Chapter 14 - THE LAST SECRET
Alexander didn't speak for almost a minute.
Then he said:
“His name is Thomas.”
“Who is Thomas?”
“A former Blackwell security officer.”
“Former?”
“Yes.”
“Why was he at our wedding?”
Alexander looked away.
“I asked him to be there.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“From what?”
He hesitated.
“Your father.”
I stared at him.
“You knew my father might attack me on my wedding day?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I wanted you to have one normal day.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Normal?”
He sighed.
“Claire, I was trying to protect you.”
“I don't need protection from the truth.”
He nodded.
“You're right.”
Then Thomas arrived.
He was older than I expected.
Gray hair.
Scar across his cheek.
He carried a battered leather folder.
“I owe you an apology,” he said.
“For what?”
“For not telling you sooner.”
He placed the folder on the table.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Me at twenty-seven.
Me at twenty-eight.
Me with Alexander.
My apartment.
My workplace.
My parents' house.
I felt sick.
“You watched me?”
“Protected you.”
“Who hired you?”
Thomas looked at Alexander.
“Your husband.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wasn't the only person hunting you.”
“Who else?”
Thomas looked at the floor.
“Victor.”
I froze.
“Victor Blackwell?”
“He survived the shooting.”
“But he died.”
“No.”
I stared at Alexander.
He looked devastated.
“I thought he died.”
Thomas shook his head.
“He disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew someone inside his own company had betrayed him.”
“Daniel?”
“No.”
“Michael?”
“No.”
Thomas looked at me.
“Your mother.”
My blood went cold.
“My mother?”
“She wasn't just afraid of your father.”
“What did she do?”
Thomas opened the folder.
Inside was a letter from Victor.
It was addressed to me.
Claire,
If you are reading this, I am probably dead.
But if I'm not, then understand this:
Your mother wasn't forced into anything.
She chose it.
She helped your father move the money.
She helped hide Jonathan.
She helped create the story that Alexander was dangerous.
And she did it because she wanted one thing.
Power.
I couldn't breathe.
Thomas continued.
“Your mother planned to take control of the Bennett trust.”
“But why?”
“Because she believed you were too weak to inherit it.”
I felt tears fall.
My mother had always told me I was fragile.
Too emotional.
Too trusting.
Too soft.
She had spent my entire life teaching me to doubt myself.
Because she wanted me dependent on her.
I stood.
“Where is she?”
Thomas looked at me.
“She left the country.”
Alexander immediately reached for his phone.
“Find her.”
Thomas shook his head.
“She wants you to find her.”
“Why?”
“Because she has one final card.”
“What?”
Thomas handed me another envelope.
Inside was my birth certificate.
I looked at it.
My father's name was missing.
I stared.
“This isn't possible.”
Thomas said nothing.
Alexander took the document.
His expression changed.
“Claire…”
“What?”
“The name of your biological father isn't Bennett.”
I stared at him.
“Who is it?”
He turned the paper toward me.
Victor Blackwell.
My knees almost gave out.
“No.”
Jonathan walked into the room.
He looked at the document.
Then at me.
And whispered:
“That's why they were fighting over you.”
I couldn't speak.
I wasn't just connected to the Blackwells through marriage.
I was one of them.
Victor Blackwell was my biological father.
And suddenly, the entire war made sense.
My mother had married my father knowing the truth.
The Blackwells had wanted me protected.
My father had wanted control.
My mother had wanted power.
And Alexander—
Alexander had unknowingly married his own father's daughter.
I looked at him.
He was horrified.
“No,” he whispered.
Jonathan shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
Thomas looked at the birth certificate again.
Then he noticed something.
The date.
He frowned.
“This certificate was issued six years ago.”
Alexander looked up.
“Six years?”
“Yes.”
I felt a cold realization.
Someone had changed my birth certificate.
Someone wanted us to believe I was Victor's daughter.
Then my phone rang.
My mother.
I answered.
Her voice was calm.
“You finally found it.”
I whispered:
“Is it true?”
She laughed softly.
“No, Claire.”
My heart stopped.
“Then why?”
“Because I knew you'd believe anything if I gave you enough pain.”
The call ended.
Alexander stared at me.
I looked at the birth certificate.
And suddenly, I knew.
The final secret wasn't who my father was.
May you like
It was who had created the lie.
:::
