Chapter 13 - The Grandmother in the Dark
Nora screamed.
Roman pulled her back.
The lights came on.
An elderly woman stood across the room.
Elegant.
Calm.
Smiling.
Celeste looked terrified.
“Mother.”
Roman raised his weapon.
The woman didn't flinch.
“Put it down.”
Roman didn't.
She looked at Nora.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
Nora stared.
“You're my grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“You're alive.”
“Obviously.”
Nora's voice shook.
“You ruined my family.”
Her grandmother smiled sadly.
“No. Your family ruined itself.”
Roman stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
“You've had years.”
“I needed the right heir.”
Nora felt sick.
“I'm not an heir.”
“You are.”
“What about Elena?”
Her grandmother looked toward Elena.
“Elena was the firstborn.”
Elena stepped forward.
“But Nora was the one with the marker.”
Roman's expression changed.
“What marker?”
The grandmother finally explained.
Years earlier, the Calder and Bellamy families had created a legal trust tied to biological descendants. But the genetic marker had been deliberately hidden.
Roman's father had spent years searching for it.
The grandmother had protected the information.
Nora realized:
“The pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
“That's why everyone wants my baby.”
Her grandmother nodded.
“But they misunderstood one thing.”
“What?”
“The marker isn't in the baby.”
Roman stared.
“Then where is it?”
The grandmother looked directly at Nora.
“In you.”
Silence.
Nora felt dizzy.
“My blood.”
“Yes.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Then why did they need the baby?”
“Because your father believed the marker would pass to the child.”
The grandmother sighed.
“He was wrong.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“So all of this was for nothing?”
“Yes.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“People died for nothing.”
The grandmother looked at him.
“People died because they chose greed.”
Roman lowered his weapon slightly.
“What happens now?”
She looked at Nora.
“Nothing.”
Nora frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“The trust can only be activated by your consent.”
Nora stared.
“So nobody can take it.”
“No.”
Roman looked relieved.
Then the grandmother's expression changed.
“Unless…”
Nora's heart sank.
“Unless what?”
“Unless someone proves you are legally incompetent.”
Roman stepped forward.
“They can't.”
The grandmother looked at him.
“Your marriage was never registered.”
Nora froze.
“What?”
Roman's face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“I watched the papers.”
Nora looked at Roman.
“Then what am I to you?”
Roman stared at her.
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
A lawyer spoke.
“Mr. Calder, I have the original marriage certificate.”
Roman closed his eyes.
“Where?”
The lawyer paused.
May you like
Then said:
“Julian Vale has it.”
