Chapter 9 - The Person He Took
Rachel couldn't speak.
"Who?"
Patricia looked at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head.
"Mother, don't."
Patricia stood.
"If she is going after him, she deserves to know."
Rachel waited.
Patricia whispered.
"Your father took Vanessa."
Rachel stared.
"What?"
"Vanessa was sixteen."
Daniel looked stunned.
"That makes no sense."
Patricia nodded.
"I know."
Rachel's mind raced.
"Why would my father take Vanessa?"
"He didn't take her against her will."
"Then why?"
Patricia looked at Ethan.
"Ethan knows."
Everyone turned.
Ethan's face fell.
"I didn't want to tell you this way."
Rachel stepped toward him.
"Tell me."
Ethan swallowed.
"My mother wasn't always Vanessa."
Rachel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"She was involved in the financial investigation."
Rachel's eyes widened.
"Vanessa was an informant?"
Ethan nodded.
"She helped your father."
Daniel sat down.
"Then why did she become part of the Mercer family?"
"Because she had nowhere else to go."
Rachel looked at Patricia.
"Your family adopted her?"
"Not legally."
"Then what?"
Patricia closed her eyes.
"My husband took her in."
Rachel stared.
"Why?"
"Because Jonathan wanted her dead."
The room fell silent.
Rachel looked at Daniel.
"Then why does Vanessa hate me?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Patricia did.
"Because she thinks your father chose you over her."
Rachel's chest tightened.
"That isn't true."
"I know."
"Does Vanessa know?"
"I don't know."
Ethan looked down.
"I think she does now."
Rachel turned.
"What does that mean?"
"She found the second file."
Daniel stood.
"Where?"
"At the old warehouse."
Rachel looked at him.
"When?"
"Last night."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was trying to find it first."
Rachel's frustration exploded.
"You keep trying to protect me by keeping me blind."
Daniel looked hurt.
"Because every time I tell you something, someone comes after you."
Rachel stopped.
He was right.
That didn't make it acceptable.
Ethan opened his laptop.
"I have the location of the person who sent the photograph."
Daniel leaned closer.
"Jonathan?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Ethan turned the screen.
Rachel stared.
The location was a private medical facility in another state.
A facility specializing in long-term rehabilitation.
The patient's name was hidden.
But the admission date was visible.
Twenty-four years earlier.
Rachel whispered.
"My father."
Daniel looked at her.
"Then we go."
They drove through the night.
When they arrived, the facility was almost empty.
A nurse met them.
Rachel showed the photograph of her father.
The nurse's expression changed.
"I know him."
Rachel's heart stopped.
"Where is he?"
The nurse hesitated.
"He was discharged yesterday."
Rachel stared.
"By whom?"
The nurse looked at Daniel.
Then at Rachel.
"His daughter."
Rachel's face went cold.
"I don't have a sister."
May you like
The nurse quietly replied.
"You do now."
