Chapter 7 — The Father Emily Never Mentioned
Chapter 7 — The Father Emily Never Mentioned
Emily couldn't move.
The name on the screen seemed to glow in the darkness.
Catherine Blackwell.
Then the message beneath it appeared again.
LET THE FATHER GO, OR THE BABY DIES.
Her hand instinctively covered her stomach.
Adrian noticed.
His face changed.
“Are you all right?”
Emily looked at him.
For the first time, she saw the resemblance.
Not in his face.
In his eyes.
The same eyes she had seen in old photographs of her mother.
The same expression her mother used to make whenever she was frightened but refused to show it.
Emily whispered:
“You're really him.”
Adrian nodded.
“I am.”
“You're my father.”
“Yes.”
The word hung between them.
Father.
A word Emily had spent twenty-eight years believing belonged to nobody.
She had never said it aloud.
Not seriously.
Not even as a child.
When other children talked about their fathers, Emily had learned to smile and change the subject.
When teachers asked for family photographs, she had brought pictures of her mother.
When people asked whether she had brothers or sisters, she simply said no.
But now a man stood in front of her.
A man who claimed to be the person she had never been allowed to know.
And Emily didn't know whether she wanted to embrace him or slap him.
She chose neither.
Instead, she asked the question that had been waiting inside her for years.
“Why did you leave me?”
Adrian's face crumpled.
“I didn't.”
“You disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“You weren't there.”
“I know.”
“You missed everything.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
“My first day of school.”
“Yes.”
“My graduation.”
“Yes.”
“My mother's funeral.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Emily's voice broke.
“You weren't there.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at Raymond.
Then back at her.
“Because your mother asked me not to come.”
Emily froze.
“What?”
Adrian slowly walked toward a chair.
He looked exhausted.
Raymond remained standing.
“Sit,” Raymond said.
Adrian nodded.
Emily stayed where she was.
“You said my mother told you not to come.”
“She did.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew they were watching.”
“Who?”
“The Blackwells.”
Emily shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
“Then explain it.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I met your mother when we were twenty-two.”
Emily listened.
“She was brilliant. Strong. Stubborn.”
A faint smile appeared.
“She hated being told what to do.”
Emily almost smiled.
“That sounds like her.”
“Yes.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“Your mother discovered the Blackwell trust.”
“What was so important about it?”
“It wasn't the money.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because it's true.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“The Blackwell family had been hiding something inside the trust for decades.”
“What?”
“Ownership.”
“Of what?”
“People.”
Emily stared at him.
Adrian shook his head.
“Not literally.”
“Then what?”
“Identities.”
Raymond frowned.
Adrian continued.
“They had controlling interests in companies, hospitals, banks, charities. But they also maintained private records on people connected to those organizations.”
“Why?”
“Leverage.”
He looked at Emily.
“Doctors who owed them money.”
“Judges who owed them favors.”
“Politicians who had secrets.”
“Families who depended on Blackwell contracts.”
Emily listened.
“And my mother found those records.”
“Yes.”
“What did she do?”
“She copied them.”
“Then what?”
“She came to me.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“She wanted to expose them.”
Raymond crossed his arms.
“And you helped her.”
“Yes.”
“That got you targeted.”
“Yes.”
“Then you disappeared.”
Adrian nodded.
“They found me.”
Emily whispered:
“How?”
“Someone betrayed us.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked toward Raymond.
“Someone inside your family.”
Raymond's expression hardened.
“Who?”
“I never learned the name.”
“You must have suspected someone.”
“I suspected everyone.”
Emily stepped closer.
“And then I was born.”
Adrian nodded.
“That changed everything.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother discovered she was pregnant.”
Emily looked at him.
“She was afraid.”
“Of the Blackwells?”
“Of what they would do to you.”
“What would they do?”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“They believed your bloodline could give them access to something they couldn't control.”
Emily frowned.
“My bloodline?”
“Yes.”
“What is special about it?”
Adrian looked at Raymond.
“Your mother was descended from the Mercer family.”
Raymond's expression changed.
Emily frowned.
“So?”
“The Mercer family founded the original trust.”
Silence.
Emily stared.
“The Blackwell trust?”
Adrian nodded.
“Blackwell money was built on Mercer assets.”
Raymond's eyes narrowed.
“That's why the child matters.”
“Yes.”
Emily's hand moved toward her stomach.
“The baby is a Mercer heir.”
“Exactly.”
She shook her head.
“But I'm not rich.”
“You don't need to be.”
“Then what do I inherit?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Control.”
Emily stared at him.
“Control over what?”
“The original trust.”
Raymond stepped forward.
“That trust was dissolved.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at him.
“It was hidden.”
“Where?”
“In a private succession agreement.”
Raymond's face went pale.
“Anna found it.”
“Yes.”
“And Emily inherited it.”
“Not exactly.”
Adrian looked at Emily.
“You did.”
She couldn't breathe.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are they after my baby?”
“Because your child becomes your successor.”
Emily slowly understood.
“They can't take the trust from me.”
“No.”
“But they can take my baby.”
“Yes.”
“And whoever controls the baby controls the inheritance.”
“Yes.”
Raymond whispered:
“That's why they want Emily declared unfit.”
Adrian nodded.
“Exactly.”
Emily sat down.
Everything she'd believed about her marriage began collapsing.
Daniel.
The hospital.
The Blackwell family.
The pregnancy.
The custody petition.
None of it was random.
It had been designed.
She looked at Adrian.
“Did Daniel know?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
“Tell me.”
“Yes.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Did he know who I was?”
“Yes.”
“Before he married me?”
“Yes.”
Her face went white.
“So he chose me.”
Adrian nodded.
“He was instructed to.”
Emily covered her mouth.
The man she had loved had not simply lied.
He had been assigned a role.
“Did he ever love me?”
Adrian looked away.
“I don't know.”
Emily whispered:
“I need to know.”
“I can't give you that answer.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel wasn't the only one manipulating the situation.”
“Who else?”
Adrian looked at Raymond.
“His mother.”
A knock sounded.
Everyone turned.
A security officer entered.
“Mr. Raymond.”
“What?”
“We've searched the entire floor.”
“And?”
“No one entered.”
Raymond frowned.
“The elevator moved.”
“We checked the system.”
“Someone accessed it remotely.”
“From where?”
The officer hesitated.
“The executive server.”
Raymond's face hardened.
“Impossible.”
“We're investigating.”
“Who has access?”
The officer looked at Adrian.
“Only four people.”
“Names.”
“Mr. Raymond.”
“Me.”
“Evelyn Grant.”
“And?”
The officer swallowed.
“Daniel Blackwell.”
Silence.
Emily looked at Adrian.
“Daniel is here?”
“No.”
Raymond immediately grabbed his phone.
“Find him.”
Across town, Daniel sat in his car.
He was staring at a photograph.
Emily.
Taken three years earlier.
She was laughing.
He remembered that day.
He remembered loving her.
Or believing he did.
His phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
His mother's voice came through.
“Where are you?”
“Driving.”
“Have you spoken to Emily?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“Mother.”
“What?”
“I know about the trust.”
Silence.
“How?”
“Emily's uncle found the records.”
His mother sighed.
“You were always too curious.”
Daniel's voice hardened.
“You used me.”
“No.”
“You told me Emily was just a normal woman.”
“She was.”
“That's a lie.”
“She didn't know.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you told me to marry her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His mother's voice became cold.
“Because you were the only person she trusted.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“And the baby?”
“Is the key.”
“To what?”
“The Mercer inheritance.”
Daniel's breathing stopped.
“You knew?”
“Of course.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you would have developed a conscience.”
Daniel stared through the windshield.
His mother's voice continued.
“Don't make this emotional.”
“You wanted me to use my wife.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted me to take her child.”
“Yes.”
Daniel's voice broke.
“Why?”
“Because the Blackwells need the inheritance.”
“And if Emily dies?”
Silence.
Daniel suddenly understood.
“You planned that too.”
His mother's voice became very quiet.
“Don't ask questions you don't want answered.”
The call ended.
Daniel sat motionless.
For the first time, he realized what his mother was capable of.
And for the first time, he was afraid of her.
Back at the hospital, Emily asked Adrian the question she had been afraid to ask.
“Did my mother hate you?”
Adrian looked at her.
“No.”
“Did she blame you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed I could have protected her.”
Emily frowned.
“Could you?”
Adrian looked down.
“Maybe.”
“What happened?”
“I was captured.”
Emily froze.
“What?”
“Before you were born.”
“By the Blackwells?”
“Yes.”
“How did you escape?”
“I didn't.”
She stared.
“What?”
“They let me go.”
Raymond's expression changed.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Because I made a deal.”
“What deal?”
“I agreed to disappear.”
Emily's voice shook.
“In exchange for what?”
“Your life.”
Silence.
Adrian looked at his daughter.
“They promised they would leave Anna and you alone if I vanished.”
Emily's eyes filled.
“You believed them.”
“Yes.”
“They lied.”
“Yes.”
“Did they hurt my mother?”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Emily began crying.
“Did you know?”
“I suspected.”
“And you stayed away?”
“I thought distance would protect you.”
Emily turned away.
“That was your mistake.”
“I know.”
She wiped her tears.
“You missed my whole life.”
“I know.”
“You don't get to come back and call yourself my father.”
Adrian nodded.
“You're right.”
Emily looked at him.
“But I want to know you.”
Adrian's eyes filled.
“I'd like that.”
Raymond's phone rang.
He answered.
“Raymond.”
The security director spoke.
“We found Daniel.”
“Where?”
“Outside the hospital.”
Raymond frowned.
“What?”
“He's asking to see Emily.”
“Is he alone?”
“Yes.”
“Bring him in.”
Emily looked at Raymond.
“Why?”
“Because it's time he answers some questions.”
Five minutes later, Daniel entered.
He looked exhausted.
His clothes were wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
When he saw Emily, he stopped.
She looked at him differently.
Not like a husband.
Not like a lover.
Like a stranger.
Daniel swallowed.
“Emily.”
She said nothing.
He looked at Adrian.
Then froze.
“You.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You know me.”
Daniel's face lost its color.
“I've seen photographs.”
“Where?”
“My mother.”
Emily's heart sank.
“You knew who my father was.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Before you married me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the trust.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my mother.”
“Yes.”
Emily's voice broke.
“Did you ever love me?”
Daniel couldn't answer.
She stared at him.
“Answer me.”
He whispered:
“Yes.”
Emily closed her eyes.
That answer hurt more than a lie.
“Then why?”
“Because I thought I could protect you.”
“From your family?”
“Yes.”
“By marrying me?”
“I thought I could control the situation.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You put my baby in danger.”
Daniel's face collapsed.
“I know.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Then why are you here?”
Daniel looked at Adrian.
Then Raymond.
Finally, he looked at Emily.
“Because my mother ordered your death.”
Silence.
Emily's eyes widened.
“What?”
Daniel's voice shook.
“She doesn't want custody anymore.”
“Then what does she want?”
Daniel swallowed.
“The baby.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows what the child will inherit.”
Emily stared.
“What?”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“The Mercer trust.”
Raymond's phone suddenly rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
A security officer spoke rapidly.
“Sir, we have a breach.”
“Where?”
“The maternity wing.”
Raymond stood.
“How many?”
“We don't know.”
Emily's hand went to her stomach.
Daniel stepped toward her.
“Emily, we need to go.”
She looked at him.
“You don't get to tell me what to do.”
“I know.”
“But they're coming.”
“I know.”
Adrian moved beside her.
“Stay behind me.”
The lights flickered again.
Then the hospital alarm screamed.
Raymond looked toward the door.
“We're leaving.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere they can't find us.”
Daniel shook his head.
“They'll find you anywhere.”
Raymond looked at him.
“Then you know where we need to go.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Daniel looked at Emily.
“The place my family is most afraid of.”
Emily stared.
“What place?”
Daniel whispered:
“Your mother's house.”
Raymond froze.
“Anna's old house burned down.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's what they told everyone.”
Emily's eyes widened.
“It didn't?”
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“Hidden.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Take me there.”
Daniel nodded.
“But once we go…”
He looked at Adrian.
“…there is no going back.”
Adrian placed a hand on Emily's shoulder.
“For the first time in twenty-eight years, we're going to stop running.”
Outside, sirens echoed through the hospital.
The Blackwells were coming.
But this time, Emily wasn't alone.
She had a father.
An uncle.
And a husband who had finally decided to betray the family that had controlled him.
And somewhere in the city, hidden behind a secret nobody had been allowed to uncover, waited the house where Emily's mother had hidden the truth.
The truth about the trust.
May you like
The truth about Adrian.
And the truth about why Emily's unborn child was the one thing the Blackwell family could never afford to lose.
