Episode 13
1290 Words
The Heir
For several seconds after the recording ended, neither Lena nor Adrian moved.
The room was silent.
Too silent.
Lena stared at the old tape recorder as though it might suddenly explain everything.
Lena is the rightful heir.
The words kept repeating inside her head.
“No,” she whispered.
Adrian looked at her.
“Lena…”
“No.”
She stepped backward.
“I can't be.”
“You don't know that yet.”
“My mother was a waitress. We struggled our entire lives. We moved from apartment to apartment. We worried about hospital bills.”
Her voice cracked.
“How could I possibly be the rightful heir to your family's empire?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Because he didn't know either.
And that frightened him.
He walked toward her.
“We'll find out the truth.”
Lena shook her head.
“You keep saying that like the truth is going to make everything better.”
“It won't.”
“Then what will?”
Adrian stopped in front of her.
“Knowing who we can trust.”
Lena looked into his eyes.
“Can I trust you?”
The question hit him harder than he expected.
“Yes.”
He answered without hesitation.
“You can.”
She searched his face.
Then slowly nodded.
“Okay.”
---
They returned to the mansion before midnight.
Adrian ordered everyone to leave the main hall.
Only Ethan, Victoria, and Mrs. Eleanor remained.
When Lena entered with Adrian, Victoria immediately stood.
“What happened?”
Adrian placed the tape recorder on the table.
“Where did you find that?”
“At Grandfather's estate.”
Victoria's face changed.
Eleanor stared at the recorder.
“Play it.”
Adrian did.
His grandfather's voice filled the room.
“If Adrian ever marries Lena Carter, the inheritance must never reach him.”
Victoria covered her mouth.
Ethan looked at Lena.
“What does this mean?”
Adrian stopped the recording.
“You tell me.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Adrian, I swear—”
“You knew about Isabella.”
Victoria went silent.
“You knew about the child.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You knew about Lena.”
Ethan looked shocked.
“Mother?”
Victoria couldn't speak.
Adrian's voice became colder.
“How long?”
She finally whispered:
“Since before you were born.”
Lena's heart sank.
Adrian stared at his mother.
“You knew who she was.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“From your grandfather.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“You let me believe Lena was a stranger.”
“I didn't know she would become your wife.”
“But she did.”
Victoria looked at Lena.
“I never wanted you hurt.”
Lena stepped forward.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Victoria looked away.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, they will come for you.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“They're already coming.”
Silence.
Then Eleanor spoke.
“Victoria.”
Victoria turned toward her.
“It's time.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Eleanor's voice was firm.
“It's been twenty-four years.”
“What happened twenty-four years ago?” Adrian demanded.
Eleanor looked at Lena.
“Your mother gave birth to a child.”
Lena's breath caught.
“Me?”
Eleanor nodded.
“But you weren't supposed to survive.”
Lena went pale.
Adrian stepped closer.
“What does that mean?”
“Your grandfather believed Alexander's bloodline threatened the Vale inheritance.”
Eleanor's voice trembled.
“So he ordered the child removed.”
Lena covered her mouth.
“Removed?”
Victoria began crying.
“He ordered me to make sure you never found out.”
Adrian looked at his mother in disbelief.
“You knew?”
“I couldn't stop him.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“For twenty-four years?”
Victoria nodded.
“I thought if Lena lived far away from the family, she would be safe.”
Lena stared at her.
“So my entire life was a lie?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Yes.”
Lena's eyes filled with tears.
“Who is my father?”
No one answered.
She looked at Adrian.
“Who is Alexander Vale?”
Adrian slowly shook his head.
“We still don't know where he is.”
Then Eleanor spoke.
“You're looking for the wrong person.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.
Eleanor's expression was grave.
“Alexander was never the rightful heir.”
Adrian frowned.
“Then who was?”
Eleanor looked at Lena.
“She was.”
---
Lena felt dizzy.
“What?”
Eleanor continued.
“Alexander was Isabella's son. But he wasn't born into the direct line of succession.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Then why was he hidden?”
“Because he knew too much.”
“About what?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“Your grandfather's crimes.”
The room fell silent.
Adrian's face hardened.
“What crimes?”
Eleanor looked toward the windows.
“Your grandfather built the empire through deals that were never meant to be discovered.”
Victoria whispered:
“He destroyed people.”
“Who?”
“Competitors. Partners. Anyone who threatened him.”
Adrian stared at the floor.
All his life, he had believed his grandfather was a brilliant businessman.
Now he wasn't sure what to believe.
Eleanor continued.
“Isabella discovered the truth.”
“And Alexander?”
“He inherited her evidence.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“So that's why he disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Lena suddenly remembered the photograph.
“Then why did someone tell me I was the rightful heir?”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Because you are.”
“How?”
“Your father was Alexander.”
Lena froze.
Adrian looked at Eleanor.
“You just said Alexander was Isabella's son.”
“He was.”
“Then how is he Lena's father?”
Eleanor's eyes filled with sorrow.
“Because Alexander had another identity.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What identity?”
Eleanor looked directly at Lena.
“Your father was living under another name.”
She paused.
“Daniel Carter.”
Lena's world stopped.
Her mother's husband.
The man she had spent her entire childhood believing was her father.
The man her mother said had died before Lena was born.
Her voice trembled.
“But Daniel Carter was my father.”
“No,” Eleanor whispered.
“He was your uncle.”
Lena staggered backward.
Adrian caught her before she fell.
She clutched his jacket.
“My whole life…”
Her voice broke.
“My mother lied to me.”
Adrian held her.
“I've got you.”
She looked up at him through tears.
“Why would she do this?”
Before anyone could answer, the mansion lights suddenly went out.
A scream came from downstairs.
Then the sound of breaking glass.
Adrian immediately pulled Lena behind him.
“Stay here.”
He reached for his phone.
No signal.
A second crash echoed through the mansion.
Ethan appeared at the doorway.
“Adrian!”
“What?”
“The security system has been disabled.”
Adrian's expression became deadly.
“How?”
Ethan shook his head.
“From inside the house.”
A shadow moved at the end of the hallway.
Lena held Adrian's arm.
Someone was inside.
Someone who knew their secrets.
And they had just trapped the entire Vale family under one roof.
Next.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD