Chapter 8 — The Woman Behind the Lie
Chapter 8 — The Woman Behind the Lie
My father was still breathing.
That was the first miracle.
The second was that the bullet had missed his heart.
Marcus pressed a folded jacket against the wound while Daniel called emergency services.
I stood frozen beside the wall, listening to the last words that had come through the speakers.
He was protecting me.
Richard Thorne.
Daniel's father.
The man we had spent days believing was dead.
The man who had supposedly disappeared.
The man whose signature had appeared on the message.
And now he had shot my father.
Or ordered someone else to do it.
Either way, the meaning was the same.
He was back.
And he wanted me afraid.
"Emily!"
Daniel grabbed my shoulders.
"Look at me."
I did.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"The baby?"
I put a hand over my stomach.
She moved.
A small kick.
"I'm okay."
Daniel exhaled.
Then he looked toward my father.
Marcus was kneeling beside him.
"Stay with me," Marcus said.
My father opened his eyes.
He looked at me.
"Don't..."
His voice was weak.
"Don't trust..."
I leaned closer.
"Who?"
He struggled to breathe.
"Her."
"Who?"
His eyes moved toward the doorway.
Then he whispered:
"Your mother."
I froze.
"What?"
His eyes closed.
The ambulance sirens were already approaching.
I looked at Daniel.
He had heard it too.
"My mother?"
My father didn't answer.
He had passed out.
The hospital became a fortress.
Two police cars outside.
Security guards on every floor.
Cameras covering every entrance.
My father's surgery lasted four hours.
I sat in the waiting room beside Daniel.
Neither of us spoke.
There were too many questions.
Too many lies.
Too many people we had once trusted.
Finally, Daniel broke the silence.
"What do you think he meant?"
"My mother."
"You think she betrayed him?"
"I don't know."
"Your mother warned you about me."
"Yes."
"She told you not to trust me."
"Yes."
"And now your father says not to trust her."
I looked at him.
"Everyone wants me to choose."
"Between whom?"
"I don't know anymore."
Daniel leaned forward.
"I don't want you to choose."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want you to survive."
His voice broke.
"Even if you hate me."
I looked away.
"I don't hate you."
He stared at me.
"I'm just afraid of you."
He nodded slowly.
"I understand."
That hurt more than an argument would have.
At 6:32 a.m., the surgeon came out.
My father had survived.
The bullet had passed through his shoulder.
He would recover.
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in hours, I breathed.
Then a nurse approached.
"Mrs. Thorne?"
"Yes?"
"There's a woman asking for you."
"Who?"
"She says she's your mother."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
"Private entrance."
Daniel stood.
"I'm coming."
I shook my head.
"No."
He looked surprised.
"I need to speak to her alone."
"Emily—"
"Please."
He nodded.
"Be careful."
I walked toward the private entrance.
My mother stood beneath the fluorescent lights.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was wet from the rain.
Her hands were trembling.
"Mom."
She looked at me.
Then immediately looked at my stomach.
"Is she safe?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes.
"Thank God."
I stared at her.
"Dad said not to trust you."
My mother went pale.
"He said that?"
"Yes."
She looked away.
"Then he finally told you."
"Told me what?"
She sat down.
"Everything."
I remained standing.
"Start."
My mother took a long breath.
"Your father didn't disappear because he was afraid of your grandfather."
"Then why?"
"Because he discovered what Eleanor had hidden."
"What?"
"The original trust."
I already knew about the trust.
"That's not enough."
My mother nodded.
"You're right."
She looked at me.
"Eleanor wasn't just the founder."
"Then what was she?"
"The architect."
"Of what?"
"The entire bloodline program."
My stomach tightened.
"Program?"
She nodded.
"She believed the Thorne family was dying."
"What does that mean?"
"Not literally."
She explained that Eleanor had discovered a rare genetic disorder within the family.
A hereditary condition.
It had killed several children.
And she became obsessed with preserving what remained of the family's bloodline.
"She began collecting genetic records."
"For what?"
"To find the strongest surviving branches."
I felt sick.
"And my family?"
"Your bloodline had the markers she wanted."
"That's why she chose me."
"Yes."
"That's why they wanted me to marry Daniel."
"Yes."
"And the baby?"
My mother looked at my stomach.
"Your daughter may be the first child who combines both lines without carrying the disorder."
I stared.
"So she was planned."
"Not exactly."
"Mom."
She began crying.
"I was pressured."
"By whom?"
"Eleanor."
"She was alive when I was born?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you let them use me?"
"Because I thought I was protecting you."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone says that."
My mother lowered her head.
"I was afraid."
"Of Eleanor?"
"Of Richard."
I froze.
"Daniel's father."
She nodded.
"He was the one who controlled the trust after Eleanor died."
"Then why did he want me?"
"Because the trust required your bloodline."
"And if I refused?"
"He would find another way."
"Like what?"
My mother looked at me.
"Your first betrayal."
She reached into her bag.
She removed an old medical file.
I recognized the hospital logo.
The date was twenty-seven years ago.
My birth.
I opened it.
The first page showed my mother's name.
The second showed mine.
The third contained a notation:
INFANT TRANSFER AUTHORIZED.
I stared.
"What's this?"
My mother whispered:
"They took you."
My hands went cold.
"Who?"
"Richard."
"Why?"
"To perform genetic testing."
"On a newborn?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"Your father found out."
"And stopped them."
"Yes."
"Then why don't I remember?"
"You were six months old."
My mother looked at me.
"You were too young."
I turned the page.
There was another document.
A transfer order.
Then another.
Then a photograph.
A baby lying in a hospital bassinet.
My baby.
I stared.
"Why do you have this?"
"Because I stole it."
"When?"
"The night your father rescued you."
I looked up.
"He rescued me?"
"Yes."
"From Richard?"
"Yes."
"Then why did Dad tell me he disappeared because of the trust?"
"Because that was only part of it."
"What was the rest?"
My mother looked toward the door.
"Your father didn't simply disappear."
She lowered her voice.
"He went hunting for the person who ordered your abduction."
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
"Mom."
"The woman behind it."
"Who?"
My mother looked directly into my eyes.
"Victoria."
I stepped backward.
"Victoria tried to take me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she believed your bloodline belonged to her branch."
"But she's not the heir."
"She thought she should be."
"Why?"
"Because Eleanor promised her something."
"What?"
"The original trust."
I stared.
"But Eleanor named me."
"Later."
"What changed?"
My mother looked at the file.
"Your birth."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because when you were born, the genetic tests showed something unexpected."
"What?"
"Your blood matched Eleanor's original line more strongly than anyone anticipated."
I felt a chill.
"Meaning?"
"You're not just a descendant."
My mother swallowed.
"You're the closest genetic match to Eleanor ever recorded."
I couldn't speak.
My daughter moved.
I put my hand over my stomach.
"And my baby?"
"Your daughter may be even closer."
The door opened.
Daniel entered.
He looked at my mother.
"Mrs. Hale."
She stood.
"Daniel."
"I heard enough."
My mother stared at him.
"Then you know."
"I know that my father has been manipulating everyone."
"Not everyone."
She looked at me.
"Some people volunteered."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Who?"
My mother didn't answer.
He looked at me.
"Emily, there is something I need to tell you."
I felt exhausted.
"What now?"
He took out his phone.
"I found the original DNA report."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
"In my father's private files."
He opened it.
The document was different from the one we had received.
No 0.02%.
No conflicting result.
One clear conclusion:
PATERNITY CONFIRMED: DANIEL THORNE.
I stared.
"Then the other report..."
"Was fake."
My mother closed her eyes.
"Of course."
I looked at Daniel.
"You knew?"
"I found this twenty minutes ago."
"Why didn't you call?"
"I wanted to verify it first."
I shook my head.
"How many versions of the truth are there?"
He looked at me.
"Only one."
He turned the phone toward me.
"This is the original."
Then my mother said something unexpected.
"That's not the important part."
We both looked at her.
"What?"
She pointed at the report.
"Look at the secondary marker."
Daniel frowned.
"What is that?"
"That shouldn't be there."
I looked closer.
A genetic marker was highlighted.
My mother whispered:
"That marker doesn't belong to Daniel's line."
"Then whose?"
She looked at me.
"Yours."
I didn't understand.
"That's impossible."
"No."
She shook her head.
"The baby inherited something from you that should have been recessive."
"Meaning?"
"Your daughter carries a genetic signature associated with Eleanor."
Daniel stared.
"And that makes her..."
"The true successor."
Silence.
Then the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Every screen in the corridor suddenly went black.
A message appeared.
THE HEIR HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.
Then another:
NOW WE TAKE HER.
My mother grabbed my arm.
"Run."
We rushed down the corridor.
Security alarms erupted.
Daniel moved in front of me.
Marcus came running from the opposite direction.
"What's happening?"
"Someone breached the system," Daniel said.
Marcus pulled his weapon.
"Where?"
My mother pointed toward the maternity floor.
"They're going for the baby."
My heart stopped.
I turned.
"My baby is upstairs."
We ran.
The maternity floor was chaos.
Nurses were shouting.
Doors were locking automatically.
Lights flashed red.
Then I saw a man in a surgical gown.
He stood outside my room.
Dr. Nathan Cole.
Alive.
He looked at me.
And smiled.
"You're too late."
I ran toward him.
Marcus shouted:
"Emily, stop!"
Cole stepped backward.
A security door closed between us.
He held up a tablet.
On the screen was my baby's medical file.
"Do you know why everyone wants her?"
I stared through the glass.
"Because of the trust?"
He smiled.
"No."
He lifted the tablet.
"Because your daughter has something worth more than eleven billion dollars."
"What?"
Cole's smile disappeared.
"The genetic sequence."
He turned.
Then walked away.
Marcus tried to open the door.
Locked.
Daniel slammed his shoulder against it.
Nothing.
I screamed:
"WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HER?"
Cole stopped.
He turned back.
"Nowhere."
He looked at me.
"Not yet."
Then he smiled.
"Because she isn't here."
My blood froze.
I looked toward my hospital room.
The crib was empty.
The monitor was still running.
The blanket was folded neatly.
My daughter had never been there.
I turned toward my mother.
"Where is my baby?"
My mother looked horrified.
Then she whispered:
"They already moved her."
I felt the world disappear beneath my feet.
Daniel grabbed my shoulders.
"We'll find her."
But I could barely hear him.
Because on the floor beside the empty crib lay a single emerald earring.
Victoria's.
And beneath it was a handwritten note.
I picked it up.
Three words.
ASK YOUR MOTHER.
I looked at the woman who had spent my entire life telling me she was protecting me.
My mother began to cry.
And this time, when she looked at me, she didn't deny anything.
She simply whispered:
"I gave them the baby."
My heart shattered.
"Why?"
She closed her eyes.
"Because they told me your daughter would die if I didn't."
I stared at her.
"And you believed them?"
She opened her eyes.
"No."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I knew they were lying."
I stepped backward.
"Then why?"
My mother looked toward the empty crib.
"Because I had already betrayed you once."
She swallowed.
"And tonight..."
May you like
Her voice broke.
"I betrayed you again."
