reed nodded.
"We also found something else."
He placed a photograph on the table.
Alexander Bennett.
Claire's face went white.
Richard stared.
"Who is he?"
Claire didn't answer.
Reed looked at her.
"You know him."
She swallowed.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Alexander was my brother."
Richard looked at her.
"You never told me you had a brother."
"He died."
"When?"
"Twenty-three years ago."
Reed frowned.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
Reed turned the photograph over.
"Because this photograph was taken six months ago."
Claire stared.
"No."
Samuel picked it up.
"That's him."
Richard looked at Claire.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
Reed said:
"Neither did we."
Then Samuel noticed something.
A small mark on Alexander's wrist.
He looked at Ethan's photograph.
The same mark.
Samuel whispered:
"Ethan has that."
Claire froze.
"What?"
"The mark."
Richard stood.
"What does it mean?"
Claire's face went pale.
"It was a family mark."
"Family?"
"My father used it to identify members of the Bennett bloodline."
Richard stared.
"So Ethan..."
"Is a Bennett."
At 8:15 A.M., Ethan was taken downstairs.
He walked beside Daniel.
They entered a large underground room.
There were shelves filled with old documents.
Photographs covered the walls.
Ethan stopped.
He recognized himself.
Baby photographs.
Birthday photographs.
School photographs.
Pictures of him sleeping.
Playing.
Eating.
Every year of his life.
Someone had been watching him.
Ethan turned to Daniel.
"Why do you have these?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Ethan looked closer.
One photograph showed him at age four.
He was sitting beside the elderly janitor.
The man was smiling.
Ethan touched the picture.
"Mr. Samuel."
Daniel nodded.
"He was protecting you."
Ethan looked at him.
"From who?"
"Edward."
"Then why did Edward let him work at the school?"
Daniel smiled sadly.
"He didn't know."
"What?"
"The janitor wasn't really a janitor."
Ethan stared.
"Who was he?"
Daniel pointed to another photograph.
The elderly man stood beside Alexander Bennett.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"That's Mr. Samuel."
Daniel nodded.
"His real name is Samuel Bennett."
Ethan stepped backward.
"My uncle?"
"Yes."
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
"But he said he had no family."
"He was protecting you."
Ethan's voice trembled.
"Why?"
Daniel answered:
"Because Alexander asked him to."
At the hospital, Richard received another call.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Richard."
A man's voice spoke.
"You want your son."
Richard froze.
"Who are you?"
"You know."
"Victor?"
Silence.
Then:
"Yes."
Richard closed his eyes.
"Where is Ethan?"
"Alive."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
Richard's voice hardened.
"Then why call?"
"Because you need to know the truth before you come for him."
Richard looked at Claire.
"What truth?"
Victor said:
"Ethan's biological father is not Alexander."
Richard froze.
"What?"
Victor continued:
"Alexander was his guardian."
"Then who is the father?"
Victor's voice became heavy.
"The man Edward has been hiding for twenty-three years."
Richard's heart pounded.
"Who?"
Victor whispered:
"Your mother's first husband."
Richard's face went blank.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"She was married before Edward?"
"Yes."
"To whom?"
Victor paused.
Then said:
"William Bennett."
Claire's eyes widened.
Richard stared at her.
"Who is William Bennett?"
Claire whispered:
"My father."
Richard's face drained of color.
Victor continued:
"Your son is the grandson of Edward's greatest enemy."
The call ended.
Claire sat down.
Richard stared at her.
"Your father?"
She nodded.
"William Bennett."
"Edward's enemy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Claire took a deep breath.
"Because Edward stole his company."
Richard looked stunned.
"That's where this began."
Claire nodded.
"Twenty-three years ago, Edward destroyed my father's business."
"Why?"
"Because William discovered the Hawthorne Trust."
"What did he discover?"
"The genetic clause."
Samuel looked at Claire.
"What happens if Ethan inherits it?"
Claire whispered:
"Every company Edward controls returns to the Bennett family."
Richard stared.
"Then Ethan isn't the heir to the Hawthorne empire."
"No."
Claire shook her head.
"He's the person who can take it away."
In the underground room, Ethan found another photograph.
He picked it up.
A baby.
A hospital room.
Claire.
And a man standing beside her.
He looked familiar.
Ethan stared.
"Who is this?"
Daniel approached.
"That's Alexander."
"But he isn't holding me."
"No."
"Who is?"
Daniel looked at the photograph.
Then his face changed.
"That's the photograph they didn't want you to see."
Ethan looked closer.
A second man stood in the shadows.
His face was partially hidden.
Ethan stared.
"Is that my father?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Ethan stepped closer.
Then the man turned slightly toward the camera.
Ethan froze.
He knew that face.
He had seen it every day.
In the courtroom.
In the hospital.
In the apartment.
In the memories of his childhood.
Ethan whispered:
"Richard."
Daniel shook his head.
"Look closer."
Ethan did.
The man's face was almost identical to Richard's.
But older.
Different eyes.
Different scar.
Ethan's breathing stopped.
Daniel whispered:
"That's William Bennett."
At that exact moment, Richard received another message.
A photograph.
Ethan standing inside the underground room.
Alive.
Beneath it was one sentence:
YOU HAVE ONE HOUR.
Then another photograph appeared.
Claire.
Then Samuel.
Then Richard.
All three were being watched.
A final message followed.
BRING THE ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
Richard looked at Claire.
She understood immediately.
"It's a trap."
Richard nodded.
"But we have no choice."
Samuel stepped forward.
"Yes, we do."
Everyone looked at him.
He pulled an old key from his pocket.
"I know where the original record is."
Richard stared.
"Where?"
Samuel answered:
"Under the courthouse."
Reed frowned.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Samuel looked at Claire.
"That's where William hid it."
Claire's eyes widened.
"You knew?"
Samuel nodded.
"For eight years."
Richard stared.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because William made me promise."
Richard asked:
"What did he promise?"
Samuel's face became grim.
"That if Ethan ever came under threat..."
He looked toward the door.
"...I would take him to the courtroom."
Richard frowned.
"Why?"
Samuel answered:
"Because the judge is part of the trust."
Silence.
Claire whispered:
"What judge?"
Samuel looked at her.
"The judge who handled Ethan's custody hearing."
Richard's face changed.
Judge Harrison.
The man who had first asked:
Who wants custody of the boy?
The man who had called the elderly janitor forward.
The man who had seemed shocked by Ethan's words.
Suddenly, the entire custody hearing looked different.
It hadn't been an ordinary hearing.
It had been the first move in a much larger plan.
Samuel looked at Richard.
"The judge knew Ethan before the hearing."
Richard whispered:
"How?"
Samuel answered:
"Because he signed the original trust."
At the underground facility, Ethan stood before the photograph of William Bennett.
Daniel watched him.
Ethan touched the image.
"Is he alive?"
Daniel didn't answer.
"Please."
Daniel looked away.
"I don't know."
Ethan's voice trembled.
"I want my dad."
"Which one?"
Ethan stared at him.
"Richard."
Daniel smiled.
"That's the answer they were afraid of."
"What?"
"You chose him."
Ethan nodded.
"He is my dad."
Daniel looked toward the security camera.
"Then maybe the plan has already failed."
The door suddenly opened.
Jonathan entered.
Daniel stepped aside.
Jonathan looked at Ethan.
"Come with me."
"No."
Jonathan smiled.
"You don't have a choice."
Ethan backed away.
Then another voice came from the hallway.
"Actually..."
Jonathan turned.
Victor Hawthorne stood in the doorway.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakably alive.
Ethan stared.
"Who are you?"
Victor looked at him.
Tears filled his eyes.
"My name is Victor."
Ethan frowned.
"Are you my father?"
Victor swallowed.
"No."
Ethan looked confused.
Victor stepped closer.
"But I knew the man who was."
"Who?"
Victor's expression became grim.
"William Bennett."
Ethan stared.
"Where is he?"
Victor looked toward Jonathan.
"That's the question we've been trying to answer for twenty-three years."
Then the lights suddenly went red.
An alarm began screaming.
Jonathan reached for his weapon.
Victor grabbed Ethan.
"Run!"
They disappeared into the corridor.
Behind them, Daniel stared at the security monitor.
A new image had appeared.
A man walking through the facility.
Silver hair.
Cold eyes.
Edward Hawthorne.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him walked another man.
A man Richard had never seen.
A man Claire had spent twenty-three years believing was dead.
William Bennett.
May you like
And when William looked directly into the security camera...
he smiled.
