Chapter 10 - THE LAST CARUSO
I couldn't move.
My father stared at me.
Six years of grief collapsed in one second.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His eyes moved toward Grace.
“Because I was waiting for her.”
Julian stepped forward.
“You abandoned us.”
My father looked at him.
“I protected you.”
“You let Alexander believe I was dead.”
“I had to.”
“You let Mom betray me.”
“She believed she was saving you.”
My father looked at me.
“I didn't know whether the Crown had already reached you.”
I shook my head.
“You manipulated me.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone manipulated me.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
I hated him.
But somewhere underneath that hatred was the little boy who had once wanted his father's approval.
“Why Grace?”
My father walked toward her.
“Because she changes everything.”
“She's a baby.”
“She is the legal heir to an empire that has existed for over a century.”
“I don't care about the empire.”
“I know.”
He smiled.
“That is why you are the only one who can save her.”
Suddenly, gunfire erupted outside.
The armed men turned.
Julian pushed me down.
My father grabbed Grace.
I drew my weapon.
“Dad!”
He shouted:
“Trust me!”
“No!”
He ran toward the back door.
Julian chased him.
I followed.
We reached an underground tunnel.
My father stood beside an old steel door.
He opened it.
Inside was a vault.
Not money.
Documents.
Photographs.
Family records.
And thousands of names.
Every person connected to the Crown.
My father looked at me.
“This is what they wanted.”
“What?”
“The complete record.”
He handed me a folder.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Grace Caruso.
Father:
Julian Caruso.
Mother:
Hannah Reed.
But below that was another document.
A DNA report.
I read it.
Then read it again.
My hands began shaking.
“Dad…”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at Julian.
He didn't understand.
I handed him the report.
His face went white.
Hannah stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Julian couldn't answer.
I finally whispered:
“Grace isn't Julian's biological daughter.”
Silence.
Hannah covered her mouth.
Julian stared at the report.
Then at my father.
“Who is her father?”
My father looked at me.
And said the words that destroyed everything we thought we knew.
“You are.”
I couldn't breathe.
Julian stepped backward.
“No.”
My father continued.
“Your mother knew.”
Julian looked at me.
I looked at Grace.
Those gray eyes.
That gold ring.
Suddenly every memory felt different.
The dates.
The hidden photographs.
The reason the Crown wanted her.
The reason my father had spent six years hiding.
The reason Julian had protected her.
My father lowered his voice.
“Grace is the last legitimate heir.”
“To what?”
“The entire Caruso trust.”
I looked at the $60 million contract.
It suddenly made sense.
They weren't trying to steal my company.
They were trying to force me to sign Grace's inheritance away.
The baby under my desk hadn't exposed a family secret.
She had exposed the biggest conspiracy our family had ever buried.
Then the vault doors slammed shut.
Someone had locked us inside.
The lights went red.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Alexander Caruso.”
I recognized it.
Elias was dead.
But the voice was his.
“Congratulations.”
Julian looked at me.
The voice continued:
“You finally found the truth.”
A countdown appeared on the wall.
10:00
Nine minutes.
My father stared at the timer.
“What is this?”
I looked at him.
“You said the Crown was finished.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
The timer reached 08:59.
Then a final message appeared.
THE CROWN WAS NEVER THE ENEMY.
A second line appeared.
THE CARUSOS WERE.
I pulled Grace close.
For the first time, she began to cry.
And somewhere beyond the steel walls, hundreds of footsteps started moving toward us.
Julian raised his weapon.
My father reached for his.
Hannah held onto Grace.
And I finally understood the truth my brother had spent eighteen months trying to hide.
The war hadn't ended when Julian died.
May you like
It had only been waiting for me to discover the child beneath my desk.
TO BE CONTINUED…
