CHILD BESIDE ME

“Standing right beside you.” Margaret Vale's words echoed through the corridor. For several seconds, I couldn't move. I stared at her, then slowly turned toward Brandon, who stood beside me with the photograph still clutched in his hand. “What does that mean?” I demanded. “Who is the second child?” Margaret didn't answer immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on Brandon, studying his face as though she were looking for something familiar. “Stop looking at him like that,” I snapped. “If you know something about my family, tell us.” She finally turned toward me. “Your brother has spent his entire life believing he knows who he is. Before tonight, you believed the same thing about yourself. But the documents your father left behind were never meant to tell you only about Livia.” Brandon stepped forward. “Enough riddles. You walked into this house without permission, and you seem to know everything about a document that was hidden here for years. Tell us who you are and why you're

Last Updated : 2026-10-21

THE WOMAN THEY ERASED

“Because you are not the child your father brought home.”Amelia's words continued to echo through the study.Brandon sat motionless, staring at the phone on the floor. For the first time since I had known him, he looked like a man who had lost everything without taking a single step.I knelt beside him.“Brandon, look at me.”He slowly raised his head.“Tell me you don't believe her,” he whispered.I wanted to reassure him. I wanted to tell him that the woman on the phone was lying, that Richard was mistaken, and that our father's documents would eventually explain everything.But I couldn't.Not after seeing the original hospital register.Not after hearing Richard admit that the records had been altered.And not after watching Margaret react to the name Amelia as though she had seen a ghost.“I believe we deserve the truth,” I told him. “That's all I'm certain of right now.”Brandon let out a bitter laugh.“My whole life, Serena. Every birthday, every family photograph, every time

Last Updated : 2026-10-23

THE SECRET BENEATH THE MANOR

“Your grandmother's body.”Richard's words echoed through the hallway.For several seconds, I couldn't move. My grandmother had supposedly died years ago. Father had told us she became ill while traveling abroad, and our family had mourned her death without ever questioning the details.But if her body was inside the locked room at Crestwood Manor, then what had really happened to her?“Explain yourself,” I demanded.Richard glanced toward the staircase. “We need to leave. I'll explain everything on the way.”“No more running away from the truth!” Brandon snapped. “You will tell us what you know.”Richard's expression hardened, but his trembling hands betrayed him.“Your grandmother discovered what happened to the children. She found the original hospital records and threatened to expose your father. He couldn't allow that.”“So he killed his own mother?” I whispered.“I don't know exactly what happened that night,” Richard replied. “But I know Cecilia never left the manor.”My stomac

Last Updated : 2026-10-24

THE CHILD WHO SURVIVED

My mother's phone slipped from her fingers and struck the floor.Nobody moved.Amelia stood beside the bed, her eyes fixed on the photograph of the three newborns. Brandon looked as though he wanted to demand answers from everyone in the room, but even he seemed afraid of what the next revelation might bring.I turned toward my mother.“What does that message mean?”She shook her head.“Serena, please. We need to leave this room.”“No! You don't get to decide that anymore. Who is the third child?”Her eyes filled with tears.“I don't know.”Amelia laughed bitterly.“Still lying, Margaret?”My mother flinched at the sound of her name.“You have no idea what happened that night,” she whispered.“Then tell us,” Brandon demanded. “Tell us everything.”Amelia looked at him.“Your father brought three babies into this family. Two were supposed to receive new identities, while the third was supposed to disappear permanently.”“Why?” I asked.“Because one of those children was evidence of a s

Last Updated : 2026-10-25

THE BLOOD BETWEEN

“Brandon!”He staggered backward, clutching his chest.For one terrible second, I thought he was going to fall. Then his knees buckled, and I caught him before he hit the floor.Blood seeped between his fingers.“No, no, no.” I pressed my hands against the wound. “Brandon, look at me!”His face had gone pale, but he managed to meet my eyes.“Serena... don't let him escape.”Across the room, Victor Hale stood with the smoking gun in his hand.“Everyone stay where you are!” he shouted.My mother screamed.Richard rushed toward Brandon, but Victor swung the weapon in his direction.“Get back!”“You've shot an innocent man!” Richard shouted.Victor's expression remained cold.“Innocent? None of you are innocent. This family has survived because people knew when to keep their mouths shut.”I pressed harder against Brandon's wound.“Somebody call an ambulance!”Amelia pulled out her phone.Victor pointed the gun at her.“Put it down.”She froze.“Do it!”Amelia slowly lowered the phone, but