Chapter 6 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
My father refused to believe it.
He called Michael.
Then the police.
Then an old family physician.
Every person he contacted gave the same answer.
There had never been another child.
But the photograph existed.
And so did the name.
Lily Bennett.
The baby in the photograph looked less than a year old.
She had the same dark eyes as my mother.
The same small mark near her left eyebrow.
Michael studied the picture.
“This is real.”
Dad looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I recognize the hospital bracelet.”
“What hospital?”
“St. Mary's.”
Dad's face changed.
“That hospital closed twenty years ago.”
Michael nodded.
“But its records still exist.”
We went there the following morning.
The hospital had become an archive.
An elderly woman named Mrs. Carter greeted us.
When she heard the name Bennett, she became nervous.
“I haven't heard that name in years.”
Dad showed her the photograph.
She stared.
Then she sat down.
“Where did you get this?”
“Someone sent it.”
She looked at me.
“Are you Ethan?”
“Yes.”
She began crying.
My father stepped forward.
“You know something.”
Mrs. Carter nodded.
“I was there the night Lily was born.”
Dad's breathing changed.
“What happened?”
“Your wife came in alone.”
“My wife?”
“She was terrified.”
“Why?”
“She said someone was following her.”
Michael asked:
“Who?”
Mrs. Carter shook her head.
“She never told me.”
“What happened to the baby?”
“She gave her away.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Why?”
“She believed it was the only way to keep the child alive.”
“Who took her?”
“A woman named Eleanor Reed.”
My father's face changed.
“Clara's family?”
Mrs. Carter nodded.
“But Eleanor wasn't working with Clara.”
“What does that mean?”
“Eleanor believed she was protecting the baby.”
Michael asked:
“Where is Lily now?”
Mrs. Carter looked toward the old records room.
“I don't know.”
“Then what is this?”
Dad showed her the photograph.
Mrs. Carter looked at it again.
“Someone has been searching for her.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your brother.”
My father went completely still.
“Robert?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed Lily was the true heir.”
I looked at Dad.
“But Mom left everything to me.”
Mrs. Carter nodded.
“Because she changed the trust.”
“Why?”
“Because she discovered Lily had been placed in danger.”
My father sat down.
“So Lily was the original heir.”
“Yes.”
“And Ethan became the protected heir.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Mrs. Carter looked at me.
“Because your mother believed the family would kill Lily to gain control of the company.”
The room became silent.
Dad looked at the photograph.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Then Mrs. Carter remembered something.
“There was a woman who visited her.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Dad's face tightened.
“My wife visited Lily?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Three.”
“Did she know where Lily lived?”
“She did.”
“Then why didn't she bring her home?”
Mrs. Carter looked at me.
“Because Lily was being watched.”
Dad stood.
“By whom?”
She whispered:
“Your mother-in-law.”
My father stared.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
Everything suddenly became connected.
Grandma.
Robert.
Clara.
The stolen inheritance.
The hidden blue box.
And Lily.
But there was one question nobody could answer.
Why had my mother kept Lily secret from everyone?
Then Mrs. Carter handed my father a final document.
It was a medical record.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
If Ethan ever learns about Lily, tell him she is not his enemy.
Dad stared at the words.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Did you find her?”
Dad looked at me.
“Who?”
The voice laughed.
“Your daughter.”
Then the line went dead.
Dad lowered the phone.
I asked:
“Who was it?”
He didn't answer.
May you like
Because he already knew.
It was my grandmother.
