Chapter 4 - MY MOTHER'S SECRET
The staircase seemed endless.
Every step creaked beneath our feet.
My father kept one hand on the wall and the other around my wrist.
“Stay close.”
The air smelled damp.
The walls were stone.
I could hear water dripping somewhere below.
Then the staircase ended.
A narrow underground hallway stretched ahead.
Dad raised the flashlight.
There were doors on both sides.
Some were locked.
Some were open.
Then he stopped.
One door had a name scratched into it.
SOPHIA.
Dad touched the letters.
His hand trembled.
“This isn't possible.”
He opened the door.
Inside was a small room.
There was a chair.
A table.
A mattress.
And a woman sitting beside the wall.
She was thin.
Pale.
Her hair was longer than I remembered.
But her eyes…
I knew those eyes.
My mother.
I stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman looked up.
Her lips trembled.
“Lily?”
I ran toward her.
Dad caught me before I reached her.
“Wait.”
My mother stared at me.
Tears filled her eyes.
“You're so big.”
I couldn't understand.
I had seen her body in a coffin.
I had watched Dad cry.
Everyone told me she was dead.
“Mom?”
She smiled.
“Come here.”
Dad released me.
I ran into her arms.
She held me tightly.
She smelled like lavender.
The same scent from Grandma's room.
I cried.
“Why did you leave?”
She closed her eyes.
“I never wanted to.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
“I tried.”
“Why?”
She looked at Dad.
“Because they were watching.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
Dad stepped forward.
“He's alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“What happened?”
My mother looked exhausted.
“I discovered what he was doing.”
“To Lillian?”
“Yes.”
Dad sat down.
“Tell me everything.”
My mother took a breath.
“Your grandfather believed the company belonged to him forever.”
“But the trust…”
“The trust was supposed to pass to Lillian.”
“And Lily?”
“Lily was the protection.”
Dad looked at me.
My mother continued:
“When I realized Lillian was being watched, I sent her away.”
“Where?”
“Victoria helped me.”
Dad froze.
“Your sister?”
“Yes.”
“Why did everyone say Victoria was dangerous?”
“Because your grandfather made her look dangerous.”
My mother explained.
Victoria had tried to expose him.
She had been arrested.
Then she disappeared.
But before she disappeared, she helped hide Lillian.
Vanessa had been connected to Victoria.
She had been recruited to find Lillian.
But Vanessa eventually changed sides.
“Why?”
My mother looked at her.
“Because Vanessa fell in love with Michael.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Michael.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“He's alive.”
Dad stared.
“What?”
“He survived the accident.”
“The accident that killed him?”
“There was no accident.”
Dad's face hardened.
“Then where is my brother?”
My mother shook her head.
“He was taken.”
“By my grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael knew the location of Lillian.”
Dad stood.
“Where is Michael now?”
My mother looked at me.
Then she said:
“Closer than you think.”
Suddenly footsteps echoed in the hallway.
My mother grabbed my hand.
“They found us.”
Dad moved toward the door.
“Who?”
My mother whispered:
“Robert.”
Dad froze.
“Robert?”
“Our family attorney.”
The door opened.
Robert stood outside.
He was holding a folder.
Behind him were two security men.
“Daniel.”
Dad stepped in front of us.
“What are you doing here?”
Robert smiled.
“Finishing what your mother started.”
Dad's fists clenched.
“You knew she was alive.”
“Of course.”
“You kept her here.”
“No.”
Robert pointed toward the ceiling.
“Your father did.”
Dad looked furious.
“You work for him.”
Robert smiled.
“For decades.”
My mother stood.
“Robert, leave my daughter out of this.”
He looked at me.
“Too late.”
Dad grabbed his collar.
“Don't look at her.”
Robert laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
He pulled out a document.
“The trust expires tomorrow.”
Dad froze.
“What?”
“The final succession date.”
Robert held it up.
“If Lily doesn't sign the transfer, the trust goes to the secondary beneficiary.”
“Who?”
Robert smiled.
“Vanessa.”
Dad turned.
Vanessa stood at the top of the staircase.
She was crying.
“I didn't know.”
My mother shook her head.
“You knew enough.”
Vanessa whispered:
“I was threatened.”
Dad stared.
“By whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
Robert stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Then the lights in the underground corridor turned on.
An elderly man's voice echoed through the hall.
“Daniel.”
My father froze.
My grandfather stepped from the shadows.
He looked older than the photographs.
But his eyes were sharp.
He stared at my father.
“You were always too sentimental.”
Dad's face became hard.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“So is your wife.”
My mother stepped forward.
My grandfather smiled.
“Yet here we are.”
Dad moved toward him.
“You took my daughter.”
“I protected the family.”
“You destroyed it.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I protected the inheritance.”
Then he pointed toward my mother.
“She betrayed me.”
Dad stood between them.
“You will never touch my daughter.”
My grandfather laughed.
“It's too late.”
He opened his folder.
Inside was a document.
A transfer agreement.
My name.
My signature.
I stared.
“I never signed that.”
My grandfather smiled.
“You will.”
Dad looked at Robert.
“What is this?”
Robert answered:
“Tomorrow morning, Lily becomes the legal owner of the trust.”
Dad frowned.
“Then why does he have her signature?”
Robert smiled.
“Because we already have the original.”
My father looked at me.
I shook my head.
“I didn't sign anything.”
My grandfather leaned closer.
“You will.”
Then my mother whispered:
“Daniel.”
He turned.
“Don't let Lily sign.”
“Why?”
“Because the person named on the final page isn't Lily.”
Dad grabbed the document.
He turned the page.
His face went white.
The beneficiary name was:
VANESSA HAYES.
And beneath it was another line.
If Lily refuses, custody transfers automatically.
Dad looked at me.
My mother whispered:
“They aren't trying to steal the company.”
May you like
She looked at Vanessa.
“They're trying to take Lily.”
