Chapter 9 - I didn't know which lie to believe anymore.My father.
My mother.
Daniel.
Jacqueline.
Every answer created another question.
Thomas sat in my living room as if he owned it.
Perhaps, legally, he intended to.
Ethan stood behind me.
Daniel remained near the kitchen.
Jacqueline sat on the floor.
Broken.
Afraid.
Thomas placed the photograph on the table.
"Your father discovered Jacqueline's baby was his."
I stared at him.
"And my father took that baby?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted an heir."
I laughed bitterly.
"I was his daughter."
"Biologically."
"What does that mean?"
Thomas leaned back.
"Your father was obsessed with inheritance."
He told me the story.
Twenty-six years ago, Jacqueline had given birth to a girl.
My father had been the father.
My mother knew.
But my father believed the child should be hidden because Jacqueline was not part of the Carter family.
Then the hospital mistake happened.
Two babies.
Two mothers.
One family secret.
And my father saw an opportunity.
He took the child.
Mine.
He raised her as his daughter.
While Jacqueline's daughter was sent away.
I shook my head.
"Who was sent away?"
Thomas looked at me.
"You."
My breath caught.
"No."
"You were the baby given to another family."
"Then who is Sophie?"
"Jacqueline's daughter."
I stared at him.
"That means I've spent fifteen years raising Jacqueline's child."
"Yes."
"And my biological daughter?"
He smiled.
"She grew up under another name."
"Where?"
Thomas leaned forward.
"With people who were loyal to your father."
I felt sick.
"Why didn't they tell her?"
"Because she was safer not knowing."
Ethan interrupted.
"Who are these people?"
Thomas looked at him.
"You're asking the wrong question."
"Then what's the right one?"
Thomas smiled.
"Why did Emily's father leave everything to her?"
I knew the answer.
Because he loved me.
Or at least I believed he did.
Thomas's smile disappeared.
"Your father didn't leave the trust to you because you were his daughter."
"Why then?"
"Because you were the key."
"To what?"
"The Carter Foundation."
I frowned.
"What is that?"
Thomas glanced at Daniel.
"Your father built a private financial network."
Ethan pulled out the old documents.
"The accounts."
Thomas nodded.
"Money moved through them for decades."
"Illegal money?"
"Some."
"How much?"
Thomas shrugged.
"Enough to destroy several governments."
My stomach dropped.
"Why am I involved?"
"Because your father hid the master ledger inside the house."
I looked around.
"The house."
Thomas nodded.
"The house is the vault."
I remembered my father's words.
The house was never the objective.
It was the leverage.
Something was buried underneath it.
I suddenly remembered the key.
B-13.
"There's a basement."
Thomas's expression changed.
"You found it."
"Not yet."
"You won't."
"Why?"
"Because your father built a dead-man system."
Ethan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Thomas replied,
"If the wrong person opens the vault, everything is released."
I looked at Daniel.
"You knew."
He nodded.
"How long?"
"Since before we married."
I felt sick.
"Then you didn't marry me for the house."
Daniel looked at me.
"No."
"For the ledger."
He nodded.
"And for Sophie?"
His expression broke.
"No."
That answer surprised me.
"Then what did you want?"
He swallowed.
"To stop my father."
Thomas laughed.
"You failed."
Daniel turned on him.
"You killed people."
Thomas's smile disappeared.
"You helped me."
"I was sixteen."
"You stayed."
"I was scared."
Thomas stood.
"Enough."
He looked at me.
"Tomorrow you will sign the documents."
I shook my head.
"No."
"If you refuse, the people who have been protecting your biological daughter will disappear."
I froze.
"Where is she?"
Thomas smiled.
"Meet me tomorrow at the old train station."
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Oh."
He looked back at me.
"One more thing."
He pointed toward Jacqueline.
"Ask her why your father never trusted her."
Jacqueline's face went white.
Thomas left.
Silence filled the room.
I turned toward Jacqueline.
"Why?"
She looked at me.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Because I didn't switch the babies."
"You helped him."
She nodded.
"But I changed the plan."
"What plan?"
She started crying.
"Your father planned to kill one of the girls."
I felt cold.
"Which one?"
Jacqueline stared at me.
"Yours."
"Why?"
"Because he believed your biological mother would come looking for you."
I shook my head.
"Who is my biological mother?"
Jacqueline whispered,
"You."
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
She continued,
"Your mother wasn't your mother."
My heart stopped.
"Then who was?"
Jacqueline looked toward Daniel.
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Emily..."
Jacqueline said it.
The truth.
May you like
The one truth that made every other lie meaningless.
"You were born to me."
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