Chapter 8: The Secret Buried in My Blood
Arthur had faced enemies before.
He knew what anger looked like.
He knew what greed looked like.
He knew what desperation looked like.
But the voice coming through the emergency speakers was different.
It wasn’t angry.
It wasn’t desperate.
It was confident.
Like whoever was speaking had already won.
Arthur kept one arm around Leo while Marcus’s security team moved through the archive.
“Find the source,” Marcus ordered.
His team spread out.
The lights continued flickering.
The emergency alarms screamed.
But Arthur barely heard any of it.
Because one sentence kept repeating in his mind.
*Your son was never supposed to belong to you.*
He looked down at Leo.
The boy’s face was pressed against his side.
Trying to be brave.
Trying not to cry.
Arthur felt something inside him shift.
For years, he had believed power meant control.
Having answers.
Having money.
Having influence.
But at that moment, standing in a dark archive while someone hunted his child, Arthur understood something he had forgotten.
Power meant having something worth protecting.
And now he did.
“Leo,” Arthur whispered.
The boy looked up.
“You stay with me.””
Leo nodded.
“Okay.””
“No matter what happens.””
Another nod.
Arthur noticed something.
The boy wasn’t holding the ring anymore.
“Where is it?””
Leo touched his chest.
“It’s here.””
Arthur frowned.
“Why?””
“My mom said never let anyone take it.””
Arthur looked at Eleanor.
She was standing beside Daniel.
Watching them.
Her expression was filled with pain.
“You knew he would come here.””
Arthur’s words were not a question.
Eleanor looked away.
“Yes.””
“You knew this was going to happen?””
“I knew something like this could happen.””
“And you still brought him here?””
Her eyes met his.
“I brought him to you because I ran out of places to hide him.””
That answer hurt because Arthur heard the exhaustion behind it.
Not fear.
Not manipulation.
Exhaustion.
Eleven years of running.
Eleven years of protecting a secret.
Eleven years of carrying something alone.
Marcus returned.
“Sir.””
Arthur turned.
“Report.””
“The speaker system was hacked remotely.””
“By who?””
Marcus hesitated.
Arthur immediately noticed.
“Who?””
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“The access code came from inside the company.””
Arthur’s face hardened.
“Again?””
“Yes.””
“Whose account?””
Marcus looked at the tablet.
Then slowly answered:
“Ethan Vale.””
Everyone turned.
Arthur looked toward his brother.
But Ethan was gone.
The spot where he had been standing was empty.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Arthur laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he was exhausted from being betrayed.
“My brother.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Arthur—”
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Don’t defend him.””
“I wasn’t going to.””
Arthur looked at Eleanor.
“Was he part of it?””
Eleanor’s silence was enough.
Arthur felt the answer before she said it.
“Yes.””
The word landed heavily.
Arthur looked away.
His entire life had been surrounded by people who claimed they loved him.
And somehow, those same people had built a wall between him and the truth.
“Why?””
Eleanor stepped closer.
“Because Ethan was scared.””
Arthur turned.
“Scared of what?””
“Your father.””
Arthur stared.
“Everyone was scared of him.””
Eleanor nodded.
“He was not the same man you remember.””
Arthur looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
Eleanor took a breath.
“Your father discovered Orion years before you did.””
“He created it.””
“No.””
Her answer was immediate.
“Richard inherited it.””
Arthur froze.
“He inherited it?””
“Yes.””
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
“Tell him.””
Daniel sighed.
“Orion existed before Richard Vale. Your grandfather was involved.””
Arthur felt a cold sensation.
“My grandfather?””
Daniel nodded.
“Three generations.””
The room became silent.
Arthur looked around.
A family secret.
A company secret.
A bloodline secret.
Something buried so deeply that even he had lived his entire life beside it without knowing.
“What was Orion really created for?””
Eleanor answered.
“At first? Protection.””
Arthur frowned.
“Protection?””
“They wanted to predict threats. Identify risks. Keep powerful families safe.””
“That sounds like an excuse.””
“It became one.””
She looked down.
“Over time, protection became control.””
Daniel continued.
“They started deciding who was valuable. Who was dangerous. Who should have access to opportunities.””
Arthur felt sick.
“And my family was involved.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Eleanor looked at him.
“Your blood.””
Arthur went still.
“My blood?””
Daniel nodded.
“Orion tracked families with specific genetic markers.””
Arthur stared.
“Why?””
Daniel looked at Leo.
“Because some traits were considered valuable.””
Arthur felt anger rise.
“Traits?””
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Arthur, listen.””
He looked at her.
“They were looking for a specific combination.””
“What combination?””
She looked at Leo.
“Yours.””
Silence.
Arthur shook his head.
“No.””
“I know how it sounds.””
“No.””
His voice became louder.
“You’re telling me my son was born because some organization wanted a genetic experiment?””
Eleanor’s eyes filled with sadness.
“No.””
She stepped closer.
“Leo was born because I loved you.””
The words stopped him.
“But after he was born, they became interested.””
Arthur looked at Leo.
A child.
Not a project.
Not a file.
Not a result.
His son.
Eleanor continued.
“They believed Leo carried something rare.””
“What?””
She hesitated.
“A natural resistance to certain inherited conditions.””
Arthur frowned.
“That’s it?””
“At first.””
“What else?””
Eleanor looked away.
Daniel answered.
“They believed his DNA could be used to extend human life.””
Arthur stared.
“That’s insane.””
“Yes.””
“And they wanted my son?””
“Yes.””
Arthur felt rage unlike anything before.
Not because someone wanted power.
Not because someone betrayed him.
Because they looked at a child and saw an opportunity.
Not a person.
A resource.
Arthur stepped toward the archive door.
“I’m finding Ethan.””
Eleanor grabbed his arm.
“Arthur.””
He stopped.
“What?””
Her voice became quiet.
“You need to know the last part.””
He looked at her.
“What last part?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Ethan wasn’t working for Orion.””
Arthur frowned.
“Then who?””
“He was working against it.””
Arthur stared.
“But he attacked the building.””
“He did that to force you to listen.””
Arthur pulled away.
“That’s not how you help someone.””
“No.””
Eleanor looked down.
“It’s how desperate people act.””
Arthur wanted to disagree.
But then he remembered Ethan’s face.
The guilt.
The shame.
The fear.
Not the expression of someone who had won.
The expression of someone who had failed.
A loud sound interrupted them.
Marcus looked at his tablet.
“Sir.””
“What now?””
His face changed.
“We found Ethan.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“Where?””
Marcus swallowed.
“In the executive parking garage.””
“Alive?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
Arthur waited.
“But…”
“What?””
Marcus looked at Eleanor.
Then Arthur.
“He’s not alone.””
Arthur felt his stomach tighten.
“Who is with him?””
Marcus turned the tablet around.
A security image appeared.
Ethan stood beside a black vehicle.
Across from him was an older man.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
Calm expression.
Arthur stared.
He knew that face.
Everyone in the Vale family knew that face.
Richard Vale.
His father.
Alive.
Eleanor whispered:
“He came here for Leo.””
Arthur watched the screen.
His father looked directly into the security camera.
As if he knew Arthur was watching.
Then the feed changed.
A message appeared.
Not typed.
Handwritten.
A note left directly on the camera.
Three words.
*Bring me my grandson.*
Arthur stared.
Then another line appeared.
*Or you will never know why Eleanor survived.*
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Arthur spoke.
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
“Take me to him.””
Eleanor stepped in front of him.
“No.””
Arthur looked at her.
“I’m going.””
“You don’t understand.””
“I understand enough.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“You don’t understand because you still think Richard is the worst thing waiting for you.””
Arthur stared.
“What does that mean?””
Eleanor looked at Leo.
Then back at him.
“The person behind Orion…”
She swallowed.
“…is not your father.””
A terrible silence followed.
Arthur whispered:
“Then who is it?””
Eleanor’s eyes filled with fear.
May you like
And she said the name that made every person in the room freeze.
“Arthur.””
