Chapter 7: The Truth Written In Blood
The man stepped into the basement.
Slowly.
Confidently.
Like he had walked through this house a thousand times.
Because he had.
Daniel moved in front of me.
“Stay back.””
The man laughed.
“You still think you’re the hero?””
Daniel’s fists tightened.
“I know what you are.””
The man looked amused.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“He knows what he thinks I am.””
My eyes moved between them.
“Who are you?””
The man smiled.
“My name is Victor.””
The name meant nothing.
Until Daniel spoke.
“Your real father.””
The world stopped.
I stared.
“What?””
Victor walked closer.
“Your mother never told you.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Daniel looked devastated.
“She didn’t know.””
Victor smiled.
“She knew enough.””
I felt sick.
“My entire life…”
I couldn’t finish.
Victor looked around the basement.
“This house was built to preserve the Carter legacy.””
“Legacy?””
He laughed.
“Blood matters, Ryan.””
I looked at Anna.
At Lily.
At Emily.
Then back at him.
“You’re the one who hid her.””
Victor didn’t deny it.
“I protected her.””
“She was a child!””
His expression hardened.
“She was valuable.””
That single word made me hate him.
Not because he was cruel.
Because he didn’t even understand why.
To him, children were possessions.
Names were possessions.
Families were possessions.
Everything was something to own.
Emily stepped forward.
“You lied to him.””
Victor looked at her.
“You were supposed to keep quiet.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice strengthened.
“I was supposed to protect Ryan.””
Victor smiled.
“And how did that work out?””
Emily looked at me.
“I should have told you years ago.””
I wanted to be angry.
I was angry.
But seeing her standing there against him, I realized something.
She had been afraid.
Not of me.
Of him.
“What happened to Anna?”” I asked.
Victor’s face changed.
“She was born into a family that could not protect her.””
“She was a baby.””
“She was an heir.””
My stomach turned.
“Heir to what?””
Victor looked at Daniel.
“Tell him.””
Daniel looked away.
“Ryan…”
“Tell me.””
He swallowed.
“The company.””
I frowned.
“What company?””
Victor smiled.
“The one your grandfather built.””
I stared.
“I don’t own any company.””
“No.””
Victor stepped closer.
“Because you were never supposed to know.””
The next morning, everything changed.
Daniel showed me documents proving Victor had spent years manipulating our family.
He had changed identities.
Created false records.
Controlled money.
Controlled information.
But the biggest secret was still Anna.
She wasn’t hidden because she was Daniel’s daughter.
She was hidden because she was mine.
I stared at the DNA report again.
The truth was impossible.
But undeniable.
Anna was my daughter.
Not my brother’s.
Mine.
My hands shook.
“I was twenty.””
Daniel nodded.
“You don’t remember.””
“How could I not remember my own daughter?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because someone made sure you forgot.””
I looked at Victor.
A wave of anger burned through me.
“What did you do?””
Victor didn’t answer.
Emily did.
“He drugged you.””
I turned.
“What?””
She cried.
“After the accident.””
My heart stopped.
“What accident?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“The accident that everyone told you was just a car crash.””
The memory came back.
Fragments.
Rain.
Headlights.
A hospital room.
A doctor saying I was lucky.
“You were unconscious for three days,” Daniel said.
Victor smiled.
“And when you woke up…”
He stepped closer.
“You didn’t remember Anna.””
That night, I sat beside Anna’s bed.
She was asleep.
Holding the stuffed rabbit Lily gave her.
I watched her chest rise and fall.
My daughter.
A child I lost without knowing I had lost her.
I reached out and gently moved her hair away from her face.
“I’m sorry.””
The words came out quietly.
Even though she couldn’t hear me.
Behind me, the floor creaked.
I turned.
Daniel stood there.
“We need to leave.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His face was serious.
“Because Victor didn’t come here for Anna.””
A cold feeling returned.
“Then why?””
Daniel looked toward the window.
“He came here because he knows the final secret.””
“What secret?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The child behind the wall wasn’t the only one.””
Before I could answer…
A sound came from upstairs.
A scratching sound.
From behind Lily’s wall.
But this time…
May you like
It wasn’t coming from inside.
It was coming from someone trying to get out.
