CHAPTER 8 — “The Secret Marcus Killed to Protect”
Forensic experts searched the abandoned cottage overnight.
At first...
Nothing unusual appeared.
Then one detective discovered a hidden compartment beneath the bedroom floor.
Inside was a small metal box.
No money.
No jewelry.
Only dozens of cassette tapes...
A digital recorder...
And one sealed envelope addressed to Adrian.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
"Adrian..."
"If you're reading this, I may already be gone again."
"I never abandoned you."
"The night I disappeared, Marcus confessed something your father never knew."
Adrian's breathing became uneven.
He continued reading.
"Edward wanted me out of the family."
"But Marcus wanted something far worse."
"He wasn't protecting the Cross fortune..."
"He was protecting his own secret."
Attached to the letter was a faded DNA report.
The detective unfolded it.
His eyes widened.
"This can't be..."
Adrian grabbed the report.
His world collapsed in an instant.
The document revealed that Edward Cross...
Was not Adrian's biological father.
Silence filled the room.
The detectives immediately replayed one of the cassette tapes.
Marcus's younger voice echoed through the speakers.
"If Adrian ever learns who his real father is... everything we've built will fall apart."
Then another voice answered.
It wasn't Edward's.
It belonged to a man no one recognized.
"Then make sure Emily disappears forever."
The room froze.
Marcus had never been the mastermind.
He had been taking orders.
From someone whose identity had remained hidden for decades.
Just then, Adrian's phone vibrated.
A video message had been sent from an unknown number.
He pressed play.
Emily appeared on the screen.
Bruised.
Terrified.
Someone stood behind her with a gun.
A masked voice spoke calmly:
"Bring me the DNA file..."
"...or next time your daughter watches her mother die for real."
The screen went black.
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For the first time, Adrian realized the nightmare had never been about inheritance...
It had always been about who he really was.
