Chapter 5 - THE BLOODLINE LIE
The report on the screen looked official.
That made it more dangerous.
Victor had built an empire on documents that appeared legitimate.
Birth certificates.
Medical records.
Prenuptial agreements.
Court orders.
A piece of paper could be a weapon if the right person stamped it.
Nathaniel stared at my name.
He looked older in the red emergency light.
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
Victor’s voice filled the room.
“You do not remember the final month before the birth.”
“You drugged me.”
“I treated you.”
“You assaulted me.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
Nathaniel moved toward the screen.
“I will kill you.”
“That threat would matter if you knew where I was.”
Gunfire continued downstairs.
Agent Ruiz ordered the archive packed into a secure case.
Daniel examined the report.
“The laboratory code belongs to Blackwell Reproductive Center.”
“Jonathan’s clinic,” I said.
“Victor controls it.”
Eleanor gripped the piano.
“He lies through blood.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“Victor altered embryos and records. He rarely knew the truth himself. Confusion protected him.”
The house shook as an explosion struck the east wing.
Security announced that the dock was compromised.
We needed to leave through the old sea tunnel beneath the mansion.
Eleanor knew the entrance.
She led us into a pantry and pressed a hidden lever behind a shelf.
A stone staircase descended into darkness.
Nathaniel remained beside me.
I could feel the question between us.
Was I his daughter?
Or his brother’s?
Nathaniel had crossed the storm to save me.
Blood did not erase that.
Still, I needed the truth.
We entered the tunnel while guards held the upper floors.
Cold seawater covered the first steps.
The passage led toward a cave on the island’s north side where a rescue boat waited.
Halfway through, Eleanor stopped.
A steel gate blocked the tunnel.
Its electronic panel displayed a message.
ONE DESCENDANT REQUIRED.
Daniel pressed his hand against the biometric scanner.
The gate remained locked.
I tried.
The panel turned green.
VICTOR CROSS LINE CONFIRMED.
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
I felt as though the tunnel had lost its air.
The report appeared true.
Victor was my biological father.
Eleanor touched my face.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not knowing.”
“You were his prisoner.”
“Before that. I trusted the clinic.”
Daniel forced himself to focus.
“The scanner proves only that Grace matches data programmed into the system.”
Eleanor nodded quickly.
“Exactly. Victor could have assigned her identity to his profile.”
I wanted to believe them.
But every answer created another uncertainty.
The gate opened.
We continued toward the cave.
When we emerged, the rescue boat was gone.
A single black yacht waited offshore.
Victor stood on its rear deck beneath floodlights.
He had come in person.
Armed men surrounded the cave entrance behind us.
Nathaniel’s guards raised their weapons.
Victor held up a remote control.
“Shoot, and the island burns.”
He displayed a live image of fuel charges beneath the mansion.
Eleanor’s archive remained inside the secure case, but the building contained physical evidence and captive staff.
Victor looked at me.
“Come aboard, Grace.”
“No.”
“Jonathan is with me.”
A second light illuminated the deck.
My former husband stood beside Vanessa.
She wore another emerald necklace.
Not my mother’s.
A replica.
Jonathan’s face held none of the arrogance from the courthouse.
He looked like a frightened employee.
Vanessa looked worse.
A bruise darkened her cheek.
Victor placed one hand on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“He married you because I ordered it.”
“I know.”
“He donated the embryo that became your child.”
My arms tightened around my stomach.
“He is the father.”
Victor smiled.
“Are you certain?”
Jonathan looked away.
Victor displayed another report.
The fetus carried genetic material attributed to Daniel Cross.
Daniel stepped back.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?” Victor asked. “You provided samples during your annual executive examination.”
The room seemed to tilt.
The baby inside me could have been created through an embryo switch.
My husband might not be the father.
Daniel might be.
Or Victor could be lying again.
My child had become another disputed asset in his game.
“I will not let you test her,” I said.
“You already did. Every prenatal appointment fed data into my system.”
Jonathan finally spoke.
“Grace, come with us. He promised no one would be hurt.”
“Did he promise that before or after you tried to run me over?”
“I didn’t authorize that.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Yes, you did.”
Jonathan’s face changed.
She continued.
“You told the driver to make it look accidental.”
“Shut up.”
“You said once she was dead, the custody petition would transfer the baby to you.”
Victor watched them with amusement.
“Loyalty is such a temporary emotion.”
Vanessa stepped toward the edge of the yacht.
“I have the original prenup files. I copied them.”
Jonathan grabbed her arm.
She struggled.
A shot rang out.
Vanessa fell.
For one terrible second, I thought Jonathan had shot her.
Then Victor’s guard lowered his weapon.
Vanessa rolled over the side of the yacht and disappeared into the black water.
I screamed.
Daniel dove from the cave ledge before anyone could stop him.
He swam toward the place she vanished.
Gunfire erupted.
Nathaniel’s guards returned fire.
Victor pressed the remote.
The mansion exploded behind us.
The blast threw me against the rock wall.
Pain tore through my stomach.
Warm liquid ran down my legs.
My water had broken.
Nathaniel caught me before I fell.
The child was coming.
Victor’s yacht began pulling away.
Daniel surfaced with Vanessa in his arms.
She was alive, but bleeding.
Nathaniel’s security boat appeared through the smoke and rescued them.
As we fled the collapsing cave, Victor shouted from the yacht.
“Deliver the child, Grace!”
May you like
His voice carried across the burning water.
“Then ask Nathaniel why he signed the order to have you aborted.”
