Chapter 4: The Daughter Who Was Supposed to Be Dead

“She's the woman who sold me when I was a baby.””

For several seconds, I couldn't speak.

The storage room suddenly felt smaller. The fluorescent light above me flickered, and somewhere outside, a truck rumbled along the industrial road.

I pressed the phone harder against my ear.

“Olivia, what do you mean she sold you?””

“I mean Vanessa Carter arranged for me to disappear.””

“But Vanessa wasn't married to my father twenty-seven years ago.””

“I know.””

“Then how could she—”

“She wasn't his wife. She was his girlfriend.””

My stomach tightened.

Olivia took a shaky breath.

“Your mother found out she was pregnant with me when she was nineteen. She and your father weren't married yet. They were engaged, and Vanessa was working for your grandmother.””

I stared at the photograph in my hand.

My mother had been nineteen when she gave birth to Olivia.

That meant Olivia was older than me.

“Why did Mom think you were dead?””

“Because someone told her I died shortly after birth.””

“Who?””

“Vanessa.””

I closed my eyes.

A memory suddenly surfaced.

When I was little, I had once asked my mother why she kept a small silver baby bracelet in her jewelry box.

She had kissed my forehead and said it belonged to an angel who had watched over our family.

I had never understood what she meant.

“Olivia, where are you now?””

“Outside your father's house. I came here because I wanted to see him.””

“Have you told him?””

“No. Vanessa saw me before I could get through the gate.””

My heart began racing.

“What happened?””

“She recognized me immediately. She told the security guard I was a dangerous woman trying to extort money from your father.””

I gripped the edge of the filing cabinet.

“Did she threaten you?””

“She offered me money.””

“How much?””

“Five hundred thousand dollars.””

I almost dropped the phone.

“What?””

“She said I could take it and disappear again. She even had a lawyer prepare a document saying I would never contact the Carter family.””

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

“She really thinks everyone has a price.””

“She thinks everyone is afraid of her.””

I looked down at my mother's letter.

There was another folded page tucked inside the envelope.

I pulled it out.

It was addressed to Olivia.

My darling firstborn,

If you ever find your way back to us, please know that I never stopped looking for you.

My vision blurred.

“Olivia?””

“Yes?””

“I found something. A letter from Mom. She says she never stopped looking for you.””

The other end went silent.

Then I heard a small, broken sound.

Olivia was crying.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Finally, she whispered, “I used to imagine what she looked like.””

I swallowed hard.

“She had beautiful brown eyes. She laughed loudly. And she always burned the first pancake.””

Olivia laughed through her tears.

“That's a strange thing to remember.””

“It's the most important thing I remember.””

I heard her take a breath.

“Emily, I need you to understand something. I didn't come back for the money.””

“Then why?””

“Because I want to know why my mother was forced to spend the rest of her life believing I was dead.””

Before I could answer, a loud metallic bang came from outside the storage unit.

I turned.

Someone was opening the main entrance.

“Olivia, I have to go.””

“Wait. Don't leave that room.””

“Why?””

“Because I think Vanessa knows where the documents are.””

My blood ran cold.

“How?””

“Because when I confronted her, she asked me whether Margaret had finally given Emily the envelope.””

I stared at the doorway.

Then my phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

You should stop digging into family matters, Emily. Your mother made a mistake. Don't make the same one.

I showed Olivia the message.

She inhaled sharply.

“That's her.””

“How can you be sure?””

“Because she sent me the exact same message yesterday.””

I locked the filing cabinet and slipped the documents into my handbag.

“I'm coming to the mansion.””

“No!”” Olivia shouted.

“You cannot go there alone.””

“I won't. I'll call my father.””

“Emily, listen to me. Vanessa has been planning this for years. She knows how to make people disappear from records.””

I stopped.

“What does that mean?””

“My adoptive parents told me my birth certificate was changed twice. The first time when I was an infant. The second time when I was six.””

“Why?””

“I don't know. But I have copies of the original documents.””

“Where are they?””

“Safe.””

“Where?””

“Not over the phone.””

I heard footsteps approaching the storage unit.

Heavy footsteps.

Then a man's voice called from outside.

“Miss Carter?””

I froze.

The voice was unfamiliar.

“Are you in there?””

Olivia whispered, “Emily, get out through the rear exit.””

I looked toward the back of the unit.

There was a narrow emergency door behind several cardboard boxes.

“Who is that?”” I whispered.

“I don't know. But you need to leave.””

The man knocked again.

“Miss Carter, we need to talk.””

I grabbed my handbag and moved toward the emergency exit.

Then the man spoke again.

“Your father sent me.””

I stopped.

“What?””

“My name is Thomas. I'm Arthur's driver. He asked me to find you.””

I cautiously opened the door.

Thomas stood outside, his face tense.

“Miss Emily, thank goodness.””

I stared at him.

“Why did Dad send you?””

“Because your father has been trying to reach you for forty minutes.””

I pulled out my phone.

There were eleven missed calls.

All from Dad.

I called him immediately.

He answered almost instantly.

“Emily! Where are you?””

“I'm safe. What's wrong?””

His breathing sounded uneven.

“Vanessa is gone.””

I looked at Thomas.

“What do you mean, gone?””

“She left the house with Daniel. Robert found something else in the company records.””

“What?””

My father hesitated.

Then he said something I wasn't prepared to hear.

“Emily, Daniel has been transferring money out of the company for six years.””

I looked at my mother's photograph.

Six years.

The same year my mother died.

“Dad, there's something you need to know.””

“What is it?””

I glanced at Thomas.

Then I looked toward the dark road outside the storage facility.

“I found your other daughter.””

Silence.

Then my father's voice broke.

“Where?””

“Her name is Olivia.””

I heard him inhale sharply.

“Emily…”

“She says Mom never stopped looking for her.””

My father began to cry.

And through the phone, I heard him whisper a name I had never heard him say before.

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“Little Livvy.””

Then he said, “Bring my daughter home.””