CHAPTER 7 — THE SON WHO CHOSE HIS ENEMY
"My name is Alexander Sinclair."
"I have no father."
The words struck Ethan harder than any bullet ever could.
Standing before him was the son he had mourned for twelve years.
The same eyes.
The same jawline.
The same small scar above his eyebrow that Olivia remembered seeing the day he was born.
Yet there was no recognition in the boy's face.
Only ice.
Isabella Sinclair smiled as Ethan struggled to breathe.
"You expected gratitude?"
She slowly walked beside Alexander and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"I gave him the best schools... the finest tutors... unlimited wealth... and a purpose."
"You gave him nothing."
Ethan clenched his fists.
"You stole his life."
"No," Isabella replied calmly.
"I rewrote it."
Ethan stepped closer to the boy.
"Lucas..."
"My name is Alexander."
"You are my son."
"I said..."
"My name is Alexander."
Without warning, the teenager pulled a pistol from inside his jacket and pointed it directly at Ethan's chest.
The guards didn't react.
They had seen this before.
Isabella watched silently.
She wanted to know whether twelve years of lies were stronger than blood.
"Pull the trigger," she whispered.
Alexander's finger tightened on the trigger.
Ethan didn't move.
He slowly opened his wallet.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young Olivia, heavily pregnant, smiling as Ethan kissed her forehead.
Behind the picture was the tiny blue hospital bracelet marked:
BABY CARTER.
Ethan placed it gently on the table.
"Your mother knitted you a blue blanket before you were born."
"She sang the same lullaby every night."
"She never stopped looking for you."
Alexander's eyes flickered.
Just for a second.
A memory.
A melody.
A woman's voice humming softly in the darkness.
His grip weakened.
"No..."
He stepped backward.
"Those memories aren't real."
Isabella's expression changed for the first time.
She hadn't expected that.
Suddenly, every light inside the castle went dark.
The alarms exploded.
Red emergency lights flashed through the corridors.
Gunfire echoed outside.
The guards rushed toward the entrance.
A loud explosion shook the entire building.
Smoke poured through the windows.
Ethan grabbed Alexander and pulled him behind a marble pillar as bullets shattered the walls.
"Stay down!"
Alexander stared at Ethan in shock.
Why would this stranger risk his life to protect him?
Then another voice echoed through the castle.
"Nobody leaves alive!"
Dozens of heavily armed mercenaries stormed inside.
They weren't Isabella's men.
They weren't Victor's men.
They had come for one thing.
The Carter twins.
During the chaos, Olivia burst through the smoke wearing a stolen tactical vest, accompanied by an FBI international task force.
She had escaped the warehouse...
And traced Ethan's location.
"Ethan!"
Their eyes met across the burning hall.
Before either of them could reach Alexander...
A sniper's bullet shattered the ceiling.
Massive stone blocks crashed between them.
The floor collapsed.
Alexander slipped over the edge.
Without hesitation, Ethan dove after him.
Father and son disappeared into the darkness below...
While Isabella stood on the balcony above, smiling.
May you like
Because everything that had happened...
Was exactly as she had planned.
