Chapter 6: The Will That Changed Everything
The steel door burst open.
Two men entered wearing security uniforms.
One carried a baton.
The other held a syringe.
"Step away from the patient," the taller man ordered.
I moved in front of my father.
"He's coming with me.""
The man raised his baton.
Vanessa grabbed a metal tray from the nearby table and hurled it at him.
The tray struck his shoulder.
He stumbled.
"Run!"" she shouted.
My father seized my hand.
We rushed through the opposite doorway into a narrow medical corridor.
Behind us, someone shouted.
"Stop them!""
The hallway ended at an emergency exit.
I pushed the handle.
Locked.
My father pointed toward a red cabinet.
"Fire alarm!""
I smashed the glass with my elbow and pulled the lever.
An alarm screamed through the building.
Red lights began flashing.
Automatic doors opened throughout the corridor.
Patients started emerging from their rooms.
Staff members rushed toward the main entrance.
In the confusion, Vanessa found a side door.
"Here!""
We escaped into the parking area.
My father was breathing heavily.
I supported him toward the car.
But before we reached it, a black sedan pulled in front of us.
The rear window rolled down.
My mother sat inside.
Eleanor Carter.
Perfectly dressed.
Not a strand of hair out of place.
She looked at my father and smiled.
"Hello, James.""
My father stopped walking.
"Eleanor.""
She turned toward me.
"Marcus, darling. Get in the car.""
I laughed.
"You have some nerve.""
She ignored the remark.
"Your father needs medical attention. The people at this facility are qualified to care for him.""
"Is that what you call keeping him prisoner?""
Her expression hardened.
"Don't make a scene.""
I stepped closer.
"You lied about his death. You lied about Nia. You lied about Emily. You even lied about who gave birth to me.""
My mother's eyes narrowed.
"Who told you that?""
I held up the birth certificate.
"Does it matter?""
For the first time, Eleanor looked genuinely unsettled.
She opened the car door.
"Get inside, Marcus.""
"No.""
Her hand moved toward the driver.
"Then perhaps I should explain something to your father.""
My father stepped forward.
"Leave him out of this.""
Eleanor laughed softly.
"You still think you can protect him.""
She looked directly at me.
"Do you know why Grace Miller disappeared?""
I didn't answer.
"Because she wanted to take you away from this family. She was going to destroy everything your father and I had built.""
"You mean she wanted her son.""
Eleanor's face changed.
"She wasn't capable of raising you.""
"How would you know?""
"Because I paid her to leave.""
The words came out so casually that it took me a moment to understand them.
"You paid my biological mother?""
"I gave her a generous amount of money. She accepted it.""
My father shook his head.
"You're lying.""
Eleanor turned on him.
"Be quiet, James.""
He stepped forward.
"You told me Grace had died.""
"She should have stayed away.""
My stomach tightened.
"Where is she?""
My mother looked at me for several seconds.
Then she smiled.
"Dead.""
My father grabbed my shoulder.
"Don't believe her.""
Eleanor sighed.
"James, you always did have a talent for making everything complicated.""
She reached into her handbag and removed a folded document.
"Since you insist on knowing the truth, perhaps you should read this.""
She handed it to me.
It was a copy of my father's will.
The document stated that the entire Carter estate, including the foundation, properties, and investment accounts, would pass to Emily Carter upon her twenty-first birthday.
If Emily could not be located, the inheritance would remain in a protected trust.
I looked at the signature.
My father's.
"Why didn't I know about this?""
"Because your father changed his will shortly before his supposed death," Eleanor replied.
My father shook his head.
"I changed it because you stole from the foundation.""
She smiled.
"And because of that decision, I had to make sure Emily never came home.""
I looked at her.
"You kidnapped a child for money?""
"No.""
Her voice became sharp.
"I protected this family from a scandal.""
"You buried my wife alive!""
"I didn't bury anyone.""
"You arranged her accident!""
Eleanor's eyes flickered toward Vanessa.
Then back to me.
"Your wife was unfortunate collateral.""
Vanessa stepped forward.
"Don't say that.""
Eleanor laughed.
"Vanessa, darling, you should be grateful. I gave you everything.""
"You gave me money.""
"And a future.""
"You threatened my brother.""
My mother raised an eyebrow.
Vanessa pulled a small object from her coat.
A recording device.
"I recorded everything.""
For the first time, Eleanor looked furious.
"You stupid girl.""
Vanessa pressed a button.
A recording began playing.
Eleanor's voice filled the parking lot.
"Make sure the car goes over the guardrail. I don't want another funeral. I want certainty.""
My blood turned cold.
It was her voice.
Clear.
Undeniable.
My father closed his eyes.
Eleanor stared at Vanessa.
"You have no idea what you've done.""
Vanessa held the device tightly.
"Actually, I do.""
My mother reached into her handbag.
I saw the movement.
"Vanessa, get down!""
A sharp crack split the air.
Vanessa fell.
I dropped beside her.
Blood spread across her cream-colored coat.
"Vanessa!""
She pressed a trembling hand against her side.
"I'm okay," she whispered.
But she wasn't.
My father pulled me behind the car as another shot struck the pavement.
Eleanor's sedan accelerated toward the exit.
I tried to follow it, but my father held me back.
"Let her go!""
"She'll get away!""
"Marcus, we have the recording!""
I looked at Vanessa.
Her eyes were beginning to close.
"Stay with me," I begged.
She forced a weak smile.
"I told you... I wasn't completely lying.""
"Don't talk.""
"I really did love you.""
An ambulance arrived minutes later.
As the paramedics lifted Vanessa onto a stretcher, she caught my hand.
"Marcus.""
"I'm here.""
She struggled to speak.
"There's something in my apartment.""
"What?""
"A blue box. Under the floorboard in my bedroom.""
"What's inside?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Your mother's original will.""
I leaned closer.
"Why do you have it?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Because Eleanor made one mistake.""
"What mistake?""
"She never expected me to discover that Emily wasn't her only secret.""
The paramedics closed the ambulance doors.
I stood in the parking lot, holding the recording device.
My father approached slowly.
"Son, we need to get somewhere safe.""
I looked at him.
"First, we're going to Vanessa's apartment.""
He nodded.
But before we could leave, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a young woman sitting beside a window.
She had dark curly hair.
A yellow ribbon was tied around her wrist.
Emily.
Underneath the photograph was a message.
*I know you've found Dad. Now find me before Eleanor does.*
A second message arrived.
*And Marcus, don't trust the woman who gave birth to you.*
I stared at the screen.
My father read the message over my shoulder.
His face turned pale.
"Who sent that?""
I looked at him.
"I thought you knew.""
He shook his head.
Then he whispered something I would never forget.
"Emily has been dead for eleven years.""
I looked back at the photograph.
May you like
The girl in it was smiling.
And behind her, reflected in the window, stood a woman wearing Eleanor's diamond necklace.
