로그인Amelia read the last page of the trust agreement again.Then she read it a third time.“The firstborn daughter and the surviving male heir must be legally joined?”Elias nodded.“Under the original succession arrangement, yes.”Damian took the document from her.“Joined how? Marriage?”“Exactly.”Damian’s expression darkened.“So my father arranged my marriage to Amelia because he needed her identity to activate the inheritance?”“Richard needed a legally recognised union between the two people whose claims threatened his control. He believed that if he could control the marriage, he could control the inheritance.”Amelia looked at Damian.Five years.Five years of trying to make a marriage work while her husband treated her like an inconvenience.Five years of wondering what she had done wrong.And all that time, their marriage had been part of a plan.“Did you know?” she asked Damian.He shook his head.“No.”“Did you know why your father insisted on marrying me?”“He said the Carter fam
Damian couldn’t move.The young man stood in front of him, wearing a hospital wristband and the silver ring marked 317.“Brother?” Damian repeated.Elias gave a humourless smile.“I suppose that’s what we’re calling each other now.”Damian looked toward Helen.“Explain.”Helen closed the door behind them.“His name is Elias Vale. He was brought here under a different identity several years ago. Richard arranged for his medical records to be altered, and Peter handled the transfer.”“Why?”“Because Richard wanted to keep him alive without allowing anyone to establish who he was.”Damian turned back to Elias.“Are you telling me we’re brothers?”“Biologically, yes.”“Who are our parents?”Elias’s expression tightened.“That’s where things become complicated.”Amelia stepped forward.“We’re done with complicated half-truths. We need the truth.”Elias studied her.“You’re Amelia Carter.”“Yes.”“And you’re Vanessa.”Vanessa frowned. “How do you know us?”“Because I’ve seen your photographs
“That’s Damian’s signature.”Vanessa’s voice was barely audible.Amelia stared at the photograph on her phone. Peter Hales stood beside Sophia’s hospital bed, holding a document. At the bottom of the page was Damian’s unmistakable signature.Damian snatched the phone.“What the hell?”He enlarged the image, examining the document.“I’ve never seen this.”Adrian stepped closer.“Look at the date.”Damian’s expression changed.It was dated three weeks before the gala.Three weeks before Sophia had appeared publicly as his pregnant partner.Three weeks before Amelia had walked out of their marriage.“What is it?” Amelia asked.Damian read the heading.“Medical consent and parental authorization.”His voice grew colder.“Someone used my name to authorize medical procedures for Sophia’s pregnancy.”“Could it be one of the documents your father made you sign?” Daniel asked.Damian shook his head.“I would remember signing something like this.”“Would you?” Amelia asked quietly.He looked at her
Damian stared at his phone.Sophia.Her name glowed across the screen, accompanied by the photograph he had saved months ago. The woman who had stood beside him at the gala. The woman whose pregnancy had shattered his marriage. The woman who had recently admitted she wasn’t certain the baby was his.And now, according to Adrian, she wasn’t even the first Sophia Blake.“Answer it,” Amelia said.Damian looked at her.“Are you sure?”“Whatever she has to say, I want to hear it.”He accepted the call and switched on the speaker.“Damian?”Sophia’s voice sounded breathless.“Where are you?”“At the old estate.”There was a pause.“Is Amelia with you?”Damian glanced at Amelia.“Yes.”Another silence followed.Then Sophia whispered, “You shouldn’t have gone there.”Adrian moved closer to the phone.“Hello, Sophia.”The line went quiet.“Who is that?” she asked.“Someone you were told never to meet.”Sophia’s breathing changed.“Adrian?”Amelia’s eyes widened.Sophia knew him.“Where is Richard
Nobody moved.Daniel stared at the stranger standing beneath the doorway.“Who are you?”The man glanced at the silver ring in Amelia’s hand.“Someone who has been waiting a very long time for that to find its way back to the family.”“Answer the question,” Damian demanded.The stranger smiled without warmth.“You’ve inherited your father’s temper.”“I’m not interested in your opinion.”“Good. Because I’m not here to give it.”He stepped farther into the room, allowing the light to reveal the deep scar running along his jaw.Daniel moved in front of Amelia and Vanessa.“Stay back.”The stranger laughed softly.“Still protecting people who don’t belong to you?”“Where is Alexander?”The man’s expression changed.“Dead.”“Liar.”“You always did prefer the version of events that made you innocent.”Daniel’s hands curled into fists.“You were there that night.”“I was.”“You were the one who took him?”The man looked at Damian.“Your grandfather had two sons who wanted his approval. One was
Damian stared at the photograph as though the face might change if he looked long enough.“My grandfather died before I was born.”Richard said nothing.“That’s what you told me,” Damian continued. “You said he died in a private hospital after a long illness. You said there was no funeral because his body had been cremated abroad.”Richard’s jaw tightened.“Damian, put the phone away.”“No.”“Don’t make a scene.”“You’ve spent my entire life telling me stories about this family. Which one of them was true?”Richard looked toward the bank manager.“Everyone out.”Nobody moved.“I said everyone out!”The security officers exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward, but the bank manager raised a hand.“Mr. Vaughn, this is a private banking facility. You cannot order my staff around.”Richard’s expression darkened.Amelia almost smiled.It was the first time that evening someone had reminded him that the world didn’t belong to him.“Who is he?” she asked Damian.Damian looked down at th







