Chapter 14: The Mother I Never Knew
I listened to the recording again.
My mother's voice.
A woman I had never met.
A woman who had carried me, given me away, and apparently spent sixteen years trying to protect children she could never keep.
I didn't know what I felt.
Anger.
Grief.
Confusion.
But one thing was certain.
I wasn't going to lose her.
James grabbed my arm.
“Daniel, we need a plan.””
“Richard said to come alone.””
“Which means he's expecting you to do something reckless.””
I looked at the blue ledger.
It contained the payments Richard had made to hospitals, private facilities, and officials.
It was the one thing he couldn't afford to have exposed.
“Then we'll give him what he wants.””
James shook his head.
“No.””
“I'm not letting him hurt Rebecca.””
“Neither am I. But if you walk into a trap alone, he'll have two hostages instead of one.””
Detective Bennett approached.
“We can track the recording's source.””
“How long?””
“Several hours.””
“We don't have several hours.””
Claire, sitting beside Lily in the car outside, suddenly spoke.
“There's another way.””
I turned.
She held a small piece of paper.
“Richard always used the same place when he wanted to disappear.””
“What place?””
“The old Moretti estate.””
My blood ran cold.
The house where I had grown up.
The house my father had left me.
The house Richard had helped manage after his death.
“Why would he take Rebecca there?””
Claire looked at me.
“Because that's where he began everything.””
We arrived at the estate just after sunset.
The property was surrounded by high stone walls.
James remained with Detective Bennett, who had arranged officers along the road.
I carried a copy of the blue ledger.
The original remained with the police.
Richard had demanded the evidence, but I wasn't stupid enough to give him the only copy.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the house looked exactly as I remembered.
The grandfather clock.
The marble staircase.
My father's portrait above the fireplace.
And beneath it, Richard Hale.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Daniel.””
“Where is Rebecca?””
Richard smiled.
“Still no greeting?””
“Where is she?””
He nodded toward the study.
I walked past him.
Rebecca sat in my father's old leather chair.
Her wrists were tied.
Her face was bruised.
But she was alive.
“Mom?””
She looked up.
For a moment, she seemed unable to understand what she was seeing.
Then her lips trembled.
“Daniel?””
I rushed toward her.
Richard raised a gun.
“Stop.””
I froze.
“Untie her.””
“First, the ledger.””
I held up the folder.
“Let her go.””
Richard laughed.
“You really are your father's son.””
“Don't compare me to him.””
“Oh, but you should. He understood how the world works. People are assets.
Families are leverage. Love is a weakness.””
I looked at Rebecca.
“Did he do this to you?””
She nodded.
Richard sighed.
“She was always difficult.””
Rebecca lifted her chin.
“You stole my children.””
Richard's expression hardened.
“I gave them opportunities.””
“You sold them.””
“I placed them in homes.””
“You took them from their mother!””
Her voice echoed through the room.
Richard raised the gun slightly.
“Enough.””
I took a step forward.
“Why?””
He looked at me.
“Why what?””
“Why did you do all this?””
For the first time, he seemed genuinely offended.
“Because I built that company with your father. I worked for years while he played the generous businessman. I watched him hand everything to you.””
“He adopted me.””
“And made you his heir.””
Richard's voice rose.
“He had no bloodline. No natural son. Yet he gave you everything while Rebecca's children were left with nothing.””
I stared at him.
“So you stole the trust?””
“I corrected an injustice.””
“You kidnapped babies.””
“I secured the assets.””
“You destroyed families.””
Richard smiled coldly.
“Families are fragile, Daniel. Money is not.””
He held out his hand.
“The ledger.””
I placed the folder on the table.
He opened it.
Then he looked up.
“This isn't the original.””
“No.””
His smile disappeared.
“Where is it?””
“With the police.””
He raised the gun.
“You fool.””
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Richard turned.
James appeared in the doorway with Detective Bennett and two officers.
“Drop the weapon!””
Richard grabbed Rebecca and pulled her in front of him.
“Stay back!””
The officers raised their guns.
I moved slowly toward him.
“Let her go.””
Richard pressed the weapon against Rebecca's shoulder.
“You think you can arrest me? Half the people in this town owe me their careers.””
Detective Bennett didn't move.
“Put the gun down, Richard.””
He laughed.
Then Rebecca did something none of us expected.
She stomped on his foot and drove her elbow into his ribs.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
I lunged.
Richard fell backward, and the weapon slid across the floor.
James kicked it away.
Two officers restrained Richard.
Rebecca collapsed into my arms.
“It's over,” I whispered.
She shook her head.
“No.””
I pulled back.
“What?””
She looked at Richard.
“He has the list.””
Richard began laughing.
Detective Bennett handcuffed him.
“What list?””
Rebecca swallowed.
“The names of every child he transferred. Every family. Every payment. Everything.””
Richard's smile widened.
“You don't know where it is.””
I turned toward him.
“Where?””
He looked directly at me.
“Somewhere your father hid it.””
I felt a chill.
“My father is dead.””
Richard smiled.
“Not everything he left behind is.””
At the police station, Rebecca gave a statement.
She explained that she had been trying to find Anna for years.
Richard had convinced her that Anna had been adopted overseas.
But she had recently discovered that the adoption papers were forged.
She had gone to meet him because he promised to reveal Anna's location.
Instead, he kidnapped her.
“Why did you never contact me?”” I asked when we were alone.
Rebecca looked at me.
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Every year on your birthday. I sent letters to the Moretti estate.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“Why didn't I receive them?””
“Your father intercepted them.””
I looked down.
“How many?””
“Sixteen.””
Sixteen years of letters.
Sixteen birthdays.
Sixteen chances to know the woman sitting across from me.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
Rebecca shook her head.
“You were a child. None of this was your fault.””
She reached across the table and touched my hand.
“I used to wonder whether you were happy.””
I couldn't speak.
Then she said:
“I hope you were loved.””
I thought of the father who raised me.
The man who had stolen my identity but also taught me to ride a bicycle, helped me with homework, and held my hand when I was sick.
I didn't know how to reconcile those memories with the documents in the warehouse.
“I was,” I finally said.
Rebecca nodded.
“Then perhaps he wasn't entirely cruel.””
Before I could answer, Detective Bennett entered.
“We found the location of the missing files.””
“Where?””
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a small underground vault beneath the Moretti estate.
“Your father had a private archive built beneath the house. Richard says the files are there.””
James looked at me.
“Then we need to go back.””
Rebecca grabbed my hand.
“Daniel, there's something else.””
“What?””
She hesitated.
“Anna may not be the last child.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
She looked at the photograph of the three children.
“Richard told me he had one final transfer scheduled. A child who was never supposed to exist on paper.””
My heart sank.
“Who?””
Rebecca's eyes filled.
“Your father's child.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“My father was sterile.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“He wasn't.””
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Your father had another son.””
