Chapter 10 - The HeirWe found a way out of the bunker.
Edward allowed us to leave.
That frightened me more than being trapped.
He wanted us moving.
He wanted us searching.
He wanted us to follow his path.
And he knew exactly where we were going.
At the safe house, Marcus explained the trust.
Lily was not merely an heir.
She was the primary beneficiary.
But there was an extraordinary clause.
If Emily was legally declared dead while Lily was still a minor, the emergency trustee would be activated.
Not me.
Lily.
The system required a biological verification.
Only Lily could unlock the archive.
I stared at the sleeping child.
“How?”
Marcus read the document again.
“Voice recognition. Biometric confirmation. DNA.”
“That's insane.”
“Your grandfather was paranoid.”
“No.”
I looked toward Lily.
“He was preparing for this.”
At 3 a.m., Lily woke.
“Uncle James?”
“I'm here.”
“Why are we hiding?”
“Because some bad people are looking for us.”
She frowned.
“Daddy said bad people were looking for Mommy too.”
I looked at Marcus.
“Did Ryan ever tell you where Mommy was?”
Lily nodded.
“He said she was under the house.”
My heart stopped.
“What house?”
“Our old house.”
I stood.
“What did you see?”
“Daddy opened a door.”
“To the basement?”
“Yes.”
“And Mommy was there?”
Lily nodded.
“But she wasn't alone.”
“Who was with her?”
Lily hesitated.
“A woman.”
“Vanessa?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Lily looked frightened.
“She looked like Mommy.”
I felt the room tilt.
“Another woman?”
Lily nodded.
“Mommy said she was her sister.”
I looked at Marcus.
Emily had no living sister.
At least none we knew about.
Then I remembered Rachel.
The altered memories.
The photograph.
Emily beside another young woman.
A sister.
Could Rachel be Emily's secret sister?
Marcus shook his head.
“Your grandparents had another child.”
I stared.
“What?”
He pulled another file.
A birth record.
The name was redacted.
But the date matched.
Our mother had once given birth to twin girls.
Emily.
And another daughter.
The second child had supposedly died after birth.
Marcus looked at me.
“She didn't.”
I sat down.
“Then who is Rachel?”
Nobody answered.
Lily suddenly pointed toward the window.
“Uncle James.”
I turned.
Across the street, a black car had stopped.
The headlights were off.
A figure sat inside.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
You found the first secret.
Another message:
Now find the daughter they buried alive.
I looked at Rachel.
She was staring at the screen.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“My name isn't Rachel.”
