CHAPTER 10: THE NIGHT LUCY WAS BORN
The screen went black.
But nobody moved.
Because the silence after Elizabeth's words was louder than any scream.
THE SECOND LIE CREATED LUCY.
Nora stood in the middle of the room.
Her daughter was in her arms.
But her eyes were fixed on Charles.
The man who had saved her.
The man who had protected Lucy.
The man she had believed was the only person in the world who never lied to her.
Now she wasn't sure about anything.
"What did she mean?"
Her voice trembled.
Charles didn't answer.
Nora stepped closer.
"Charles."
Still nothing.
"Tell me."
The room felt smaller.
Everyone was waiting.
Alexander.
Noah.
Even Lucy.
Especially Lucy.
Because children always knew when adults were hiding something.
Charles finally spoke.
"I made a mistake."
Nora shook her head.
"No."
Her voice became sharper.
"You don't get to call this a mistake."
"You made a choice."
Charles looked at her.
A painful expression crossed his face.
"You're right."
"I did."
Five years earlier.
St. Victoria Hospital.
A storm covered the city.
Rain hit the windows like thousands of tiny fists.
Inside the maternity ward...
Two women were fighting for their lives.
Elizabeth Voss.
And Nora Hale.
Two mothers.
Two babies.
Two futures.
That night changed everything.
Nora remembered it differently.
She remembered the pain.
The fear.
Daniel holding her hand.
She remembered hearing her baby's first cry.
The happiest sound she had ever heard.
Lucy.
Her little girl.
But there were pieces missing.
Moments she couldn't remember.
Doctors acting strangely.
Charles appearing too quickly.
Daniel disappearing for hours.
She always thought it was because of stress.
Now...
She wasn't sure.
"Tell her."
Elizabeth's voice came through the speakers again.
Everyone looked up.
She was still watching.
Enjoying every second.
"Tell Nora what happened after Lucy was born."
Charles stared at the screen.
"Elizabeth."
"Tell her."
His jaw tightened.
Then he turned toward Nora.
"The night Lucy was born..."
"She wasn't the only child delivered."
Nora froze.
"What?"
Charles continued.
"Elizabeth gave birth that night."
"To Lucy."
Nora looked at him.
"And?"
Charles took a breath.
"And there was another child."
Alexander closed his eyes.
"Noah."
Everyone became silent.
Nora looked at Noah.
The missing son.
The erased child.
"The twins."
Charles nodded.
"Yes."
"Lucy and Noah."
Nora's hands tightened around Lucy.
"But why didn't I know?"
Charles looked away.
"Because nobody wanted you to know."
That night...
The hospital had been attacked.
Not publicly.
Not with weapons.
With information.
Someone leaked the location of Elizabeth and Alexander's children.
The people hunting them were coming.
And Charles had to make a decision.
A terrible decision.
Protect one child.
Or lose both.
"I had minutes."
Charles' voice was quiet.
"Not hours."
"Minutes."
Nora stared.
"What did you do?"
Charles closed his eyes.
"I moved Lucy."
Alexander stepped forward.
"You took her."
Charles looked at him.
"I saved her."
"No."
Alexander's voice broke.
"You separated her from her family."
The words hit hard.
Charles didn't deny it.
"I believed keeping Lucy hidden was the only way she survived."
Nora shook her head.
"But what about Noah?"
Silence.
That silence was the answer.
Her face changed.
"You left him."
Charles looked down.
"I tried to find him."
"After?"
"Yes."
"After you already saved Lucy?"
Charles had no answer.
Because Nora understood.
He made a choice.
Her daughter lived.
Another child disappeared.
Noah stood silently.
Everyone looked at him.
But he wasn't angry.
Not anymore.
That was worse.
He looked empty.
"Twenty-six years."
His voice was calm.
"That's how long I waited."
Charles looked at him.
"Noah..."
"Do you know what they did?"
Nobody answered.
Noah continued.
"They taught me that love was a weakness."
"They taught me that families always choose one person to sacrifice."
His eyes moved to Lucy.
"And they were right."
Lucy looked down.
A five-year-old child who didn't understand why adults carried so much pain.
Noah noticed.
His expression softened.
Only slightly.
Then he looked back at Charles.
"You saved my sister."
Charles nodded.
"Yes."
"And destroyed me."
The room became silent.
Suddenly...
A loud crash came from outside.
Security alarms exploded.
The lights flickered.
Charles immediately reacted.
"Everyone down!"
The windows shattered.
Security rushed forward.
Nora grabbed Lucy.
Alexander moved beside them.
Noah didn't move.
He simply looked toward the darkness outside.
Because he knew.
They weren't here for Charles.
They weren't here for revenge.
They were here for Lucy.
A security guard ran into the room.
"Mr. Whitmore!"
"Someone breached the east wing."
Charles turned.
"How many?"
The guard looked terrified.
"One."
Everyone froze.
"Only one?"
The guard nodded.
"But..."
He swallowed.
"They didn't fight their way in."
"They walked in."
Charles' expression changed.
"What?"
The guard handed him a security image.
A person standing inside the mansion.
A person who had entered without triggering any alarms.
A person every security system recognized.
Charles looked at the screen.
Then his face went pale.
Because the person in the image...
Was someone impossible.
Someone who had been missing for years.
Someone who knew the mansion better than anyone alive.
Noah stared at the picture.
His expression finally broke.
"That's impossible."
Alexander whispered:
"No..."
Nora looked confused.
"Who is it?"
Charles slowly answered.
"Someone who should never have been able to come here."
The image zoomed in.
A woman.
Older.
Calm.
Walking through the mansion like she owned it.
Then the security footage captured her face.
And Lucy suddenly whispered:
"Grandma..."
Everyone turned.
Nora froze.
"Lucy?"
The little girl stared at the screen.
"I know her."
Charles' blood ran cold.
Because the woman on the screen...
Was his mother.
A woman who had died thirty years ago.
The woman who created the Whitmore empire.
The woman whose secrets started everything.
Margaret Whitmore.
The screen changed.
A message appeared.
CHARLES.
YOU HID MY GRANDCHILDREN FROM ME.
NOW I WILL TAKE THEM BACK.
The room went silent.
Because Charles finally understood.
Elizabeth wasn't the only enemy.
Richard wasn't the only traitor.
May you like
The real war...
Had been inside his own family from the beginning.
