Chapter 10 - The Bloodline Built from Stolen Women
Elena stared at Evelyn Blackthorn.
“My mother died ten years ago.”
“I know,” Evelyn said.
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Evelyn entered the library and closed the doors.
Adrian did not move toward her.
He stood as though facing an apparition that might vanish if touched.
“You let me believe you were dead,” he said.
Evelyn’s expression trembled.
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
“Your father tried to have me committed. When that failed, he arranged an accident.”
“So you abandoned me.”
“I survived.”
“You left an eight-year-old boy with him.”
“I believed I could return for you.”
“But you didn’t.”
Evelyn looked toward Julian and Clara.
“I spent thirty years trying to destroy what your father created.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“And how many children were stolen while you tried?”
The question landed.
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“Too many.”
Elena stepped between them.
“What did you mean about my mother?”
Evelyn looked at her carefully.
“Rosa Marquez worked as a cleaner at the original Haven House facility. She discovered patient files. She copied them.”
“My mother cleaned offices. She never mentioned a clinic.”
“She was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
“Richard Blackthorn.”
Adrian’s father.
Evelyn continued.
“Rosa found evidence that women were being drugged during routine medical procedures. Eggs were harvested without consent. Some were used in fertility experiments for wealthy clients. Others were stored.”
Elena felt sick.
“My mother?”
“She underwent surgery after a miscarriage. The surgeon was connected to Haven House.”
“And they stole from her.”
“Yes.”
“Why use her eggs to create Clara?”
Evelyn’s eyes moved toward Adrian.
“Because Richard became obsessed with preserving specific traits. Intelligence. health. physical resemblance. He considered Rosa’s genetic profile unusually compatible with the Blackthorn line.”
Mateo’s face hardened.
“He treated people like animals in a breeding program.”
“That is exactly what he did.”
Clara sat silently beside Julian.
Elena tried not to look at her differently.
The girl was innocent.
Every child in the story was innocent.
“Why did Vanessa carry her?” Adrian asked.
Evelyn answered slowly.
“Vanessa could not conceive naturally, but she could carry an implanted embryo. Richard promised her permanent control of the family trust if she gave birth to his child.”
“His child,” Adrian repeated.
“Clara is legally your sister and potentially a direct heir.”
“Then why hide her?”
“Because Richard died before he could alter the trust. Vanessa feared Clara’s existence would weaken her control over Julian.”
Elena looked at Evelyn.
“Did Vanessa steal Julian on Richard’s orders?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“Richard wanted his biological grandson brought into the family. Vanessa agreed, but she created her own plan. She bribed the hospital administrator, falsified your death, and arranged the adoption documents.”
“Why tell Adrian I died?”
“She knew he loved you. If he discovered you were alive, he might refuse to marry her.”
Adrian turned away.
Evelyn reached for him.
He stepped back.
“You don’t get to comfort me.”
She lowered her hand.
A siren sounded outside.
Security officers shouted in the corridor.
Adrian moved to the window.
Three black vehicles had breached the outer gates.
Armed men poured onto the drive.
“Take the children downstairs,” Adrian ordered.
“There is a safe room beneath the library,” Evelyn said.
Adrian looked at her sharply.
“How do you know?”
“I designed it.”
Evelyn pressed a concealed panel beside the fireplace. A section of bookcase opened, revealing stairs.
Elena grabbed Julian and Clara.
Mateo followed in his wheelchair with Dr. Moreau’s help.
Gunfire erupted on the ground floor.
Adrian remained near the doorway.
“You’re coming,” Elena said.
“I have to stop them.”
“You have people for that.”
“This is my house.”
“And those are your children.”
The word children made him pause.
Julian reached toward him.
“Daddy.”
Adrian joined them.
The hidden door closed as bullets shattered the library windows.
The safe room contained surveillance monitors. Adrian activated them.
Masked men moved through the hallways with professional speed. They did not steal jewelry or attack guests.
They searched rooms.
“They’re looking for someone,” Elena said.
Evelyn pointed at one screen.
A masked man entered Vanessa’s dressing room and tore open the wall behind the mirror.
He removed a metal box.
“The DNA file,” Adrian said.
Another attacker entered the ballroom.
He went directly to the grand birthday cake platform, though the party was still days away.
He lifted a section of marble beneath it.
A hidden vault opened.
“So that is where it is,” Elena whispered.
Inside were dozens of folders, blood samples, and sealed envelopes.
The attacker packed them into a case.
Adrian’s security team closed in.
The masked man turned toward the camera.
Then removed his mask.
It was Dr. Samuel Vale.
The missing doctor from the hospital photograph.
He looked directly into the lens.
May you like
“Elena,” he said, as if he knew she was watching. “Your son was never the only child taken from you.”
The screen went black.
