Chapter 11 — The Woman Evelyn Was Running From
Chapter 11 — The Woman Evelyn Was Running From
The cry came again.
Thin.
Frightened.
Impossible.
Maren stood frozen in the ruined NICU.
One incubator was empty.
Elise was gone.
And somewhere beneath the hospital, another baby was crying.
"Gabriel."
The name left Reed's mouth like a confession.
Maren turned toward him.
"You said you were Gabriel."
"I said I was."
"Then you said you weren't."
"I didn't know which truth they wanted me to believe."
"Who are you?"
Reed looked at the empty incubator.
"Right now?"
He swallowed.
"I'm the man whose niece has just been kidnapped."
Maren's eyes filled with tears.
"She's my daughter."
"I know."
"Then help me."
"I will."
"Where did they take her?"
Reed looked toward the floor.
"Below us."
Marcus stepped forward.
"How do you know?"
Reed looked at him.
"Because I've been there before."
Maren stared.
"When?"
"Twenty-seven years ago."
Silence.
"You remember?"
"Fragments."
"What fragments?"
"A woman singing."
"A red door."
"A white room."
"And a voice telling me not to cry."
Maren's skin prickled.
"Whose voice?"
Reed closed his eyes.
"Your mother's."
Evelyn was still at the estate when the call came.
She was standing alone in the study.
The room smelled of smoke and old paper.
The photograph of the three babies remained on the desk.
She couldn't stop looking at it.
Three children.
Three futures.
Three lives she had destroyed.
Her phone vibrated.
She answered.
"Hello?"
No one spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
"Did you tell her?"
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
"Who is this?"
"You know who."
Evelyn looked toward the locked room.
"No."
A soft laugh.
"You've been running from me for twenty-seven years."
"I thought you were dead."
"So did everyone else."
Evelyn's hand began trembling.
"Isabelle?"
"No."
The voice became colder.
"You never even knew my real name."
Evelyn stopped breathing.
"Then who are you?"
The woman whispered:
"The mother of the child you stole."
The call ended.
Evelyn dropped the phone.
Back at Beacon Crest, Maren stared at Reed.
"My mother was there?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I remember her voice."
"Then remember more."
Reed closed his eyes.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then his face changed.
"I remember another woman."
Maren leaned closer.
"Who?"
"She was crying."
"Your mother?"
"No."
"Then who?"
"Someone kept calling her by a name."
"What name?"
Reed's voice became faint.
"Amelia."
Maren looked at Marcus.
He had gone completely pale.
"You know that name."
Marcus didn't answer.
Maren turned to him.
"Dad."
Marcus looked toward the floor.
"Her name was Amelia Vale."
"Who was she?"
"Richard Mercer's wife."
Maren stared.
"The mother of the third baby."
Marcus nodded.
"What happened to her?"
Marcus's face tightened.
"She disappeared."
"When?"
"The night the babies were switched."
Maren's heart sank.
"You told me she was dead."
"I thought she was."
"You thought?"
Marcus looked at her.
"Everyone did."
The hospital floor suddenly shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
A distant alarm began screaming.
Daniel rushed toward them.
"Structural breach on Level Nine."
Marcus turned.
"Where?"
"Old surgical wing."
Reed immediately went still.
"That's where they took her."
Maren grabbed his arm.
"Elise?"
He nodded.
"There's an elevator."
"Take us."
"No."
"Reed."
"You can't come."
Maren's eyes hardened.
"That's my daughter."
"I know."
"Then don't tell me what I can do."
He stared at her.
For the first time since their marriage had collapsed, Maren saw the man she had loved.
Not the liar.
Not the stranger.
Not the weapon Richard had created.
Just Reed.
The man who used to make coffee for her when she couldn't sleep.
The man who had sat beside her hospital bed after her accident.
The man who had once whispered that her scars made her beautiful.
"I'll get her," he said.
Maren shook her head.
"We'll get her."
They entered the old elevator.
Marcus.
Maren.
Reed.
Daniel.
Nora.
The doors closed.
The elevator descended.
Level Eight.
Level Nine.
Level Ten.
The numbers continued.
B1.
B2.
B3.
Then the display went blank.
Maren looked at Reed.
"How far down?"
"Farther."
The elevator continued descending.
Nora whispered:
"That level isn't on the hospital plans."
Maren looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"I used to work there."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
A corridor stretched into darkness.
Red emergency lights pulsed overhead.
Maren heard something.
A lullaby.
She stopped.
"I know that song."
Nora looked at her.
"Everyone in your family knows it."
"My mother used to sing it."
Reed stared down the corridor.
"So did mine."
They walked forward.
The lullaby grew louder.
Then they reached a steel door.
Behind it came a baby's cry.
Maren rushed toward it.
Reed caught her.
"Wait."
He pointed to the floor.
A thin wire ran across the doorway.
A trap.
Daniel carefully disabled it.
The door opened.
Inside was a nursery.
Not a hospital nursery.
An old one.
Yellow walls.
Three cribs.
Three names carved into the wood.
Maren.
Gabriel.
Isabelle.
Maren covered her mouth.
"What is this?"
Nora whispered:
"The original nursery."
"Why would it be here?"
"Because your grandfather built it."
"For whom?"
"For the three children."
Maren stepped closer.
One crib contained old blankets.
The second was empty.
The third contained a small pink blanket.
Elise's blanket.
Maren's heart stopped.
"She's been here."
Reed nodded.
"Recently."
A monitor beside the crib flickered.
A video began playing.
Evelyn appeared.
Young.
Terrified.
Holding a baby.
Maren stared.
Her mother was crying.
"I am sorry."
The recording continued.
"I didn't know what else to do."
A man stood behind her.
Richard.
Young.
Cold.
He took the baby from her.
Evelyn resisted.
"Please."
Richard shook his head.
"You made your choice."
"What about the other children?"
"They'll live."
"And this one?"
Richard looked at the baby.
"She'll become the key."
Maren whispered:
"Isabelle."
The recording changed.
A second woman appeared.
Amelia.
She was screaming.
"My baby!"
Richard grabbed her.
Evelyn looked away.
Maren watched in horror.
"Mom."
The recording continued.
Amelia fought desperately.
"You promised me."
Richard said:
"I promised your husband."
"Where is my son?"
Richard smiled.
"Safe."
"Where?"
He pointed toward the crib.
Amelia looked.
There was no baby.
She collapsed.
Maren couldn't breathe.
The video ended.
Then another began.
Amelia stood alone in a dark room.
Her face was bruised.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If anyone finds this..."
Her voice trembled.
"My daughter is alive."
Maren froze.
"Which daughter?"
Amelia continued:
"Isabelle isn't the child you think she is."
Maren looked at Reed.
His face had gone pale.
Amelia whispered:
"She is not my daughter."
The recording stopped.
Silence.
Maren stared.
"Then who is Isabelle?"
A voice answered behind them.
"Me."
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar across her cheek.
She held a gun.
Maren knew her immediately.
The woman from the phone.
The woman Evelyn had feared.
Amelia.
Alive.
Maren whispered:
"You're Amelia."
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
Reed stepped forward.
"Where is Elise?"
Amelia looked at him.
Then smiled sadly.
"Safe."
"Where?"
"With someone who loves her."
Maren's voice broke.
"Bring her back."
Amelia looked at her.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
"Your daughter was never the target."
Maren froze.
"What?"
Amelia looked toward the old cribs.
"The person they wanted was you."
"Why?"
"Because you are the last living Whitaker who can unlock the original trust."
Marcus stepped forward.
"That's not true."
Amelia looked at him.
"You still lie."
Marcus lowered his eyes.
Amelia continued:
"Your grandfather didn't leave the fortune to Maren."
Maren stared.
"Then who?"
Amelia looked at Reed.
"To Gabriel."
Reed shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Amelia stepped closer.
"Gabriel was the only child with the genetic marker."
"What marker?"
"The Whitaker succession gene."
Maren frowned.
"That's not real."
Amelia smiled.
"Not publicly."
She held up a document.
"Your grandfather created a private genetic trust."
Maren stared.
"Why?"
"Because he knew the family would destroy itself."
Amelia looked toward Marcus.
"He was right."
Suddenly, a noise came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Daniel raised his weapon.
"Someone's coming."
The lights went out.
A gunshot.
Then another.
Maren heard Reed shout.
"DOWN!"
She dropped.
Something struck the wall above her.
Daniel returned fire.
The corridor erupted in chaos.
When the emergency lights returned, Amelia was gone.
So was the pink blanket.
Maren screamed:
"ELISE!"
Reed grabbed her shoulders.
"She's alive."
"How do you know?"
"Because Amelia took her."
"Why would she?"
"To protect her."
Maren shook her head.
"From what?"
Reed looked toward the dark corridor.
"From Isabelle."
They returned upstairs.
Evelyn was waiting.
The moment she saw Maren, she began crying.
"Where is she?"
Maren stopped.
"Where is Elise?"
Evelyn's face collapsed.
"I don't know."
"You knew Amelia was alive."
"No."
"You knew about the nursery."
"No."
"You knew about Isabelle."
Evelyn shook her head.
"I knew there was another child."
"Who?"
"I never knew her name."
Maren rolled closer.
"Then who were you running from?"
Evelyn stared at her.
"Her."
"Amelia?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Evelyn began crying.
"Because she came after me."
"For what?"
"The truth."
"What truth?"
Evelyn looked at Reed.
Then at Maren.
"The child I gave Richard wasn't Gabriel."
Reed froze.
"What?"
Evelyn's voice broke.
"I gave him the wrong baby."
Silence.
Marcus stepped forward.
"Evelyn."
She looked at him.
"You never knew."
"What didn't I know?"
Evelyn stared at Reed.
"Gabriel was never taken."
Reed's face went pale.
"Then who was?"
Evelyn whispered:
"Richard's son."
Maren's heart stopped.
"But Reed..."
"Reed was the child Richard wanted."
"Why?"
"Because Richard wanted a Whitaker heir under his control."
Reed whispered:
"So I was the replacement."
Evelyn nodded.
"Yes."
"Then where is Gabriel?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"With Amelia."
Maren stared.
"Your brother is alive."
Reed looked toward her.
"Then who am I?"
Nobody answered.
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Evelyn answered.
A woman's voice spoke.
"Did you tell them?"
Evelyn's face turned white.
"Yes."
"Good."
"Please."
"Don't beg."
The voice continued:
"Now tell Maren the last truth."
Evelyn looked at her daughter.
Maren whispered:
"What truth?"
Evelyn's lips trembled.
"Isabelle isn't your sister."
Maren's eyes widened.
"Then who is she?"
Evelyn whispered:
"She is Richard's daughter."
Maren stared.
"And Amelia?"
"Her mother."
"Then why did you say I have two sisters?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Because I lied."
Maren's voice became cold.
"About everything?"
"No."
Evelyn opened her eyes.
"About one thing."
"What?"
"You don't have two sisters."
Maren waited.
"You have three."
Silence.
Evelyn whispered:
"The third one is the woman you've been calling Isabelle."
Maren stared.
"But she's Richard's daughter."
"Yes."
"Then how can she be my sister?"
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
Marcus finally understood.
His face drained of color.
"No."
Maren turned.
"Dad?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
Marcus whispered:
"Richard isn't Isabelle's father."
Maren's heart stopped.
"Then who is?"
Marcus looked toward the closed hospital doors.
"Me."
Maren's entire world tilted.
Her father had another daughter.
A secret daughter.
A child born from the one woman Evelyn had spent twenty-seven years running from.
Amelia.
And somewhere beneath the hospital, Elise was being carried away by the same woman.
Maren looked at Marcus.
"You had a daughter with Amelia."
He didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"Before you married Mom?"
Marcus looked away.
"No."
Maren felt the blood leave her face.
"After?"
He whispered:
"During."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
And the truth finally became unbearable.
Amelia had never been the villain.
She had been the woman betrayed.
And Isabelle had never been an enemy created to destroy the Whitaker family.
She was the daughter everyone had abandoned.
The woman who had spent her entire life believing Maren had stolen the family that should have been hers.
Then the hospital intercom came alive.
Isabelle's voice filled every corridor.
"Hello, sister."
Maren looked up.
Isabelle laughed softly.
"Now you finally know why I wanted everything."
A pause.
"Because it was never yours."
The lights flickered.
Then the hospital doors locked automatically.
A final message appeared on every monitor:
WHITAKER SUCCESSION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
HEIR ONE: MAREN WHITAKER.
HEIR TWO: GABRIEL WHITAKER.
HEIR THREE: ISABELLE WHITAKER.
STATUS: ALL THREE ALIVE.
Maren stared at the screen.
Three heirs.
Three bloodlines.
One fortune.
And one family that had spent twenty-seven years trying to make sure they never stood in the same room.
Then another message appeared.
TRUST RELEASE IN 10 HOURS.
Maren whispered:
"What happens when it releases?"
Marcus looked at her.
"The entire Whitaker empire changes hands."
"And who gets it?"
Marcus swallowed.
"The heir who survives."
Maren looked toward the corridor where Elise had disappeared.
"Then we don't have ten hours."
She turned toward Reed.
"We have to find my daughter."
Reed nodded.
"And my brother."
Maren looked at him.
"And your brother."
Neither of them knew that, at that exact moment, Amelia was carrying Elise through an underground passage.
And walking beside her was a young man with Maren's eyes.
Gabriel.
He looked down at the sleeping baby.
Then toward the darkness ahead.
"She looks like you," he whispered.
Amelia smiled sadly.
"No."
Gabriel looked at her.
"She looks like all of you."
Behind them, footsteps echoed.
Someone was following.
Amelia stopped.
Gabriel turned.
A woman stepped into the dim light.
Isabelle.
She smiled.
"Give me the baby."
Gabriel moved in front of Elise.
"No."
Isabelle's smile disappeared.
"Then I'll take her."
May you like
Gabriel tightened his grip.
And for the first time in twenty-seven years, the three heirs of the Whitaker empire were finally moving toward the same war.
