CHAPTER 8: The Dog Who Recognized the Truth
Alexander had raised Rich since he was a puppy.
For nearly ten years...
The dog had never once growled at him.
Not once.
Yet now...
Rich refused to come closer.
Sophia looked confused.
"Dad..."
"Why is he acting like that?"
Alexander reached out gently.
"Come here, Rich."
The dog didn't move.
Instead...
He sniffed the air.
Then backed away another step.
Daniel frowned.
"This doesn't make sense."
Unless...
It wasn't Alexander the dog was afraid of.
It was...
Something on him.
Daniel carefully examined Alexander's jacket.
Nothing.
His shoes.
Nothing.
His briefcase.
Nothing.
Then Rich barked loudly at Alexander's wristwatch.
The expensive Swiss watch had belonged to Richard Grant.
Alexander had worn it every day since his father's funeral.
Daniel removed it carefully.
The moment the watch left Alexander's wrist...
Rich stopped growling.
The room fell silent.
Daniel slowly turned the watch over.
"I've never noticed this before."
There was a tiny scratch near the crown.
Too precise to be accidental.
A hidden latch.
With a small tool, Daniel gently opened it.
Click.
Inside the watch...
A miniature memory card.
Sophia whispered,
"No way..."
Daniel inserted the card into a secure computer.
One file.
Audio only.
A man's voice filled the room.
It was Richard Grant.
Calm.
Tired.
"If you're hearing this..."
"...then I am already dead."
Alexander closed his eyes.
His father's voice continued.
"The child I raised..."
"...may not be my biological son."
Sophia gasped.
Richard continued,
"But biology doesn't define family."
"I loved you from the first moment I held you."
"You became my son because I chose you."
Tears rolled down Alexander's face.
For the first time since this nightmare began...
He smiled.
Even if he wasn't born a Grant...
Richard had truly loved him.
But the recording wasn't finished.
"There is one person who knows the entire truth."
A pause.
Then one name.
Dr. Evelyn Carter.
"The only surviving doctor from the hospital."
"If she is still alive..."
"...she can identify the child who was switched."
The recording ended.
Daniel immediately searched government databases.
His expression changed.
"She's alive."
"Where?"
Daniel swallowed.
"In Switzerland."
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
"She disappeared..."
"...this morning."
Silence.
Alexander slowly looked toward Rich.
The dog suddenly barked at the television.
Breaking News interrupted every channel.
A luxury medical helicopter had crashed into a frozen lake near the Swiss border.
Authorities believed there were no survivors.
Among the leaked passenger names...
One name appeared.
Dr. Evelyn Carter.
Alexander lowered his head.
"We're too late."
Then...
His secure phone vibrated.
An unknown international number.
He answered.
A weak elderly woman's voice whispered,
"They're lying..."
Alexander froze.
"Who is this?"
"You have exactly..."
"...forty-eight hours."
"Find me..."
"...before the Raven Society does."
The call disconnected.
Daniel traced the signal.
His eyes widened.
"It didn't come from the crash site."
"Where did it come from?"
Daniel stared at the screen in disbelief.
"The signal originated..."
"...inside your own private airport."
Alexander looked toward the window.
The same airport where Rich had stopped him from boarding the jet.
Someone had been hiding there...
Since the very beginning.
May you like
END OF CHAPTER 8...
The mystery is no longer just about a switched child. Someone has been orchestrating every move for decades—and the answers may have been hidden in Alexander's own airport all along.
