Chapter 7: The Truth Behind My Blood
The hallway went silent after Victoria left.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
It was as if the entire house was waiting to see what Richard would do next.
But Richard didn't know.
For the first time in his life, he had no idea what came next.
He looked at Eleanor.
His mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who had hidden the truth.
“Is she right?””
Eleanor's face crumpled.
“Richard…”
“Is she right?””
His voice wasn't angry anymore.
That frightened Emily more than anger.
Anger was alive.
This was exhaustion.
A person reaching the edge of what they could carry.
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
“No.””
Richard closed his eyes.
A small breath escaped him.
But then Daniel spoke.
“We need to be careful.””
Richard opened his eyes.
“Careful?””
Daniel nodded.
“Victoria knows exactly what to say when she wants someone to doubt themselves.””
Richard looked toward the hallway where she disappeared.
“But what if she's telling the truth?””
Nobody answered.
Because that was the terrifying part.
After everything that happened, even a cruel statement from Victoria carried weight.
Richard looked down at the documents scattered across the bed.
His entire identity had become a question.
“My father.””
He swallowed.
“Thomas.””
He corrected himself.
“My father raised me.””
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.””
“But he's not my biological father.””
“No.””
“And James isn't either?””
Eleanor looked at the floor.
“No.””
Richard turned away.
A strange laugh escaped him.
“So everyone knew who I wasn't.””
His eyes filled.
“But nobody knew who I was.””
Emily stepped closer.
“Richard.””
He looked at her.
She stopped.
Because she saw something in his face.
He wasn't asking for comfort.
He was asking for honesty.
And she understood.
“I don't know who your father is,” Emily said.
Richard nodded.
At least one person finally admitted not knowing.
Daniel walked toward the bed.
“There is someone who might.””
Richard looked at him.
“Who?””
Daniel hesitated.
And that hesitation immediately made Richard suspicious.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
She looked terrified.
“Your mother.””
Richard turned.
“Mom?””
Eleanor gripped the blanket.
“I thought it was over.””
“What was over?””
She looked toward the door.
“Everything.””
Richard stepped closer.
“No more secrets.””
A tear fell down Eleanor's cheek.
“I was twenty-three.””
The room became quiet.
“I had just started working for Thomas.””
Richard listened.
“I met James first.””
He looked down.
“He was charming.””
A bitter smile crossed her face.
“He made me feel important.””
Richard said nothing.
“Then I met Thomas.””
She looked at the photograph.
“Thomas was different.””
“How?””
“He was quiet.””
Her voice softened.
“He listened.””
Richard looked away.
“And James?””
“He made promises.””
Eleanor's fingers trembled.
“Thomas kept them.””
Nobody spoke.
Richard understood something painful.
People weren't always destroyed by strangers.
Sometimes they were destroyed by the person who made them feel safest.
“I loved both of them.””
The confession was quiet.
But it changed the room.
Richard stared.
“You loved both?””
Eleanor nodded.
“I was young.””
“That doesn't explain anything.””
“No.””
She wiped her tears.
“It doesn't.””
Richard looked at her.
“You had a choice.””
“Yes.””
“And you chose wrong.””
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
The honesty stopped him.
Because he expected excuses.
He expected another explanation.
But his mother simply accepted the wound she caused.
“I found out I was pregnant.””
Richard looked at her.
“And?””
“I didn't know who the father was.””
The words were almost impossible to hear.
Emily looked down.
Daniel remained silent.
Richard felt numb.
“So you married Thomas.””
Eleanor nodded.
“Because he loved me.””
“And because he had money.””
The words came out harsher than he intended.
Eleanor flinched.
Richard immediately regretted it.
But he couldn't take it back.
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You have the right to be angry.””
Richard looked away.
“What happened after I was born?””
“Thomas knew.””
Richard froze.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Years later.””
Eleanor looked at the floor.
“When he found the old letters.””
Richard frowned.
“What letters?””
“Between me and James.””
The name still felt poisonous.
“He realized.””
“And he stayed?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because Thomas said something I never forgot.””
Richard waited.
“He said, ‘A child is not a mistake because of the choices adults make.’”
The room became silent.
Richard looked at the photograph of Thomas.
The man he had hated.
The man who had loved him anyway.
Daniel quietly said:
“That was the reason Thomas created the trust.””
Richard looked at him.
“To protect me?””
“Yes.””
“From Victoria?””
“From anyone who might use your identity against you.””
Richard's expression changed.
“My identity.””
Daniel nodded.
“Thomas knew the truth could be dangerous.””
“Why?””
“Because James knew too.””
Richard looked confused.
“What do you mean?””
Daniel reached into the briefcase again.
He pulled out another envelope.
“This was found after Thomas died.””
Richard stared.
“Another letter?””
“Yes.””
“From who?””
Daniel handed it over.
“James.””
Richard hesitated.
Then opened it.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
The first sentence made his blood run cold.
Thomas,
You always believed love would make you stronger.
It made you weak.
Richard continued reading.
You raised a child who wasn't yours because you thought that made you noble.
But you forgot one thing.
The truth always belongs to the person who can use it.
Richard stopped.
His hands tightened.
Emily noticed.
“What does it say?””
Richard didn't answer.
He kept reading.
If Richard ever learns who his real father is, he will finally understand why everything happened.
The page shook.
There was another paragraph.
Because the man who gave him his blood is the only person Thomas feared.
Richard looked up.
Daniel's expression was serious.
“Keep reading.””
Richard did.
The final lines were short.
He is closer than you think.
Closer than your family.
Closer than your friends.
And when Richard discovers his name, he will understand why Victoria chose him.
Richard slowly lowered the letter.
The room felt cold.
“Chosen me?””
Daniel nodded.
Richard looked at Eleanor.
“Who?””
She looked terrified.
“I can't.””
Richard's voice broke.
“Mom.””
She shook her head.
“If I say his name…”
“What?””
Her eyes moved toward the window.
“Everything Victoria did will make sense.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Richard.””
He looked at him.
“There is one more thing.””
“What?””
Daniel took out his phone.
He unlocked it.
“There was someone who knew the truth before all of us.””
Richard stared.
“Who?””
Daniel turned the screen toward him.
A photograph appeared.
An older man.
Standing outside a courthouse.
Richard recognized him instantly.
His stomach dropped.
Because he had seen that face in his own house.
At his own wedding.
In his own family photographs.
Daniel whispered:
“The man who knows who your father is…”
May you like
Richard stared at the screen.
“…is your grandfather.””
