Chapter 18 — The Bloodline Secret
Alex stared at the file.
He refused to open it.
Because some part of him already knew.
Whatever was inside would change everything.
Again.
"You expect me to believe this?"
Emma didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Because Alex's fear was not disbelief.
It was recognition.
He had spent his entire life feeling different.
Not like Richard.
Not like the Ashford family.
Even as a child, people whispered.
He was too emotional.
Too independent.
Too unlike his father.
He opened the file.
Inside was a DNA report.
A name.
A name he had never seen.
Jonathan Vale.
Alex looked up.
"Who is this?"
Emma's expression changed.
"The man your mother loved before Richard."
Silence.
Alex shook his head.
"No."
"Your mother was pregnant before she married Richard."
The room spun.
"My father knew?"
Emma nodded.
"Richard knew."
"Then why did he raise me?"
"Because he loved Elizabeth."
A pause.
"And because he promised her he would protect you."
Alex looked down.
The anger inside him became confusion.
His entire identity had been built on something false.
Emma continued.
"But someone else knew."
"Who?"
Emma looked at him.
"The person who killed Elizabeth."
Back at the mansion, Claire finally found something.
Hidden inside Elizabeth's old diary.
A page that had been glued together.
A message.
Not written by Elizabeth.
Written by someone else.
Claire read the handwriting.
Her face changed.
Because she recognized it.
The handwriting belonged to Daniel.
The message said:
"If you are reading this, then I failed."
"The Ashford family is not your enemy."
"The enemy is the person who made us all believe they were."
Claire turned the page.
A name was written.
The same name Emma had been searching for.
The same name connected to Elizabeth's death.
Victoria Hale.
Claire dropped the diary.
"No..."
It couldn't be.
Victoria wasn't just a victim.
She wasn't just a pawn.
She was part of it.
At the church, Alex received a phone call.
Claire.
He answered immediately.
"Claire?"
Her voice was shaking.
"Alex, you need to leave."
He frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I know who has been behind everything."
A pause.
"Who?"
Before Claire could answer—
The call cut.
Alex looked at Emma.
"What happened?"
Emma checked her phone.
Her expression changed.
"She found it."
"What?"
"The truth."
Then the church doors opened.
Someone walked inside.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Clapping.
Everyone turned.
Victoria Hale stood there.
But she wasn't scared anymore.
She was smiling.
"You two have been searching for answers."
She looked at Alex.
"I've been waiting for you to find them."
Alex stepped forward.
"Victoria."
She smiled.
"Hello, Alex."
A pause.
"I think it's time you met the person who started this entire war."
She moved aside.
And behind her...
Someone entered.
Someone everyone believed was dead.
Daniel Cross.
But Daniel wasn't looking at Claire.
He was looking at Alex.
May you like
And he said:
"Son."
