Chapter 8: The Inheritance
Evelyn read the clause twice.
Then a third time.
“This can't be real.””
Marcus placed the document flat on the table.
“It carries your father's seal.””
Sarah leaned over it.
“What does the code mean?””
Marcus pointed to the margin.
“Hospital identification number.””
Claire stepped closer.
“That number belongs to one of the babies.””
Marcus nodded.
“Exactly.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Which one?””
“We don't know yet.””
Sarah stared at the document.
“Find out.””
“I am trying.””
“No. You're reading. Find out.””
Marcus opened his laptop.
His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.
Evelyn turned to Claire.
“You said your daughter was alive.””
“Yes.””
“Then why would my father leave an inheritance to a child who wasn't his?””
Claire's expression darkened.
“Because she was.””
Evelyn frowned.
“What?””
“Jonathan Vale wasn't lying about the bloodline.””
Sarah shook her head.
“Stop talking in riddles.””
Claire looked at her.
“Your father and Vale were related.””
Evelyn's face changed.
“How?””
“Your father never told you.””
“Related how?””
“Brothers.””
Silence.
Maya looked at Evelyn.
“Your dad had a brother?””
Evelyn slowly nodded.
“He told me he was an only child.””
Claire laughed without humor.
“He wanted everyone to believe that.””
Marcus suddenly looked up from the laptop.
“I found the medical number.””
Evelyn rushed over.
“What does it say?””
Marcus turned the screen.
“The number belongs to Infant B.””
Claire closed her eyes.
“My daughter.””
Evelyn stared.
“Then the inheritance belongs to her.””
Marcus nodded.
“According to this clause.””
Sarah looked confused.
“Then why did Vale say Maya matters?””
Marcus scrolled.
“There is another condition.””
Evelyn's stomach tightened.
“What condition?””
Marcus read aloud.
“Upon the death of the primary heir, all assets transfer to the surviving blood relative carrying the designated maternal marker.””
Sarah's face went pale.
“What maternal marker?””
Marcus looked toward Maya.
“The crescent.””
Maya touched behind her ear.
Evelyn stared at her.
“So if Claire's daughter dies…”
“Then Maya inherits everything,” Marcus said.
Sarah's eyes widened.
“That's why he wants her.””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
“That isn't why.””
“Then why?””
Claire looked terrified.
“Because the inheritance isn't just money.””
Marcus frowned.
“What else?””
Claire pointed toward the document.
“Read the final page.””
Marcus flipped it.
His expression changed.
“Jesus.””
Evelyn snatched the paper.
At the bottom was a list.
Properties.
Companies.
Trusts.
Offshore accounts.
Political donations.
And one heading:
*Confidential Medical Holdings.*
Evelyn stared.
“What is this?””
Marcus answered quietly.
“Private research facilities.””
Sarah stepped closer.
“Research on what?””
Marcus didn't answer.
Claire did.
“Children.””
Maya's eyes widened.
Evelyn immediately covered her ears.
“Don't listen.””
Claire continued.
“Your father funded experimental treatments for rare blood disorders.””
Sarah stared.
“You said the second baby had one.””
“Yes.””
“That's why she was valuable.””
Claire nodded.
Evelyn looked sick.
“My father wasn't hiding a child.””
“He was hiding a patient.””
Marcus flipped through the pages.
“These facilities were conducting trials.””
“On babies?””
“On children with specific blood markers.””
Sarah's voice shook.
“And Maya?””
Marcus looked at the birth records.
“Maya doesn't have the disorder.””
Claire stepped closer.
“Then she isn't the heir.””
Marcus shook his head.
“The clause says the surviving blood relative carrying the maternal marker.””
Evelyn frowned.
“Meaning?””
Marcus pointed to Maya.
“She's related to the original heir.””
Claire looked at Maya.
“And if my daughter dies…”
“Maya becomes the legal successor.””
Sarah suddenly understood.
“That's why they've been following her.””
Claire nodded.
“Not because she is the child they wanted.””
“But because she's the child they can use.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Evelyn grabbed the locket.
Marcus closed the folder.
Sarah pulled Maya behind her.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Then someone knocked.
Three times.
Claire whispered, “No.””
The door opened.
A nurse walked inside.
Old.
Gray uniform.
White shoes.
She carried a black medical bag.
Evelyn recognized her face from the photographs.
“Mrs. Bell.””
The nurse smiled.
“You remember me.””
Evelyn's voice went cold.
“You were there.””
“Yes.””
“When my baby was taken.””
The nurse nodded.
“Yes.””
Sarah moved forward.
“Where is Claire's daughter?””
Mrs. Bell looked at Claire.
“Alive.””
Claire's breath caught.
“Where?””
The nurse placed the medical bag on the table.
“Not where you think.””
Sarah stared at her.
“What does that mean?””
Mrs. Bell opened the bag.
Inside were dozens of patient files.
Each had a photograph.
Each child had the same crescent-shaped mark.
Maya looked horrified.
“Why do they all have my mark?””
Nobody answered.
Evelyn picked up one file.
Then another.
Nine children.
Ten.
Eleven.
All born within three years of Maya.
All marked behind the ear.
Sarah whispered, “They made copies.””
Mrs. Bell shook her head.
“No.””
“Then what?””
“They were candidates.””
“For what?””
Mrs. Bell looked toward the door.
“For replacement.””
Claire's face hardened.
“Replacement for my daughter?””
The nurse nodded.
“Every time the heir disappeared, another child was prepared.””
Evelyn felt sick.
“How many?””
Mrs. Bell looked at Maya.
“Twenty-three.””
Maya started crying.
Sarah pulled her close.
“Don't look.””
But Maya had already seen the final file.
A photograph.
A teenage girl.
Sixteen years old.
The same eyes as Maya.
The same crescent mark.
The same face.
Maya whispered:
“She looks like me.””
Claire grabbed the file.
Her hands shook.
“My daughter.””
Mrs. Bell nodded.
“Yes.””
Claire stared at the photograph.
“But you said she was alive.””
“She is.””
“Where?””
The nurse looked at the ballroom doors.
“Across the street.””
Everyone froze.
Evelyn rushed to the window.
The black sedan was still there.
But now another car had pulled up beside it.
A teenage girl stepped out.
Braids.
Dark coat.
Crescent-shaped birthmark.
She looked directly toward the ballroom.
Maya stared back.
The girl raised her hand.
She was holding a silver locket.
Identical to Maya's.
Sarah whispered, “No…”
The girl pointed toward the entrance.
Then someone behind her grabbed her shoulder.
She disappeared from view.
Claire screamed.
“My daughter!””
Evelyn ran toward the doors.
Marcus blocked her.
“Wait!””
“Move!””
“We don't know who took her.””
Evelyn stared at him.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A distorted voice whispered:
“Bring Maya to the old hospital.””
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
“Who are you?””
The voice replied:
“Someone who knows which baby came first.””
Then the caller sent a photograph.
Evelyn opened it.
It showed two newborns lying side by side.
One wore the hospital bracelet marked *June 16*.
The other wore *June 17*.
But both bracelets had the same name.
*Evelyn Hayes.*
May you like
And written beneath the photograph was one sentence:
*You were never told which baby you gave birth to.*
