CHAPTER 6 — The Child Everyone Buried
Roman couldn't breathe.
He stared at Noah.
Then at Amelia.
Then back again.
Impossible.
Three years.
For three years he had searched for answers.
But never...
Never for another child.
"My son?"
His voice cracked.
"My son was alive?"
Clara nodded slowly.
"Evelyn gave birth to twins."
"A boy and a girl."
"You named them Amelia and Nathan."
Roman collapsed onto a dusty wooden chair.
"I held them..."
"I remember..."
Clara swallowed hard.
"You only held them for a few minutes."
"The hospital lost power."
"Security cameras failed."
"When everything came back..."
"...Nathan was gone."
Roman's face turned white.
"The police said he died."
"They lied."
"No."
Clara shook her head.
"They believed the paperwork."
"It was changed."
"By who?"
Clara's eyes filled with fear.
"Not Celeste."
Roman frowned.
"What?"
"She wasn't the mastermind."
The room became silent.
"The person behind everything..."
"...was someone you trusted."
Footsteps echoed downstairs.
Dr. Malcolm Voss.
The therapist stood at the chapel entrance with a pistol in his trembling hand.
"So..."
"You finally know."
Guards immediately aimed their weapons.
Roman stepped forward.
"You stole my son?"
Malcolm laughed bitterly.
"No."
"I saved him."
Everyone froze.
Roman's voice turned icy.
"Explain."
Malcolm slowly lowered the gun.
"The night Evelyn died..."
"I found Nathan alive."
"But before I could call anyone..."
"I saw who pushed Evelyn."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"It wasn't an accident."
"No."
"It was murder."
"And the killer ordered me to hand over the baby."
"So I ran."
"You kidnapped my son?"
"I rescued him."
Malcolm looked toward Noah.
"I left him with Clara."
"They hid."
"For years."
Roman's anger slowly turned into confusion.
"Then why lie?"
Malcolm's eyes filled with regret.
"Because the killer controlled the police..."
"...the courts..."
"...and even your own security team."
Roman whispered,
"Who?"
Malcolm looked directly into Roman's eyes.
"The chairman of Blackwood Global."
Roman frowned.
"My father died five years ago."
Malcolm slowly shook his head.
"No."
"He never died."
Lightning exploded outside.
The chapel windows rattled violently.
Roman stood frozen.
"What did you just say?"
Malcolm's lips trembled.
"The funeral..."
"...was staged."
"The man buried in your father's coffin..."
"...was someone else."
Before anyone could react—
BANG!
A sniper's bullet shattered the chapel window.
Malcolm jerked backward.
Blood spread across his chest.
He collapsed into Roman's arms.
With his final breath, he whispered six chilling words.
"Your father is watching us now..."
His eyes closed forever.
Outside...
Far beyond the trees...
A black helicopter slowly lifted into the storm.
Standing inside the open doorway...
An elderly man watched the chapel through a pair of binoculars.
He smiled.
Then he said calmly into his radio,
"Phase Two begins."
Roman looked up just in time to see the helicopter disappear into the dark clouds.
May you like
For the first time in his life...
The billionaire realized he had never truly known his own family.
