Chapter 9 - My Sister's WarningEverything slowed.
Alexander raised his weapon.
“Who has the laser?”
Nathaniel didn't answer.
I looked at the windows.
Two snipers.
Maybe more.
Lucy was still on screen.
I stared at her.
“Why did you say not to trust him?”
Her lips moved.
No sound.
Then she looked downward.
At something beneath the camera.
I realized she was signaling.
A pattern.
Three times.
Pause.
Two times.
Pause.
Three times.
Our childhood code.
It meant:
Someone is listening.
I looked at Alexander.
He understood my expression.
He suddenly dropped his gun.
Nathaniel smiled.
“Good.”
Alexander stepped away.
“Let my son go.”
Nathaniel nodded.
A side door opened.
Noah walked out.
My heart shattered.
He was holding Bunny.
His eyes were red.
“Emma!”
I ran.
A guard raised his gun.
Nathaniel stopped him.
“Let the boy go.”
Noah ran into my arms.
I held him tightly.
He whispered:
“Grandpa said Daddy is bad.”
I looked at Nathaniel.
He smiled.
“He's five.”
“You're lying.”
“Perhaps.”
Alexander approached slowly.
“Noah, look at me.”
Noah hesitated.
Then he looked.
“Daddy.”
“Do you trust me?”
Noah cried.
“I don't know.”
Those words destroyed Alexander.
Nathaniel stepped forward.
“You see?”
“You've poisoned him.”
“I showed him what you hid.”
Alexander stared at him.
“What did I hide?”
Nathaniel gestured toward a screen.
A document appeared.
A medical report.
It showed Alexander's wife had been pregnant again.
A second child.
Stillborn.
Alexander stared.
“I knew.”
“No.”
Nathaniel smiled.
“You didn't.”
Alexander’s voice became hoarse.
“What are you talking about?”
“The baby wasn't stillborn.”
My stomach turned.
Nathaniel continued.
“Your wife believed the child died.”
“She was given the wrong body.”
Alexander froze.
“Why?”
“Because your wife had discovered the truth about the trust.”
“She knew?”
“She knew everything.”
I looked at the screen.
Another document appeared.
DNA records.
A newborn girl.
Alive.
Transferred to another family.
Then one final line.
Guardian: Eleanor Sterling.
Alexander whispered:
“My sister?”
Nathaniel smiled.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Your wife's daughter.”
I couldn't breathe.
A second child.
Alive.
Hidden.
And connected to Eleanor.
Nathaniel's plan was becoming clear.
He wanted control of Noah through the inheritance.
And he had hidden another heir.
A girl who could change everything.
Lucy suddenly screamed through the camera.
“EMMA!”
The screen shook.
Then a second figure entered the frame.
It was Eleanor.
She walked behind Lucy.
In her hand was a knife.
Alexander turned toward Nathaniel.
“You worked with my mother.”
Nathaniel smiled.
“For twenty years.”
Eleanor looked directly into the camera.
Then she said:
“Give me Emma.”
Nathaniel nodded.
My blood froze.
“Why?”
Eleanor answered:
“Because your mother took something from me.”
“What?”
May you like
Eleanor smiled.
“The first child.”
Related Stories
