Chapter 10: The Last Name on the Will
The mansion erupted into chaos.
“Call an ambulance!”” Vincent shouted.
Maria rushed to Grace's side while Elena helped support her.
Daniel ran toward the entrance.
“Thomas!””
But the car had already disappeared beyond the gates.
Detective Reed pulled out his radio.
“Units, we have a possible escape vehicle heading north from the Sterling estate. Black sedan. Driver identified as Dr. Samuel Harris.””
Vincent turned toward him.
“Forget the chase. Grace needs medical attention.””
Marcus nodded to one of the officers.
“Stay with the family. I'll coordinate the search.””
Vincent crouched beside Grace.
“Look at me. You're going to be okay.””
Grace was breathing quickly.
“My baby.””
“I know.””
“Please don't let anything happen to my baby.””
Vincent held her hand.
“I'm not going anywhere.””
The ambulance arrived eleven minutes later.
The paramedics examined Grace before carefully transferring her onto a stretcher.
Elena climbed inside with her.
Daniel followed in his car.
Vincent stood beside the ambulance doors.
“Call me as soon as you know anything.””
Elena nodded.
Then she looked at him.
“Vincent?””
“Yes?””
“Don't let them disappear again.””
He squeezed her hand.
“I won't.””
The ambulance pulled away.
For the first time that evening, Vincent was alone with the truth.
And it was worse than anything he had imagined.
His wife had been hidden from him.
His father had manipulated the family.
His mother had apparently helped arrange a murder.
His half-brother had tried to take the inheritance.
And the man he had trusted to treat his family had been involved in a conspiracy spanning decades.
But one question remained.
Why had Thomas escaped with Dr. Harris?
Vincent turned toward Detective Reed.
“We need to find that doctor.””
Marcus nodded.
“Already working on it.””
“What did Victoria give you?””
“The USB drive.””
“Have you listened to it?””
“Not yet.””
Vincent looked toward the empty dining room.
“Then let's hear it.””
They returned to the study.
Marcus connected the USB drive to his laptop.
A recording appeared.
The date was seven years earlier.
The audio began with the sound of a hospital monitor.
Then Victoria's voice.
“Are you sure nobody saw you?””
Thomas answered.
“Relax. The nurse was paid.””
“What about the doctor?””
“He knows what to do.””
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Your mother is getting suspicious.””
Thomas laughed.
“She won't be suspicious for much longer.””
A pause followed.
Then Victoria spoke again.
“What if Vincent finds out?””
Thomas's voice became colder.
“Vincent doesn't know who his father is. He doesn't know what his mother did. He doesn't know anything.””
“And the baby?””
“What baby?””
“The Morgan child.””
Thomas sighed.
“If it survives, it becomes a problem.””
The recording ended.
Vincent sat motionless.
Marcus closed the laptop.
“That's enough to reopen the investigation.””
Vincent looked at the detective.
“Why did Thomas need Dr. Harris?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Because the doctor had access to the original medical records.””
Vincent frowned.
“Which records?””
“Your mother's hospital file. Grace's birth file. And the DNA report.””
Vincent stood.
“He's trying to destroy the evidence.””
Marcus nodded.
“Or replace it.””
At the hospital, Elena waited outside the maternity ward.
Daniel sat beside her, his hands clasped tightly.
Neither had spoken for nearly twenty minutes.
Finally, Daniel looked up.
“Do you think Vincent is really my brother?””
Elena nodded.
“Rebecca wouldn't lie about something like that.””
“But if we're brothers, why did Richard raise him?””
“Because he loved him, perhaps.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Or because he wanted to control him.””
Elena looked toward the closed hospital doors.
“Maybe both.””
A nurse approached.
“Family of Grace Morgan?””
Both stood.
“How is she?”” Elena asked.
The nurse smiled gently.
“She's stable. The baby is doing well. The doctor wants to monitor her overnight, but there is no immediate danger.””
Daniel exhaled.
“Thank God.””
“Can we see her?””
“Only one person at a time for now.””
Elena nodded.
“I'll go first.””
Grace was lying in a hospital bed when Elena entered.
Her face was pale, but she managed a small smile.
“Hey, cousin.””
Elena pulled a chair beside her.
“Don't scare us like that again.””
Grace laughed weakly.
“I'm sorry.””
“How are you feeling?””
“Better.””
Elena took her hand.
“The baby?””
“Fine.””
For a moment, they sat quietly.
Then Grace asked:
“Did you find out who my father was?””
Elena hesitated.
“Not yet.””
Grace looked toward the window.
“My grandmother always said my father was a good man who made a terrible mistake.””
Elena squeezed her hand.
“Maybe we'll find him.””
Grace looked at her.
“And if he's still alive?””
Elena didn't answer.
Because she had a feeling that the truth would be much closer than anyone expected.
At 2:15 a.m., Vincent received a call.
It was Marcus.
“We found Dr. Harris.””
“Where?””
“An abandoned medical office near the old Sterling property.””
“Is Thomas with him?””
“Yes.””
“Are they in custody?””
Marcus paused.
“Thomas is gone.””
Vincent closed his eyes.
“Again?””
“We found the doctor unconscious. He was attacked.””
“Is he alive?””
“Yes. He's being transported to the hospital.””
“What about the records?””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Most of them are gone.””
Vincent gripped his phone.
“But?””
“We found one file hidden behind a false panel in his office.””
“What file?””
“Your original birth record.””
Vincent stopped breathing.
“Send it to me.””
“I want you to see it in person.””
At dawn, Vincent arrived at the hospital.
Marcus was waiting outside a private examination room.
He held a sealed folder.
“Before you open this,” the detective said, “I need you to understand something.””
Vincent looked at him.
“What?””
“The DNA report confirms your biological father was James Morgan.””
Vincent frowned.
“Who is James Morgan?””
Marcus opened the folder.
“Rebecca's older brother.””
Vincent stared.
“Then Daniel and I aren't brothers?””
“No.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Daniel's father was Richard Sterling. Your biological father was James.””
Vincent looked at the report.
He recognized the name from old family documents.
James Morgan had disappeared when Vincent was a child.
Richard had always claimed he died overseas.
But according to the file, James had lived in the United States for another twenty years.
“Where is he now?”” Vincent asked.
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“That's the problem.””
“What?””
“We found a recent address.””
“Where?””
Marcus pointed toward the hospital.
“Room 318.””
Vincent slowly turned.
“Who's in room 318?””
Marcus handed him another sheet.
The patient's name was listed clearly.
James Morgan.
Vincent felt his heart pound.
His biological father was alive.
And he was in the same hospital.
Vincent walked down the corridor alone.
Room 318 was near the end.
The door was slightly open.
Inside, an elderly Black man sat beside the window in a wheelchair. His hair was white, his hands thin, and a blanket covered his legs.
He was looking at a photograph.
Vincent knocked.
The man turned.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then the old man spoke.
“Vincent?””
Vincent nodded.
“I'm Vincent.””
James Morgan lowered the photograph.
“You look just like your mother.””
Vincent entered slowly.
“Do you know who I am?””
James smiled sadly.
“I've known since the day you were born.””
Vincent stopped beside the bed.
“Why didn't you come for me?””
James looked down.
“Because Richard promised he would raise you as his own. He told me you would have a better life if I stayed away.””
Vincent's eyes filled.
“He told me you were dead.””
“I know.””
“Everyone told me different stories.””
James nodded.
“Your father was a complicated man.””
Vincent looked at him.
“Richard wasn't my father.””
James reached for his hand.
“He raised you. He loved you in his own broken way. But he wasn't the man who gave you life.””
Vincent swallowed.
“Why did you come back?””
James looked toward the window.
“Because I heard Elena was alive.””
Vincent froze.
“How do you know Elena?””
James reached beneath his blanket and removed a small envelope.
“I was the one who helped her escape the fire.””
Vincent stared.
“You?””
James nodded.
“I worked for your grandmother. She knew what Richard and Victoria were planning. She asked me to get Elena out before the fire started.””
Vincent's voice trembled.
“Then why did everyone think she was dead?””
“Because someone switched the hospital records.””
James opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Elena, younger and visibly frightened, standing beside him outside a small house.
On the back was a date.
The day after the fire.
Vincent sat down.
“Why didn't you contact me?””
James looked at him.
“Because I was shot two days later. I spent months recovering. By the time I could move again, Richard had already convinced everyone that Elena was dead.””
Vincent looked at the old man.
“Who shot you?””
James hesitated.
Then he answered.
“Your mother.””
Vincent stared.
James continued.
“She thought I had stolen the Morgan documents. She didn't know I was protecting Elena.””
Vincent leaned back.
Everything was connected.
His mother's involvement.
Thomas's threats.
The fire.
The missing documents.
And the mysterious transfer of the estate.
James looked toward him.
“Did you find the chest?””
Vincent nodded.
“It's in the mansion.””
“Then you need to open the second compartment.””
Vincent frowned.
“There's another compartment?””
James smiled faintly.
“Your grandmother designed it. The first compartment holds the family records. The second holds the original will.””
Vincent stood.
“Where is the key?””
James reached into his pocket and removed a small silver key.
He placed it in Vincent's hand.
“Your grandmother gave it to me.””
Vincent stared at it.
“What's in the will?””
James looked directly into his eyes.
“Everything your family has been fighting over.””
He paused.
Then added:
“And one final condition.””
“What condition?””
James took a shaky breath.
“Whoever inherits the Morgan estate must restore it to the children who were erased from the family.””
Vincent looked down at the key.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Elena.
Grace has delivered a healthy baby girl. Both are doing well.
Vincent smiled for the first time in days.
He typed a reply.
I'm coming.
But before he could put the phone away, another message appeared.
This one was from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of the mansion.
The antique chest stood beneath the staircase.
Its lid was open.
And someone had placed a newborn baby's blanket inside.
Beneath the photograph were eight words:
You found the heir. Now find the person who took her.
Vincent's smile disappeared.
He immediately called Marcus.
“Lock down the mansion.””
“What happened?””
“Someone has been inside.””
“Who?””
Vincent stared at the photograph.
“I don't know.””
Then a second message arrived.
Tell Grace the baby was never supposed to be yours.
Vincent looked toward the hospital nursery.
Through the glass, he could see the tiny newborn sleeping peacefully.
A nurse stood beside her.
And behind the nurse, watching through the nursery window, was Victoria.
But Victoria was supposed to be in police custody.
Vincent ran.
May you like
Because the final secret of the Sterling family wasn't hidden inside the chest anymore.
It was standing beside his newborn niece.
