Chapter 3 — The Son She Never Gave Birth To
Chapter 3 — The Son She Never Gave Birth To
The word daughter seemed to hang in the ballroom long after Rebecca stopped speaking.
Amelia could hear her own heartbeat.
“What daughter?”
Rebecca looked at her but didn't answer.
Daniel turned toward her.
“Rebecca.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I can't.”
Eleanor stepped forward.
“You have already destroyed every lie I built my life around.”
Her voice shook.
“Don't stop now.”
Rebecca looked at Eleanor.
“Her name is Lily.”
Daniel frowned.
“Who is Lily?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Your father called her his insurance policy.”
Amelia's face went pale.
“What does that mean?”
Rebecca stared at her.
“It means she was taken from you before you were old enough to remember her.”
Amelia shook her head.
“I never had a daughter.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You were sixteen.”
The room fell silent.
Daniel stared.
“That's impossible.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“You don't remember because your father made sure you wouldn't.”
Eleanor's voice broke.
“What are you talking about?”
Rebecca answered:
“The Blackwoods have been changing identities for decades.”
She looked at Amelia.
“And you weren't the only child they erased.”
Daniel stepped toward Rebecca.
“Tell me who I am.”
Rebecca hesitated.
“I already told you.”
“You said I'm not Eleanor's biological son.”
“Yes.”
“Then whose son am I?”
Rebecca looked at Eleanor.
“You need to hear this from her.”
Eleanor stared at Rebecca.
“I don't know.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“You do.”
“No.”
“You remember the hospital.”
Eleanor's breathing became shallow.
“The twins.”
“Yes.”
“The two babies.”
“Yes.”
“But Daniel wasn't one of them?”
“No.”
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
The son she had raised.
The boy who had called her Mother.
The child she had held after nightmares.
The young man who had stood beside her at every family funeral.
She whispered:
“Then who did I give birth to?”
Rebecca answered:
“Rose.”
Eleanor looked at Amelia.
“And the second child?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“There was no second child.”
Daniel's face went blank.
“What?”
Rebecca continued.
“There was only Rose.”
Eleanor stared.
“But I remember two babies.”
“You remember two bassinets.”
Eleanor froze.
“One was empty.”
Her eyes widened.
The memory returned.
A nurse standing beside the second bassinet.
A blanket folded neatly.
No baby.
Eleanor had been exhausted.
She had asked where the child was.
The nurse had said:
“The doctor is checking him.”
But no doctor ever came.
Eleanor had forgotten.
Or perhaps she had been made to forget.
Daniel whispered:
“So I was never born into this family.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why did Eleanor raise me?”
“Because your father brought you home.”
“From where?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“The same place he brought Rose.”
Eleanor sat down.
“My husband…”
Her voice broke.
“He brought you to me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rebecca answered:
“Because he needed Eleanor to believe the missing child had been replaced.”
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
“I was a replacement.”
Eleanor immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“You said yourself—”
“I loved you.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“That doesn't answer the question.”
“It answers everything.”
She stood.
“You were never a replacement.”
Daniel looked away.
“I spent my whole life wondering why you sometimes looked at me as if you were trying to remember someone else.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“I was.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Who?”
“Rose.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You were looking at me and seeing her.”
“No.”
Eleanor walked toward him.
“I was looking at you and seeing the child I thought I had lost.”
Daniel's anger weakened.
“You really believed I was your son.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father told me you were.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“And you never checked?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I trusted him.”
“That was your mistake.”
“Yes.”
Amelia had remained silent.
Now she spoke.
“What happened to Lily?”
Rebecca looked at her.
“I don't know where she is now.”
“You said she was taken from me.”
“Yes.”
“Who took her?”
“Your father.”
Amelia's face hardened.
“My adoptive father?”
“No.”
Rebecca paused.
“Your biological father.”
The room went silent.
Amelia stared.
“I don't know who that is.”
Rebecca looked at Eleanor.
Eleanor whispered:
“Thomas.”
Amelia's heart stopped.
“Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“But he wasn't my biological father.”
“No.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Not by blood.”
“Then how could he have taken my daughter?”
“Because he had custody of her.”
Amelia's confusion deepened.
Rebecca continued.
“You were sixteen. Your parents had already been fighting over the Blackwood trust.”
“I don't remember.”
“Because they erased it.”
“What happened?”
Rebecca's voice became softer.
“You gave birth to Lily.”
Amelia stared.
“I would remember that.”
“You were drugged.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted the child.”
“Why?”
“Because Lily carried something he needed.”
“What?”
Rebecca looked at the jade pendant.
“The second half of the inheritance.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What does that mean?”
Rebecca answered:
“Your grandfather divided the Blackwood fortune into two trusts.”
Eleanor frowned.
“I never knew that.”
“Of course you didn't.”
“Why?”
“Because one trust belonged to Rose.”
Rebecca looked at Amelia.
“And the second belonged to her first biological child.”
Amelia's face went pale.
“Lily.”
“Yes.”
Daniel understood.
“So the family couldn't control Rose's inheritance.”
“No.”
“They needed Lily.”
“Yes.”
“And they took her.”
Rebecca nodded.
“They believed that if Rose ever returned, Lily could be used to control her.”
Amelia's hands began shaking.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You said she was your daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then how can you not know?”
Rebecca began crying.
“Because I failed her.”
Amelia stared at her.
“How?”
“I tried to protect her.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
Richard suddenly interrupted.
“Enough.”
Rebecca turned.
“You're afraid.”
“I'm tired of listening to this.”
Richard looked at the guests.
“This woman has no proof.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Then let's get proof.”
Richard laughed.
“You think DNA will solve everything?”
“Yes.”
“You don't understand.”
Daniel stared.
Richard's expression became cruel.
“DNA doesn't tell you who someone is.”
“No.”
“But documents do.”
He pulled a folder from inside his jacket.
Eleanor stared.
“What's that?”
“Your family history.”
He threw it onto the table.
Pages scattered.
Birth certificates.
Adoption papers.
Hospital records.
Trust documents.
Photographs.
Daniel picked up one.
His hands began trembling.
It was a birth certificate.
His name was printed clearly.
DANIEL BLACKWOOD.
Mother: Eleanor Blackwood.
Father: Thomas Blackwood.
Daniel looked at Richard.
“You said this was fake.”
“It is.”
“Then why does it exist?”
“Because your father wanted it to.”
Daniel's voice broke.
“You forged my birth.”
Richard smiled.
“Yes.”
Eleanor grabbed another document.
Her eyes widened.
“This is my signature.”
Richard nodded.
“You signed it.”
“What is it?”
“Consent for Daniel's adoption.”
Eleanor stared.
“I never signed this.”
Richard smiled.
“You don't remember.”
“I would remember.”
“You were sedated.”
Eleanor's face went white.
The same hospital.
The same night.
The same manipulation.
She had been drugged after giving birth.
Her husband had presented documents.
She had signed without knowing what they were.
Or someone had signed for her.
Daniel looked at the signature.
Then at his mother.
“You didn't choose me.”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
Daniel looked away.
“I thought you chose me.”
“I loved you.”
“But you didn't choose me.”
Eleanor couldn't answer.
Because that was true.
She had loved him.
But the choice had never been hers.
Amelia picked up another document.
It was dated sixteen years earlier.
Her name was written at the top.
AMELIA HART.
Below it:
Minor female child.
Then:
LILY HART — deceased.
Amelia stared.
“No.”
Rebecca looked away.
“They told you she died.”
“When?”
“After you were released from the hospital.”
Amelia's breathing became ragged.
“I had a daughter.”
“Yes.”
“She died?”
“No.”
Amelia looked at her.
“You said—”
“She was alive when they took her.”
“Then why is this here?”
“Because they needed you to believe she was dead.”
Amelia dropped the paper.
Daniel caught it.
His face changed.
“This isn't just a fake death certificate.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“What is it?”
“It is a transfer document.”
“Transfer to whom?”
Rebecca whispered:
“The Blackwood Foundation.”
Eleanor stared.
“That organization doesn't exist anymore.”
“It does.”
“No.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“It exists under another name.”
“What name?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then said:
Blackwood Children's Trust.
A phone rang.
Everyone looked around.
It was Amelia's phone.
She pulled it from her purse.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Then a little girl's voice.
“Mom?”
Amelia stopped breathing.
The ballroom disappeared.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“Who is this?”
The girl whispered:
“I don't know.”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“What's your name?”
A pause.
“Lily.”
Amelia covered her mouth.
Rebecca stood.
“Don't say anything.”
The voice continued.
“There's a man here.”
Amelia whispered:
“Who?”
The girl began crying.
“He says you're not my mother.”
Amelia's entire body froze.
“What man?”
“He says you're dangerous.”
“Lily, where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Look outside.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“The windows are covered.”
Amelia's voice broke.
“Listen to me. You're going to be okay.”
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Are you really my mother?”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The call suddenly ended.
Daniel stared at her.
“What happened?”
Amelia looked up.
Her face had changed.
The humiliation was gone.
The confusion was gone.
There was only determination.
“She is alive.”
Eleanor stood.
“Who?”
“My daughter.”
Rebecca whispered:
“Then they made a mistake.”
“What?”
“They let her call you.”
Amelia looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because whoever has her…”
Rebecca's face became pale.
“…wants you to come.”
Daniel stepped beside Amelia.
“Then we'll go.”
Eleanor grabbed his arm.
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Mother.”
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then why would you go?”
“Because she's my sister.”
Eleanor froze.
Daniel corrected himself.
“I don't know who I am.”
He looked at Amelia.
“But I know she's your daughter.”
Amelia nodded.
“And I'm going.”
Eleanor stared at both of them.
Then slowly picked up her coat.
“Then I'm coming too.”
Richard laughed.
“You'll never find her.”
Eleanor turned.
For the first time that night, the old matriarch disappeared.
What remained was a mother.
A woman who had spent twenty-seven years mourning a daughter who had never truly died.
“You're wrong.”
Richard's smile faded.
“Why?”
Eleanor looked directly into his eyes.
“Because this time, I know what I'm looking for.”
Outside, rain began falling against the ballroom windows.
A black vehicle waited across the street.
Inside sat a man holding a photograph.
The photograph showed Amelia.
Beside her was a little girl.
Lily.
The man looked at the photograph.
Then at the hotel.
His phone rang.
“She's coming.”
A voice answered.
“Good.”
“What about Daniel?”
“Let him come too.”
“And Eleanor?”
The man smiled.
“Especially Eleanor.”
He looked down at the photograph.
“It's time she learned why her husband never wanted the truth uncovered.”
The call ended.
The vehicle disappeared into the rain.
And inside the hotel, Amelia walked toward the doors.
She had entered the ballroom as a bride.
She was leaving as a mother.
May you like
And she would not stop until she found her daughter.
Even if finding Lily meant destroying every remaining lie in the Blackwood family.
