Chapter 12: The Twins Richard Tried to Separate
I called Sophie immediately.
No answer.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
Michael contacted the investigators while I stared at the photograph.
Richard had been released less than an hour earlier.
And now Sophie was missing.
“Where did they take her?”” I asked Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You said Richard was looking for her.””
“I knew he wanted the original birth records. I didn't know he had already found her.””
Michael ended his call.
“The police are tracking the vehicle.””
“How long?””
“Hopefully not long enough for Richard to move her.””
I turned toward Vanessa.
“Tell me everything about the twins.””
She closed her eyes.
“Sophie was working for Richard when she discovered the fertility arrangement. Your father had funded a private medical program years earlier. Thomas had provided genetic material before he died.””
I frowned.
“Thomas?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He wanted children. He had been told he might not be able to have them naturally. He arranged for embryos to be created and stored.””
Michael looked at the documents.
“Then why would Sophie be the biological mother?””
“She agreed to carry the embryos. There were two.””
I stared at her.
“So Maya and Noah?””
Vanessa nodded.
“But Richard changed the records after they were born.””
“Why?””
“Because Thomas had left instructions that his children would inherit his estate. Richard wanted to control that inheritance.””
Michael looked up.
“Did your father know about the twins?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He knew one child had been placed with Catherine. He didn't know where the other child was until Richard brought Noah into the picture.””
I felt a chill.
“Then why did he allow me to marry you?””
Vanessa looked down.
“Because he thought I could protect Maya.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You were part of the scheme.””
“I know.””
“You stood beside me while I believed the baby was mine.””
“I know.””
“You watched Maya grow up without knowing she had a twin.””
Vanessa began crying.
“I thought I could fix everything before Richard hurt them.””
I turned away.
There was no explanation that could make her choices acceptable.
But I needed the truth.
The investigator called twenty minutes later.
“We've located the vehicle.””
“Where?””
“An abandoned warehouse near the industrial district.””
“Is Sophie alive?””
“We don't know yet.””
I immediately stood.
Michael caught my arm.
“Daniel, let the police handle it.””
“She saved my daughter.””
“And we need her alive. Don't make this harder.””
I forced myself to sit.
Maya had been listening quietly.
She suddenly looked up.
“Dad, can I ask something?””
“Of course.””
“If Noah is my twin, does he know?””
I glanced toward Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“He's too young.””
Maya stared at the photograph of the baby.
“Then he's alone.””
I took her hand.
“Not anymore.””
At 11:40 p.m., the investigator called again.
Sophie had been found.
She was alive.
But Richard had escaped.
Two officers brought Sophie to the estate shortly afterward.
She walked into the study with a blanket around her shoulders.
Maya immediately stood.
“Are you okay?””
Sophie managed a tired smile.
“I'm okay, sweetheart.””
I stepped forward.
“Who took you?””
“Richard and two men from his security company.””
“Where is he now?””
“He left before the police arrived.””
Michael handed Sophie a glass of water.
“Did he take anything?””
Sophie nodded.
“The original medical records.””
My stomach tightened.
“Which records?””
“The embryo transfer records. The original birth documents. Everything proving Maya and Noah are twins.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Is there another copy?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she reached into her handbag.
She removed a small USB drive.
“I kept this.””
Michael took it carefully.
“What's on it?””
“Everything.””
He connected it to his laptop.
A folder opened.
There were scanned medical records, laboratory reports, birth certificates, and legal documents.
Then another file appeared.
*FINAL PATERNITY AND MATERNITY REPORT.*
Michael opened it.
The report identified the biological parents of both children.
Thomas Hale.
Sophie Bennett.
The twins shared the same genetic profile.
Maya and Noah were siblings.
There was no doubt.
I looked at Maya.
She was staring at the screen.
“Dad?””
“Yes?””
“Can I meet him?””
I nodded.
“Of course.””
She looked toward the baby photograph.
“Can I hold him?””
Vanessa began crying.
I didn't answer immediately.
Then I looked at Sophie.
“Where is Noah now?””
Sophie lowered her eyes.
“With Vanessa's attorney. Richard arranged temporary custody through a private agreement.””
Michael immediately checked the documents.
“That agreement has no legal standing if the signatures were forged.””
“Then we can bring him here?”” Maya asked.
Michael nodded.
“We can petition for emergency protective custody.””
I looked at my daughter.
“We'll make sure you're both safe.””
For the first time, she smiled.
Then Sophie placed another document on the table.
“There's something else Richard stole.””
Michael examined it.
His face changed.
“What?””
Sophie pointed to a clause in Thomas's original trust.
“If both twins are alive and their identities are verified, the inheritance automatically transfers to an independent family foundation.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Richard loses control of everything.””
Michael read the clause again.
“Not quite everything. There's a second condition.””
He turned the page.
The transfer could only happen after the original guardian was identified and approved by the court.
I looked at the names.
The guardian listed was Catherine.
My first wife.
But Catherine was dead.
Michael continued reading.
“If the original guardian is deceased, the replacement must be someone named in the deceased guardian's sealed declaration.””
I stared at the document.
“Where is that declaration?””
Sophie looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa slowly nodded.
“Richard has it.””
My jaw tightened.
“Then we find it.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You don't understand. He isn't trying to destroy the inheritance anymore.””
“What is he trying to do?””
She looked directly at me.
“He wants to make sure neither child ever gets it.””
Maya stepped closer.
“Why would he do that?””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“Because if the trust transfers, the foundation will release every financial record your grandfather and Richard ever concealed.””
Michael looked at the USB drive.
“And that includes the money used to arrange Thomas's death.””
I stared at the screen.
Richard wasn't simply trying to steal money.
He was trying to erase the evidence of everything he had done.
My phone rang.
The caller ID showed the police investigator.
I answered.
“Daniel Hale.””
The investigator sounded unusually tense.
“We found something at the warehouse.””
“What?””
“A hidden room. It contained documents, photographs, and recordings.””
“Is Richard there?””
“No.””
He paused.
“But we found a photograph of your daughter.””
My heart stopped.
“What photograph?””
“A recent one. Taken outside her school.””
I looked at Maya.
She was standing only a few feet away.
The investigator continued.
“There's a handwritten message on the back.””
“What does it say?””
His voice dropped.
The girl was never supposed to survive.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Then he added:
“Mr. Hale, there's another name written underneath that message.””
“Whose?””
The investigator took a breath.
“Your father.””
I slowly lowered the phone.
Maya looked at me.
“Dad, what's wrong?””
I couldn't answer.
Because suddenly, I wasn't just questioning Richard anymore.
I was questioning the man who had raised me.
The man who had left behind all these secrets.
The man who had supposedly spent his final years protecting Maya.
May you like
And for the first time, I wondered whether my father had been protecting his grandchildren from Richard...
Or protecting Richard from the truth.
