Chapter 18 The Name They Buried
Evelyn's hand remained steady.
The gun pointed toward Marcus.
Emilia stared at her mother-in-law, unable to understand what she was seeing.
“Evelyn?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“I'm sorry.”
Marcus barely moved.
“Put it down.”
“I can't.”
“Mom,” Daniel said from behind Victor. “What are you doing?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“I am trying to keep you alive.”
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Victor stepped into the archive.
“Enough.”
His attention went to the photograph on the desk.
Then to Hannah.
“You lied to me.”
Hannah remained calm.
“I protected the only person who mattered.”
Victor looked at Emilia.
“Not the person.”
He pointed toward Marcus.
“The bloodline.”
Marcus frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Victor smiled.
“You still don't understand why your father disappeared.”
Hannah stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor laughed.
“Why? Because the truth is inconvenient?”
He picked up the photograph.
“Your father discovered the original succession record.”
Marcus stared at the photograph.
“What succession record?”
Victor looked at Emilia.
“The one that proves Bellweather was never meant to belong to the Foster family.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“That's a lie.”
“No.”
Victor turned toward him.
“You've spent your entire life believing your father left you an empire.”
Thomas's face tightened.
“He left me responsibility.”
“He left you a mistake.”
Victor dropped the photograph onto the desk.
“The original agreement names another heir.”
Marcus looked at Hannah.
“Who?”
Hannah said nothing.
Victor smiled.
“Your father.”
Marcus froze.
“My father?”
“Richard was the rightful heir to Bellweather.”
Thomas shook his head.
“That isn't possible.”
Victor looked at him.
“You knew.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“No.”
“You knew enough to be afraid.”
Marcus turned toward Thomas.
“Is he telling the truth?”
Thomas struggled to answer.
“I don't know.”
Marcus felt the familiar anger rising.
Not because Thomas didn't have an answer.
Because once again, another piece of his life had been hidden from him.
Hannah finally spoke.
“Richard was named in the original agreement.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Then why did Thomas inherit?”
“Because Richard refused.”
“Why?”
Hannah looked toward the shelves.
“Because he discovered what Bellweather had been built on.”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Stolen ownership.”
Emilia walked slowly toward the shelves.
“What was stolen?”
Hannah followed her.
“Land.”
Emilia frowned.
“From whom?”
“Families who lived along the coast before Bellweather became valuable.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Hannah continued.
“Your great-grandfather acquired the land through contracts those families did not fully understand. Some were pressured. Some were deceived. Some were promised compensation that never came.”
Marcus looked around the archive.
“And Richard found proof.”
“Yes.”
“He wanted to return the land?”
“He wanted to expose the truth.”
Victor interrupted.
“And that's when everything became dangerous.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because exposing the truth would have destroyed Bellweather.”
Thomas spoke quietly.
“And everyone connected to it.”
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
Emilia looked at her father.
“Is that why you took the debt?”
Thomas nodded.
“I believed I could repair the damage.”
Victor smiled.
“You believed you could buy your way out of history.”
Thomas looked at him.
“I was wrong.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Very.”
Evelyn lowered the gun slightly.
Daniel noticed.
“Mom.”
She looked at him.
“You need to leave.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“You're scared.”
“I am.”
“Then let me help you.”
Her lips trembled.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor has Adrian.”
Charlotte suddenly moved.
“What did you say?”
Victor looked at her.
“I told you.”
Charlotte stepped forward.
“You said he was at North Harbor.”
“He was.”
Her face went pale.
“Where is he now?”
Victor smiled.
“Somewhere your precious Richard can reach him.”
Charlotte looked at Hannah.
“You knew?”
Hannah shook her head.
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“Everyone keeps pretending they understand the game.”
He looked at Marcus.
“But none of you knows who the real heir is.”
Marcus glanced at the photograph.
“The inscription says the real heir isn't Emilia.”
Victor nodded.
“Correct.”
“Then who?”
Victor looked at Evelyn.
She closed her eyes.
Marcus followed his gaze.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
“Mom?”
Evelyn opened her eyes.
She was crying.
“Marcus…”
Victor spoke.
“Ask your mother what happened the night Richard disappeared.”
Marcus's voice dropped.
“What did you do?”
Evelyn couldn't answer.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Mom.”
She finally whispered,
“I switched the records.”
Marcus stared.
“What records?”
“The birth records.”
The archive seemed to go silent.
Emilia looked from Evelyn to Marcus.
“I don't understand.”
Evelyn wiped her tears.
“Richard had a daughter.”
Marcus felt the floor shift beneath him.
“A daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Evelyn looked at Emilia.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Emilia stepped backward.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not you.”
Emilia's breath caught.
“Then who?”
Evelyn's eyes moved toward the doorway.
Victor stepped aside.
Someone was standing behind him.
A young woman.
She looked frightened.
Her dark hair was pulled into a loose braid, and her face carried a striking resemblance to Richard.
Marcus stared at her.
The woman looked at him.
“Marcus?”
His voice failed him.
Hannah whispered,
“Her name is Claire.”
The young woman stepped into the archive.
She looked at Evelyn.
“You promised me they wouldn't know.”
Evelyn's expression crumbled.
“I know.”
Claire looked at Marcus.
“I'm sorry.”
Marcus couldn't speak.
Daniel looked between them.
“You're saying Richard had another child?”
Claire nodded.
“I'm his daughter.”
Marcus looked toward Hannah.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since the beginning.”
He turned toward Thomas.
“And you?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You hid her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“Because Richard believed Victor would use her to control him.”
Marcus looked at Claire.
“Where have you been?”
“Moving.”
“From place to place?”
“Yes.”
“Who raised you?”
Claire looked at Hannah.
“My grandmother.”
Marcus stared.
“Then why did you let us believe Hannah was dead?”
Claire looked down.
“Because it was safer that way.”
Marcus shook his head.
The same explanation.
Again.
And again.
Everyone had used the same word.
Safety.
Yet every secret had left someone wounded.
Emilia approached Claire.
Claire immediately stepped back.
“I don't want to hurt you.”
Emilia stopped.
“I know.”
“You have every reason to hate me.”
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because my existence changes everything.”
Emilia shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Marcus.
“What changes everything is that people lied to us.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“I didn't ask for any of this.”
“Neither did I.”
For a moment, the two women simply looked at each other.
Neither was a villain.
Neither had chosen the secrets surrounding them.
Emilia understood that.
Perhaps that was why she didn't feel jealousy.
She felt sadness.
For both of them.
Victor stepped toward the desk.
“Now we can finish this.”
Marcus turned.
“No.”
Victor frowned.
“You don't have a choice.”
Marcus looked at Claire.
Then at Emilia.
Then at the archive.
“Yes, I do.”
Victor raised his hand.
Evelyn's gun lifted again.
Marcus didn't move.
“You want the archive?”
Victor nodded.
“Then take it.”
Marcus gestured toward the shelves.
“But you won't get what you're looking for.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because you think the archive belongs to one person.”
Marcus picked up the original agreement.
“It doesn't.”
Hannah smiled faintly.
“He finally understands.”
Victor's face hardened.
Marcus looked at the document.
“The land belongs to the people who were wronged.”
Thomas stared at his son.
“You're thinking of giving it away.”
“Not giving.”
Marcus looked at Emilia.
“Returning.”
Victor laughed.
“You'll destroy your own family.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He looked around the chamber.
“My family was destroyed by secrets.”
He folded the document.
“I'm not protecting that anymore.”
Victor's expression became cold.
“You think morality will save you?”
“No.”
Marcus looked directly at him.
“The truth will.”
Victor moved toward him.
Charlotte stepped between them.
“Don't.”
Victor looked at her.
“You're still protecting them.”
“Yes.”
“Even after what they did to you?”
Charlotte's voice was quiet.
“I've spent thirty years protecting the wrong people.”
She glanced at Adrian's photograph.
“I'm not doing it anymore.”
Victor's expression darkened.
“Then you'll lose your son.”
Charlotte took a breath.
“Maybe.”
She looked at him.
“But he will know I chose him.”
Suddenly, the lights in the archive flickered.
Everyone looked up.
A low mechanical hum filled the chamber.
Samuel rushed down the stairs.
“Marcus!”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
“The door upstairs is closing.”
Hannah's expression changed.
“The security system.”
“How long?”
“Less than a minute.”
Daniel shouted from the stairwell.
“We need to move!”
Marcus grabbed Emilia's hand.
“Let's go.”
But Claire didn't move.
She was staring at one of the shelves.
“What?”
She pointed.
“That box.”
Hannah followed her gaze.
Her face changed.
“No.”
Claire walked toward it.
“What is it?”
Hannah hurried after her.
“Don't touch it.”
Claire stopped.
“Why?”
“Because that box contains the original birth records.”
Marcus stared.
“The records you changed?”
Hannah nodded.
Claire looked at Evelyn.
“Then it can prove who I am.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“It can do more than that.”
“What?”
“It can prove who Marcus is.”
Everyone turned.
Marcus frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“The birth records weren't changed to hide Claire.”
She swallowed.
“They were changed to hide you.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Hide me from what?”
Evelyn couldn't answer.
Hannah did.
“From the truth about your father.”
The archive door began to close.
Marcus stepped toward the box.
“Open it.”
Hannah shook her head.
“Marcus, we don't have time.”
“Then make time.”
He reached for the box.
The metal lock clicked open.
Inside lay dozens of documents.
Birth records.
Adoption papers.
Letters.
Photographs.
And one sealed envelope.
Marcus picked it up.
His name was written on it.
Not his full name.
Just:
For my son, when he finally knows the truth.
The handwriting belonged to Richard.
Marcus's hands trembled.
He looked at Emilia.
She stood beside him.
“Open it.”
He broke the seal.
Inside was a single letter.
Marcus read the first line.
His face went pale.
He read the second.
Then he stopped.
Emilia looked at him.
“What does it say?”
Marcus slowly lifted his eyes.
His voice barely carried.
“My father says I was never supposed to be the heir.”
A pause.
“He says I was supposed to be the witness.”
The archive door slammed shut.
And somewhere above them, the building began to shake.