Chapter 1 - The Echo of the Past
The silence following Arthur’s confession was heavier than the gunfire outside. Eliza felt as if the floor had vanished beneath her. "The other baby?" she whispered, the words tasting like ash. "Arthur, what are you talking about?"
Arthur stumbled forward, his strength failing him, and Damian caught him, pinning him against the altar. "Tell us," Damian commanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Now."
Arthur’s eyes darted toward the darkened screens, which were now flickering back to life with encrypted code—Marcus Vale’s signature. "There was a complication during your delivery, Eliza. A severe one. The records weren't just tampered with; they were swapped. Marcus didn't just want to hurt Damian; he wanted to anchor you to a mystery that would force you to choose between your son and the truth."
Outside, the heavy doors of the church groaned under the weight of an approaching battering ram. The sanctuary was no longer a refuge; it was a cage. Damian looked at Eliza, his face a mask of iron resolve. "We don't have time for a history lesson. If those doors go down, we fight."
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But as the heavy oak groaned, a hidden panel in the floor behind the altar clicked open. Arthur pointed to it with a trembling hand. "A tunnel. It leads to the catacombs beneath the old city. It was the only leverage I had left against him."
Eliza looked at Oliver, who was still clutching Damian’s shirt, his eyes wide with fear. She realized then that this wasn't just a fight for paternity; it was a fight for an identity that Marcus Vale had been systematically erasing for years. She took Damian’s hand, feeling the callouses against her palm. "We go. But we don't run from him. We go to end him."
