Chapter 19 — The Name They Hid
1530 Words
The silence in the room became unbearable.
Elena stared at Alexander, waiting for him to deny what Evelyn had just said. She wanted him to laugh, to call it another lie, anything that would make the last few minutes disappear.
But Alexander didn't speak.
His face had lost all its color.
“Say something,” Elena demanded.
Alexander looked at her, then at Damian.
“It's complicated.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“No. It isn't complicated. Either you're my biological father or you're not.”
Alexander lowered his gaze.
Damian stepped toward him.
“Answer her.”
Alexander slowly sat down.
“Yes.”
The single word seemed to drain all the strength from Elena's body.
She stumbled backward.
“You're my father?”
Alexander nodded.
“But Richard raised me.”
“Yes.”
“My mother was married to Richard.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew I existed?”
“I knew.”
Elena covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
“How could you do that?”
Alexander looked devastated.
“I thought keeping my identity secret was the only way to keep you alive.”
“You all keep saying that!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
“My father said he was protecting me. Victoria said she was protecting herself. Now you're saying you were protecting me. Everyone has an excuse!”
Alexander remained silent.
Elena shook her head.
“I grew up believing Richard was my father.”
“He loved you.”
“I know.”
“And he raised you.”
“I know!”
She wiped her tears angrily.
“Then why did you let him lie to me?”
“Because if the Cross family discovered the truth, you would have become a target.”
Damian stepped forward.
“Why?”
Alexander looked at him.
“Because Elena is the legal heir to the Blackwood trust.”
Damian frowned.
“What trust?”
Alexander looked at Elena.
“Your mother created it before she died.”
Elena's confusion deepened.
“What does it contain?”
“Everything she managed to save before the Cross family discovered what she was doing.”
Damian's eyes narrowed.
“The twelve million dollars.”
“No.”
Alexander shook his head.
“The money is only a small part of it.”
“What else?”
“Property. Company shares. Bank accounts. Evidence.”
Elena stared at him.
“Evidence against Victoria?”
“Against everyone involved.”
Damian's expression became hard.
“Then why did Victoria say Elena's marriage to me would give her control?”
“Because she knows about the bloodline clause.”
Alexander stood.
“Your grandfather created a clause stating that the assets could only be transferred to a legitimate descendant who was publicly recognized by the Cross family.”
Elena frowned.
“So why didn't you recognize me?”
“Because I didn't want them to know you existed.”
“And the marriage?”
Alexander looked at Damian.
“Victoria altered the contract because she discovered Elena's existence.”
Damian's face darkened.
“She knew?”
“She suspected.”
“Then why did she need me to marry Elena?”
“Because if Elena became your wife, she would legally enter the Cross family. Victoria could then challenge the inheritance and manipulate the trust.”
Elena looked at Damian.
“So none of this was about my father's debt.”
Alexander's expression became painful.
“Your father's debt was real.”
“But the twelve million?”
“Was deliberately inflated.”
Damian's eyes narrowed.
“By Victoria?”
“Yes.”
Elena felt sick.
“She created the debt?”
“She arranged for your father's creditors to demand an amount he could never repay.”
“And then she offered the marriage as the solution.”
Alexander nodded.
“She wanted Elena close enough to control.”
Damian's jaw tightened.
“She used me too.”
“Yes.”
For several seconds, Damian said nothing.
Then he turned toward Elena.
“I didn't know.”
Elena looked at him.
“I know.”
The words came quietly.
For the first time, she believed him.
He had been trapped in the same web.
Suddenly, Evelyn spoke.
“There's still something you haven't told her.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Evelyn.”
“No.”
She stepped forward.
“She deserves to know.”
Elena turned.
“What?”
Evelyn looked at Alexander.
“Tell her what happened to our mother.”
Alexander's face tightened.
Elena's heart began pounding.
“You know where she is?”
Alexander didn't answer.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
The room seemed to stop.
Elena rushed toward him.
“Where is she?”
Alexander looked at her with tears in his eyes.
“I don't know where she is now.”
“What does that mean?”
“I knew where she was.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Where?”
“A private medical facility outside the city.”
Elena's voice trembled.
“She was alive?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Almost four years after the accident.”
Elena's knees nearly gave way.
Damian caught her before she fell.
She pushed herself upright.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your mother disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“She left the facility.”
“Where did she go?”
“We don't know.”
Elena stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I have spent twenty years trying to find her.”
“Then why did you stop?”
“I didn't.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small photograph.
It showed a woman walking away from a building.
Elena immediately recognized her.
Her mother.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
Elena took the photograph with trembling fingers.
“When was this taken?”
“Four years after the accident.”
Her tears fell onto the photograph.
“My mother was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did she leave?”
Alexander hesitated.
“Because she discovered someone had betrayed her.”
“Who?”
Alexander looked at Richard's empty chair.
“Your father.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“Richard?”
“He had promised to protect her.”
“But he betrayed her?”
“He didn't mean to.”
“What did he do?”
Alexander's expression became grim.
“He told Victoria where she was hiding.”
Elena froze.
“Why?”
“Because Victoria threatened to kill you.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Richard was forced to choose.”
Elena shook her head.
“He chose me.”
“Yes.”
“He gave up my mother to save me.”
Alexander nodded.
“And your mother disappeared because she believed staying near you would put you in danger.”
Elena looked at the photograph.
All these years, she had thought her mother had abandoned her.
But perhaps she had been protecting her from a distance.
A sudden sound came from the hallway.
Damian immediately turned.
“Did you hear that?”
Cole rushed into the room.
“Sir!”
“What happened?”
“We found the vehicle used to take Richard.”
“Where?”
“Five minutes away.”
Damian's expression changed.
“Is he there?”
“No.”
Cole handed him a phone.
“But we found this inside.”
Damian looked at the screen.
A live video was playing.
Richard was tied to a chair.
He was bruised, but alive.
Elena rushed toward the phone.
“Dad!”
Richard looked up.
“Elena?”
“Dad, I'm here!”
A distorted voice came through the speaker.
“You have one hour.”
Damian's eyes hardened.
“One hour for what?”
The voice laughed.
“For Elena.”
Elena froze.
The screen suddenly changed.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Elena's mother.
Standing beside a little girl.
Evelyn.
Then another image appeared.
It showed Elena as a baby.
And finally, a third photograph.
It showed Elena's mother standing beside Alexander.
Across the bottom of the image were three words:
THE NIGHT IT BEGAN.
The video ended.
Elena stared at the blank screen.
“What does that mean?”
Alexander looked at the photograph.
His face suddenly changed.
“I know where they took your father.”
Damian turned to him.
“Where?”
Alexander looked toward the door.
“Back to the place where your mother disappeared.”
“Where?”
Alexander's voice dropped to a whisper.
“The Blackwood Clinic.”
Damian immediately grabbed his coat.
“We're going.”
Elena followed.
But before they reached the door, Alexander stopped them.
“There is one thing you need to know.”
Damian turned.
“What?”
Alexander looked at Elena.
“The person holding Richard isn't Victoria.”
Elena's heart stopped.
“Then who is it?”
Alexander's expression was grim.
“The person who has been controlling all of us from the beginning.”
He paused.
“Your mother's real enemy.”
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