Chapter 9 - THE SECRET OF THE THREE CHILDREN
Emergency lights flickered on.
Thomas stood at the end of the archive room.
Victoria was beside him.
Two men stood behind them.
Arthur raised his weapon.
“Step away from Sophia.”
Thomas smiled.
“You still think you can stop this.”
“I can.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at me.
“She deserves the truth.”
I stepped forward.
“Then tell me.”
Arthur immediately said:
“Sophia, don't.”
I shook my head.
“I need to hear it.”
Thomas smiled.
“Your mother had three children because she knew the Carter family would destroy itself.”
Michael stood beside me.
Thomas looked at him.
“You were the first secret.”
Then he looked at me.
“You were the public heir.”
Then he looked toward the photograph of Lily.
“And she was the contingency.”
“What does that mean?”
“The trust required a legitimate descendant.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“Your mother knew the family would try to control you.”
Thomas continued.
“If you died, the trust would pass to Lily.”
I stared.
“But Lily wasn't even born when the trust was created.”
“She was part of the contingency.”
Michael stepped forward.
“You planned this.”
Thomas looked at him.
“I protected the family.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I saved you.”
“You kept me hidden.”
“Because your existence would have triggered a war.”
Michael laughed.
“You already started one.”
Thomas's expression hardened.
“The war began long before you were born.”
I looked at Victoria.
“Why did you help him?”
She cried.
“Because he threatened my son.”
Bennett looked at her.
“You keep saying that.”
“I was afraid.”
“You hurt Sophia.”
“I know.”
“You stole from her.”
“I know.”
“You helped them destroy our marriage.”
Victoria broke down.
“I thought if I did what they wanted, they would leave you alone.”
Bennett stared.
“They never intended to.”
“No.”
Thomas smiled.
“Of course not.”
Bennett turned toward him.
“What did you promise my mother?”
“Your survival.”
“And what did you want?”
“The trust.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Because your mother stole it from me.”
I frowned.
“My mother didn't own the trust.”
“She controlled it.”
“She was a beneficiary.”
“She was the key.”
Thomas explained that years ago, the Carter family had created a hidden investment network.
My mother discovered that Thomas had been siphoning money from it.
She threatened to expose him.
Thomas retaliated by manipulating the family.
But my mother anticipated him.
She created a new trust.
One that could only be activated by her descendants.
The first child would inherit.
The second would protect the first.
The third would act as a legal contingency.
I looked at Michael.
“That's why you were hidden.”
“Yes.”
“And Lily?”
“She was placed outside the family.”
I stared at Thomas.
“Where?”
He smiled.
“You already know.”
I thought about the photographs.
Victoria.
The hospital.
The messages.
Then I realized.
“She's working with you.”
Thomas nodded.
“She has been.”
My heart sank.
“You said she was watching me.”
“She was.”
“Why?”
“To learn your weaknesses.”
Bennett stepped forward.
“Where is she?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Close.”
Then the basement door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
Long dark hair.
Green eyes.
The scar near her eyebrow.
I stared.
It wasn't Lily.
It was someone I had seen before.
Dr. Samuel Reed.
He removed his glasses.
“I believe we've met.”
I froze.
“You're Daniel Reed.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
Arthur raised his weapon.
“Where is Lily?”
Daniel laughed.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Where she has always been.”
He looked at me.
“With the person who raised her.”
I understood.
“Eleanor Reed.”
Daniel nodded.
“My mother.”
Bennett stared.
“Then Lily is your daughter?”
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“She is your sister.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want?”
He stepped forward.
“The baby.”
Arthur's voice became dangerous.
“You're not touching her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't need to.”
He held up a tablet.
On the screen was a legal document.
A transfer agreement.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
I stared.
“I never signed that.”
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“But the court doesn't know that yet.”
Jonathan grabbed the tablet.
“This is forged.”
“Yes.”
“And you intend to use it.”
“Exactly.”
The document transferred my inheritance rights to Lily.
Thomas explained the plan.
If I were declared legally incompetent or compromised, the trust could be challenged.
If I disappeared before giving birth, Lily would become the beneficiary.
And if Bennett were convinced I had betrayed him, he would sign the remaining documents.
I looked at Bennett.
“They needed you.”
“Yes,” Thomas said.
“To make me look guilty.”
“Yes.”
“To isolate me.”
“Yes.”
“To make the baby disappear.”
Thomas smiled.
“Now you understand.”
I looked at him.
“You still haven't told me why my mother died.”
Thomas became silent.
Daniel looked at him.
Thomas finally said:
“She wasn't supposed to die.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Helen killed her.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Helen didn't act alone.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Who helped her?”
Thomas looked directly at my father.
“Richard.”
The room went silent.
I stared at my father.
“No.”
Thomas smiled.
“Ask him.”
I turned.
“Dad?”
My father closed his eyes.
“I didn't kill your mother.”
Thomas interrupted.
“But you knew she was going to die.”
My father's face collapsed.
I felt as if the room were spinning.
“Is that true?”
He whispered:
“Yes.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You knew?”
“I knew she was in danger.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I tried.”
“No.”
My voice broke.
“You let me believe you protected her.”
“I failed.”
I stepped backward.
Michael moved toward me.
Thomas watched.
“This is why your mother hid everything.”
I looked at him.
“Then why should I trust anything you say?”
Thomas smiled.
“You shouldn't.”
He pointed at Daniel.
“Ask him what happened to Lily.”
Daniel looked at me.
His expression became serious.
“She isn't with my mother.”
“Where is she?”
Daniel whispered:
“She is at the hospital.”
My heart stopped.
“The hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at my stomach.
“Because she was born with the same hereditary marker as your baby.”
I stared.
“And she is the only person who can legally challenge the trust.”
Suddenly, every phone in the room began ringing.
Jonathan checked his.
Then his face went pale.
“The hospital records have been changed.”
Arthur looked at him.
“To what?”
Jonathan turned the screen around.
The maternity file now listed:
PATIENT: SOPHIA CARTER
STATUS: DECEASED.
My blood ran cold.
May you like
Then another line appeared.
NEXT OF KIN: LILY CARTER.
