The Billionaire Vanished With Forty-Seven Dollars to Find a Woman Who Would Love Him Poor, but the Woman He Found Was Hiding a Secret of Her Own
Chapter 10
Thomas sat across from Nathan in the farmhouse basement.
Emma sat beside Elena.
Victor stood near the door.
The ledger lay on the table.
Nathan couldn’t stop looking at it.
“You said my identity was hidden.”
Thomas nodded.
“Your mother discovered the adoption network before you were born.”
“Why was I involved?”
“You weren’t.”
“Then why is my name in the ledger?”
“Because your father feared you would become a target.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
Thomas opened the ledger.
“Your mother was investigating children who had been illegally relocated through private adoption agencies.”
Nathan listened.
“She found names of wealthy families who had paid to erase records.”
“Who?”
Thomas pointed to several pages.
Politicians.
Executives.
Celebrities.
Judges.
Nathan’s stomach turned.
“But what does this have to do with me?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Your mother found one child whose records had been completely erased.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“Who?”
“You.”
Silence.
Nathan stared.
“What?”
Thomas continued.
“Your mother believed you had been placed with Edward Cole illegally.”
Nathan shook his head.
“My parents raised me.”
“Yes.”
“Then how could I be stolen?”
Thomas sighed.
“Your biological parents died.”
Nathan froze.
“Who were they?”
Thomas looked toward Elena.
“David’s brother and his wife.”
Nathan stared.
“No.”
Elena whispered:
“Your mother was not your biological mother.”
Nathan’s entire world collapsed.
Edward had raised him.
But his mother wasn’t his mother.
His biological father was connected to David’s family.
Thomas continued.
“Your father wasn’t involved in the original crime.”
“Then why hide me?”
“Because the people who arranged it wanted you gone.”
Nathan looked at Elena.
“And she knew?”
“She helped Edward protect you.”
Elena shook her head.
“I didn’t know you were the child.”
Nathan stared.
“You didn’t?”
“No.”
“Then why did my father send you to me?”
“Because he knew you would eventually uncover everything.”
Thomas stood.
“Edward knew his time was running out.”
Nathan remembered his father’s final months.
The strange phone calls.
The locked office.
The arguments.
He had thought his father was simply sick.
Thomas continued.
“Edward tried to dismantle the network.”
“Why didn’t he go public?”
“Because seventeen children were still being protected.”
Nathan looked at Emma.
“And Emma?”
“Emma was one of them.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
Thomas nodded.
“David discovered the truth.”
“What happened to him?”
Thomas looked down.
“Victor took him.”
Victor remained silent.
Nathan turned.
“Where?”
Victor finally spoke.
“He’s alive.”
Elena gasped.
“What?”
Victor looked at her.
“David is alive.”
She stood.
“You lied to me.”
“I was protecting him.”
“From what?”
“From them.”
Victor looked at Thomas.
Thomas’s face hardened.
“Don’t.”
Victor continued.
“David refused to reveal the location of the protected children.”
Nathan stared.
“Where is he?”
Victor shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Thomas looked angry.
“You’ve said too much.”
Victor drew his weapon.
Everyone froze.
But instead of pointing it at Nathan, he pointed it at Thomas.
Thomas’s expression changed.
“Victor.”
“You killed Edward.”
Nathan stared.
“What?”
Victor’s voice shook.
“I thought I could stop you.”
Thomas stepped backward.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“You killed Edward because he was going to expose you.”
Nathan looked at Victor.
“You were working for my father.”
“Yes.”
“And you protected Elena?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor looked at Elena.
“Because David saved my life.”
Thomas lunged.
Victor fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Nathan grabbed Emma.
Elena pulled her daughter away.
Chaos erupted.
Thomas ran upstairs.
Victor chased him.
Nathan looked at Elena.
“We have to go.”
They ran outside.
Sirens approached.
Nathan had secretly called the FBI before entering the farmhouse.
Agents surrounded the property.
Thomas was arrested.
Victor surrendered.
But one mystery remained.
David.
Three hours later, an agent approached Nathan.
“We found a location.”
Nathan’s heart jumped.
“Where?”
“An abandoned medical facility in upstate New York.”
Elena grabbed Nathan’s hand.
“Take me.”
The agent nodded.
As they left, Nathan looked back at the farmhouse.
He had come to Bellwood with forty-seven dollars to discover whether anyone could love him without his money.
Instead, he had discovered something far more valuable.
A family built not by blood.
But by people who had chosen to protect one another.
And somewhere in an abandoned facility, the man Elena had loved for six years was waiting.
