Chapter 11 - The Daughter Without a Name
Jonathan survived the shooting.
The bullet passed through his shoulder without striking an artery. Michael moved him to an underground room beneath Margaret’s study while Clara treated the wound with supplies from the estate clinic.
They could not call a hospital.
Evelyn’s contacts reached everywhere.
Oliver sat outside the room, hugging his knees.
“I have a sister?”
Daniel sat beside him.
“Maybe.”
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Does Mommy know?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
Daniel had no answer that would not create more pain.
Inside the hidden room, Jonathan explained.
Rebecca gave birth to twins at Bellweather.
A boy and a girl.
Ruth helped deliver them during a power failure.
Adrian had already vanished.
Evelyn arrived before Rebecca could escape.
“She demanded the children,” Jonathan said. “Rebecca hid Oliver with Ruth. The girl was taken.”
“By Evelyn?”
“By Pike.”
“What was her name?”
“Rebecca called her Lily.”
Daniel thought of all the children whose lives were reduced to signatures and transfers.
“What happened to her?”
“Pike claimed she died.”
“No body?”
Jonathan gave a bitter smile.
“In this family, bodies are inconvenient.”
“Why did Rebecca never mention her to Oliver?”
“To protect him from searching.”
“Or because she believed Lily was dead.”
“Rebecca never believed that.”
Daniel studied him.
“What do you know?”
Jonathan hesitated.
“Five years ago, I found an adoption file connected to a Harrow director.”
“Name?”
“Celeste Pike.”
Graham Pike’s younger sister.
“She adopted Lily?”
“She adopted a girl the same age under a closed Bellweather placement.”
“Where are they?”
“Celeste died last year. The girl was transferred to boarding school.”
“Which school?”
“St. Aurelia’s.”
Clara entered.
“That school is funded by the Harrow Foundation.”
Jonathan nodded.
Daniel stood.
“We go tonight.”
“No,” Jonathan said. “The shooting proves someone knows I returned.”
“Which means Lily may be in danger.”
“Or being used as bait.”
“She is a child.”
“So is Oliver. You cannot protect both if you walk into every trap.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I spent twenty years doing nothing because I did not know the truth. I will not spend one more night waiting.”
St. Aurelia’s stood beside a lake two hours north of Westbridge.
The headmistress initially refused to confirm whether a girl matching Lily’s age attended.
Then Daniel showed the adoption document.
Her expression changed.
“She is registered as Emily Pike.”
“Is she here?”
The headmistress looked toward the dormitory.
“She left this afternoon.”
“With whom?”
“Her uncle.”
“Graham Pike?”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
Evelyn.
He answered.
“You found Jonathan,” she said.
“Where is Lily?”
A pause followed.
“So he told you.”
“Where is she?”
“With someone who understands her value.”
“You mean her inheritance.”
“I mean her future.”
“You stole her from Rebecca.”
“I saved her from becoming another Vale weapon.”
“She was a newborn.”
“She was an asset from the moment she breathed.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“You talk about children as if they are property.”
“That is what inheritance makes them.”
“What do you want?”
“The deed.”
“No.”
“The original deed and Oliver’s pendant.”
“Why the pendant?”
“You don’t know?”
Daniel looked at the silver crest.
“What is inside it?”
“Bring both items to the old Harrow boathouse tomorrow at noon, and Lily will be returned.”
“How do I know she is alive?”
A girl’s voice came onto the call.
“Hello?”
Daniel gripped the phone.
“What is your name?”
“Emily.”
“How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“Do you know Oliver?”
“No.”
In the background, Pike said something.
The girl whispered quickly.
“They said my real mother is dangerous.”
The call ended.
Daniel returned to the estate before dawn.
Oliver waited awake.
“Did you find her?”
“Yes.”
“Is she my sister?”
“I believe so.”
“Can we bring her home?”
Daniel looked at the deed on Margaret’s desk.
“That is what Evelyn expects us to try.”
Michael examined the pendant.
The engraved crest contained four tiny stones. One was loose.
He removed it and discovered a small digital storage chip.
Inside were encrypted files.
Clara asked, “Can you open them?”
Michael connected the chip to a secure computer.
“One file has no encryption.”
It was a video.
Rebecca appeared on-screen holding two newborn babies.
She looked exhausted but determined.
“Daniel,” she said, “if you are seeing this, Evelyn has taken Lily.”
Oliver moved closer.
Rebecca looked down at the sleeping girl in her arm.
“The twins inherited more than Adrian’s shares. Margaret changed the Vale agreement before she died.”
Rebecca held up a document.
“Neither child can control the company alone. Oliver and Lily must both be identified.”
Daniel understood.
Evelyn needed both children.
Rebecca continued.
“The pendant contains half the access key to Adrian’s evidence archive. Lily was given the other half.”
Oliver touched his pendant.
Clara whispered, “Evelyn needs him alive.”
“For now,” Michael said.
The video ended with Rebecca looking directly into the camera.
“One more thing. If Jonathan claims he tried to save us, ask him why he left Lily with Evelyn for eight years.”
Daniel turned toward the hidden room.
Jonathan had disappeared.
On the bed, his bloodstained bandage remained.
May you like
So did a note.
Do not bring the deed to the boathouse. Rebecca is already there.
