Chapter 8 - The Name in the Ledger
Dean Grant locked his office door behind Hannah.
He placed a thick ledger on the desk.
"This was found in the university archives."
Hannah stared at it.
"What is it?"
"An old scholarship ledger."
She opened it.
Most names meant nothing.
Then she saw hers.
Hannah Barrett.
But beneath it was another name.
Emily Carter.
Hannah looked at Dean Grant.
"Why is my mother in a scholarship ledger?"
"Because she attended this university."
Hannah turned the page.
Emily Carter had been a medical student.
Top of her class.
Research assistant.
Future physician.
Until her final year.
Then everything stopped.
"She disappeared."
Dean Grant nodded.
"Officially, she withdrew."
"Unofficially?"
"She vanished."
Hannah looked at the dates.
Her birth year.
The same year Emily disappeared.
She whispered.
"She didn't abandon me."
"No."
"She was looking for me."
"Possibly."
Hannah closed the ledger.
"What happened to her?"
"We're still investigating."
"Who's we?"
Dean Grant looked at her.
"The university board."
Hannah frowned.
"Why would they care?"
"Because the scholarship foundation that funded your medical research was created by someone connected to Emily."
Hannah stared.
"Who?"
Dean Grant hesitated.
Then he said a name.
"James Carter."
Hannah froze.
"Who is that?"
"Emily's father."
The room seemed to tilt.
"Why would he fund my research?"
"He didn't know you were his granddaughter."
Hannah's eyes widened.
"Granddaughter?"
Dean Grant nodded.
"The foundation was established after Emily disappeared."
Hannah sat.
"Then my entire career..."
"Was funded by a man who may have been searching for you without knowing it."
Hannah looked at the documents.
There was something almost cruel about the coincidence.
She had spent years believing she had built her future alone.
But somewhere in the background, a stranger had been paying for opportunities she never knew were connected to her.
Then Dean Grant placed another document on the desk.
"This arrived this morning."
Hannah read it.
A legal notice.
Richard Barrett had requested an injunction against the university.
Hannah looked up.
"He's trying to stop my appointment."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Dean Grant looked at her.
"Because the position you're being offered would give you access to research assets your father has been trying to acquire."
Hannah understood.
This wasn't about family.
It was about money.
Her father didn't suddenly care about her success.
He cared about what her success controlled.
But there was one thing Hannah still couldn't explain.
Why had Richard taken her from Emily?
And why had he spent twenty-eight years pretending to be her father?
Before she could ask, Dean Grant's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"Yes."
A pause.
Then he looked at Hannah.
"It's your mother."
Hannah stopped breathing.
May you like
"What?"
"Emily Carter has been found."
