The Daughter They Stole
1677 Words
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elena stared at the photograph.
Her mother's face was unmistakable.
Victoria stood beside her, holding a newborn baby.
But the words Adrian had spoken were the ones Elena couldn't escape.
“The child your mother gave birth to wasn't you.”
The room seemed to spin.
“No.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Adrian remained silent.
Elena looked at her mother.
“Mum…”
Her mother covered her face with both hands.
“I'm sorry.”
Those words broke something inside Elena.
“Stop saying you're sorry!”
Her mother lowered her hands.
“I didn't know what else to do.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For twenty-eight years?”
Her mother began crying.
“I wanted to tell you.”
“But you didn't.”
“I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
Her mother looked at Adrian.
“Of him.”
Adrian smiled.
“You should have been.”
Alexander stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Adrian looked at him.
“This concerns Elena.”
“She has heard enough.”
“No. She hasn't.”
Elena wiped her tears.
“Let him talk.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Elena…”
“I need the truth.”
Adrian nodded.
“Then I'll give it to you.”
He placed the photograph on the table.
“Twenty-eight years ago, your mother gave birth to a baby girl.”
Elena's heart pounded.
“What happened to her?”
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
Adrian looked toward Victoria.
“Ask her.”
Everyone turned toward Victoria.
Victoria's face had gone pale.
Elena stared at her aunt.
“You took the baby?”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I was there.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I was there when your mother gave birth.”
“And?”
“There was a complication.”
Elena's voice trembled.
“What complication?”
“The baby wasn't breathing properly.”
Her mother began crying harder.
“The doctors said she might not survive.”
Elena's hands trembled.
“What happened next?”
Victoria looked at Adrian.
“That was when they came.”
“Who?”
“People working for Project Luna.”
Elena felt cold.
“They took the baby.”
“Why?”
“Because they believed the child carried the genetic marker they were searching for.”
Elena touched her chest.
“Me?”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Elena froze.
“Then who?”
Victoria couldn't answer.
Adrian stepped forward.
“The baby they took was your mother's biological daughter.”
Elena's breath caught.
“Then who am I?”
Adrian smiled.
“That is what makes you valuable.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Don't play games.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What is the right question?”
Adrian turned to Elena.
“Why did someone replace the baby?”
Elena stared at him.
“Who replaced her?”
Adrian's eyes moved toward Victoria.
“She did.”
Victoria immediately shook her head.
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“No!”
“You carried another baby into that hospital.”
Elena looked at her aunt.
“Is it true?”
Victoria's lips trembled.
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Elena felt her knees weaken.
“Whose baby?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Yours.”
Elena frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Victoria took a deep breath.
“The baby your mother gave birth to was taken. I was given another newborn to protect.”
“Another newborn?”
“Yes.”
“Where did that baby come from?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“Your father.”
Elena stared at her.
“My father?”
“John.”
“But John wasn't my biological father.”
Victoria hesitated.
“He wasn't.”
Elena's heart stopped.
“Then whose child was I?”
Before Victoria could answer, Alexander stepped forward.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at him.
“This doesn't make sense.”
Adrian smiled.
“Finally.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“You said Elena was Victor's daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And now you're saying she isn't?”
“I said Victor was involved.”
“That isn't what you said.”
Adrian's smile faded.
“You're beginning to understand.”
Alexander looked at Elena.
“We need proof.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
She turned toward her mother.
“Is there proof?”
Her mother wiped her tears.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In the Luna vault.”
Elena's heart raced.
“The vault?”
Her mother nodded.
“Your father hid the original records there.”
“Which father?”
Her mother looked at her.
“John.”
Elena swallowed.
“So John knew?”
“He knew everything.”
“Then why did he raise me?”
“Because he loved you.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he promised to protect you until you were old enough to understand.”
Elena looked down.
All her life, she had believed John was simply her father.
Now she didn't even know what that word meant.
Adrian walked toward the table.
“The Luna vault contains your original birth records.”
“Then let's go there.”
Alexander immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Elena looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's exactly what Adrian wants.”
Adrian laughed.
“I'm not stopping you.”
“That's suspicious.”
“Everything about me is suspicious.”
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
“What are you planning?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward the door.
“You'll find out soon enough.”
Alexander raised his weapon.
“Don't move.”
Adrian stopped.
“If you shoot me, you'll lose the only person who knows where the vault is.”
Alexander lowered the weapon slightly.
Adrian smiled.
“Exactly.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Where is it?”
“Under the old Blackwood estate.”
Alexander frowned.
“My family's estate?”
“Yes.”
“That's impossible.”
“Your father built it.”
Alexander looked at Elena.
“The vault is under my family home.”
Adrian nodded.
“And only Elena can open it.”
Elena touched the golden key.
“Then we go.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You're not going anywhere alone.”
She met his eyes.
“I'm beginning to think you're the only person I can trust.”
His expression softened.
“I won't let anything happen to you.”
Elena looked away.
There was still too much confusion between them.
Too many secrets.
Too many questions.
But she couldn't deny what she felt whenever Alexander was near her.
For years, she had believed he had rejected her because she wasn't enough.
Now she wondered if his rejection had been the greatest sacrifice he had ever made.
Sophia suddenly entered the room.
“We have a problem.”
Alexander turned.
“What happened?”
“We intercepted a message.”
“From whom?”
“Someone inside the Blackwood estate.”
Alexander's expression became serious.
“What did they say?”
Sophia looked at Elena.
“They know we're going to the vault.”
“How?”
“They mentioned her name.”
Elena frowned.
“What exactly did they say?”
Sophia hesitated.
“‘Let Elena come. The truth is waiting for her.’”
A chill ran down Elena's spine.
“Who sent it?”
“We don't know.”
Alexander looked at Adrian.
“You.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
Adrian's expression changed.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
“There is only one person who could have sent that message.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked at Elena's mother.
Her mother immediately began shaking.
Elena turned toward her.
“Mum?”
Her mother whispered a name.
“Your grandmother.”
Elena froze.
“My grandmother died when I was six.”
“No.”
Her mother's voice broke.
“She disappeared.”
Elena stared at her.
“How could she still be alive?”
“She wasn't just your grandmother.”
Her mother looked toward the golden key around Elena's neck.
“She was the founder of Project Luna.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
Alexander stared at Adrian.
“You knew?”
Adrian slowly nodded.
“I thought she was dead.”
A sudden sound came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
The lights flickered.
Then a woman's voice came through the house speakers.
“Elena.”
Elena froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in an old childhood recording.
Her grandmother.
“Come to the vault.”
The voice continued.
“I've waited twenty-two years for you.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
Alexander grabbed her hand.
“Don't go.”
The voice laughed softly.
“You have no idea who you're trusting, Elena.”
Then the speakers went silent.
Elena looked at Alexander.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she slowly tightened her fingers around his.
“I don't know who to trust anymore.”
Alexander looked into her eyes.
“Then trust me.”
She searched his face.
“Even if the truth destroys everything?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Even then.”
Elena nodded.
“Then take me to the vault.”
Alexander squeezed her hand.
“I will.”
Behind them, Adrian quietly watched.
And for the first time since Elena had met him, the billionaire's greatest enemy looked genuinely afraid.
Because Adrian knew something none of them knew.
The woman waiting beneath the Blackwood estate wasn't Elena's grandmother.
It was someone who had been using her grandmother's identity for twenty-two years.
And she had finally decided it was time to reveal herself.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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