CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER NINE
Blood on the Glass
The London address belonged to a house that did not exist.
At least, not anymore.
Willa stood across the street in the rain, staring at an empty lot surrounded by black iron fencing.
Daniel checked the address again.
“Number seventeen.”
“There is no seventeen.”
“I know.”
Nathan stood behind them.
He hadn't spoken since they left the house.
Willa turned toward him.
“You said my brother was in London.”
“I said he had been.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don't know.”
“You've been watching him for eleven years.”
“Yes.”
“And now you don't know?”
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
Willa stared.
“Three days.”
Nathan nodded.
“That's when Miriam called you.”
Daniel looked between them.
“So someone moved him.”
Nathan didn't answer.
Willa looked at the empty lot.
“Why would my mother send me here?”
“She didn't.”
“You just said—”
“She didn't send the address.”
Nathan pulled out his phone.
He showed her the message.
Same address.
Different number.
Willa frowned.
“Who sent it?”
“I don't know.”
“You can track it.”
“Not anymore.”
Daniel looked at the empty lot.
“Someone wants us here.”
Willa's stomach tightened.
“Then why are we standing here?”
Nathan looked at her.
“Because the person who wants us here probably knows something we don't.”
A car passed behind them.
Its headlights swept across the street.
For one second, Willa saw a woman standing behind the fence.
Older.
Dark coat.
Silver hair.
Watching them.
Willa's breath caught.
“Mum?”
She ran.
Nathan grabbed her arm.
“Willa!”
She pulled free.
The woman disappeared around the corner.
Willa followed.
She turned into an alley.
Empty.
Only rain.
A metal door stood open at the end.
Inside was darkness.
Willa stopped.
A voice came from within.
“Come in.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She knew that voice.
The room smelled of dust and rain.
A single lamp burned on a wooden table.
The woman sat beside it.
She was older than the woman in Willa's memories.
Thinner.
Her hair was almost completely silver.
There was a scar along her left cheek.
But her eyes—
Willa knew those eyes.
The woman looked at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she said:
“You used to hide under the dining table when Calder came home angry.”
Willa froze.
“No one knows that.”
“I do.”
“You could have learned it.”
“I could.”
The woman smiled sadly.
“You hated the sound of his shoes on the marble floor.”
Willa's throat tightened.
“You used to count them.”
The woman continued.
“One, two, three, four.”
Willa's eyes filled with tears.
“You counted to twelve before he reached the dining room.”
Willa whispered:
“Mom.”
The woman stood.
Willa didn't move.
“Don't.”
The woman stopped.
“You can't expect me to believe you.”
“No.”
“You died.”
“I know.”
“You lied.”
“I know.”
“You watched me grow up.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me marry Nathan.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me lose you.”
The woman's face crumpled.
“I watched you survive me.”
Willa stared at her.
“Are you Miriam?”
The woman nodded.
“Yes.”
Willa shook her head.
“Prove it.”
The woman looked toward the table.
“Your first tooth came out when you were five.”
Willa said nothing.
“You swallowed it.”
Her lips trembled.
“You cried because you thought the tooth fairy wouldn't find it.”
Willa remembered.
The woman smiled.
“You made me sleep beside you for three nights.”
Willa began crying.
“Mum.”
The woman opened her arms.
Willa hesitated.
Then crossed the room.
They embraced.
Her mother's body felt smaller than she remembered.
Older.
Real.
Willa cried against her shoulder.
Miriam held her tightly.
“I am sorry.”
Willa pulled away.
“You should be.”
“I know.”
“You should have come back.”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have called.”
“I did.”
“Once.”
“More than once.”
“Why didn't I get them?”
“Because Nathan intercepted them.”
Willa froze.
“What?”
Miriam looked toward the door.
“Not all of them.”
Nathan entered the room.
He stopped when he saw Miriam.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Miriam looked at him.
“You look older.”
Nathan gave a bitter smile.
“So do you.”
“I wasn't supposed to see you.”
“You weren't supposed to call Willa.”
“I had no choice.”
Nathan looked at Willa.
“She was in danger.”
“I know.”
“You knew Celeste would move?”
“I knew she would eventually.”
“You nearly got Willa killed.”
Miriam's eyes hardened.
“I know.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You promised.”
“I promised to protect her.”
“You promised to keep her out of this.”
“I changed my mind.”
Nathan looked angry.
“You don't get to change your mind after fourteen years.”
Miriam stared at him.
“Neither do you.”
Silence.
Willa looked between them.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Neither answered.
She stepped back.
“Both of you.”
Miriam looked at her.
“Willa—”
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“I am done being protected.”
She pointed toward Nathan.
“You knew she was alive.”
Then toward Miriam.
“You knew he lied.”
“You both decided what I was allowed to know.”
She wiped her tears.
“And now you're standing in front of me like I should be grateful.”
Miriam lowered her head.
“You shouldn't.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“Everything.”
Miriam looked at Nathan.
Then Daniel.
Finally, she looked back at Willa.
“Everything.”
Miriam sat at the table.
Willa remained standing.
“What happened in 2012?”
Miriam took a breath.
“I was investigating Calder.”
“You were investigating your husband?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because money was disappearing.”
“How much?”
“Billions.”
Willa stared.
“From the company?”
“From the family trust.”
“Who took it?”
“Calder.”
“Why?”
“He was preparing to leave.”
“Leave?”
“The country.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew I had discovered what he had done.”
“What did he do?”
Miriam's eyes hardened.
“He had people killed.”
Willa's stomach turned.
“Who?”
“Anyone who threatened his control.”
“Was my father one of them?”
Miriam looked away.
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Your father was never part of the family business.”
Willa frowned.
“Who was he?”
Miriam hesitated.
“I'll tell you.”
“When?”
“After you understand Celeste.”
Willa stiffened.
“What about her?”
Miriam looked at Nathan.
“Tell her.”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
Miriam's voice sharpened.
“She deserves to know.”
“She deserves to survive.”
“She can't survive if she doesn't understand.”
Willa looked at him.
“Understand what?”
Miriam answered.
“Celeste didn't start the plan to kill you.”
Willa froze.
“What?”
“She inherited it.”
“From whom?”
“Her mother.”
Willa frowned.
“Celeste's mother died years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then how?”
Miriam leaned forward.
“Because Celeste's mother wasn't her mother.”
Silence.
Willa stared.
“What?”
“Celeste was adopted.”
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“By whom?”
“Calder.”
Willa's face went pale.
“He adopted her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To replace someone.”
“Who?”
Miriam looked at her.
“You.”
Willa couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“Celeste was supposed to inherit everything.”
“Then why did I?”
“Because the original trust changed.”
“Who changed it?”
“I did.”
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
Willa shook her head.
“Then Celeste has spent her whole life believing the inheritance belonged to her.”
“Yes.”
“And when she discovered it belonged to me…”
“She panicked.”
Willa remembered the staircase.
The shove.
The glass.
The blood.
Miriam continued.
“She wasn't trying to kill you.”
“She pushed me down glass stairs.”
“She was trying to stop the trust from activating.”
“I almost lost my baby.”
“I know.”
Willa looked at her mother.
“Then why is she being arrested?”
Miriam's expression changed.
“Because she crossed the line.”
“What line?”
“She hired someone.”
“To kill me?”
“Yes.”
Willa went still.
“Who?”
Miriam shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Nathan looked at her.
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
Nathan's face was grim.
“Celeste hired a private security contractor three months ago.”
“Who?”
“Elias Grant.”
Miriam's eyes widened.
“Elias?”
“Yes.”
“That isn't possible.”
“He's dead.”
Miriam looked at Nathan.
“No.”
Willa stared.
“Who is Elias Grant?”
Nathan answered.
“Calder's former security chief.”
Miriam's face had gone pale.
“He died in 2014.”
“No.”
Nathan shook his head.
“He disappeared.”
Miriam whispered:
“He was the one who helped me disappear.”
Willa looked at her.
“Then why would Celeste hire him?”
“Because she doesn't know what he really is.”
“What is he?”
Miriam looked at Nathan.
“A witness.”
The arrest happened before noon.
Celeste was taken from her penthouse in handcuffs.
Cameras surrounded the building.
Reporters shouted questions.
She didn't answer.
Then one reporter asked:
“Did you attempt to kill Willa Rowe?”
Celeste stopped.
She looked directly into the cameras.
“No.”
The police officer pushed her forward.
Celeste turned back.
“Nathan Rowe did.”
The reporters erupted.
“What did you say?”
“Nathan.”
She shouted.
“He planned everything.”
Nathan watched the footage from Daniel's television.
Willa stood beside him.
Celeste's voice came through the speakers.
“He married Willa to control the trust.”
“He knew Miriam was alive.”
“He knew about the Second Will.”
“He manipulated Adrian.”
“And he arranged the attack.”
Willa turned toward Nathan.
“Is she lying?”
Nathan didn't answer.
“Nathan.”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
Willa stared.
“Then why would she say it?”
“Because she has no other way out.”
The television continued.
Celeste was being pushed into a police car.
She screamed:
“Ask him where Miriam was in 2015!”
The door slammed.
The footage ended.
Willa looked at Nathan.
“Where was she?”
“Blackwood Lane.”
“I know.”
“Then ask yourself why Celeste knew.”
Willa frowned.
“She had access to the house.”
“No.”
Nathan shook his head.
“She had access to the records.”
“Through Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“And Adrian gave her information.”
“Yes.”
“But Adrian didn't know everything.”
“No.”
Willa turned toward Daniel.
“What do you think?”
Daniel looked at Nathan.
“I think Celeste is lying.”
“Completely?”
“No.”
Willa stared.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel pointed toward the television.
“People don't invent accusations that specific unless they know something.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“She knows enough to make it believable.”
“Which means?”
Daniel looked at Willa.
“She may be lying about the motive.”
“And telling the truth about the facts.”
Nathan said nothing.
Willa looked at him.
“Did you manipulate the trust?”
“No.”
“Did you marry me because Miriam asked you to?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about the Second Will?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know where Miriam was?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hide her from me?”
“Yes.”
Willa's eyes filled with tears.
“Then what exactly is Celeste lying about?”
Nathan looked at her.
“I never wanted your inheritance.”
“Why?”
“Because I already knew what would happen if you received it.”
“What?”
“You would become the most powerful woman in the Rowe family.”
Willa stared.
“And?”
“And whoever controlled you would control everything.”
“Who controls me?”
Nathan shook his head.
“That is what I'm trying to find out.”
That afternoon, Willa and Miriam sat alone.
For the first time.
Mother and daughter.
No Nathan.
No Daniel.
No Adrian.
Just them.
Willa placed the Second Will on the table.
“You signed this.”
“Yes.”
“Three years after your death.”
“Yes.”
“You planned to activate it when I proved how you died.”
“Yes.”
“But you're alive.”
“Yes.”
“So why does it matter?”
Miriam looked at the document.
“Because legally, I am dead.”
Willa frowned.
“What?”
“I had to make my death real.”
“How?”
Miriam's eyes filled with pain.
“I created evidence.”
“Of your death?”
“Yes.”
“A body?”
“Yes.”
Willa went silent.
“You found someone who looked like you.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Miriam whispered:
“My sister.”
Willa stared.
“You had a sister?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Miriam's face changed.
“The woman they buried as me wasn't a stranger.”
Willa waited.
“She was someone Calder believed was me.”
“Who?”
Miriam looked away.
“My identical twin.”
Willa felt the room tilt.
“You had a twin.”
“Yes.”
“And she died in your place.”
“Yes.”
Willa's voice broke.
“That's horrible.”
“I know.”
“Did she agree?”
“No.”
Willa stared.
“You let an innocent woman die.”
Miriam closed her eyes.
“No.”
“Then how?”
“I didn't know she was there.”
“What?”
“When I escaped, I believed Calder had killed me.”
“But someone else died.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Miriam looked at her.
“Her name was Eleanor.”
Willa's blood ran cold.
“Eleanor Vale?”
Miriam nodded.
Willa looked at the photograph from Blackwood Lane.
The woman beside Calder.
The woman whose name appeared on the trust.
Her great-grandmother.
“No.”
Miriam whispered:
“She wasn't my mother.”
Willa stared.
“She was your father's mother.”
Silence.
The family tree collapsed in her mind.
Everything she thought she knew had been built on false names.
False deaths.
False marriages.
False inheritances.
“Then who was my grandmother?”
Miriam looked at her.
“You don't know her name.”
“Tell me.”
Miriam hesitated.
“Because if I tell you, you will understand why Nathan was chosen.”
Willa's heart tightened.
“Chosen for what?”
Miriam reached for her hand.
“To marry you.”
Willa pulled away.
“No.”
“I wanted to protect you.”
“You arranged it.”
“I didn't arrange the marriage.”
“You said you chose him.”
“I chose him to protect you.”
“And you expected him to fall in love with me.”
“No.”
“But he did.”
“Yes.”
“And that wasn't part of your plan.”
“No.”
Willa stared.
“Then what was?”
Miriam's eyes filled with tears.
“You were supposed to marry another man.”
Willa froze.
“Who?”
Miriam didn't answer.
“Who?”
“Calder's son.”
Willa stared.
“I thought Nathan was Calder's son.”
Miriam shook her head.
“No.”
Willa's blood turned cold.
“Then who is Nathan?”
Miriam looked toward the door.
Her voice became barely audible.
“Nathan is the son of the man who killed your mother.”
Willa stopped breathing.
“What?”
Miriam reached for her hand.
“Willa.”
The door opened.
Nathan stood there.
His face was white.
He had heard everything.
Miriam looked at him.
“I didn't want her to find out this way.”
Nathan closed the door.
Willa looked between them.
“You lied to me.”
Nathan didn't deny it.
“My entire life.”
“No.”
“My marriage.”
“No.”
“My mother.”
“No.”
“My father.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“I can explain.”
Willa backed away.
“Then explain.”
Nathan swallowed.
“Your mother wasn't the woman who died in 2012.”
“I know.”
“The woman who died wasn't Miriam.”
“I know.”
“She was Eleanor.”
“I know.”
Nathan's eyes widened.
“How?”
“Miriam told me.”
He looked at Miriam.
“You shouldn't have.”
“She deserves the truth.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Willa's voice sharpened.
“Why?”
Nathan looked at her.
“Because there is one thing your mother hasn't told you.”
“What?”
Nathan hesitated.
Miriam whispered:
“Don't.”
But it was too late.
Nathan spoke.
“The woman buried as Miriam wasn't Eleanor.”
Willa froze.
“What?”
Nathan looked at Miriam.
“She was someone else.”
Miriam's face went white.
Willa turned toward her.
“Who was buried in your place?”
Miriam couldn't answer.
Nathan did.
“Celeste's real mother.”
Silence.
Willa stared.
Miriam closed her eyes.
And for the first time since she had returned from the dead, she looked genuinely afraid.
That night, Celeste sat in a holding cell.
The lights above her flickered.
A guard approached.
“You have a visitor.”
Celeste looked up.
“Who?”
The guard didn't answer.
The door opened.
A man entered.
Older.
Tall.
Silver-haired.
Celeste stood.
Her face drained of color.
“No.”
The man smiled.
“Hello, Celeste.”
She backed away.
“You're dead.”
He laughed.
“So is Miriam.”
Celeste stared.
“Calder.”
He stepped closer.
“You should have listened to me.”
“You told me to leave Willa alone.”
“I told you not to push her.”
“I didn't mean to kill her.”
“I know.”
“Then why am I here?”
“Because you made the mistake of believing you were in control.”
Celeste stared at him.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Calder smiled.
“Because you were desperate.”
Celeste's eyes filled with tears.
“And now?”
“Now you will tell the police that Nathan planned everything.”
“Why?”
“Because they already believe you.”
“And if I don't?”
Calder leaned closer.
“Then your daughter disappears.”
Celeste froze.
“My daughter?”
“Yes.”
“You don't know where she is.”
Calder smiled.
“I've always known.”
At 3:00 a.m., Willa woke to the sound of glass breaking.
She sat up.
Nathan was already standing.
Daniel grabbed his weapon.
Miriam opened the bedroom door.
“Don't move.”
Another crash.
Willa looked toward the hallway.
A shadow passed beneath the door.
Then a hand appeared.
Blood ran down the glass.
Willa screamed.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Nathan raised his weapon.
“Stop.”
The man smiled.
He was older.
Scarred.
Willa recognized him from the photograph.
Elias Grant.
He looked at Miriam.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Miriam stared.
“So are you.”
Elias laughed.
“That's the problem with this family.”
He looked at Willa.
“Everyone keeps dying.”
Then he placed a photograph on the floor.
Willa picked it up.
It showed a hospital nursery.
The same baby.
The same date.
But this time the child's face wasn't hidden.
Willa stared.
Her breath stopped.
Because she knew him.
She had seen that face before.
In family photographs.
In Nathan's office.
In the old Rowe archives.
The child was not a stranger.
He was someone she had already met.
Someone she had believed was dead.
Nathan whispered:
“No.”
Willa looked at him.
“Who is he?”
Nathan didn't answer.
Elias smiled.
“Ask your husband.”
Willa turned toward Nathan.
“Who is my brother?”
Nathan finally spoke.
His voice was barely audible.
“Adrian.”
Willa froze.
Adrian.
Celeste's husband.
The man who had been helping her.
The man who had been hiding Miriam's money.
The man who had claimed he was protecting a daughter in London.
Her brother.
Her mother's son.
And the man who had spent years married to the woman trying to destroy her.
Willa looked at Miriam.
“Is it true?”
Miriam began to cry.
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Then Willa's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“You've found the wrong brother.”
Willa's blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
The caller laughed.
“Adrian is only the first.”
The line went dead.
Willa stared at the phone.
Then at Nathan.
Then Miriam.
For the first time, she understood the terrifying possibility.
There wasn't one hidden child.
May you like
There might be more than one.
And someone had spent decades making sure the Rowe family never knew exactly how many.
