Chapter 9 - Samantha's Real NameThe Woman I Thought I Loved Wanted Something Far More Valuable

The alarm echoed through the house.

Claire grabbed Hope.

Victor pulled me toward the hallway.

"Back door."

We ran downstairs.

A window shattered.

Then another.

Men entered through the living room.

We escaped through the garage.

I got behind the wheel.

Victor jumped into the passenger seat.

Claire and Hope climbed into the back.

We sped away.

Only after reaching the highway did Claire speak.

"Your father created a trust."

"For what?"

"Hope."

I glanced at her through the mirror.

"What?"

"The account Samantha was looking for."

"Why?"

"Because it contains everything your father hid before he disappeared."

"Money?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

"Names."

I tightened my grip on the wheel.

"Names of who?"

"Everyone."

The entire network.

Every official.

Every account.

Every transaction.

Every secret.

"Why would my father leave it to Hope?"

"Because he knew they would come after you."

Victor looked out the window.

"He knew Daniel was too trusting."

That one hurt.

Claire reached forward.

"We need to find Samantha."

"We?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she is the only person who can unlock the second account."

I laughed.

"She won't help us."

"She might."

"Why?"

"Because she realizes Victor's people are going to kill her."

Victor stiffened.

"My people?"

"Not your people."

Claire looked at him.

"Your mother."

Victor said nothing.

We found Samantha's apartment.

The door was open.

Inside, everything had been destroyed.

Furniture overturned.

Drawers emptied.

Glass everywhere.

A bloodstain marked the kitchen floor.

"She's dead," I whispered.

Claire shook her head.

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because if they wanted us to believe she was dead, they'd leave the body."

We searched every room.

Nothing.

Then I noticed the bathroom mirror.

Someone had written a message in lipstick.

MERCER TRUST

I stepped closer.

Underneath:

ROOM 308

We left.

There was an old hotel across the street.

Room 308.

The door was unlocked.

Samantha sat on the floor.

Her face was bruised.

She held a gun with shaking hands.

When she saw me, she cried.

"You came."

I crouched.

"What happened?"

"They found me."

"Who?"

"My mother."

Claire stared.

"Your mother?"

Samantha nodded.

"My real name is Emily Vale."

Claire stepped closer.

"Who is your mother?"

Emily looked at her.

"Your mother."

Claire stopped breathing.

I felt the room become impossibly small.

"You know my mother?"

Emily laughed through her tears.

"She gave birth to me."

Claire's face broke.

"That's impossible."

Emily reached into her coat.

She pulled out a photograph.

Two women.

One was Claire's mother.

The other was a much younger version of Samantha.

Claire stared.

"You were adopted."

Emily nodded.

"Your mother abandoned me when I was six."

"Why?"

"Because she needed someone to blame."

"For what?"

"My father's death."

Claire whispered,

"Our father?"

Emily's eyes filled with tears.

"Adrian Vale."

My father's real name.

Emily was my father's daughter.

My half-sister.

I stepped backward.

"No."

Emily nodded.

"Yes."

Suddenly everything made sense.

Samantha had targeted me because I had access to the trust.

She wasn't after my money.

She was after evidence.

But then why had she seduced me?

"Why me?"

Emily looked at me.

"Because my mother wanted the trust opened."

"Why?"

"Because your father locked her out."

I felt sick.

"How?"

Emily's voice trembled.

"He put one condition in the trust."

"What condition?"

She looked at Claire.

Then at Hope.

"The account only opens when your daughter turns one."

I stared.

Hope was three months old.

Nine months to go.

Nine months that suddenly felt like a countdown to war.

Then Emily whispered,

"Your mother isn't trying to steal the money."

"Then what does she want?"

Emily pointed at the ledger.

"She wants the name your father hid on the last page."

I opened the ledger.

The final page was blank.

Except for a single handwritten sentence.

The person who betrayed me is the person Daniel trusts most.

I looked at Claire.

Then Victor.

Then Emily.

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And realized my father had left me one final question.

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