Chapter 10 — The Second Heir
Chapter 10 — The Second Heir
The screen went black.
For several seconds, Ethan could hear nothing.
Not the alarms.
Not the security team.
Not Amelia crying behind him.
Only the echo of one word.
Daddy.
His daughter had spoken to him from somewhere inside the hospital.
The girl on the screen had Lily's face.
Lily's eyes.
Lily's voice.
And the same crescent-shaped birthmark.
But Ethan had a seven-year-old girl standing only a few feet away.
A child who had called him Daddy.
A child who had nearly died saving him from poisoned tea.
A child who had been manipulated, hidden, and used.
Ethan looked at her.
She was staring at the black screen.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Daddy?”
Ethan crouched.
“I’m here.”
“Was that me?”
He swallowed.
“I don't know.”
The little girl began crying.
“Am I not Lily?”
Ethan pulled her into his arms.
“You are you.”
“But she has my face.”
“I know.”
“Is she my sister?”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
Amelia couldn't meet his eyes.
“Maybe.”
Lily whispered:
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Amelia broke down.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if I told you the truth, they would find her.”
Ethan stood.
“You knew.”
Amelia nodded.
“You knew there was another child.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where she was.”
“I knew where she had been.”
“And you never told me.”
“I thought I was protecting both of you.”
Ethan's voice became cold.
“By lying to me?”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe my daughter was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let another child grow up believing she was Lily.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at her with disbelief.
“How many lies are left?”
Amelia whispered:
“Enough to destroy us.”
The emergency lights continued flashing.
Richard approached the console.
“We need to leave.”
Ethan didn't move.
“No.”
Richard looked at him.
“Ethan.”
“My daughter is somewhere in this hospital.”
“We don't know that.”
“The video showed her.”
“It could be fabricated.”
Ethan turned.
“You believe that?”
Richard hesitated.
“I believe Arthur is capable of anything.”
“He used her face.”
“Yes.”
“Her voice.”
“Yes.”
“Her birthmark.”
Richard looked toward Lily.
“Then we need proof.”
Ethan nodded.
“Get me the security footage.”
Richard moved toward the control room.
Daniel followed.
Amelia remained beside Ethan.
Elias stepped closer.
“Dad.”
Ethan looked at him.
“What?”
“I remember the room.”
“What room?”
“The one from the fire.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What do you remember?”
Elias closed his eyes.
“Two babies.”
“Lily?”
“One.”
“And the other?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
Elias breathed slowly.
“I remember a woman.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“What did she look like?”
“She had blood on her face.”
Ethan felt a chill.
“Did she say anything?”
Elias nodded.
“She said, ‘Take the second heir.’”
Ethan froze.
“The second heir?”
“Yes.”
“Who was she talking about?”
Elias opened his eyes.
“You.”
A door slammed somewhere below them.
Richard returned.
“Someone's moving through the lower level.”
“How many?”
“One.”
“Arthur?”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Richard looked at Amelia.
“Your wife.”
Ethan turned.
Amelia was gone.
He found her in the old maternity wing.
She stood in front of a locked nursery.
Her hand rested against the glass.
Inside were two empty bassinets.
Ethan approached slowly.
“You knew this room existed.”
Amelia didn't turn.
“Yes.”
“You've been here before.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
“What happened?”
She stared through the glass.
“The fire had started.”
“Where was Lily?”
“Inside.”
“Which Lily?”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“I don't know anymore.”
Ethan's voice sharpened.
“You have to start knowing.”
She turned.
“I was given two babies.”
Ethan froze.
“Two?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“A nurse.”
“Which nurse?”
“Her name was Clara.”
Ethan remembered the name.
The woman who had supposedly carried Lily from the burning hospital.
“She gave you both?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she said one of them was dying.”
“Which one?”
“The smaller one.”
Ethan's heart tightened.
“And you chose one.”
Amelia nodded.
“I was told to take the child with the Blackwood bracelet.”
“And the other?”
“I was told she would be moved to another hospital.”
“Where?”
“I never knew.”
Ethan stared.
“Then how did the child end up with me?”
Amelia looked away.
“She didn't.”
Silence.
“What?”
“The child who came home with you wasn't the child I carried out.”
Ethan felt numb.
“Then who was she?”
Amelia whispered:
“The second heir.”
Ethan stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Amelia reached into her coat.
She removed an old hospital bracelet.
Not Lily's.
Not Elias's.
A third one.
BABY GIRL — BLACKWOOD
The identification number had been scratched out.
Ethan took it.
“Where did you get this?”
“Clara.”
“When?”
“The night of the fire.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That one baby was the heir.”
“And the other?”
“The second heir.”
Ethan frowned.
“What's the difference?”
Amelia looked at him.
“The first heir inherited the money.”
“The second inherited the bloodline.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What bloodline?”
“The original Blackwood bloodline.”
“But I'm not a Blackwood.”
Amelia shook her head.
“You are.”
Ethan stared.
“Your blood test said otherwise.”
“It was manipulated.”
“By whom?”
“Richard.”
Ethan's eyes hardened.
He turned toward the door.
“Richard!”
No answer.
Amelia continued.
“He changed the sample.”
Ethan looked back.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to protect you.”
“He lied about my DNA.”
“Yes.”
“He made me believe I wasn't a Blackwood.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Arthur was looking for the Second Heir.”
Ethan stared.
“And Richard knew where he was.”
Amelia shook her head.
“She.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“The Second Heir is a girl.”
He looked toward Lily.
Amelia shook her head.
“Not her.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Then who?”
Amelia whispered:
“Your real daughter.”
A loud crash echoed through the corridor.
Ethan turned.
Richard appeared at the far end.
He was carrying a tablet.
“Ethan.”
Ethan walked toward him.
“Did you alter my blood test?”
Richard stopped.
Silence.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
“Why?”
“Because Arthur was watching.”
“You made me believe Lily wasn't my daughter.”
“I made you believe the opposite.”
“What?”
Richard looked toward the little girl standing behind Ethan.
“She isn't your daughter.”
Ethan stared.
Richard continued.
“She's your niece.”
Silence.
Lily's face collapsed.
“No.”
Ethan immediately turned.
“Don't listen to him.”
Richard shook his head.
“I'm sorry.”
Lily began crying.
“Daddy?”
Ethan pulled her close.
“You are my daughter.”
Richard looked away.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Richard handed him the tablet.
A genetic report appeared.
Three DNA profiles.
ETHAN BLACKWOOD
LILY BLACKWOOD — SUBJECT A
LILY BLACKWOOD — SUBJECT B
The first comparison showed:
PATERNITY: 99.99%
The second:
PATERNITY: 99.99%
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Richard whispered:
“You have two daughters.”
Ethan couldn't breathe.
“They're twins.”
The room fell silent.
Ethan looked at the child in front of him.
Then at the image of the girl from the video.
Twins.
Two daughters.
Both biologically his.
Both carrying the Blackwood bloodline.
Both born on the same night.
Both separated.
One raised inside the mansion.
One hidden somewhere underground.
Ethan whispered:
“Which one is the heir?”
Richard answered:
“Both.”
Ethan frowned.
“Then why did Arthur call one the Second Heir?”
“Because one was designated to inherit the empire.”
“And the other?”
Richard looked at Lily.
“She was designated to inherit something far more dangerous.”
“What?”
Richard's voice dropped.
“The Blackwood Archive.”
Ethan stared.
“What archive?”
“The original records.”
“Of what?”
“Every secret.”
Richard looked around.
“Every bribe.”
“Every murder.”
“Every illegal acquisition.”
“Every hidden account.”
“Every identity change.”
“Every child removed from the bloodline.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“And the person who controls it…”
“Controls everyone.”
Suddenly, the screen on the tablet changed.
A live video appeared.
The second girl was sitting in a room.
She looked terrified.
But she wasn't alone.
A man sat beside her.
Ethan recognized him.
Arthur.
Arthur smiled.
“You wanted proof.”
Ethan stepped toward the screen.
“Let her go.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“She has nothing to do with this.”
“She is everything to do with this.”
The girl looked at Ethan.
“Daddy.”
Ethan's heart shattered.
“I'm coming.”
Arthur laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“She doesn't know who she is.”
Ethan frowned.
Arthur leaned closer to the camera.
“She believes she is Lily.”
Ethan stared.
“Then what is her name?”
Arthur smiled.
“That's what the Blackwood Archive will tell you.”
He held up an old document.
A birth record.
The name had been partially covered.
Arthur removed his hand.
Ethan saw it.
His blood ran cold.
LILY EVELYN VALE
Not Blackwood.
Vale.
Richard's surname.
Ethan turned.
Richard was crying.
“What does that mean?”
Richard couldn't answer.
Ethan stepped toward him.
“Richard.”
He finally spoke.
“She is my daughter.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Richard looked at the screen.
“The girl Arthur took.”
Ethan's face changed.
“She isn't your daughter.”
Richard shook his head.
“Not biologically.”
“Then why did he call her Vale?”
“Because…”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“…she was born to my sister.”
Ethan stared.
“Your sister?”
“Evelyn.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Evelyn is my sister.”
Richard nodded.
“She was your sister too.”
Silence.
Ethan looked toward Evelyn's empty room.
“What?”
Richard's voice broke.
“Evelyn was married to me.”
Ethan couldn't move.
“What did you say?”
Richard continued.
“She had twins.”
“Lily…”
“And another girl.”
Ethan stared.
“Then why did you say Evelyn was my sister?”
“Because she was.”
Ethan's face went pale.
Richard whispered:
“Your grandfather married her under a false identity.”
Ethan felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because the Blackwood bloodline couldn't continue naturally.”
Ethan looked at him.
“What are you saying?”
Richard swallowed.
“Evelyn was your half-sister.”
The room went silent.
Ethan looked at the girl in the video.
Then at Richard.
Then at Amelia.
Then at Daniel.
No one denied it.
His entire family tree had been built on deception.
And somewhere inside that deception was the answer to one impossible question.
If Richard was Evelyn's husband…
and Evelyn was Ethan's half-sister…
then why had Richard spent years protecting Ethan?
The answer came from Daniel.
“Because Richard wasn't protecting you.”
Ethan turned.
Daniel's face was devastated.
“He was protecting his daughter.”
Ethan looked at the screen.
The little girl.
His supposed daughter.
Richard's supposed daughter.
The Second Heir.
And then Ethan understood.
Richard hadn't betrayed him.
He had betrayed the entire Blackwood family.
For her.
Arthur's voice came through the speakers.
“Ethan.”
He looked up.
“Choose.”
The screen split into two images.
On one side, Lily stood beside Ethan.
On the other, the kidnapped girl sat beside Arthur.
Arthur smiled.
“One child stays.”
“The other comes with me.”
Ethan stared.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
Arthur leaned toward the camera.
“I'm giving you a choice.”
“You're forcing me to choose between my daughters.”
“Yes.”
Ethan's hands trembled.
Arthur continued:
“Bring me the Blackwood Archive.”
“And I'll give you one of them.”
Ethan stared.
“And if I refuse?”
Arthur smiled.
“You'll lose both.”
The screen went black.
Ethan turned toward Richard.
“Where is the Archive?”
Richard looked at him.
“You don't want to know.”
“Tell me.”
“It will destroy the Blackwoods.”
“Good.”
Richard shook his head.
“It will destroy you too.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Then let it.”
Richard stared at him.
For the first time, he smiled.
“That's exactly what your father said.”
Daniel looked toward him.
“Richard.”
Richard turned.
“It's time.”
He removed a small key from around his neck.
A black key.
Old.
Rusty.
He placed it in Ethan's hand.
“The Archive is beneath the original Blackwood estate.”
Ethan looked at the key.
“What's inside?”
Richard whispered:
“Proof that the Blackwood empire was built on stolen lives.”
Ethan closed his fingers around it.
“Then we burn it down.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if we destroy it…”
He looked toward the screen where the girl had disappeared.
“…we may never find out which of the two children Arthur has already marked as the true Second Heir.”
Ethan's phone vibrated.
One new message.
A photograph.
The two girls.
Standing side by side.
Both wearing identical silver lockets.
Both smiling.
And beneath the photograph were five words:
ONE OF THEM ISN'T HUMAN.
Ethan stared.
Then another message appeared.
COME TO THE ARCHIVE.
A final line followed.
BRING YOUR REAL FATHER.
Ethan slowly looked toward Daniel.
Daniel's face had gone completely white.
Because he knew something Ethan didn't.
The man waiting inside the Archive wasn't Arthur.
And it wasn't Victor.
It was the one person Daniel had spent twenty years trying to keep Ethan from meeting.
Ethan's biological father.
The man who had started the entire Blackwood bloodline war.
And according to Daniel—
May you like
he had been waiting for Ethan since the night he was born.
TO BE CONTINUED…
