Chapter 6: The Betrayal Hidden In My Blood
The phone slipped slightly in my hand.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Vanessa’s words repeated in my mind.
*The person who framed you is standing in the room with you.*
My eyes moved slowly.
First to Adrian.
Then to my father.
Neither man spoke.
Neither man looked surprised.
And that scared me more than anything.
“Vanessa,” I whispered into the phone.
The line was still open.
“Tell me exactly what you mean.””
Her breathing was uneven.
Like she was somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be.
“Claire, I shouldn’t have called you.””
“Why?””
“Because now they know I warned you.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who knows?””
No answer.
“Vanessa.””
Her voice became quieter.
“Leave.””
Then the call ended.
I stared at the screen.
The silence in the room became unbearable.
My father looked at me.
“Who was that?””
I laughed softly.
A humorless sound.
“Really?””
His expression changed.
“What?””
“You’re asking me?””
I held up the phone.
“After everything tonight, you’re still pretending you don’t know what’s happening?””
My father looked hurt.
“I don’t.””
“Then explain why someone just told me the person who framed me is standing in this room.””
Adrian’s eyes moved to him.
My father noticed.
And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen between them.
Suspicion.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Fear.
“Richard,” Adrian said slowly.
My father looked at him.
“What?””
“Where are the original documents?””
The question was so sudden that I turned.
“What documents?””
Neither answered.
My frustration exploded.
“No.””
They both looked at me.
“No more secret conversations.””
I stepped between them.
“I’m standing right here. I’m the person whose name is being used. I’m the person who could go to prison.””
My father closed his eyes.
“You’re right.””
The words surprised me.
He looked exhausted.
“I owe you the truth.””
I waited.
He walked to the window.
For several seconds, he simply stared outside.
“When your mother was pregnant with you, I discovered Marcus was moving money from our company accounts.””
I listened.
“Millions.””
He swallowed.
“I confronted him.””
“What happened?””
“He threatened us.””
My hands tightened.
“You said he threatened me.””
“He did.””
My father turned around.
“Marcus knew your mother was expecting. He knew everything about our family.””
“Why?””
“Because he wanted the records.””
I frowned.
“What records?””
“The original Blackwood ledger.””
I looked at Adrian.
“The one proving he stole the money.””
My father nodded.
“But I didn’t trust banks. I didn’t trust lawyers. I didn’t trust anyone connected to Marcus.””
“So what did you do?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“I hid the ledger.””
“Where?””
He looked at me.
And my stomach dropped before he even answered.
“With you.””
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.””
“It was hidden in your birth records.””
I stared.
“My birth records?””
My father nodded.
“I created a digital backup and attached it to a private trust under your name.””
I couldn’t speak.
“You made me the hiding place?””
“I made sure nobody could access it without you.””
“Without me?””
“Yes.””
He stepped closer.
“Claire, you were the only person Marcus couldn’t control.””
I looked at him.
“Because I was a baby.””
The pain on his face told me I was right.
He had spent twenty-five years trying to protect me.
But he had also spent twenty-five years making decisions for me.
And now I was paying the price.
Adrian spoke quietly.
“Your father wasn’t supposed to tell you.””
I turned.
“Why?””
“Because Marcus spent years searching for that ledger.””
“And you?””
His expression changed.
“I spent years trying to stop him.””
I looked at him.
“By marrying me?””
His silence returned.
I felt my heart break again.
“Answer me.””
Adrian looked down.
“Yes.””
The word barely existed.
But I heard it.
I stepped back.
“You did.””
He looked at me.
“I didn’t know how to tell you.””
“You had eight years.””
“I fell in love with you.””
“After you married me for information.””
His face tightened.
“Claire—”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t get to say my name like that.””
The man who had held me when I cried.
The man who promised forever.
The man I defended against everyone.
Had walked into my life with a hidden purpose.
Maybe he loved me.
Maybe part of him did.
But love built on a lie was still a lie.
My father moved toward me.
“Claire, there is something else.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course there was.
There was always something else.
“What?””
He hesitated.
That hesitation terrified me.
“The documents Adrian found…”
I looked at him.
“They were not fake.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“The signature.””
I felt the room spin.
“My signature?””
“Yes.””
“No.””
My father shook his head.
“I said the documents were not fake. I didn’t say you signed them knowingly.””
I stared.
“What are you saying?””
He looked at Adrian.
Then back at me.
“Someone used your identity years ago.””
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
I already knew.
Because the answer was standing somewhere close.
Someone who knew my handwriting.
Someone who knew my history.
Someone who had access to my personal information.
Someone I trusted.
A horrible thought entered my mind.
“Natalie.””
Adrian’s face changed.
My father went silent.
That was enough.
“Natalie did this?””
Adrian immediately said:
“I don’t know.””
I looked at him.
“That’s a lie.””
His jaw tightened.
“I don’t know everything.””
“But you suspect her.””
He didn’t answer.
I grabbed my coat.
“Where are you going?””
My father sounded alarmed.
“Away from both of you.””
“Claire.””
I turned.
Adrian looked at me.
For a moment, I saw the old Adrian.
The man from our first apartment.
The man who danced with me in the kitchen.
The man who promised I would never be alone.
“I’m trying to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“That’s what everyone says right before they hurt me.””
I walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
Because something outside caught my attention.
A shadow moved past the window.
Someone was standing in the yard.
Watching the house.
I froze.
Adrian noticed.
“What is it?””
I didn’t answer.
I walked closer to the glass.
The figure disappeared.
But then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
A picture.
My house.
Taken seconds ago.
Underneath it were four words:
*You should have listened.*
My blood went cold.
Adrian saw my face.
“What happened?””
I turned the phone toward him.
His expression changed instantly.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
“You know who sent this.””
He didn’t deny it.
That was the moment something inside me finally broke.
“You know.””
Adrian looked at the message.
Then at me.
“I need you to leave.””
I stared.
“What?””
“Now.””
“Why?””
He moved toward the door.
“Because whoever sent that message isn’t trying to scare you.””
He unlocked the door.
“They’re warning me.””
I didn’t move.
“About what?””
Adrian looked at me.
And the fear in his eyes was real.
“The person who framed you isn’t trying to destroy your reputation.””
A pause.
“They’re trying to erase you.””
The lights suddenly went out.
The entire house fell into darkness.
My father cursed quietly.
Adrian grabbed my arm.
Then—
A sound.
Glass breaking upstairs.
Someone was inside.
My father reached for the emergency flashlight.
Adrian pulled me behind him.
And from the second floor came a voice.
A familiar voice.
“Claire?””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
It belonged to someone who should not have been in my house.
Someone who had just warned me to run.
Vanessa.
And then another voice answered from upstairs.
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Cold.
“Bring her to me.””
Adrian went completely still.
Because he recognized it too.
His face turned pale.
“Marcus.””
The man who had built the Vale empire.
The man who had started everything.
May you like
The man who had been searching for the truth for twenty-five years.
Was standing inside my home.
