เข้าสู่ระบบ“The baby I was supposed to bring home before you.”Elena stared at Catherine.For a moment, she couldn’t understand the words.“You’re saying there was another baby?”Catherine nodded slowly.“Yes.”“Who was Daniel?”“I don’t know what name they gave him after he was taken.”“But the child on the phone called himself Daniel.”Catherine’s eyes filled with tears.“Then he’s alive.”Elena looked toward the doorway.Victor was still smiling.“How many children were involved in this?” she demanded.Victor shrugged.“Enough to make sure nobody could ever discover the original arrangement.”“You’re talking about babies as if they were objects.”“That’s exactly what they became.”Adrian grabbed Victor by the collar.“Tell us where the child is.”Victor laughed.“Why don’t you ask your father?”Adrian turned toward Edward.Edward looked uncomfortable.“Don’t involve me in this.”“You’re the one who claimed to be my father.”“I am.”“Then tell me who Daniel is.”Edward hesitated.Victor took a
Elena couldn’t move.The voice was still echoing in her head.I’m the father you buried.She looked at Thomas.He was standing in the middle of the room, his face drained of color.“Who was that?” Elena demanded.Thomas didn’t answer.“Who was that man?”“Someone you should never have met.”Elena laughed bitterly.“That’s not an answer.”Adrian stepped away from Edward.“Father, explain what is happening.”Edward looked at him.“I have already told you what you need to know.”“No. You’ve told us enough to make everything worse.”Victor began laughing.Even with his hands restrained, he looked strangely comfortable.“Look at you, Adrian. Your entire life has been built on a lie, and you still think someone here will give you the truth.”Adrian turned toward him.“Where is Ethan?”Victor’s smile widened.“Ask your father.”Elena grabbed Victor’s jacket.“Tell me where my brother is!”Victor looked at her hand.“Careful. You might damage the only person who knows where he is.”“Then star
“Margaret isn’t talking about me.” Celeste’s words hung in the air. Elena looked at her. “Then who is she talking about?” Celeste didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes moved toward Catherine, who was standing beside the medical bed with tears running down her face. “Catherine,” Celeste finally said. Elena turned. Catherine shook her head violently. “No. Don’t you dare.” “What happened to her?” Elena demanded. Catherine pressed both hands against her chest. “I didn’t kill anyone.” “Nobody said you did.” “Your mother is trying to destroy me!” Celeste stepped forward. “Then tell her what happened on the night of the delivery.” Victor suddenly laughed. “You people are wasting time. Nobody here is innocent.” He raised his gun again. Adrian moved toward him, but Edward Blackwood stepped between them. “Don’t,” Edward warned. Adrian glared at him. “Stay out of this.” “You don’t understand what he’s waiting for.” Victor smiled. “At least one of
The gunshot echoed through the hospital.Elena dropped to the floor.Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her behind the medical bed.“Stay down!” Adrian shouted.A second gunshot followed.Glass shattered.Marcus cursed as he pulled Elena farther away from the windows. The emergency lights flickered on, bathing the room in a dim red glow.“Adrian!” Elena shouted.“I’m here!”His voice came from somewhere near the entrance.Then another voice spoke.“Nobody moves.”Elena recognized it immediately.Victor Blackwood.He stood at the doorway with a gun in his hand. Two armed men stood behind him.But Victor wasn’t looking at Elena.He was staring at Thomas.“You’re supposed to be dead,” Victor said.Thomas slowly stepped away from Catherine.“You first.”Victor smiled without humor.“I see you haven’t changed.”“Neither have you.”Adrian appeared from behind a fallen medical trolley, blood running down his forehead.“Put the gun down, Father.”Victor glanced at him.“You should be gratefu
For several seconds, nobody moved.Elena stared at the man standing in front of her.Thomas Vale.The man she had buried in her heart long before she ever saw his supposed grave. The man whose death had destroyed the family she grew up in.Now he was standing before her, holding a bloodstained hospital bracelet and telling her that the woman behind her was her real mother.Elena slowly turned her head.Catherine stood a few steps away, her gun still raised.Her face had lost every trace of color.“Don’t,” Catherine whispered.Elena looked at her.“Don’t what?”“Don’t listen to him.”Thomas gave a bitter laugh.“Still protecting your secret, Catherine?”“Shut up!”The gun in Catherine’s hand trembled.Adrian stepped between Elena and Thomas, but Elena caught his arm.“Move.”“Elena, we don’t know who this man is.”“He knows my name. He knows things about my birth. And he’s standing here claiming to be my dead father. I want answers.”Thomas nodded slowly.“You deserve them.”Catherine
“Your mother wants her daughter back.”Elena stared at the intercom.For several seconds, she couldn’t speak.Margaret Blackwood was alive.The woman Adrian had mourned for years. The woman whose funeral he had attended. The woman whose photograph still stood in his bedroom.Alive.And somehow connected to the woman who had spent twenty-eight years controlling their lives.Adrian stepped toward the door.“Open it.”Elena caught his arm.“Wait.”He turned toward her.“That’s my mother.”“And it could be another trap.”“I don’t care.”“Adrian, think. Victor has been using your mother’s name to manipulate us. We don’t even know if the photograph is real.”Adrian looked at the screen again.“I know her face.”“That doesn’t mean she’s alive.”The intercom crackled.“Still suspicious, Elena?” Elara asked. “I expected you to be more excited.”Elena approached the speaker.“If Margaret is alive, let her speak.”A soft laugh came through.“She doesn’t trust the communication system.”“Then bri







