Chapter 4: The Daughter My Father Hid
For almost a full minute, nobody spoke.
I stared at the words on the trust agreement.
Biological daughter: Victoria Carter.
My father's name was Thomas Carter. He had been married to my mother for thirty-two years. He had attended every school performance, every birthday, every important moment of my life.
He had taught me to ride a bicycle.
He had walked me down the aisle.
And apparently, he had another daughter.
"That's not possible," I whispered.
Robert Hayes slowly removed his glasses.
"I'm sorry, Nia.""
I pushed the document away.
"Don't apologize. Explain.""
Robert exchanged a glance with Daniel.
That glance made my stomach tighten.
"How long have you known?"" I demanded.
Robert folded his hands.
"Your father told me about Victoria eleven years ago.""
"Eleven years?""
"She was born before your parents married. Your father had a relationship with her mother, a woman named Margaret Carter.""
I shook my head.
"Why did he never tell me?""
"Because Margaret disappeared shortly after Victoria was born. Your father searched for them for years. Eventually, he located Victoria, but she refused to meet him.""
"Why?""
Robert hesitated.
"She believed he had abandoned her.""
I looked at the letter again.
My father had written about protecting me, about truth, about people who might try to steal my inheritance.
But he had never mentioned a sister.
"Does Victoria know about the trust?""
"She knows she was named as a secondary beneficiary," Robert replied.
"She doesn't know the full extent of your father's arrangements.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"There's another problem. If someone has been impersonating Victoria or using her identity to receive payments, we need to establish whether she's alive and whether she's involved.""
I looked at the name again.
"Find her.""
Robert nodded.
"I've been trying.""
My phone vibrated.
Marcus.
I answered.
"What?""
"Nia, where are you?""
"Somewhere you aren't.""
"Please don't do this.""
"Do what, Marcus?""
"Turn this into a war.""
I almost laughed.
"Your mother slapped my name onto fraudulent documents, transferred millions of dollars, and apparently involved someone connected to my father's estate. I'm not the one who started a war.""
He lowered his voice.
"I found something else.""
"What?""
"Come home.""
"No.""
"Mom isn't here anymore.""
"That's supposed to make me feel safer?""
"She left twenty minutes ago. She took two suitcases.""
I frowned.
"Where did she go?""
"I don't know.""
I heard papers moving in the background.
Then Marcus spoke again.
"She left a folder on her desk. It's about Victoria.""
My heart began racing.
"What's inside?""
"Photographs. Bank statements. A copy of her birth certificate.""
"Send them to Daniel.""
"I can't.""
"Why?""
"Because there's something else.""
His voice dropped.
"There's a photograph of my mother standing outside your father's hospital room the night he died.""
The room seemed to tilt.
My father had died following a sudden cardiac arrest. He had been hospitalized for three days after suffering what doctors described as a serious medical emergency.
I had been there every day.
I had never seen Eleanor.
"That's impossible," I said.
"That's what I thought.""
"Why would your mother be at the hospital?""
"I don't know.""
I heard a door slam.
Marcus whispered, "Nia, I think my mother knows more about your father's death than she's telling us.""
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel immediately stood.
"We need to see that photograph.""
Robert closed his briefcase.
"And we need to locate Victoria before Eleanor does.""
Two hours later, we arrived at the Whitmore mansion.
Marcus was waiting in the study.
His tuxedo jacket was gone. His shirt was wrinkled, and his tie hung loosely around his neck.
He looked as though he hadn't slept.
When he saw me, his eyes moved to my cheek.
"Does it still hurt?""
I placed my purse on the desk.
"Don't.""
He lowered his head.
"I'm sorry.""
"You already said that.""
"I know.""
"Then why are you saying it again?""
He looked at the floor.
"Because I don't know what else to say.""
I studied him.
This was the man I had loved. The man whose coffee I used to make every morning. The man who had held my hand at my father's funeral.
Now I couldn't tell whether I was looking at a husband who had made terrible mistakes or a stranger who had been lying beside me for six years.
"Show me the photograph.""
Marcus opened a drawer and removed a manila folder.
Inside were three photographs.
The first showed Eleanor entering the hospital.
The second showed her speaking to a nurse.
The third was taken outside my father's private room.
I picked it up.
Eleanor was standing beside a tall man in a gray suit.
I recognized him.
"Who is that?""
Marcus looked over my shoulder.
"That's Richard Cole.""
I felt my throat tighten.
Richard had been my father's personal assistant.
The same man who had supposedly handled his final legal documents.
The same man whose name appeared on several suspicious financial records.
"Where is he now?"" I asked.
Marcus rubbed his face.
"Dead.""
"When?""
"Three years ago.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"How did your mother know him?""
"I don't know.""
I turned toward Marcus.
"You're going to find out.""
He nodded.
Then he reached into the folder and removed another photograph.
This one was different.
It showed a young woman standing outside a small apartment building.
She had dark hair, brown eyes, and a familiar expression.
My father's eyes.
On the back, someone had written a name and an address.
*Victoria Carter.*
Underneath it was a handwritten warning.
Do not allow Nia to meet her.
I looked at Marcus.
"Who wrote this?""
He hesitated.
Then he answered.
"My mother.""
Before I could respond, the study telephone rang.
Marcus picked it up.
"Hello?""
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Marcus, darling. We need to talk.""
Eleanor.
Marcus put the call on speaker.
"Where are you?""
"Somewhere safe.""
"Why did you leave?""
"Because your wife has finally decided to destroy everything.""
I stepped closer.
"Eleanor, where is Victoria?""
There was a pause.
Then Eleanor laughed softly.
"Oh, Nia. You really don't understand what your father left behind.""
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
"What did you do?""
Her voice turned cold.
"Ask your husband what he signed three years ago.""
Marcus went completely still.
"Mom?""
But Eleanor had already hung up.
I slowly turned toward him.
"What did you sign?""
He didn't answer.
May you like
And that was when I realized the next betrayal might not have come from his mother.
It might have come from my husband.
