Chapter 8: One Hour to Save My Daughter
“No.””
I said it once.
Then again.
“No. No, he doesn't.””
I tried to stand, but pain tore through my shoulder. My mother caught me before I fell.
“Daniel, you need to sit down.””
“Sophie was with Thomas.””
My voice sounded strange, distant.
“Thomas said she was safe.””
My mother looked at the empty doorway.
“Thomas may have led them to her.””
I shoved away her hand and reached for my phone.
Thomas answered on the first ring.
“Daniel?””
“Where is my daughter?””
Silence.
“Thomas, if you have hurt her—”
“I haven't touched Sophie!””
“Then where is she?””
“I left her with Margaret's neighbor. A woman named Mrs. Collins. She was supposed to keep Sophie until I returned.””
“Did you see Richard?””
Another silence.
I closed my eyes.
“Answer me!””
“Yes,” Thomas whispered.
“He was waiting outside the building.””
I could barely breathe.
“You gave him her location.””
“He said he only wanted to speak to her. He promised he wouldn't hurt her.””
I laughed, and the sound frightened even me.
“You handed my seven-year-old daughter to a man who threatened to destroy her life, and you believed his promise?””
Thomas began to cry.
“Margaret is all I have.””
“And Sophie is all I have!””
The words ripped through me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I heard Thomas whisper, “I'm sorry.””
I ended the call.
My mother sat beside me, pressing a fresh cloth against my shoulder. Her hands were steady now, but tears continued to slide down her cheeks.
“I should have come back for you,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
“Yes.””
She nodded as though she had expected nothing else.
“I should have fought harder. I should have found a way. Every birthday, I told myself I'd come the following year. Every time I thought I had found a safe path back to you, your father found a way to close it.””
“You let me believe you didn't love me.””
“I know.””
“You let me grow up thinking I wasn't worth coming back for.””
She recoiled.
“That was never true.””
“Then why didn't you come?””
Her mouth opened.
No answer came.
I looked away.
There were a thousand things I wanted to say. A thousand questions I had carried since childhood.
But my daughter was missing.
I couldn't afford to spend another minute on the past.
“Tell me where Richard is keeping them.””
My mother wiped her face.
“There's an old medical laboratory in Queens. It belonged to Alexander's company before Richard took control. He used it for the original inheritance tests.””
“You think Richard has taken Sophie and Amara there?””
“I think he's trying to force you to provide a DNA sample. If he can prove your identity and connect you to the original trust, he can claim the estate before the other heirs can challenge him.””
“Then why take the girls?””
“Because one of them is the fourth child.””
I stared at her.
“Which one?””
“I don't know.””
The answer nearly broke my patience.
“You're telling me someone has taken my daughter and another little girl, and you don't even know which child they're after?””
“I know what your father told me. I know what Richard believes. But I don't know which of the four children carries the missing claim.””
I looked at the vial in my hand.
“What's in this?””
“A preserved sample from the first DNA test. It can prove who you are and who your father was. But it can't tell you which child Richard is looking for.””
“Then what can?””
My mother reached into the lining of her coat and removed a folded piece of paper.
“Alexander's original records.””
She spread it across the desk.
Four names had been written in black ink.
*Daniel Whitmore.*
*Lily Whitmore.*
*Amara Vale.*
The fourth name had been scratched out so aggressively that the paper had torn.
Beneath it was a single word.
*Living.*
I stared at the page.
“Why would someone write that?””
“Because the fourth child was officially recorded as stillborn.””
I looked up.
“But you just said—”
“I said someone falsified the inheritance records. One child was declared dead before birth, but I saw the baby. I held him.””
My throat tightened.
“Who was he?””
My mother shook her head.
“I never learned what happened to him. Your father took the child away before I could leave the hospital.””
The room seemed to shrink around us.
A child declared dead.
A missing heir.
A man who had built his life on lies.
And two little girls caught in the middle.
I forced myself to stand.
“I'm going to the laboratory.””
My mother shook her head.
“Not alone.””
“You were shot at thirty years ago?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know what we're walking into?””
She looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
“Because I was there the night Alexander died.””
Before I could ask another question, a knock sounded from above.
Three slow knocks.
Then a woman's voice called down the stairs.
“Catherine? It's Margaret.””
My mother went pale.
I moved toward the doorway.
“Thomas's wife?””
She nodded.
I climbed the stairs as quickly as my injured shoulder allowed.
A woman stood at the greenhouse entrance, soaked from the rain. Her wrists were bruised, and one side of her face was swollen.
Margaret.
Thomas's wife.
She looked past me toward the staircase.
“Where is Catherine?””
“Downstairs. Are you hurt?””
“Not badly.””
She tried to step forward and nearly collapsed.
I caught her.
“Where's Sophie?””
Margaret gripped my arm.
“Richard took both girls to the laboratory. Thomas was supposed to bring you, but he changed his mind.””
“Why?””
“Because he finally realized Richard was never going to release me.””
She swallowed.
“He intends to kill us all once he gets what he wants.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“Why would he kill Thomas?””
“Because Thomas knows where the original records are hidden.””
My mother appeared behind us.
“Margaret, did Richard tell you anything about the fourth child?””
Margaret looked at her.
Then she nodded slowly.
“He said the missing heir was never a boy.””
My mother went completely still.
Margaret continued.
“He said the fourth child was a girl. A girl who was declared dead before she was born, but who grew up under another name.””
I stared at her.
“Who?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“He said her name was Sophie.””
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
My daughter.
My seven-year-old daughter.
The child whose birthday flowers were still sitting in the SUV.
The child who had asked me whether seven was too old for a unicorn cake.
Richard wasn't merely using her to threaten me.
He believed she belonged to the inheritance.
And if he was right, then the entire story of my family had been built around a child who was never supposed to exist.
I grabbed my coat.
“Get me to Queens.””
Margaret nodded.
But as we hurried toward the car, my mother caught my hand.
“Daniel, there's something else you need to know.””
I turned.
She looked at Sophie’s photograph on my phone.
“Your father didn't take her from the hospital because he wanted to protect her.””
Her voice cracked.
“He took her because he knew she wasn't your daughter.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
My mother squeezed my hand.
“Richard changed the DNA records. The man who raised you is not the only person in this family who has been deceived.””
May you like
She looked toward the dark road.
“Daniel, the little girl you call Sophie may be the one person who can expose everything.””
