Chapter 5 — Simone's Real Story
Chapter 5 — Simone's Real Story
The baby was not crying anymore.
She was staring at Leah.
Her tiny fingers curled around the edge of the blue blanket.
And when Leah whispered, “Mom,” the child answered with a soft, broken sound.
“Mommy.”
Leah couldn't move.
Dr. Shaw stood behind her, equally stunned.
Nathan had gone completely white.
Then the hallway lights flickered.
The intercom crackled.
Doreen's voice came through again.
“You were never supposed to find her.”
Leah looked toward the ceiling.
“Where is my son?”
Silence.
Then Doreen answered.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
Leah's hands tightened around the baby.
“No.”
She stepped toward the speaker.
“You took my child.”
“I protected your child.”
“You kidnapped him.”
“I saved him.”
“From what?”
A pause.
“From you.”
Leah's stomach dropped.
Nathan whispered, “Mom, stop.”
Doreen ignored him.
“The psychiatric hold is still active.”
Leah looked at Dr. Shaw.
Dr. Shaw shook her head.
“Not legally.”
Doreen laughed softly through the intercom.
“Legality is such a fragile thing, Doctor.”
The line went dead.
Leah looked at the baby.
Then at Nathan.
“Where is my son?”
Nathan finally spoke.
“I think I know.”
“Where?”
He swallowed.
“Under the old Carver residence.”
Leah stared.
“The archive.”
Nathan nodded.
“That's where my mother keeps everything she doesn't want found.”
Leah handed the baby to Dr. Shaw.
“Take her.”
Dr. Shaw looked surprised.
“What are you going to do?”
“Get my son.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“I'm coming.”
Leah looked at him.
“Not because you're my husband.”
He nodded.
“Because you know the way.”
“Yes.”
“And if you lie to me again…”
Nathan looked into her eyes.
“I won't.”
They left through the service elevator.
Mae stayed behind with Dr. Shaw and the baby.
Before Leah entered the elevator, Mae caught her arm.
“There's something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Simone.”
Leah frowned.
“The woman from my room?”
Mae nodded.
“She wasn't here for a wellness retreat.”
“What was she here for?”
Mae glanced toward Nathan.
“She was waiting for someone.”
“Who?”
“Doreen.”
Leah's stomach tightened.
“What does Simone have to do with this?”
Mae lowered her voice.
“She asked me three days ago whether you had given birth yet.”
Leah stared.
“Why?”
Mae hesitated.
“Because she was supposed to be your replacement.”
The elevator doors closed.
Leah stared at Nathan.
“Replacement?”
Nathan looked down.
“My mother has done this before.”
“With whom?”
“Women.”
“What women?”
“Women she believed could produce heirs.”
Leah's expression hardened.
“Explain.”
Nathan took a breath.
“My father had three children.”
“Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
“And your younger sister?”
“She died.”
Leah looked at him.
“How?”
“Car accident.”
“Was it?”
Nathan didn't answer.
Leah felt a cold sensation move through her.
“You're telling me your mother has been controlling women for years.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect the family fortune.”
“The twenty-three million?”
“No.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Much more.”
The elevator descended.
“Then how much?”
Nathan whispered:
“Two hundred million.”
The doors opened into an underground garage.
A black SUV waited.
Nathan unlocked it.
They got inside.
Leah stared out the window.
“Tell me about Simone.”
Nathan started the engine.
“She was hired.”
“By Doreen?”
“Yes.”
“To do what?”
“Get close to you.”
“Why?”
“To study you.”
Leah turned.
“What does that mean?”
“Your habits. Your medical history. Your family.”
“She was spying on me?”
“Yes.”
“Why would Doreen need another woman to spy on me?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Because Simone had been through the same process.”
Leah's eyes narrowed.
“What process?”
Nathan looked straight ahead.
“Pregnancy.”
Leah felt her stomach twist.
“Simone was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“Who was the father?”
Nathan's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“My father.”
Leah froze.
“Your father?”
“He died six years ago.”
“I know.”
“Simone was his secret daughter.”
Leah stared at him.
“What?”
Nathan continued driving.
“My father had an affair with her mother.”
“And Doreen knew?”
“She knew everything.”
“Then why did she let Simone stay near you?”
“She didn't.”
Leah frowned.
“Then who was controlling Simone?”
Nathan looked at her.
“My mother.”
The Carver estate appeared through the trees.
Massive.
Old.
Silent.
Nathan stopped near the rear gate.
Leah looked at the house.
“Where is the entrance?”
“Below the greenhouse.”
They moved quickly.
Nathan opened a hidden panel beneath a stone planter.
A keypad appeared.
He entered six numbers.
The door unlocked.
Leah stared.
“You've been here before.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After Rachel disappeared.”
“Why?”
“I was looking for her.”
“Did you find her?”
Nathan looked away.
“No.”
They descended.
The air became colder.
Concrete walls surrounded them.
Finally, they reached a steel door.
Nathan opened it.
Inside was an archive.
Hundreds of boxes.
Medical files.
Birth certificates.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Legal documents.
Leah stepped inside.
Then stopped.
There was a wall covered with photographs of women.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
Pregnant women.
New mothers.
Children.
Some photographs had dates.
Some had red marks.
Some had names crossed out.
Leah's stomach turned.
“Who are they?”
Nathan whispered:
“My mother's candidates.”
“Candidates for what?”
“Heirs.”
Leah looked closer.
She saw Rachel.
Then another woman.
Then another.
And finally—
Simone.
Leah walked toward her photograph.
It had been taken eight months earlier.
Simone was standing outside the hospital.
Pregnant.
But the caption beneath the photograph made Leah's blood run cold.
SIMONE CARVER — SURROGATE SUBJECT 14.
Leah turned toward Nathan.
“What is a surrogate subject?”
Nathan didn't answer.
She found another file.
Opened it.
Inside was Simone's medical history.
Her pregnancy had been artificially induced.
Her genetic profile had been altered.
Her embryo transfer had been performed at a private fertility clinic.
And the father was listed as—
UNKNOWN.
Leah flipped the page.
There was a handwritten note.
Do not allow Simone to bond with the child.
Leah's breathing became shallow.
“She was carrying someone's baby.”
Nathan nodded.
“Whose?”
“We don't know.”
Leah looked at him.
“You do.”
He didn't answer.
She opened another page.
A genetic report.
The child's biological mother was listed as:
RACHEL CARVER.
Leah froze.
“No.”
Nathan stared at the document.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
He read it again.
His hands started shaking.
“Rachel's daughter was born three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Simone's pregnancy began eight months ago.”
“Yes.”
Leah looked at him.
“So why is Rachel listed as the biological mother?”
Nathan couldn't answer.
Then a sound came from behind them.
A door slammed.
Leah turned.
Simone stood at the entrance.
She wasn't wearing her silk robe anymore.
She wore a black coat.
Her face was pale.
And she was holding a gun.
“Step away from the files.”
Nathan moved in front of Leah.
“Simone.”
She raised the weapon.
“Don't.”
Leah stared at her.
“You're working for Doreen.”
Simone laughed bitterly.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I came to destroy this place.”
Nathan frowned.
“Why?”
Simone looked at Leah.
“Because your mother-in-law destroyed my life.”
Leah stared.
“You said you were on a wellness retreat.”
“I lied.”
“You said your pregnancy was yours.”
“I lied.”
“You said you were married.”
“I lied.”
Simone's eyes filled with tears.
“Almost everything I've told you was a lie.”
Leah stepped closer.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Simone lowered the gun slightly.
“My real name is not Simone Carver.”
Silence.
“My name is Simone Bell.”
Leah waited.
“I was twenty-six when Doreen found me.”
“How?”
“She knew my mother.”
“Why did she choose you?”
“Because I had the same blood type as Rachel.”
Leah felt sick.
“What did she want?”
“An heir.”
“For the Carver fortune?”
Simone shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
Simone looked at Nathan.
“She wanted a child who could legally inherit the trust.”
Nathan frowned.
“What trust?”
Simone whispered:
“Rachel's trust.”
Leah stared.
“What does that mean?”
Simone wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Rachel knew your mother-in-law was stealing from the family.”
“She found out?”
“Yes.”
“She tried to expose her?”
“Yes.”
“And Doreen stopped her.”
Simone nodded.
“She took Rachel's daughter.”
“Where?”
Simone looked at Leah.
“That's the part you don't understand.”
She pointed toward the file.
“Rachel's daughter was never supposed to inherit the money.”
Leah frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Rachel never wanted the money.”
“Then what did she want?”
“Freedom.”
Simone took a breath.
“She created a trust that would only activate if her daughter reached eighteen without Doreen's control.”
Leah looked at Nathan.
“And if Doreen got custody?”
“The trust would freeze.”
Simone nodded.
“Exactly.”
“So Doreen needs the child.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever controls the child controls the trust.”
Leah's hands trembled.
“And my son?”
Simone's face changed.
“That is why everything became complicated.”
“What?”
Simone looked toward the door.
“Doreen discovered something.”
“What?”
“That your baby wasn't genetically connected to the Carver family.”
Leah's heart stopped.
“What?”
Simone continued.
“She thought your son was the heir.”
“But he isn't.”
“No.”
“Then why did she take him?”
Simone whispered:
“Because she needed everyone else to believe he was.”
Leah stared.
“What about the baby girl?”
Simone's expression softened.
“She is the real heir.”
Leah thought of the baby in Dr. Shaw's arms.
“The girl.”
“Yes.”
“Rachel's daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Where has she been?”
Simone looked at Nathan.
“Ask your husband.”
Leah turned.
Nathan's face had gone pale.
“What?”
Simone pointed the gun toward him.
“He knows where she was born.”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
“You were there.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
Leah stared at Nathan.
“What is she talking about?”
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
“Leah…”
“Tell me.”
“I was there when Rachel gave birth.”
Silence.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because my mother made me swear.”
“To what?”
“To keep the baby hidden.”
Leah stepped closer.
“Where did you hide her?”
Nathan's voice broke.
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
He looked at Simone.
Simone whispered:
“I did.”
Leah froze.
“You?”
Simone nodded.
“I took Rachel's daughter.”
“Why?”
“Because Rachel asked me to.”
Leah stared.
“What?”
Simone's eyes filled with tears.
“She knew Doreen would come for her.”
“So she gave the baby to you?”
“Yes.”
“And you hid her?”
“For three years.”
“Where?”
Simone looked toward the archive.
“In a place Doreen never thought to search.”
Leah waited.
“Where?”
Simone lowered the gun.
“In plain sight.”
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Many of them.
Simone looked toward the door.
“They found us.”
Nathan whispered:
“Doreen.”
Simone nodded.
Leah's heart raced.
“How do we get out?”
Simone looked at the wall.
“There is another exit.”
She moved toward a bookshelf.
Pulled a hidden lever.
The entire shelf shifted.
A narrow passage opened.
Leah stared.
“You built this?”
“No.”
Simone smiled sadly.
“Rachel did.”
Before they could move, the archive doors exploded open.
Doreen entered with four armed men.
She looked at Simone.
Then Leah.
Then Nathan.
Her eyes settled on the file in Leah's hands.
“You found it.”
Leah held it tightly.
“You lied about everything.”
Doreen smiled.
“I lied because you were never ready for the truth.”
“You kidnapped my son.”
“I saved him.”
“You forged my psychiatric hold.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to take my child.”
“Yes.”
Leah's voice shook.
“Why?”
Doreen's expression finally changed.
“Because your son is the only thing standing between me and the trust.”
Leah stared.
“What trust?”
Doreen looked at Nathan.
“Tell her.”
Nathan said nothing.
Doreen smiled.
“Your husband knows.”
Leah turned toward him.
“Nathan?”
He closed his eyes.
Doreen continued:
“The trust doesn't belong to Rachel.”
Leah's blood ran cold.
“Then who does it belong to?”
Doreen looked directly at her.
“You.”
Leah couldn't breathe.
“What?”
Doreen took one step forward.
“The Carver fortune was never inherited by my husband.”
She smiled.
“It was transferred to you.”
Leah stared.
“But why?”
Doreen's voice became almost gentle.
“Because Rachel wasn't the heir.”
She pointed at Leah.
“You were.”
The room went silent.
Then Simone whispered:
“That isn't the worst part.”
Leah looked at her.
Simone's face had gone white.
“The trust wasn't created for Leah.”
She pointed toward the nursery records.
“It was created for Leah's child.”
Doreen smiled.
“And now you understand why I needed your baby.”
A gunshot suddenly echoed through the archive.
Everyone froze.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Dust rained down.
A voice came from the hidden passage.
“Step away from my granddaughter.”
Leah turned.
A woman stood in the darkness.
Older.
Pale.
Her hair streaked with gray.
Leah had never seen her before.
Nathan stared at her.
His lips parted.
“Rachel?”
Doreen's face changed.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.
Rachel raised the gun.
“You took my daughter.”
Then she looked at Leah.
“And you took my place.”
Leah couldn't move.
Because Rachel was alive.
And she was looking directly at Leah as if she had been waiting for this moment for three years.
May you like
Rachel's voice was barely a whisper.
“Now we're going to take everything back.”
