For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
The words on the screen remained burned into my mind.
THE TWO HEIRS MUST NEVER UNITE.
Damien was still holding my hand.
I looked down at our fingers.
Then at him.
“Two heirs?”
He didn’t answer.
Victoria did.
“The Vale family and the Bell family were never supposed to become one.”
I pulled my hand away.
“Why?”
“Because of the prophecy.”
I turned toward her.
“Tell me everything.”
Victoria hesitated.
“It’s an old story.
Older than the Crimson Circle itself.”
“I don’t care how old it is.”
I stepped closer.
“I want the truth.”
Victoria looked at Damien.
Then finally nodded.
“According to the prophecy, two bloodlines would eventually produce heirs powerful enough to destroy the Circle.”
“The Bell heir…”
“And the Vale heir.”
My eyes moved to Damien.
“And that’s us?”
“Yes.”
Damien laughed bitterly.
“So my family spent generations trying to prevent a prophecy?”
“Not just your family.”
Victoria looked at me.
“Both families.”
My stomach tightened.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Jonathan knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he raise me?”
“Because he loved you.”
I looked away.
For the first time that night, I understood something.
Jonathan Bell might not have been my biological father.
But he had been my father.
He had chosen me.
And somehow, that mattered more.
Damien walked toward the computer.
“There has to be more.”
He searched through the files.
Most were encrypted.
Some contained photographs.
Others contained names.
Then he stopped.
“Amara.”
I walked over.
He pointed at a file.
PROJECT: TWO HEIRS
My stomach dropped.
“Open it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“It’s encrypted.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“Your mother created this system.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means only you can open it.”
I frowned.
“How?”
Victoria pointed toward the necklace around my neck.
“The black stone.”
I touched it.
“What about it?”
“It isn’t just a necklace.”
She took a small device from the drawer.
“Place the stone here.”
I hesitated.
Then did it.
The computer beeped.
IDENTITY CONFIRMED.
The screen unlocked.
Hundreds of documents appeared.
I stared.
“This is everything.”
Damien leaned closer.
“Not everything.”
“What?”
He pointed at one folder.
ADRIAN BELL — STATUS: ALIVE
My breath stopped.
“Alive.”
Victoria covered her mouth.
“No…”
I opened the file.
A photograph appeared.
My biological father.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakably him.
Underneath the photograph was an address.
Damien looked at me.
“We’re going.”
Victoria grabbed his arm.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if Adrian is alive, Evelyn will be watching him.”
“I don’t care.”
“She’ll use him against Amara.”
I stared at the screen.
“I need to meet my father.”
Damien looked at me.
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
I swallowed.
“But I’ve spent my entire life believing he was dead.”
I closed the file.
“I’m not losing another chance to know the truth.”
We left the underground room just before sunrise.
The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
Victoria stayed behind.
She promised to contact us if she discovered anything about Nadia.
Damien drove.
I sat beside him.
Neither of us spoke for a long time.
Finally, he said:
“You don’t have to forgive me.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to trust me.”
“I know.”
“But I’m going with you.”
I looked at him.
“I know.”
He smiled faintly.
Then his expression became serious.
“Whatever we find…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t let them convince you that you’re what they say you are.”
“What am I?”
He glanced at me.
“Amara.”
I waited.
“That’s enough.”
My heart tightened.
The address led us to an old coastal town.
A small house stood at the edge of a cliff.
No security.
No guards.
Nothing suspicious.
Damien parked.
I stared at the house.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
“Great.”
He reached for my hand.
“Ready?”
I nodded.
We walked to the door.
I knocked.
Nothing.
I knocked again.
Still nothing.
Damien tried the handle.
Unlocked.
We entered.
The house was warm.
Someone had been living here.
Photographs covered the walls.
Books filled the shelves.
A cup of tea sat on the table.
Still warm.
“He was here,” I whispered.
Then I saw it.
A photograph.
My mother.
My father.
And me.
I picked it up.
On the back were three words:
I NEVER LEFT.
A noise came from upstairs.
Damien immediately pulled his gun.
“Stay behind me.”
We climbed the stairs.
At the end of the hallway was a bedroom.
The door was open.
A man stood beside the window.
He turned.
I stopped breathing.
He looked at me.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Amara.”
I couldn’t speak.
He took one step toward me.
“My little girl.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“Adrian?”
He nodded.
I stared at the man I’d spent my entire life believing was dead.
My biological father.
Alive.
Standing in front of me.
“You’re alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you come back?”
His face broke.
“Because I wasn’t allowed to.”
“By whom?”
He looked at Damien.
Then back at me.
“Evelyn.”
My hands trembled.
“She told me if I returned, she’d kill you.”
I swallowed.
“You knew about me?”
“Every day.”
“Then why did you stay away?”
“Because staying away was the only way to keep you alive.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“You could have found another way.”
“I tried.”
He stepped closer.
“I failed.”
I stared at him.
Then suddenly—
I hugged him.
He froze.
Then wrapped his arms around me.
For the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to hug the man whose blood ran through my veins.
But the moment didn’t last.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Adrian pushed me down.
Damien fired toward the window.
“GET DOWN!”
Another shot.
Adrian grabbed my arm.
“There’s a tunnel under the house.”
“What?”
“We have to go.”
Damien looked at him.
“Who is shooting?”
Adrian’s expression was terrified.
“Evelyn.”
We ran downstairs.
But before we reached the tunnel, the front door exploded inward.
Several armed men stormed into the house.
Damien pulled me behind him.
Adrian grabbed a weapon from beneath the table.
One of the men stepped forward.
“Amara Bell.”
I froze.
He smiled.
“Evelyn wants you alive.”
Damien raised his gun.
“And me?”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“You were never part of the deal.”
Gunfire erupted.
Damien pushed me behind the wall.
Adrian fired back.
I screamed.
Then I saw something on the floor.
A small black device.
A tracker.
The same symbol from the key.
I picked it up.
And suddenly realized—
they hadn’t followed us here.
Someone had told them where we were.
I looked at Damien.
Then Adrian.
Then the men surrounding us.
Someone had betrayed us.
Again.
And this time…
I knew exactly who it was.
Victoria.