Chapter 17
1498 Words
THE PLACE WHERE IT BEGAN
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
A brutal, pounding pain behind my eyes.
I tried to move.
Nothing.
My wrists were tied behind a chair.
My ankles were bound.
Blood trickled down the side of my face.
I opened my eyes.
Darkness.
Then a single light flickered above me.
I looked around.
Stone walls.
Old medical equipment.
Rusty cabinets.
A metal examination table.
My stomach tightened.
The underground clinic.
The place where Elena was born.
“Fuck.”
My voice sounded rough.
A door opened.
Footsteps approached.
Daniel Cross walked into the room.
He looked completely calm.
“Good morning, Adrian.”
I pulled against the restraints.
“You son of a bitch.”
Daniel smiled.
“You always did have your father’s temper.”
“Untie me.”
“No.”
“Then kill me.”
“I don’t want you dead.”
“That’s f*****g disappointing.”
Daniel laughed.
“You’re exactly like him.”
“Like who?”
“Your father.”
I stared at him.
“You killed him.”
“No.”
“You’ve lied about everything.”
“Yes.”
“So why should I believe a single f*****g word you say?”
“You shouldn’t.”
At least he was honest about that.
Daniel walked toward the metal table.
On it were four folders.
Four names.
ELENA.
ISABELLA.
EVELYN.
VICTORIA.
My blood ran cold.
“What are those?”
“The truth.”
“About the girls?”
“About the children.”
I looked at him.
“You said four.”
“Yes.”
“Four babies.”
“Yes.”
“Four mothers?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Three.”
“Three fathers?”
He smiled.
“You’re learning.”
I pulled harder against the ropes.
“Tell me who their fathers are.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Elena’s father was never Gabriel.”
I already knew that.
“What about Isabella?”
“Gabriel.”
“Evelyn?”
“Someone else.”
“Who?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
“And Victoria?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“That’s the problem.”
I stared at him.
“What problem?”
“Victoria wasn’t supposed to be born.”
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will.”
The door suddenly opened.
Victoria entered.
She was still covered in blood.
I stared at her.
“Did you kill Hale?”
She didn’t answer.
“Victoria.”
“Yes.”
My jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“Because he was going to kill Elena.”
“Who ordered him?”
She looked at Daniel.
I understood.
“You?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Victoria looked at him.
“Don’t.”
Daniel smiled.
“Tell him.”
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“He ordered me.”
I looked at Daniel.
“You ordered Victoria to kill Hale?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Hale had become a liability.”
“You’re all f*****g insane.”
Victoria looked at me.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
She swallowed.
“Hale knew the location of the clinic.”
“And?”
“He knew Elena was born here.”
“So?”
Victoria looked toward Daniel.
“He knew which baby was supposed to die.”
My blood froze.
“Which baby?”
Victoria couldn’t answer.
Daniel did.
“Elena.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Your father wanted Elena dead.”
“Why?”
“Because of her blood.”
I laughed.
“Her blood?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell is special about her blood?”
Daniel opened one of the folders.
Inside was a medical report.
He placed it in front of me.
I read it.
My eyes widened.
PATERNITY: UNCONFIRMED.
GENETIC MARKERS: RARE.
MATCHES: UNKNOWN.
I looked up.
“What does this mean?”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Elena’s biological father isn’t one of the men we’ve discussed.”
“Then who?”
He smiled.
“That’s what everyone has been trying to discover.”
I stared at him.
“So even you don’t know?”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
Daniel’s expression became serious.
“Gabriel knows.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where is he?”
Daniel smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
A door slammed somewhere in the clinic.
Victoria looked terrified.
“What was that?”
Daniel turned.
“Nothing.”
Then we heard footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Coming down the corridor.
Victoria whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“What?”
“He shouldn’t be here.”
I looked between them.
“Who?”
Victoria stepped backward.
“The man who owns this place.”
The footsteps stopped.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then the door opened.
Gabriel walked inside.
He was pale and still bleeding, but he was alive.
He looked at Daniel.
“You’ve caused enough damage.”
Daniel raised his gun.
Gabriel didn’t stop.
“Put it down.”
“No.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Daniel.”
“You should be dead.”
“So should you.”
The two brothers stared at each other.
Brothers.
I remembered Daniel’s claim.
Gabriel denied it.
One of them was lying.
Maybe both.
Gabriel looked at me.
“Adrian.”
I pulled against the restraints.
“Untie me.”
He walked toward me.
Daniel raised his gun.
“Don’t.”
Gabriel stopped.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Daniel laughed.
“You’ve been making mistakes for twenty-four years.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“No.”
He glanced at me.
“My mistake was trusting Catherine.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did Catherine do?”
Gabriel didn’t answer.
Daniel did.
“She wasn’t the victim.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Daniel looked toward the doorway.
“She was the one who started everything.”
I felt a chill.
“Catherine?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel’s voice became quiet.
“Because she wanted one of the babies.”
“Which one?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Elena.”
I froze.
“Why me?”
He didn’t answer.
Gabriel did.
“Because Catherine knew what you were.”
My heart pounded.
“What am I?”
Gabriel looked at Daniel.
“Tell her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You tell her.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Then he whispered:
“Elena isn’t just connected to the bloodline.”
He looked directly at me.
“She is the bloodline.”
Silence.
I stared at him.
“What the f**k does that mean?”
Before anyone could answer, the clinic door exploded inward.
Gunfire erupted.
Daniel ducked.
Victoria screamed.
Gabriel pulled his weapon.
I threw myself sideways with the chair.
Bullets tore through the wall.
Then I heard Elena’s voice.
“ADRIAN!”
My heart stopped.
She appeared in the doorway.
She was holding a gun.
Her eyes found mine.
“Are you okay?”
I laughed despite the pain.
“Now I am.”
She ran toward me.
Daniel shouted:
“ELENA, DON’T!”
She ignored him.
She dropped beside me and started cutting the restraints.
I looked at her.
“How did you find me?”
She glanced toward Victoria.
“She told me where you were.”
I looked at Victoria.
She lowered her eyes.
“Elena…”
I shook my head.
“We’ll deal with that later.”
The restraints finally broke.
I stood.
Then Elena grabbed my arm.
“We need to leave.”
“Agreed.”
We started toward the exit.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Elena.”
She stopped.
He held up a photograph.
“You want the truth?”
She turned.
“Yes.”
Daniel smiled.
“Then take this.”
He threw the photograph.
Elena caught it.
She looked down.
Her face went completely white.
“What?”
I stepped beside her.
The photograph showed a hospital room.
Four newborn babies.
Four cribs.
And standing beside them was a young woman.
Catherine.
But she wasn’t alone.
Behind her stood a man.
I recognized him immediately.
My father’s face.
Daniel’s face.
Gabriel’s face.
But the man in the photograph wasn’t either of them.
It was someone else.
Someone we’d never seen before.
Written underneath the photograph were five words:
THE REAL FATHER IS HERE.
Elena looked at me.
I looked at the photograph.
Then someone behind us whispered:
“Finally.”
We turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Smiling.
And Elena dropped the photograph.
Because she recognized him.
“He’s…”
Her voice broke.
“Who?”
She stared at the man.
“My grandfather.”
I froze.
Elena’s grandfather had been dead for thirty years.
The man smiled.
“Hello, Elena.”
And suddenly every dead person in this family had one thing in common.
They weren’t dead at all.
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