Chapter 16: The Son Who Was Never His
Damian read the letter again.
The man who raised you is not your father.
Your real father is the one you buried.
The photograph trembled slightly in his hand.
Ethan stood at the bottom of the staircase, one hand pressed against his injured shoulder.
"What did you find?""
Damian handed him the picture.
Ethan stared at it.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he turned it over.
"Mother's handwriting.""
"What does it mean?""
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
"I don't know.""
"Don't lie to me.""
"I'm not.""
Damian stepped closer.
"You were holding me. You were barely old enough to walk. Why does this photograph exist?""
Ethan swallowed.
"Because Mother used to tell me I had to protect you.""
"From whom?""
Ethan's eyes lifted.
"Father.""
The word sounded strange now.
Damian looked at the medical records scattered inside the cabinet. There were blood tests, hospital discharge forms, and handwritten notes dated around the time of his birth.
One document carried a familiar name.
Dr. Samuel Voss.
The same name Isabella had found on Sofia's birth certificate.
Damian opened the file.
A genetic report had been stapled to the back.
The first subject was Margaret Cross.
The second was a man whose name had been blacked out.
The third was Damian.
At the bottom, a handwritten note read:
Biological relationship confirmed. Subject Two is the father.
The name beneath the black ink was still visible in fragments.
A.
V.
Damian looked at Ethan.
"Arthur Voss?""
Ethan shook his head.
"Arthur Cross.""
"Then Alexander isn't my father.""
"No.""
"Who is?""
Ethan stared at the floor.
"Arthur.""
Damian took a step backward.
The man he had nearly killed in the chapel was his biological father.
The man who had helped destroy Sofia's childhood.
The man who had admitted betraying Elena.
"Why did Mother let him near us?""
"She didn't. Not after she found out.""
Ethan picked up another document.
"Look.""
It was a letter from Margaret.
Arthur,
You promised me that Damian would never know. You promised that Alexander would raise him as his own and that the boys would remain safe.
But you have broken every promise you ever made.
Damian's jaw tightened.
"Mother knew.""
Ethan nodded.
"She found out when you were a baby.""
"And she kept it secret?""
"She wanted you to have a family. She wanted us to grow up together.""
Damian looked at the photograph.
"Then why did she write that I was the son of the man we buried?""
Ethan turned the paper over.
A second photograph was tucked behind it.
It showed a man lying in a coffin.
The face was unmistakable.
Arthur Cross.
But the date on the photograph was twenty years earlier.
Ethan stared.
"That's impossible.""
Damian examined the image.
"Who did we bury?""
Ethan shook his head.
"Arthur was supposed to have died in a car accident. I remember the funeral. I was six.""
"Then who was in the coffin?""
A voice came from the staircase.
"The man your mother loved.""
Damian turned.
Arthur stood at the top.
His face was bruised, and blood darkened his shirt.
He descended slowly.
Ethan raised his weapon.
"Don't move.""
Arthur ignored him.
"Alexander didn't just steal my children. He stole my name, my place in the family, and the woman I loved.""
Damian stared at him.
"You were dead.""
"Alexander needed everyone to believe that. He wanted Margaret, and he wanted the Voss fortune. I was the obstacle.""
"Then whose funeral did we attend?""
Arthur looked at Ethan.
"My brother's.""
Ethan's expression changed.
"Victor?""
Arthur nodded.
"Victor was the one in the coffin. Alexander used my death to explain why Victor had disappeared. Then he brought Victor back under another name.""
Damian felt sick.
"How many identities did this family have?""
"Enough to make sure nobody knew who was standing in front of them.""
Arthur approached the cabinet.
"Your mother asked me to stay away. I did, until Alexander began hunting Sofia.""
"Don't say her name.""
Arthur stopped.
"She is my daughter.""
"You're the reason her mother died.""
Arthur lowered his eyes.
"Yes.""
Damian raised his weapon.
Arthur didn't move.
"Go ahead. I deserve it.""
Ethan stepped between them.
"Not here.""
Damian looked at his brother.
"Move.""
"No. We need him alive.""
"Why?""
Ethan held up the genetic report.
"Because he can prove who owns the Voss trust. And because he knows where Margaret is.""
Arthur nodded.
"Adrian took her to the old estate. Alexander is there too.""
Damian lowered his gun slightly.
"Then we're going.""
Arthur shook his head.
"You can't. Adrian has already begun the transfer.""
"What transfer?""
"The trust.""
He pointed to the document cabinet.
"Alexander wants Sofia to sign away her inheritance. If she refuses, he'll use Margaret to force her.""
Damian turned toward the stairs.
"Then we'll get there first.""
At the old Voss house, Sofia sat across from Adrian.
Margaret was tied to a chair near the fireplace.
Isabella stood beside her, guarded by two men.
Adrian placed a pen on the table.
"Sign.""
Sofia looked at the document.
"I won't.""
"Then your grandmother suffers.""
Margaret lifted her head.
"Don't sign, sweetheart.""
Adrian sighed.
"Must you make everything difficult?""
Sofia looked at him.
"You keep saying this is about family. But you don't want a family. You want people who obey you.""
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You don't know what I lost.""
"I know what you chose to become.""
He slapped the table.
"Sign!""
Sofia pushed the pen away.
Adrian grabbed Margaret's hair and pulled her head backward.
Isabella lunged, but one of the guards caught her.
"Stop!"" Sofia shouted.
Adrian released Margaret.
"Now we're getting somewhere.""
Sofia picked up the pen.
Then she noticed the small black camera above the fireplace.
Its red light was blinking.
She looked at Adrian.
"Your father is watching, isn't he?""
Adrian glanced at the camera.
"He's always watching.""
Sofia smiled faintly.
"Then let him hear this.""
She leaned toward the camera.
"Alexander, I know what you did to Elena. I know what you did to Margaret. And I know you're afraid of what happens when the truth comes out.""
Adrian seized her wrist.
"Enough.""
But Sofia continued.
"You stole a fortune from Rose Voss. You stole children from their mothers. And now you're asking me to sign away something that was never yours.""
Adrian dragged her away from the table.
The camera's red light continued blinking.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
"Bring her to me.""
Adrian looked up.
May you like
Alexander's voice was cold.
"Bring all of them.""
