Chapter 13: The Bloodline Beneath the Lies
I stared at Claire, waiting for her to take it back.
“Rebecca Collins is my mother?””
Claire nodded weakly.
“And Rose is my sister?””
Another nod.
I stood so quickly that my chair fell backward.
“No. My father and mother had me. I remember them.
I have photographs. I have a birth certificate.””
“Daniel,” James said quietly.
I turned on him.
“Don't.””
He stopped.
I looked at Detective Bennett.
“Find Rebecca Collins. I want to know where she is, and I want every document connected to my birth.””
The detective closed her folder.
“We'll need time.””
“You have until tomorrow.””
“Mr. Moretti—”
“My entire family has been turned into a crime scene. I don't have another day to waste.””
Claire reached for my hand.
“Please. Sit down.””
I looked at her.
For three years, I had believed she was dead.
For three years, I had watched my daughter suffer.
Now I was learning that the man I called my father might have stolen my identity before I could speak.
I sat.
Claire took a shaky breath.
“Your father couldn't have children.””
I stared at her.
“He and your mother adopted you privately. Rebecca was young, unmarried, and desperate. She believed you would have a better life.””
“Then why did she disappear?””
“Because your father paid her to stay away.””
I felt sick.
“And Richard?””
“Richard was already working for your father. He handled the arrangements. He knew where Rebecca lived. He knew everything.””
James looked at the document again.
“Why would Daniel's father create a trust involving children who weren't even born?””
Claire looked toward the window.
“Because he wanted an heir who would never question where the money came from.””
I frowned.
“What money?””
She turned back to me.
“The money came from the original family trust. Your biological grandfather established it for Rebecca's children. Your adoptive father gained control of it after your adoption.””
I remembered the old company records.
My father had always said our business empire began with a small inheritance and a loan.
But the figures never added up.
James studied the document.
“If this is true, the company was financed with money belonging to Rebecca's children.””
Claire nodded.
“And Richard wanted control of all of it.””
I looked at the signatures.
My father's.
Richard's.
Martin Caldwell's.
Then I noticed something else.
A fourth signature appeared at the bottom.
*Eleanor Hale.*
“Eleanor knew?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“She helped arrange the first transfer.””
I stood again.
“Then she's not just a victim.””
“No,” Claire whispered.
“But she wasn't always the person she is now.””
I thought about Lily.
About Eleanor raising her as her own.
About the way she had called me and admitted Richard's crimes.
“Where is Eleanor?””
James checked his phone.
“She hasn't answered since last night.””
I looked at the detective.
“Find her.””
We found Eleanor at the house where Lily had been staying.
She opened the door wearing a pale blue sweater.
Her eyes were swollen.
When she saw Claire standing behind me, she nearly collapsed.
“Oh, God.””
Claire didn't move.
“Where is Rose?””
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“Richard told me she was safe.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Claire stepped forward.
“You signed the transfer papers.””
Eleanor began crying.
“I thought I was saving her.””
“From what?””
“From the people who wanted to take her.””
Claire's voice sharpened.
“You were the person taking her!””
Eleanor flinched.
“I know.””
I stepped between them.
“Tell us everything.””
Eleanor led us into the living room.
Lily sat on the stairs, listening.
She looked at me.
“Is Mom coming home?””
I glanced at Claire.
“Soon.””
Eleanor sat down.
“Richard told me he had found a baby girl whose mother couldn't care for her. He said the child needed a stable home. I couldn't have children, and I wanted to believe him.””
“Was the baby Rose?”” I asked.
She nodded.
“He said the mother had died.””
“Rebecca Collins?””
Eleanor's face changed.
“You know about Rebecca?””
“She's my biological mother.””
Eleanor looked as if someone had struck her.
“Oh, Daniel.””
“Where is she?””
“I don't know. Richard told me she had left the country.””
Claire stepped closer.
“Did you ever meet her?””
Eleanor hesitated.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Six months ago.””
My heart began pounding.
“Where?””
“At a house near the coast. Richard took me there to see Rose.””
“Was Rebecca there?””
Eleanor nodded.
“She was alive. She was crying. She kept asking to see her daughter.””
I gripped the back of a chair.
“Why didn't you help her?””
Eleanor lowered her head.
“Because Richard threatened Lily. He said if I helped Rebecca, he would take Lily away and tell the authorities I had kidnapped her.””
Lily appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mom?””
Eleanor looked at her.
For the first time, Lily seemed unsure whether she meant Eleanor or Claire.
Claire knelt.
“You can call us whatever you need to. Nobody is going to make you choose.””
Lily ran into her arms.
I turned away.
My family was finally together, but none of us knew what that word meant anymore.
Eleanor wiped her face.
“There is something else.””
I turned back.
“Go on.””
“Richard has a private storage facility. He keeps the original records there. Adoption papers, medical files, birth certificates. Everything.””
“Where?””
She gave James an address.
Then she looked directly at me.
“He keeps a photograph of Rebecca on his desk. He calls her the woman who ruined his life.””
“Why?””
Eleanor swallowed.
“Because Rebecca refused to let him control her children.””
The storage facility was an abandoned warehouse outside the city.
James arranged for Detective Bennett to obtain a warrant.
Inside, we found rows of metal cabinets.
Each drawer carried a number.
Some contained hospital records.
Others contained passports, adoption papers, and photographs.
I found a folder marked with my birth date.
Inside was a photograph of a young woman holding a newborn.
Rebecca.
On the back, someone had written:
*Daniel Collins — transferred to Moretti household.*
My hands shook.
I turned the page.
There was a payment receipt.
Then another.
Then a letter signed by my adoptive father.
It read:
The boy will carry the Moretti name. Rebecca will receive no further contact. Richard will oversee the remaining arrangements.
James read it over my shoulder.
“Daniel…”
I couldn't answer.
Then Detective Bennett called from the next room.
“We found something.””
She held up a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of three children.
Rose.
Lily.
And another little girl.
On the back were four words.
*The final child is missing.*
I looked at Eleanor.
“What does this mean?””
She began trembling.
“Richard told me there were only three.””
I turned the photograph over again.
A name had been written beneath the little girl's face.
*Anna Collins.*
Rebecca's daughter.
My sister.
And according to the file, she had disappeared from a hospital nursery just two days after birth.
Before I could speak, James's phone rang.
He answered.
Then his face went white.
“Daniel, we have a problem.””
“What?””
“Richard has taken Rebecca.””
I grabbed the phone.
“Where?””
James listened.
Then he looked at me.
“He left a message.””
A recording began.
Richard's voice filled the warehouse.
“Bring me the blue ledger, Daniel. Come alone. If you want your mother alive, you'll do exactly as I say.””
The message ended.
Then another sound came through.
A woman crying.
May you like
Rebecca.
And she was saying my name.
