Chapter 11 - The Price of Staying
Elena wanted to go to the summer estate alone.
Daniel refused.
“This is not a discussion.”
“You cannot command me.”
“I can prevent you from walking into a trap.”
“Julian may have information about my mother.”
“He also kidnapped two children and tried to burn us alive.”
“That does not make his information false.”
Daniel stood near the hospital window, looking down at the reporters gathering outside.
News of the twins’ abduction had already leaked.
“He wants you for a reason.”
“Then we should find out what it is.”
“We will.”
“You mean your security team will.”
“Yes.”
“And where will I be?”
“With Ethan and Noah.”
Elena stared.
“You want to use me as their nanny.”
“I want you protected.”
“You want everything placed where you can control it.”
Daniel heard the echo of Amelia’s criticism.
Grief has made you blind.
He lowered his voice.
“I do not know how to do this.”
Elena’s anger softened slightly.
“Do what?”
“Keep them safe without locking them in a cage.”
“Start by telling them the truth.”
“They are seven.”
“They know someone stole them. They know strangers are interested in their blood. They know the adults around them are lying.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“What truth can I give them when I do not know which facts are real?”
“The truth that matters.”
“What is that?”
“That none of this changes who they are to you.”
Daniel looked through the window into their room.
Ethan was awake, watching cartoons without sound.
Noah slept with one arm across the empty chair Elena usually occupied.
Daniel entered.
Ethan looked at him.
“Is she leaving?”
“No.”
“You said that about Mom.”
The words landed without mercy.
Daniel sat beside him.
“Your mother did not choose to leave.”
“Everyone says that.”
“I know.”
“Then why did she go in the car?”
Daniel struggled.
“Because she was trying to protect you.”
“From who?”
“Someone in our family.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Uncle Julian?”
Daniel realized Ethan was not surprised.
“What did Julian say to you?”
“When he took us?”
“Yes.”
“He said you stole us.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“What else?”
“That one of us belongs to him.”
Noah opened his eyes.
“He wanted us to pick.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Pick what?”
“Which one was his.”
Ethan’s voice turned hard.
“We didn’t.”
Daniel reached for them.
Ethan pulled away first.
“Does it matter?”
“No.”
“You didn’t even think.”
“I do not need to.”
“What if neither of us is yours?”
“You are both mine.”
“What if our real father comes?”
Daniel leaned forward.
“A father is not the man whose blood appears on a test. A father is the man who stays when staying becomes difficult.”
Ethan looked toward the door.
“Mara stays.”
Daniel followed his gaze.
Elena stood in the doorway.
She had heard everything.
Noah held out his hand.
Elena came to him.
Daniel felt jealousy, gratitude, shame, and relief at the same time.
“Five nannies could not get them to sleep,” he said quietly.
Elena brushed Noah’s hair from his forehead.
“They were not waiting for another nanny.”
“What were they waiting for?”
“Someone who did not leave when they became inconvenient.”
Daniel looked at Ethan.
“How many people left?”
Ethan counted on his fingers.
“Mom. Grandma Caroline. Mrs. Bell. Miss Jordan. Nurse Tessa. Clarissa.”
“Grandma Caroline died before you were born.”
Ethan shook his head.
“The lady in the wall said she visited us.”
Elena looked sharply at him.
“What did she look like?”
“Old. Yellow hair. Blue ring.”
Daniel knew the ring.
Caroline Hartwell’s sapphire ring had disappeared after her death.
If someone wearing it had visited the twins, the person was either Rachel or someone connected to Caroline.
Elena’s phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared from an unknown number.
It showed Elena’s mother standing alive outside a train station.
The timestamp was from three days earlier.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Come to Maine if you want her to stay alive.
Elena covered her mouth.
Daniel read it.
“You are not going alone.”
“This is my mother.”
“And this is my family’s war.”
May you like
Elena turned to him.
“No, Daniel. It became mine before you were born.”
