CHAPTER 25 :THE THIRD HEIR
Noah stared at Thomas.
“You said I was your biological son.”
“You are.”
“The machine says I belong to three bloodlines.”
Thomas tightened his grip.
“Biology is more complicated than names.”
Grant forced Margaret toward the vault entrance.
“Open the door.”
Ethan stood between them and the children.
“No.”
Grant aimed at Claire through the glass.
“The door is reinforced. The people inside are not.”
Adrian examined the control panel.
“There may be another exit.”
“There isn’t,” Helen said.
Vanessa turned toward her.
“You designed a nursery with only one door?”
“I designed a vault no one could escape after activation.”
Ethan faced her.
“You keep finding new ways to make yourself useful.”
Margaret struck Grant’s arm.
The weapon fired.
The bullet shattered part of the glass, but did not penetrate it.
Noah drove his elbow into Thomas’s chest and broke free.
He reached for Grant.
Thomas caught him by the back of his shirt.
“Stop fighting me.”
“You raised me inside a lie.”
“I kept you alive.”
“You kept me hidden.”
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“The Blackwoods would have cut you open to understand what Helen created.”
Daniel stepped closer to the glass.
“And you raised him because you loved him?”
Thomas looked toward the empty cradle.
“I raised him because I needed one heir who would choose me.”
Noah stopped struggling.
The honesty hurt more than the lie.
Inside the vault, the terminal produced a warning.
ALL THREE CONTINUITY LINES REQUIRED.
CARDIAC STABILIZATION INCOMPLETE.
Claire looked toward Adrian.
“What does it need?”
“Noah.”
Helen entered a code.
A section of the wall opened, revealing a third biometric platform.
“Noah must place his hand there.”
Thomas saw it through the glass.
“You need my son.”
Ethan met his gaze.
“He isn’t yours to trade.”
“No,” Thomas replied. “But he is mine to protect.”
Grant shoved Margaret to the floor.
“Enough.”
He aimed his weapon at Noah.
“Open the door, or the third heir dies before the trust recognizes him.”
Margaret looked at Ethan.
“Do it.”
Ethan hesitated.
She pressed one hand against the wound in her shoulder.
“You were never raised to protect the Blackwood fortune.”
“Why was I raised?”
“To become the witness.”
Helen looked sharply at her.
“You were not supposed to know that.”
Margaret laughed weakly.
“I was there for his first breath. I heard Evelyn give the order.”
Ethan looked toward the terminal.
“What is the witness?”
“The one person outside the succession line,” Margaret said. “The person who decides whether the heirs are allowed to inherit.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“That authority was supposed to be destroyed.”
“It wasn’t.”
The terminal scanned Ethan again.
WITNESS CONFIRMED.
TERMINATION AUTHORITY AVAILABLE.
Three names appeared.
PRIMARY PRESERVATION HEIR.
SECOND-GENERATION HEIR.
RELEASED COMPOSITE HEIR: NOAH REED.
A countdown began.
60 SECONDS TO SELECT INVALID SUCCESSION LINE.
Claire looked at Ethan.
“What happens when the time runs out?”
Helen’s silence answered her.
Adrian read the lower section of the screen.
“If Ethan does not choose one heir, the system terminates all three.”
Thomas aimed his weapon through the damaged glass.
“Choose the preserved child.”
Claire stepped in front of the first cradle.
“No.”
Grant shouted from outside.
“Choose Claire’s baby.”
Ethan looked at Noah.
Noah’s eyes were filled with terror, but he forced himself to stand straight.
“Don’t let them choose for you.”
The countdown reached thirty seconds.
Ethan placed his hand against the terminal.
Then he selected the fourth option hidden beneath the three names.
TERMINATE WITNESS.
The system rejected it.
INVALID SELECTION.
Ten seconds remained.
Helen grabbed Ethan’s wrist.
“Choose one.”
“Never.”
Five.
Four.
Three.
Claire suddenly placed her palm over Ethan’s.
Her expression became calm.
Cold.
Ancient.
When she spoke, Evelyn’s voice filled the vault.
“Founder override.”
The countdown stopped at one second.
May you like
The terminal responded immediately.
WELCOME BACK, EVELYN CARTER.
