CHAPTER 9 — "The Fire Couldn't Burn the Truth"
Flames raced through the old mansion in seconds.
Wooden beams cracked overhead.
Smoke swallowed the grand hallway.
Edward ignored the heat and ran toward Noah's terrified voice.
"NOAH!"
"Dad! We're down here!"
The sound came from the basement.
Edward kicked open a heavy steel door.
Inside, Noah was desperately trying to free Amelia, whose wrists were tied to an old chair. She was pale, exhausted, and barely conscious after years of illness.
The moment Amelia looked up, her eyes filled with tears.
"Edward..."
Twenty-two years disappeared in a single heartbeat.
He rushed forward and untied her trembling hands before pulling both Amelia and Noah into his arms.
"I've got you."
"I'm never letting you go again."
Before they could escape, William appeared at the top of the staircase holding a pistol.
His calm smile had vanished.
"If I can't have this family..."
"...neither can you."
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
Edward instinctively stepped in front of Amelia.
But nothing happened.
William looked at the gun in disbelief.
The magazine had been removed.
A familiar voice echoed behind him.
"Looking for these?"
Michael Reeves stood in the smoke, holding the bullets.
Behind him, police officers and FBI agents flooded into the mansion.
William had forgotten one thing.
Edward never truly came alone.
The GPS in his watch had silently guided his security team to the mansion the moment he entered.
Realizing he was trapped, William laughed bitterly.
"You still don't understand."
He pointed toward the folder lying on the floor.
"The DNA report..."
"...was supposed to destroy you."
Edward picked it up.
An FBI forensic specialist who had entered with the team glanced at the document.
His expression changed immediately.
"This report is forged."
He looked directly at Edward.
"The laboratory seal is fake."
"The signatures are copied."
"The original records were altered years ago."
William had fabricated the second DNA report to make Edward doubt his own family in their final moments together.
It was one last act of cruelty.
The truth had never changed.
Noah had always been Edward's son.
William's shoulders slumped.
For the first time in twenty-two years...
he had nothing left to hide.
As officers placed handcuffs on him, he looked at Edward one final time.
"I stole your future..."
"...because I couldn't forgive my own past."
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Then he lowered his head.
The empire he had sacrificed everything to control was gone forever.
