Chapter 13 - THE NURSE
We found the nurse the following afternoon.
Her name was Margaret Wilson.
She was ninety-one years old.
She lived in a small house surrounded by roses.
When she saw us, she immediately knew why we had come.
“You finally found each other.”
I stared.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“I knew everything.”
“Then tell me.”
She invited us inside.
She showed us an old photograph.
Four babies.
Four tiny faces.
“You gave birth to four children.”
I couldn't speak.
“What happened to the fourth?”
The nurse looked at me.
“She didn't die.”
My heart stopped.
“Then where is she?”
The nurse opened a drawer.
Inside was a birth bracelet.
Baby Eleanor — C.
I stared.
“Eleanor?”
The nurse nodded.
“Your mother named her after you.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“She was transferred.”
“Where?”
“Another hospital.”
“Why?”
“Victor ordered it.”
I looked at Thomas.
He was stunned.
“Why would he hide another child?”
“Because he discovered something.”
“What?”
The nurse lowered her voice.
“The fourth child wasn't part of the trust.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then why hide her?”
“Because she carried something else.”
“What?”
The nurse handed me a letter.
I opened it.
It was written by Robert Carter.
The fourth child is not an heir.
She is the guardian.
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
The nurse explained.
Robert had created the trust with a safeguard.
The heirs would inherit the fortune.
But a guardian would oversee the estate.
Someone outside the inheritance.
Someone who could prevent the heirs from being manipulated.
Victor had discovered this.
He had separated the guardian from the heirs.
That was why the fourth child disappeared.
“Where is she now?”
The nurse looked at me.
“She changed her name.”
“What name?”
The nurse smiled sadly.
“Anna.”
I froze.
Victoria.
“No.”
The nurse shook her head.
“Not Victoria.”
Another Anna.
A second daughter.
I felt dizzy.
“How many children did I have?”
The nurse smiled.
“Four.”
“Then where is the fourth?”
“She has been living under another name.”
“Which?”
The nurse handed me a photograph.
A woman stood outside a small law office.
I recognized her.
She had represented our family for years.
She had helped manage the estate.
She had always been kind to me.
Her name was Helen Carter.
Thomas stared.
“She's been protecting the trust.”
The nurse nodded.
“She was the guardian.”
I couldn't believe it.
Another daughter.
Another life.
Another secret.
We found Helen that evening.
She listened quietly.
Then she cried.
“I wondered when you would come.”
I stepped toward her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was told you didn't want me.”
“I never knew you existed.”
“I know.”
“Who told you?”
“Victor.”
I closed my eyes.
He had controlled every child.
Every identity.
Every relationship.
But he had failed.
Because now all four children had been found.
Daniel.
Claire.
Victoria.
Helen.
I looked at them.
Four children.
One mother.
One father.
Fifty years stolen.
But finally reunited.
Helen smiled.
“Dad?”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Yes.”
She hugged him.
Thomas cried.
I had never seen him cry like that.
Then all four children stood together.
Daniel.
Claire.
Victoria.
Helen.
I touched each of their faces.
“My children.”
The words felt strange.
May you like
But beautiful.
For the first time, I could say them without fear.
