Chapter 14 - The Child Who Should Not Exist
Eleanor returned to Whitmore House before sunset.
She found Chloe in the kitchen decorating biscuits with Lily.
For a brief moment, the scene looked ordinary.
Two children laughing.
Flour on the counter.
Claire pretending not to notice when they ate more icing than they used.
Then Chloe saw the bandage on Eleanor’s forehead.
“What happened?”
“A piece of glass fell.”
“Were bad people there?”
Eleanor refused to lie.
“Yes.”
“Did they get away?”
“Some did.”
Chloe placed a biscuit on the tray.
“Victoria always says bad people get away because good people follow rules.”
Claire became still.
“What did you tell her?” Eleanor asked.
“I said Grandma makes her own rules.”
Eleanor almost smiled.
Daniel entered carrying a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a photograph recovered from Julian’s private safe.
It showed Sophie in a hospital bed eight years earlier.
She held a newborn child.
Julian stood beside her.
But the child was not Chloe.
A date stamp showed the picture had been taken eleven months before Chloe’s recorded birth.
“Who is that?” Eleanor asked.
“We do not know.”
Daniel placed another document on the table.
A birth certificate.
The name section had been blacked out.
The parents were listed as Julian Whitmore and Sophie Whitmore.
Status: deceased at birth.
“Julian and Sophie had another child,” Claire whispered.
Eleanor stared at the photograph.
“Sophie never told me.”
“Maybe she believed the baby died,” Daniel said.
Chloe approached the table.
She looked at the photograph.
“That’s Eva.”
Every adult froze.
Eleanor knelt beside her.
“Who is Eva?”
“My sister.”
“Chloe, you never told me you had a sister.”
“Daddy said I wasn’t allowed.”
“Where did you see her?”
“At the doctor’s house.”
“What doctor?”
“Dr. Keller.”
Eleanor felt the room contract around her.
“When?”
“Before Mommy died.”
Chloe touched the photograph.
“Eva lived in a room downstairs. She looked like me, but bigger.”
“How old was she?”
“I don’t know. She said she was eight.”
The ages did not fit.
If Eva had been born eleven months before Chloe, she should have been eight now.
The photograph was current enough.
“Why was she at Keller’s house?” Daniel asked.
“She was sick.”
“What kind of sickness?”
“She couldn’t walk much. Dr. Keller took her blood.”
Eleanor’s voice shook.
“Did Sophie know Eva was alive?”
Chloe nodded.
“Mommy found her.”
Claire sat down.
“That must be what Sophie was going to reveal in the first video.”
Julian and Sophie’s first daughter had been declared dead, stolen through the medical network, and raised as a research subject.
Sophie discovered her seven years later.
And when she tried to expose the truth, Victoria killed her.
“Where is Eva now?” Eleanor asked.
Chloe looked frightened.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel opened the evidence bag.
“We found a recent transport order in Keller’s safe. One subject was moved from his country property three days ago.”
“Destination?”
“Ashford.”
The town on Sophie’s train ticket.
Eleanor stood.
“We go tonight.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Victoria is in custody, but Keller is free. Ashford may be a trap.”
“My granddaughter is there.”
“We do not know that.”
“Chloe knows.”
Chloe pulled at Eleanor’s sleeve.
“Grandma.”
“Yes?”
“Eva said the Chairman visited her.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. I heard his voice.”
“What did he say?”
Chloe closed her eyes, remembering.
“He called Eva his little miracle.”
“Would you recognize his voice?”
“I think so.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
He answered.
A hospital guard reported that Julian had awakened and requested to speak with Eleanor.
Eleanor went alone.
Julian lay connected to monitors, his skin pale beneath the hospital lights.
Two federal agents stood outside the room.
Eleanor stopped beside his bed.
“You had another daughter.”
Tears filled Julian’s eyes.
“Yes.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“We thought she died.”
“But you learned the truth.”
“After Sophie did.”
“And you said nothing.”
“Victoria told me Eva would die if we contacted the police.”
“You believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
Eleanor looked down at him.
“Did you help kill Sophie?”
Julian began to cry.
“I followed her to the marina.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I tried to stop her from leaving with the evidence.”
“What happened?”
“Victoria was waiting on the boat. They fought. Sophie fell.”
“Was she alive in the water?”
Julian closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Did you help her?”
“No.”
The word destroyed whatever remained between them.
Eleanor turned away.
“Mother, wait.”
She stopped at the door.
“The Chairman called me,” Julian said.
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
“How?”
“A phone was hidden in the bathroom before the agents arrived.”
“What did he want?”
“He offered to trade Eva for Chloe.”
Eleanor turned slowly.
“Where?”
“Ashford lighthouse. Midnight.”
“And you did not tell the agents?”
“He said Eva dies if police appear.”
“Why would the Chairman trade one valuable child for another?”
Julian looked toward the window.
“Because Eva is dying.”
“And Chloe can save her?”
“That is what they believe.”
Eleanor approached the bed.
“Who is the Chairman?”
Julian’s mouth trembled.
“I never saw his face.”
“You heard his voice.”
“Yes.”
“Did you recognize it?”
Julian looked at her.
The monitors continued their steady rhythm.
“When I was young,” he whispered, “Father used to lock me in the wine cellar when I disappointed him.”
Eleanor’s blood ran cold.
“Henry?”
Julian shook his head.
“Not Father.”
“Then who?”
Julian opened his mouth.
The monitor alarm screamed.
His body convulsed.
A clear fluid moved through the intravenous tube.
Poison.
Eleanor ripped the line from his arm and shouted for help.
Doctors rushed in.
As they pushed her away, Julian caught her hand.
“The Chairman was in our house,” he gasped. “Before I was born.”
His heart stopped.
Doctors began compressions.
Eleanor stood outside the room while the medical team fought to save her son.
Daniel arrived minutes later.
“Someone poisoned his IV.”
“Did he identify the Chairman?”
“No.”
Eleanor looked at the clock.
Ten thirty.
Ashford was ninety minutes away.
May you like
At eleven, Julian’s heart began beating again.
At eleven five, Eleanor left for the coast.
