Chapter 5 — Amelia's Last Message
Chapter 5 — Amelia's Last Message
The gun was pointed directly at Ethan.
No one moved.
Rain hammered against the chapel windows.
The old wooden doors remained locked behind Victor.
Ethan stood between Amelia and the teenage boy who had just called him father.
For seven years, Ethan had imagined this moment.
He had imagined holding his daughter.
He had imagined hearing his wife's voice.
He had imagined finding the child he had believed was dead.
He had never imagined finding all three at once—
with a gun aimed at his heart.
Victor smiled.
“You always were stubborn, Ethan.”
Ethan didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the boy.
Fifteen years old.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
The same narrow scar above the left eyebrow Ethan had carried since childhood.
Elias.
His son.
The boy took one step toward him.
Victor raised the gun higher.
“Don't.”
Elias stopped.
Ethan finally spoke.
“Let him go.”
Victor laughed softly.
“Do you know how many times I've heard that sentence?”
“Let my son go.”
“Your son?”
Victor glanced at Elias.
“You're still thinking like a father.”
“What should I think like?”
“A Blackwood.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
Victor smiled.
“That is exactly your problem.”
Amelia suddenly moved.
She stepped between Ethan and Victor.
“Don't.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Amelia.”
Her voice trembled.
“You've already taken enough.”
“Not yet.”
“You promised.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“I promised you many things.”
“And you broke every one.”
Silence.
Ethan looked at his wife.
“What promise?”
Amelia didn't answer.
Victor did.
“She knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That your father didn't die when you were told he did.”
Ethan stared at him.
Victor continued.
“He disappeared.”
“He was murdered.”
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“He chose to disappear.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“My father was alive?”
“For years.”
“Where?”
Victor shrugged.
“Somewhere.”
“You're lying.”
“Maybe.”
Victor's gun shifted toward Amelia.
“But ask your wife.”
Ethan looked at her.
Amelia's face had gone white.
“Amelia?”
She whispered:
“I knew.”
The boy named Elias looked between them.
“You're my father?”
Ethan couldn't take his eyes off him.
“Yes.”
The word came out broken.
Elias swallowed.
“My mother said you were dead.”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“She was protecting you.”
“From Victor?”
“Yes.”
Elias looked at Victor.
Victor smiled.
“She protected you from everyone.”
Elias frowned.
“Why?”
Victor answered calmly.
“Because your family destroys everything it touches.”
Amelia stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor laughed.
“You've spent fifteen years lying to that boy.”
“I was trying to keep him alive.”
“You were trying to keep him hidden.”
“Yes.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
Amelia's voice hardened.
“You wanted him for the trust.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“I wanted all three.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You're not taking any of them.”
Victor looked amused.
“You still think this is about taking children.”
“What is it about?”
“The Blackwood Trust.”
Ethan shook his head.
“It's over.”
“No.”
Victor pointed the gun toward the floor.
“You haven't even seen the beginning.”
A phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from inside Amelia's coat.
She looked down.
Ethan stared.
“Whose phone is that?”
Amelia slowly removed it.
The screen showed no number.
No name.
Only:
UNKNOWN CALLER
Victor's expression changed.
For the first time that night, he looked afraid.
“Don't answer.”
Ethan noticed.
“Who is it?”
Victor said nothing.
The phone continued ringing.
Amelia pressed answer.
She placed it on speaker.
Static filled the chapel.
Then a woman's voice spoke.
“Amelia.”
Amelia's eyes widened.
“Mother?”
Ethan froze.
The elderly woman standing beside Elias lowered her head.
Victor whispered:
“No.”
The voice continued.
“It's time.”
Amelia began crying.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I had to disappear.”
“Where are you?”
A pause.
“Not where you think.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who is this?”
The voice went silent.
Then:
“Ethan.”
His heart stopped.
“You know me?”
“I knew you before you were born.”
Victor suddenly raised his gun.
“Enough.”
The call ended.
Ethan turned toward Victor.
“What was that?”
Victor looked at Amelia.
“She should have stayed dead.”
Amelia stared at him.
“You're afraid of her.”
Victor didn't answer.
Ethan understood.
The woman on the phone wasn't just someone from Amelia's past.
She was someone Victor feared.
Someone who knew the entire truth.
A small red light blinked on the phone.
Ethan noticed it.
“Recording.”
Amelia looked down.
“What?”
“The call.”
Ethan took the phone.
It had automatically recorded the conversation.
He played it again.
The woman's voice came through.
“Amelia.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I had to disappear.”
Ethan listened carefully.
Then he heard something beneath the woman's voice.
A faint mechanical sound.
Beeping.
Regular.
Every three seconds.
He looked at Samuel.
“Medical equipment.”
Samuel nodded.
“She is somewhere near a hospital.”
Victor immediately fired.
The bullet struck the stone beside Ethan.
Everyone screamed.
Elias pulled Amelia down.
Ethan tackled Victor.
They crashed into the altar.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Victor punched Ethan.
Ethan struck him back.
Years of grief and rage exploded in seconds.
“You killed my family!”
Victor hit him again.
“You don't know what you're talking about!”
“You stole my children!”
“I saved them!”
Ethan froze.
Victor shoved him away.
“I saved them from you.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Victor reached for the gun.
Elias kicked it away.
Victor looked at the boy.
For the first time, hatred flashed across his face.
“You.”
Elias backed away.
“You're the reason everything failed.”
Amelia stood.
“Don't touch him.”
Victor laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“The boy isn't the heir.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Victor looked at Elias.
“He's the witness.”
Silence.
Elias frowned.
“What witness?”
Victor smiled.
“The only person who saw what happened the night your mother disappeared.”
Amelia's face changed.
“No.”
Victor continued.
“He remembers.”
Ethan looked at his son.
“Elias?”
The boy's hands began shaking.
“I remember something.”
Amelia whispered:
“Don't.”
“I remember the room.”
“Elias.”
“I remember a man.”
Victor stared at him.
Elias continued.
“He was holding a baby.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What baby?”
Elias looked at Amelia.
“Lily.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“And another woman.”
“Who?”
Elias pointed at Victor.
“His mother.”
Victor's expression changed.
Ethan stared at him.
“What?”
Elias continued.
“She was crying.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Enough.”
“She said…”
Elias stopped.
“What did she say?”
Elias looked terrified.
“She said, ‘If you kill Amelia, Ethan will never stop looking.’”
Victor's face went completely still.
Ethan slowly turned toward him.
“You knew my mother.”
Victor didn't answer.
“My mother was part of this.”
“She was.”
“Where is she?”
Victor smiled.
“You're standing beside her.”
Ethan looked at the elderly woman.
She raised her face.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I am not your mother.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“I was her sister.”
Victor laughed.
Ethan stared.
“My mother had a sister?”
“Yes.”
“Where is my mother?”
The woman looked toward Victor.
“He killed her.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
The chapel doors suddenly burst open.
Security officers rushed inside.
Victor turned.
That moment was enough.
Samuel tackled him.
The gun slid across the floor.
Ethan grabbed Elias and pulled him behind the altar.
Amelia followed.
Within seconds, Victor was pinned to the floor.
Handcuffs clicked.
Victor laughed.
“You think this changes anything?”
Ethan looked at him.
“You're finished.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked at Amelia.
“Tell him.”
Amelia's face was pale.
“Tell him what?”
Victor laughed.
“Tell him about the message.”
Ethan turned.
“What message?”
Amelia couldn't speak.
Victor was dragged away.
But before he disappeared through the doors, he shouted:
“She left it for you!”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“Who?”
Amelia whispered:
“My mother.”
An hour later, the chapel was surrounded by police.
Victor had been taken into custody.
But Ethan couldn't feel relief.
Too many questions remained.
His mother was alive—or had been.
His father's death was a lie.
Three children had been hidden.
And someone had left a message for Amelia.
A message Victor clearly feared.
Elias sat alone on the chapel steps.
Ethan approached.
“Can I sit?”
Elias shrugged.
Ethan sat beside him.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Finally, Elias asked:
“Did you really look for us?”
Ethan swallowed.
“Every day.”
“Even when you thought we were dead?”
“Especially then.”
Elias looked at him.
“Why didn't you find me?”
“Because someone made sure I couldn't.”
Elias looked toward Amelia.
“Was it her?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Victor.”
Elias looked down.
“My whole life I thought you abandoned us.”
Ethan's chest tightened.
“I never knew you existed.”
“Mom said you loved us.”
“I did.”
“Even before you knew?”
Ethan smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
Elias looked at him.
“I don't know how to call you Dad.”
Ethan nodded.
“You don't have to.”
A pause.
“Can I try?”
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Elias whispered:
“Dad.”
Ethan looked away.
For seven years, he had lived without that word.
Now it nearly broke him.
Amelia found them later.
She stood behind them holding the old phone.
“Ethan.”
He turned.
“What?”
“I found the message.”
“What message?”
She handed him the phone.
There was a file hidden inside.
No title.
No date.
Only one word:
FOR ETHAN
He opened it.
A video appeared.
The image was grainy.
A woman sat in a dark room.
Ethan recognized her immediately.
His mother.
Younger.
Terrified.
She looked directly into the camera.
“My son.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“If you're watching this, then Victor has failed.”
Ethan's fingers tightened around the phone.
His mother's voice continued.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
She looked over her shoulder.
“He will tell you I betrayed your father.”
A pause.
“He will tell you I abandoned you.”
Another pause.
“He will tell you Amelia was responsible for the fire.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“None of it is true.”
Amelia covered her mouth.
His mother's voice became softer.
“I tried to save your family.”
The recording flickered.
“I failed.”
She looked down.
“I was only able to save one child.”
Ethan froze.
“One?”
Amelia stared at the screen.
His mother's voice continued.
“Lily was taken by Clara.”
Ethan's heart pounded.
“Elias was taken by me.”
Elias stepped closer.
“And the third child…”
The screen went black.
Ethan whispered:
“No.”
The recording restarted.
His mother's face appeared again.
“The third child was taken by Victor.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What?”
His mother continued.
“But Victor didn't raise him.”
The image distorted.
“He gave him to someone else.”
“Someone inside your family.”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“Who?”
The screen flickered.
His mother's voice became almost inaudible.
“The child is closer to you than you realize.”
Then the recording stopped.
Silence.
Ethan stared at the blank screen.
Elias whispered:
“Who has him?”
Amelia shook her head.
“I don't know.”
But Ethan noticed something.
At the very end of the recording, just before the screen went black, a reflection appeared behind his mother.
A man stood in the doorway.
Ethan paused the video.
Zoomed in.
The image was blurry.
But the man's face was visible.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
He knew him.
He had seen that face every day for the last five years.
The man was his closest adviser.
His family's attorney.
The man who had handled every Blackwood Trust document.
The man who had been helping Ethan search for his missing children.
Ethan whispered his name.
“Richard.”
Amelia stared.
“No.”
Ethan replayed the recording.
Richard was standing behind his mother.
Holding a newborn baby.
The third child.
Ethan's phone suddenly rang.
Richard's name appeared on the screen.
Ethan didn't answer.
The call stopped.
Then a message arrived.
I KNOW YOU FOUND THE VIDEO.
Another message.
DON'T TRUST AMELIA.
Ethan stared.
A third message appeared.
SHE HASN'T TOLD YOU WHY SHE CHOSE LILY.
Ethan slowly looked toward his wife.
Amelia's face had gone white.
“Ethan…”
“What does he mean?”
She didn't answer.
“Why did you choose Lily?”
Amelia began crying.
“I didn't.”
Ethan stared.
“You said you did.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I was protecting someone.”
“Who?”
Amelia looked at Elias.
Then toward the chapel doors.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your daughter isn't the only child Victor took.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Amelia wiped away her tears.
“There was another baby.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“What baby?”
Amelia looked at him.
“The child Victor believed was dead.”
“Who?”
She whispered the name.
“Lily.”
Ethan frowned.
“But Lily is alive.”
Amelia shook her head.
“That isn't Lily.”
The world seemed to stop.
Ethan looked toward the housekeeper's little girl.
The child he had rescued.
The child who had called him Daddy.
The child wearing Amelia's hospital bracelet.
Amelia's voice broke.
“Ethan…”
“That little girl isn't our daughter.”
Ethan couldn't breathe.
“Then who is she?”
Amelia looked at the dark doorway.
And whispered:
“I don't know.”
Outside, thunder shook the chapel.
Then Ethan's phone received one final message.
A photograph.
Lily standing beside Richard.
The date on the photograph was from six months before Ethan ever met her.
And beneath it were seven words:
YOUR REAL DAUGHTER IS STILL MISSING.
Ethan looked at Amelia.
For the first time since finding her alive, he saw something in her eyes he had never seen before.
Not fear.
Guilt.
And Ethan finally understood—
the mystery had never been about finding his children.
It was about discovering which child had been returned to him…
May you like
and which one had been stolen all over again.
TO BE CONTINUED…
