Chapter 8 - The Message Beneath the Velvet
Rebecca moved toward Sophie.
Daniel blocked her.
“Give me the box,” he said gently.
Sophie held it against her chest.
“Promise Mom won’t punish me.”
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
“She won’t.”
“You cannot make that promise,” Rebecca said.
“I just did.”
Sophie handed Daniel the box.
The outside was painted dark blue, but the inside had been lined with faded velvet. Anna’s name was engraved beneath the lid.
At first, Daniel saw nothing else.
Then Sophie pulled at the velvet.
“It comes up.”
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a photograph, a folded letter and a small brass token stamped with the number 17.
Daniel lifted the photograph.
Anna stood outside a brick building with Claire Monroe. Between them was a baby wrapped in a white blanket.
On the back, Anna had written:
Lily, the day we chose to save you.
Daniel swallowed hard.
He unfolded the letter.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, I failed to tell you the truth myself.
Lily was born inside the Monroe Children’s Center, but the official records were changed several times. Claire is the woman who gave birth to her, yet Claire is not safe. She discovered that someone was purchasing children through fake medical debts and forcing mothers to surrender custody.
I helped Claire escape with Lily.
Three weeks later, Claire disappeared.
I raised Lily as my own because the people searching for her believed she had been sent overseas.
I wanted to tell you before our wedding, but after your mother learned about Lily, she warned me that the Mercer name could not survive the scandal.
She promised Lily would be protected if I stayed silent.
I believed her.
I was wrong.
Daniel stopped reading.
The final lines had been torn away.
He looked at Eleanor.
“You threatened Anna.”
“I offered her protection.”
“You forced her to remain silent.”
“I prevented a scandal that would have destroyed the foundation and every legitimate program it supported.”
“Children were being sold.”
“We did not know how far it went.”
“You knew enough to hide Lily’s identity.”
Eleanor’s composure began to crack.
“I was protecting you.”
“No. You were protecting the Mercer name.”
Sophie pointed toward the brass token.
“I found another one in Mom’s purse.”
Rebecca’s head snapped toward her daughter.
“You searched my purse?”
“You searched my room first.”
Rebecca took a step, but Daniel placed the box behind him.
“What does number seventeen mean?” he asked.
Eleanor looked away.
Rebecca spoke through clenched teeth.
“It is nothing.”
Daniel held up the token.
“Anna hid it with Lily’s records.”
Eleanor walked toward the windows.
“The children’s center used numbered storage compartments.”
“What was inside compartment seventeen?”
“I don’t know.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Mom knows.”
Rebecca glared at her.
Sophie began crying again.
“I heard you talking to Grandma.”
Daniel crouched beside her.
“What did you hear?”
“They said number seventeen had the original list.”
“What list?”
“The names of the families.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Daniel looked from his sister to his mother.
“Where is the compartment?”
“The center was demolished,” Eleanor said.
“Then why does Rebecca have another token?”
Rebecca said nothing.
Daniel took out his phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
Eleanor turned from the window.
“You cannot do that.”
“Watch me.”
“If the authorities reopen the investigation, Lily’s identity will become public.”
“Then I’ll protect her.”
“You cannot protect her from everyone.”
“Who is everyone?”
Before Eleanor could answer, a uniformed security officer entered the library.
“Mr. Mercer, we found someone attempting to leave through the service gate.”
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
Her face became pale.
“Who?”
The officer stepped aside.
A woman in a beige coat entered.
Lily gasped from the hallway.
“That’s Claire.”
The woman looked at Lily.
Tears filled her eyes.
“You kept the necklace,” she whispered.
Eleanor hid the sapphire behind her hand.
Claire’s expression hardened.
“You were supposed to give it to Anna.”
Daniel moved between Claire and Lily.
“Are you Claire Monroe?”
“Yes.”
“Are you Lily’s biological mother?”
Claire looked at the child.
“I gave birth to her.”
Lily pressed against Daniel’s side.
Claire did not move closer.
“But Anna became her mother,” Claire said. “She gave Lily the life I could not.”
Daniel held up the brass token.
“What is compartment seventeen?”
May you like
Claire’s face changed.
“It is the reason Anna died.”
