Chapter 12: The Truth Our Mother Buried
Cole pressed a handkerchief against his bleeding shoulder while I helped my father sit down.
Ethan clung to my side.
“Is the officer going to die?””
“No,” I said, though I had no way of knowing.
“He's going to get help.””
Cole gritted his teeth.
“I'm fine. Call the paramedics and tell them we have an armed suspect fleeing the property.””
I reached for my phone.
There was no signal.
“There's no service in here.””
“Use the landline,” Cole said.
“The desk in the next room.””
I hurried to the telephone while Ethan stayed beside my father.
The line was dead.
I checked the cord, then the wall connection.
Someone had cut it.
When I returned, Cole was struggling to stand.
“Clara, listen to me. You need to get Ethan out of here.””
“I'm not leaving you.””
“I'm not asking you to abandon me. I'm asking you to keep that boy safe.””
My father gripped my hand.
“He won't stop until he gets what he wants.””
“What does he want?””
My father looked toward the hidden doorway.
“The original birth register.””
I pulled the folder from beneath my coat.
“Is this what you're talking about?””
He shook his head.
“No. That's a copy. The original is hidden somewhere in this house.””
Daniel returned through the hallway, breathing hard.
“He's gone.””
Cole swore under his breath.
“Did you see which direction he went?””
“Through the rear garden. There's a car waiting near the old gate.””
Daniel knelt beside our father.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Daniel asked the question that had been tearing through my mind.
“Why did you let me grow up believing Richard was my father?””
My father lowered his head.
“Because I thought it was the only way to keep you alive.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“No,” he whispered.
“It isn't.””
Daniel stood.
“I spent twenty-six years believing my mother had died giving birth to me. I thought Richard raised me out of kindness. I thought Victoria was my mother. I built my entire life around a lie.””
My father began to cry.
“I know.””
“Do you?””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“Do you know what it feels like to discover that the people who raised you never intended to tell you who you were?””
I watched my father struggle to find words.
Finally, he said, “Your mother didn't want you to grow up believing you had been abandoned.””
Daniel stared at him.
“So she abandoned me first?””
“No. She never agreed to the transfer.””
My father looked at me.
“Your mother was a nurse at St. Agnes. She was present when the twins were born.
Victoria's baby died shortly after delivery, and she was devastated. Richard was terrified she would never recover.””
I sat beside him.
“What happened to the baby?””
“He was stillborn. Richard couldn't accept it. He had spent years building his company, and he believed he could solve every problem with money. When he learned your mother had delivered twins, he convinced himself that taking Daniel would give Victoria the child she had lost.””
Daniel's face twisted with anger.
“And you let him?””
“I tried to stop him. Richard promised that it would be temporary. He said Victoria needed time to recover, and that once she was stable, Daniel would be returned.””
“You signed the papers.””
“Yes.””
“You watched them take me.””
My father bowed his head.
“Yes.””
Daniel stepped away.
For a moment, I thought he might strike him.
Instead, he turned toward the window and pressed both hands against the wall.
I understood his anger.
Our father had protected us by sacrificing the truth. He had allowed one child to grow up believing he was loved by a family that had stolen him, while the other grew up believing she had been abandoned by the only man who knew where she belonged.
“How did you find me?”” I asked.
My father looked at me.
“Richard hired you because he recognized your name. He knew who your father was, but he didn't realize you were one of the twins until he saw your photograph.””
“Then why didn't he tell me?””
“Because he was afraid. He had spent years convincing himself that the lie had protected everyone. If he admitted the truth, he would have to face what he had done.””
“And Victoria?””
My father closed his eyes.
“She knew from the beginning that Daniel wasn't her biological son. But she loved him in her own way. When Richard died, she became terrified that she would lose the only child she had left.””
“She tried to have me arrested,” I said.
“She believed you had found the records. She wanted you removed before you could expose the truth.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Then why is he in danger?””
My father went pale.
“Because Ethan is the only child Richard and Victoria had together.””
The room fell silent.
Daniel turned.
“What?””
“The boy who died at birth was their biological son. Ethan was born several years later, after they had tried to rebuild their marriage.””
I stared at my father.
“So Ethan isn't related to Daniel?””
“Not by blood.””
Ethan looked up.
“But Dad loved me.””
My father reached for him.
“Richard loved you very much, Ethan. Whatever else he did, that was real.””
Ethan moved closer.
“Then why would someone pretend to be him?””
My father looked toward the doorway.
“Because Richard had a secret that could destroy more than his reputation.””
He leaned forward, wincing as he spoke.
“Three years ago, Richard discovered that Graham Whitmore had arranged the illegal transfer. He intended to expose him. But before he could, someone attacked him.””
I felt cold.
“Richard was murdered?””
My father nodded slowly.
“I saw the aftermath. I never saw the body.””
“Then who was buried under his name?””
“I don't know. But Graham convinced everyone that Richard had died, and he used the confusion to take control of the company.””
Daniel looked at the photographs.
“Then the man we saw tonight wasn't Richard.””
“No,” my father whispered.
“He was someone who had spent years pretending to be him.””
I thought about the scar on the man's face.
The altered records.
The way he had spoken as though he had a personal claim over the Hale family.
“Who is he?””
My father hesitated.
Then he said, “His name is Adrian Vale. He was Richard's private security chief. He knew Richard's habits, his voice, his business dealings. After the murder, he began impersonating him to control the estate.””
“Why would Graham help him?””
“Because Adrian had the original register. Graham needed him to keep the truth hidden.””
Cole struggled to his feet.
“We need to get out of here before either of them returns.””
Daniel helped him toward the hallway.
I stayed with my father for one last moment.
“Why didn't you come for me?””
He looked at me with unbearable sadness.
“I tried. I came to your apartment three years ago. I watched you leave for work. I saw you smiling at a little boy outside the building.””
“Ethan?””
He nodded.
“I wanted to tell you everything. But I was being followed. That night, I received a photograph of you entering the Hale mansion. The message said that if I contacted you, both of you would disappear.””
I felt tears slide down my face.
“You could have trusted me.””
“I know.””
He touched my cheek.
“I have spent every day regretting that I didn't.””
A faint sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Cole raised his weapon with his uninjured arm.
Daniel moved in front of Ethan.
Then a woman's voice called from the darkness.
“Clara?””
I froze.
It was Victoria.
She stepped into the doorway, her evening dress torn at the hem and her hair hanging loose around her face.
In her hand was a small black box.
She looked at Daniel, then at me, then at the man she had spent years believing was dead.
For the first time, Victoria Hale looked completely defeated.
“I know who ordered the transfer,” she whispered.
My father stared at her.
“Victoria, you need to leave.””
She shook her head.
“I can't. Not this time.””
She placed the black box on the table.
Inside lay a photograph of two newborn boys, a hospital bracelet, and a folded letter bearing Richard's signature.
Victoria's hands trembled.
“I lied about the boys. I lied about the records. And I let you believe Richard was responsible for everything.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Who took me?””
Victoria looked at me.
Then she spoke the words that changed everything.
“Your mother gave you away.””
I felt the room tilt.
“No.””
Victoria opened the letter.
“Your mother signed the original transfer order. She was paid to surrender one of her sons.””
My father lunged forward.
“That's a lie!””
Victoria shook her head, tears running down her face.
“Then explain why her signature is on the original.””
She slid the letter toward me.
At the bottom of the page was my mother's name.
And beneath it, written in her unmistakable handwriting, were six words.
*Take Daniel. Leave Clara with me.*
I stared at the letter.
My mother had spent my entire childhood telling me that my father abandoned us.
But now I was looking at evidence suggesting she had chosen which child would stay—and which would disappear.
Before I could speak, Victoria lifted her eyes to mine.
“There is one more thing you need to know about your mother.””
Her voice broke.
“She didn't die of cancer, Clara.””
May you like
She swallowed hard.
“She was murdered because she tried to take Daniel back.””
