Chapter 8 — Julian's Betrayal
Chapter 8 — Julian's Betrayal
The message remained on Elena's screen long after the phone stopped vibrating.
YOUR SISTER IS ALIVE.
SHE HAS BEEN LIVING UNDER YOUR NAME.
No one spoke.
Claire stood by the window, trembling.
Adrian was staring at the photograph.
Julian had gone completely still.
Too still.
Elena noticed.
“Julian?”
He didn't answer.
“Julian.”
He finally looked at her.
“What?”
“You're not surprised.”
His expression tightened.
“I am.”
“No.”
Elena held up the phone.
“You're afraid.”
Julian looked away.
Claire suddenly whispered:
“That's him.”
Everyone turned.
“What?” Elena asked.
Claire pointed at Julian.
“He's the one who came to my apartment three years ago.”
The room went silent.
Julian's face drained of color.
Adrian stepped forward.
“You've been here before?”
Julian swallowed.
“Yes.”
Elena stared at him.
“Why?”
Julian didn't answer.
Elena's voice hardened.
“Why were you looking for Claire?”
He finally whispered:
“Because Mother told me to.”
The Order
Julian sat down.
For the first time since Elena had known him, he looked genuinely defeated.
“She told me Claire was dangerous.”
Elena folded her arms.
“And you believed her?”
“I was twenty-four.”
“You were old enough to know better.”
“I know.”
“You searched for her.”
“Yes.”
“You found her.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Julian closed his eyes.
“I reported back to Mother.”
Claire stepped forward.
“You told her where I lived.”
“Yes.”
Elena stared at him.
“And what happened?”
“Nothing.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Nothing?”
Julian looked at her.
“I told Mother you were dead.”
Claire froze.
“Why?”
“Because I knew what she would do if she found out you were alive.”
Elena's expression changed.
“You lied to Eleanor.”
Julian nodded.
“I did.”
“Why?”
He looked at Elena.
“Because I was afraid of her.”
The Second Betrayal
Elena's anger didn't disappear.
If anything, it became colder.
“You protected Claire.”
“Yes.”
“But you still helped Mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was hunting my sister.”
“I suspected.”
“You suspected?”
Julian stood.
“I didn't know about the twins.”
“Then what did you know?”
He hesitated.
“That Mother believed one of Isabelle's children was still alive.”
Elena's heart pounded.
“How long?”
“Years.”
“And you never told me.”
“I didn't know you existed until recently.”
“That isn't an excuse.”
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“It isn't.”
He reached into his jacket and removed a small flash drive.
“I brought this because I knew eventually you'd discover the truth.”
Elena didn't take it.
“What is it?”
“Everything I kept from Mother.”
The Hidden Account
Adrian took the drive.
They connected it to a secure laptop.
A folder appeared.
PROJECT EVE.
Elena frowned.
“What's Project Eve?”
Julian looked away.
“That's what Mother called the search.”
The folder contained financial records.
Payments.
Surveillance reports.
Private investigators.
Medical records.
Travel documents.
Thousands of pages.
Elena scrolled.
Then stopped.
There was a photograph.
A little girl.
Approximately six years old.
The caption read:
SUBJECT: E-01
IDENTITY: UNKNOWN
POSSIBLE RELATION TO ISABELLE LAURENT
Elena stared at the child's face.
Something about her felt familiar.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like a memory she couldn't reach.
“Where was this taken?”
Julian answered:
“London.”
“When?”
“2002.”
Elena looked at him.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know she was my sister?”
“No.”
“Then what did you think?”
“That Mother had found another Laurent heir.”
Adrian looked at the records.
“There are dozens of reports.”
Julian nodded.
“She spent millions searching.”
“For one child?”
“For the child she believed could destroy her.”
The Real Reason Eleanor Was Afraid
Elena turned toward Claire.
“Why would my sister threaten Eleanor?”
Claire's expression was full of sorrow.
“Because your sister wasn't supposed to inherit.”
“Who was?”
“Eleanor.”
Elena frowned.
“But she's not a Laurent by blood.”
“She married into the family.”
“So?”
Claire pointed toward the files.
“Eleanor's daughter was supposed to marry the Laurent heir.”
Elena stared.
“Which heir?”
“Alexander.”
Adrian frowned.
“That's impossible. Alexander was already married.”
Claire nodded.
“To Isabelle.”
The room fell silent.
Claire continued.
“Eleanor arranged the marriage because she believed Isabelle was carrying the Laurent heir.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“But she didn't know about the twins.”
“No.”
“Then why did she want Isabelle gone?”
Claire looked at her.
“Because one child was enough.”
Elena understood.
“Two children meant twice the threat.”
“Yes.”
Julian's Secret
Elena turned back to Julian.
“What else haven't you told us?”
Julian looked at her.
“There's one thing.”
“What?”
“I know where your sister was sent.”
Elena's heart stopped.
“You said you didn't.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I was trying to protect her.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
Elena stepped closer.
“You don't get to decide what I deserve to know.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
Julian took a deep breath.
“She was raised in Switzerland.”
Elena stared.
“By whom?”
“A woman named Margaret Vale.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“You know her?”
Claire nodded slowly.
“Margaret was Isabelle's closest friend.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“Then why didn't she tell me?”
“She was protecting your sister.”
“From Eleanor?”
“From the entire Laurent family.”
The Betrayal
Elena looked at Julian.
“You knew where my sister was.”
“Yes.”
“You visited her.”
His silence was enough.
Adrian stepped forward.
“When?”
“Last year.”
Elena's voice became dangerously quiet.
“You saw her.”
“Yes.”
“You spoke to her.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't tell me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because she doesn't know she's your sister.”
Elena froze.
“What?”
Julian's voice broke.
“She thinks she's Elena Laurent.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Claire closed her eyes.
Adrian stared at Julian.
“You're saying someone has been living under Elena's identity?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Since childhood.”
Elena whispered:
“Then who am I?”
Julian looked at her.
“The real Elena.”
The Identity
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Julian opened another file.
Inside was a birth certificate.
ELENA ISABELLE LAURENT
Mother:
ISABELLE LAURENT
Father:
ALEXANDER VALMONT
Birthplace:
Meridian Medical Center
Then another certificate.
Same name.
Same birthday.
Different hospital.
Different parents.
Different fingerprints.
Elena stared.
“Someone created a second Elena.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Julian answered:
“To hide you.”
“From whom?”
“From the people who wanted the Laurent heir.”
Elena looked at Claire.
“Which one of us is the heir?”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Both of you.”
The Missing Sister
The second Elena had been raised in Switzerland.
She had grown up believing she was an only child.
She had been given the name.
The education.
The family history.
Even photographs.
Everything.
Except the truth.
Elena looked at Julian.
“Why would anyone do that?”
“To make it impossible to find the real heir.”
“But someone did find her.”
Julian nodded.
“Mother found her.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“And you?”
“I found her last year.”
“Why didn't you bring her back?”
“Because she was being watched.”
“By whom?”
Julian looked toward the window.
“The same people watching us now.”
The Woman Called Elena
Suddenly Claire's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She didn't answer.
It rang again.
Then stopped.
A message appeared.
SHE KNOWS.
Another:
SHE HAS ALWAYS KNOWN.
Claire's hands shook.
Elena took the phone.
“Who is this?”
No response.
Then another message:
ASK YOUR BROTHER WHY HE LIED ABOUT THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE.
Elena turned toward Julian.
“What fire?”
Julian's face changed.
Adrian stared at him.
“Julian?”
He said nothing.
Elena stepped closer.
“What fire?”
Finally, Julian whispered:
“The fire that killed your father.”
The Night Everything Changed
Julian told them the story.
Twenty-eight years ago, the Laurent estate had burned.
Officially, Alexander died inside.
So did Claire.
So did several servants.
The investigation concluded it was an electrical accident.
But Julian had discovered something years later.
The fire began in two places simultaneously.
The library.
And the nursery.
Elena's face went pale.
“The nursery?”
“Yes.”
“My nursery?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone wanted the babies dead.”
Claire began crying.
“I knew it.”
Elena turned.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
Julian continued.
“Your father didn't die in the fire.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
“He escaped.”
“Then where did he go?”
Julian looked down.
“He disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed someone inside the family had betrayed him.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Julian looked at her.
“Mother.”
The Man in the Car
Elena remembered the old records.
The crash.
The burned vehicle.
The body identified as Alexander.
“But if Father escaped…”
Julian nodded.
“The body in the car wasn't his.”
“Whose?”
“We don't know.”
Elena felt sick.
“Then who did I bury?”
“No one knows.”
“Who signed the death certificate?”
“Eleanor.”
“Who identified the body?”
“Victor.”
Elena slowly understood.
“It was all staged.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
“I discovered it two years ago.”
“You knew my father might be alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Julian looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Elena's phone vibrated.
One message.
HE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
Another appeared.
ASK JULIAN WHAT HE DID WITH THE ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
Elena's eyes moved slowly toward her brother.
“Julian.”
He closed his eyes.
“I destroyed it.”
“What?”
“The original birth certificate.”
“Why?”
“Mother ordered me to.”
“You destroyed evidence?”
“Yes.”
Elena slapped the table.
“You betrayed us!”
Julian didn't defend himself.
“I know.”
The Final File
Adrian searched the drive.
“There is one folder left.”
The title:
ALEXANDER — FINAL NIGHT.
Elena stared at it.
“Open it.”
A video appeared.
Grainy security footage.
The Laurent estate.
Twenty-eight years earlier.
A man carried a newborn from the burning house.
Alexander.
Behind him was Claire.
And behind Claire—
Eleanor.
Elena stopped breathing.
Eleanor wasn't watching the fire.
She was smiling.
Then another person appeared.
A man stepped from the shadows.
Elena couldn't see his face.
But Alexander did.
He immediately handed the baby to Claire.
Then ran toward the man.
They fought.
The camera shook.
The footage cut out.
The final frame showed Eleanor standing beside the mysterious man.
Then she looked directly toward the camera.
As if she knew someone would one day watch it.
The video ended.
Julian whispered:
“That was the night everything changed.”
Elena stared at the black screen.
“Who was the baby?”
No one answered.
Then Claire slowly said:
“The baby Alexander carried out wasn't you.”
Elena's heart stopped.
“Then who?”
Claire looked at her.
“Your sister.”
Silence.
“And you?”
Claire's voice broke.
“You were already gone.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“Gone where?”
Claire pointed toward the final frame.
“Eleanor took you.”
The Betrayal Revealed
Elena turned to Julian.
“You knew.”
He nodded.
“You knew Eleanor had taken me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she separated us.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my sister was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you still worked for her.”
Julian's eyes filled with tears.
“I worked against her from the inside.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
“I spent years pretending to obey.”
“Why?”
“Because if Mother discovered I had switched sides, she would have killed your sister.”
Elena's anger faltered.
Julian continued:
“I lied to you because I thought it was the only way to keep both of you alive.”
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
“Instead, you chose for me.”
“I know.”
Elena looked at him for a long moment.
Then she picked up the flash drive.
“We're going to Switzerland.”
Julian nodded.
Adrian reached for his coat.
But before they could leave, Claire's phone rang again.
This time, she answered.
A woman's voice came through.
Young.
Calm.
Terrified.
“Claire?”
Claire froze.
“Who is this?”
The woman whispered:
“My name isn't Elena.”
Elena stepped closer.
The voice continued:
“But I know who I am now.”
Claire began crying.
Elena's heart pounded.
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“I think I'm your sister.”
The line went dead.
Elena looked at Julian.
He was staring at the floor.
“Where is she?”
Julian slowly raised his eyes.
“She isn't in Switzerland anymore.”
“Where?”
He swallowed.
“She came back.”
“To America?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Julian's face went pale.
“She is already here.”
Elena's phone suddenly received a photograph.
A woman standing across the street from the Laurent estate.
Same eyes.
Same birthday.
Same face Elena had seen in childhood photographs.
And beneath it was a single sentence:
I'M NOT THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
Elena looked toward the dark window.
Someone was standing outside.
Watching them.
Then the lights throughout the estate went out.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness, a woman whispered:
“Hello, sister.”
