Chapter 6 - Sebastian’s Mother Revealed the One Truth That Could Destroy Us
Evelyn Ward didn’t come alone.
Six armed guards entered behind her.
Sebastian immediately stepped between us.
“Stay behind me.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
“You still do that.”
Sebastian’s expression was unreadable.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you abandoned me.”
“I needed you to hate me.”
“You destroyed my childhood.”
“I built your survival.”
His voice became colder.
“You killed Daniel.”
“No.”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Valerie’s father was my strongest ally.”
“Then why did he die?”
“Because he discovered the wrong truth.”
“What truth?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“That I was no longer in control.”
Silence.
“What?”
She smiled.
“The Black Circle had changed. Your father believed he could expose it. But someone above the seven founders took control.”
“Who?”
Evelyn looked at the seventh chair.
“Someone you know.”
Sebastian stared.
“Who?”
Evelyn said, “Your father.”
I froze.
“My father is dead.”
“Daniel Hart is dead.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“But his work survived.”
She walked toward the chair.
“The seventh seat belonged to the person who controlled all seven founders.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“You.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“That’s impossible.”
“Your grandmother created a contingency.”
“For me?”
“She knew the Circle would eventually turn against itself. So she hid the master key inside her granddaughter.”
I stepped back.
“I never knew my grandmother.”
“She died believing you would one day inherit everything.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“This is insane.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Your father knew.”
“That’s why they wanted me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why kill him?”
“Because Daniel tried to destroy the system instead of giving you the choice to control it.”
I stared at her.
“You're saying my father died protecting me from becoming what you are.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
For the first time, sadness appeared in her eyes.
“Daniel loved you enough to let the world hate him.”
Sebastian lowered his weapon.
“You could have saved him.”
“I tried.”
“And failed.”
“Yes.”
Then Evelyn whispered, “Because Victor betrayed me.”
A gunshot rang out.
Evelyn stumbled.
Blood appeared on her shoulder.
Victor stood behind her.
“I’m tired of listening to family stories.”
Everything erupted.
Sebastian fired.
Victor’s men returned fire.
I dropped behind the stone table.
Evelyn crawled toward me.
“Take this.”
She pressed a small drive into my hand.
“What is it?”
“The names.”
“Whose names?”
“Everyone who matters.”
She looked toward Sebastian.
“Trust him.”
Then another gunshot.
Evelyn collapsed.
Sebastian rushed to her.
“Mother!”
She looked at him.
For a second, the years disappeared.
She was simply his mother.
“I’m sorry.”
He held her hand.
“You don't get to die yet.”
She smiled weakly.
“You always hated when I told you what to do.”
“You still do.”
“I know.”
She died before the ambulance arrived.
Sebastian remained beside her.
I had never seen a man look so broken.
Later that night, he sat alone in the chamber.
I approached.
“She loved you.”
He didn't answer.
“She was wrong about many things.”
“She lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“She manipulated me.”
“Yes.”
“And I still wanted her to live.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“I don't know how to lose another person.”
I sat beside him.
“You don't have to lose me.”
His eyes held mine.
“That’s what scares me.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
He touched my hand.
“I know you argue when you're scared. I know you pretend you're stronger than you feel. I know you hate coffee unless it's sweet. I know you laugh when you're embarrassed.”
I smiled through tears.
“And?”
“And I know I would burn every empire I built to keep you safe.”
I whispered, “Sebastian…”
“I’m not asking you to forgive me for who I was.”
He squeezed my hand.
“I’m asking you to let me become someone different.”
I leaned closer.
Then the floor beneath us shook.
A hidden door opened.
Inside was the missing third ledger fragment.
But beside it was something else.
A birth certificate.
Valerie Hart.
Mother: Evelyn Ward.
Father: Daniel Hart.
I stared.
My entire body went cold.
Sebastian read it.
His face turned white.
“What does this mean?”
Evelyn’s voice suddenly came from a speaker in the wall.
A recorded message.
“Valerie, if you found this, you now know the truth.”
I stared at the speaker.
“You were never Daniel’s biological daughter.”
My breath stopped.
“You are Evelyn Ward’s daughter.”
Sebastian looked at me.
And I realized the most dangerous secret of all.
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I wasn't an outsider to the Ward family.
I was the heir they had been searching for.
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