LOGINThe lights went out.Evelyn's heart slammed against her chest.“Adrian?”“I'm here.”His hand immediately found hers.Daniel was breathing heavily somewhere beside them.Then they heard a sound.A door closing.Adrian pulled Evelyn closer.“Stay behind me.”A few seconds later, the emergency lights flickered on.Daniel was gone.Evelyn's eyes widened.“Where did he go?”Adrian looked around the room.“The back door.”They rushed outside.But Daniel was nowhere to be seen.Only a black car disappeared at the end of the road.Evelyn stood frozen.“He was taken.”Adrian immediately called the police.Then he turned to her.“We're going after him.”---Twenty minutes later, they were back at Blackwood Holdings.Alexander was waiting in his office.When Evelyn told him what Daniel had said, his face changed.“Marcus.”“You know him?”Alexander slowly sat down.“I haven't heard that name in decades.”“Dad, you said you didn't have a brother.”“I said I didn't know where my brother was.”Eve
James stared at the man standing in front of him.For several seconds, he couldn't speak.“You…”The man stepped closer.“You remember me now.”James's face became pale.“You're supposed to be dead.”The man smiled.“That's what everyone was supposed to believe.”James tried to move, but his hands were tied behind the chair.“What do you want?”“The truth.”“I don't know anything.”The man laughed quietly.“You've always been a terrible liar.”James looked away.“Where is Daniel?”The man's expression hardened.“You're still worried about him?”“What did you do to him?”“Nothing.”“Then where is he?”“Safe.”James stared at him.“Why are you doing this?”The man pulled a chair closer and sat down.“Because people like you kept the truth buried for too l
Adrian drove faster than usual.Evelyn sat beside him, staring through the windshield.Neither of them spoke.James Carter had disappeared.And someone had warned them that the person they were looking for was closer than they thought.Evelyn finally broke the silence.“Who exactly is James Carter?”“My chief financial officer.”“How long has he worked for you?”“Almost four years.”“Did he have access to Blackwood's accounts?”Adrian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.“Yes.”Evelyn's heart sank.“So he could have been the person moving the money.”“He could have been.”“But you trusted him.”“I did.”Evelyn looked at him.“Then don't blame yourself.”Adrian glanced at her.“You're not angry?”“I am.”“At me?”“For keeping things from me.”He nodded.
Evelyn didn't sleep that night.The message kept replaying in her mind.Now ask Adrian why Victor wanted his company.She had tried to dismiss it.She had tried to believe it was another attempt to make her suspicious.But there was one problem.Victor had mentioned Adrian during their meeting.Not directly.But when Adrian had questioned him about the transfer of Carter International's shares, Victor had looked at him strangely.Evelyn had noticed.She just hadn't understood why.Now she did.Or at least, she thought she did.She turned in bed and looked at Adrian.He was asleep beside her.For years, she had wanted a husband who would stay.Someone who would choose her even when things became difficult.Adrian had done that.He had stood beside her through the Blackwood scandal, Richard's crimes, her mother's death, and e
Evelyn stared at her phone.DNA RESULTS AVAILABLE.For several seconds, she couldn't bring herself to open the message.After everything they had uncovered, she was afraid of what another answer might destroy.Adrian noticed her expression.“What is it?”Evelyn slowly turned the phone toward him.His eyes widened.“The test?”She nodded.“Clara and Alexander.”Adrian stood.“Let's go.”---They found Clara at the Blackwood estate.She was sitting alone in the garden, staring at an old photograph of her mother.When Evelyn approached, Clara immediately looked up.“You got the results?”Evelyn nodded.“They're ready.”Clara's fingers tightened around the photograph.“I don't know if I want to know.”Evelyn sat beside her.“I understand.”“What if Alexander isn't my fa
Nobody spoke for several seconds.Clara was still staring at the photograph in Evelyn's hands.Her eyes were filled with disbelief.“No,” she whispered again. “That can't be true.”Alexander stood frozen beside the desk.“I thought I was your father,” he said quietly.Clara looked at him.“You are.”Her voice broke.“You are my father.”Alexander swallowed hard.“Clara, I don't want you to doubt that.”“But the letter…”“I know.”He looked at Evelyn.“Where did Anna get this information?”“We don't know yet.”Adrian stepped closer.“Then we shouldn't make a decision based on one letter.”Daniel nodded.“That is exactly what I was going to say.”Clara wiped her tears.“Then we need a DNA test.”Alexander immediately nodded.“Yes.”Clara looked at him.“W







