Part 2: The Crimson Thread
She walked over to me, her hands trembling as she opened the journal to a photograph. It was a picture of two beautiful young women standing in front of the very Savannah estate we were in right now. They looked like twins, except for the eyes. Eleanor’s eyes were sharp, calculating; Clara’s were soft, dreaming. And on both of their shoulders, clearly visible in their sundresses, was the exact same dark, irregular mole.
“Clara wanted out,” Eleanor whispered. “She hated the blood money. She hated the shadows. When she met your father, a simple mechanic from outside the city, she saw her escape. She begged me to help her disappear. So, I used Vanguard’s resources. I erased Clara Vance from existence and created a new identity for her. She married your father, moved to a small town, and had you.“
“But the car crash…” I stammered, my mind racing to piece together the shattered remnants of my reality. “If she was your sister, then you’re my…“
“Your aunt,” Eleanor said, the word cutting through the air like a knife. “But it’s worse than that, Travis. Far worse.“
The Shadow of Vanguard
She poured two glasses of scotch, handing one to me. My hand shook so violently the amber liquid sloshed over the rim, staining my wedding tuxedo.
“Thirty years ago, our rivals discovered where Clara was hiding,” Eleanor said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “They realized they couldn’t touch me, but they could hurt me through her. The car crash wasn’t an accident. It was a targeted hit. Vanguard’s security team arrived at the scene too late to save Clara. But they found you, a toddler, crying in the wreckage, miraculously untouched.“
I gripped the glass, the cold glass biting into my palm. “If you knew where I was, why did you leave me with my father? Why did you let me grow up thinking we were nobody? Why did my father hate you so much when I brought you home?“
Eleanor took a long sip of her drink. “Your father didn’t hate me because he thought I was a wealthy older woman taking advantage of you. He hated me because he recognized me. He knew exactly who I was the moment you brought me to his house. Didn’t you find it strange how violently he reacted? How he said I would ‘use you and throw you away’?“
The memory flashed in my mind. My father’s face hadn’t been filled with disgust; it had been paralyzed with sheer, unadulterated terror. He hadn’t been trying to protect my dignity; he had been trying to warn me.
“Your father blamed me for Clara’s death,” Eleanor explained, a tear finally slipping down her cheek. “And he was right to. I brought the monsters to their doorstep. After the crash, he threatened to go to the police, to the media, to expose everything. I had to protect Vanguard, and more importantly, I had to protect you. So, I made a deal with your father. I gave him millions of dollars—laundered through various trusts—to keep you safe, to give you a normal life away from the crosshairs of my enemies. The house you grew up in, the tuition for your school, the money your family uses today… it all came from me. From Vanguard.“
“So this whole time… my family knew?” I felt a sick sensation rising in my throat. My aunt, my cousin, my father—they all knew. They weren’t angry that I was marrying an older woman; they were horrified that the matriarch of the family that destroyed their lives had come back to claim me.
“They knew,” Eleanor confirmed. “But they didn’t know the most important part. They didn’t know why I came back for you now.“
The Trap is Sprung
I stood up, pushing the chair backward. The luxury of the suite now felt like a gilded cage. “Why, Eleanor? If you wanted to protect me, why did you seek me out? Why did you make me fall in love with you? Why did you marry me? This is sick! You’re my biological aunt!“
“Look at the documents, Travis,” she commanded, her voice suddenly losing its sorrow and snapping back into the chilling coldness of a CEO.
I grabbed the redacted papers from the desk, scanning the text. My eyes locked onto dates, medical jargon, and DNA profiles. My blood turned to ice.
PROJECT REGENESIS: VANCE BLOODLINE COMPATIBILITY Subject A: Eleanor Vance (Genotype V-1) Subject B: Clara Vance (Deceased – Genotype V-2) Viable Descendant: Travis Vance (Genotype V-1.2) Match Rate: 99.8% Bone Marrow / Organ Compatibility.
I dropped the papers, staring at her in horror. “Bone marrow? Compatibility?“
Eleanor slowly pulled back her hair, revealing a small, medical port embedded just beneath her hairline at the base of her skull.
