Chapter 7: The Son They Stole
Daniel couldn't breathe.
The room was silent except for the steady beeping of Emma's heart monitor.
His voice cracked.
"Emma..."
"Tell me he's lying."
Tears streamed down Emma's face.
"I wanted to tell you..."
"But I was afraid."
Daniel slowly sat beside her hospital bed.
"Afraid of what?"
Emma looked at Lily, who was asleep in a chair hugging her teddy bear.
"Afraid they'd come back for her too."
Victor stepped closer.
"What happened to our son?"
Emma closed her eyes.
"The day Lily was born..."
"I wasn't carrying one baby."
"I was carrying twins."
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
"Twins?"
Emma nodded.
"A little girl..."
"And a little boy."
She struggled to continue.
"After the delivery, I was unconscious for almost twelve hours."
"When I woke up, they placed Lily in my arms."
"I asked where my son was."
"They told me..."
"...he had died."
Victor clenched his fists.
"And you believed them?"
Emma reached beneath her pillow and pulled out an old silver locket.
Inside were two tiny newborn footprints.
One labeled Lily.
The other...
Noah.
Victor stared at the locket in shock.
"He lived."
Emma whispered,
"I always knew."
"A mother feels those things."
"I spent six years pretending to accept his death."
"But every birthday..."
"I bought two cakes."
"One for Lily."
"And one for the son I believed was still alive."
Daniel broke down in tears.
He had watched Emma light that second candle every year.
She never explained why.
Now he finally understood.
Just then, Victor's chief investigator rushed into the room.
"Sir!"
"We hacked into Sinclair Global's private servers."
Victor stood immediately.
"What did you find?"
The investigator placed a faded photograph on the hospital bed.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
It showed a twelve-year-old boy standing beside Edward Sinclair.
The boy had Emma's eyes.
Victor's smile.
And the exact same birthmark behind his left ear that Lily had.
Emma covered her mouth.
"My baby..."
Victor whispered,
"Noah..."
Then the investigator handed Victor another document.
"It gets worse."
"The boy isn't living as Noah."
"Edward changed everything."
"His name..."
"...is Ethan Sinclair."
"He believes Edward is his real grandfather."
"He has no idea his parents are alive."
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
Twelve birthdays.
Twelve Christmas mornings.
Twelve years stolen from an innocent child.
Victor's hands shook with anger.
"I'm bringing my son home."
But before anyone could make a plan, every television in the hospital switched on again.
Edward Sinclair appeared, smiling as calmly as ever.
Behind him stood a teenage boy in a tailored suit.
The resemblance to Victor was impossible to ignore.
Edward placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Ethan..."
"Meet the family that's coming to destroy everything you've ever believed."
The boy looked directly into the camera.
His eyes were cold.
Emotionless.
Then he spoke words that shattered Emma's heart.
"I don't have a mother."
"I don't have a father."
"I have only one family."
"And if any of you come near my grandfather..."
"I'll stop you myself."
The broadcast ended.
Emma collapsed into tears.
Victor stood frozen.
May you like
Because the son they had spent twelve years searching for...
Had been raised to become their greatest enemy.
