Chapter 11 - The BloodlineFelix refused to speak for almost ten minutes.
I stood across from him in the hospital corridor.
"Tell me."
He looked exhausted.
"I don't know."
"You know something."
"Not enough."
"Then tell me everything."
He finally sat down.
"My father died when I was thirteen."
"Your official father."
"Yes."
"What about your biological father?"
"I found records last year."
"What records?"
"DNA tests."
My heart pounded.
"Who was the match?"
Felix looked at me.
"Your father."
I went still.
"What?"
"Your father was my biological grandfather."
I couldn't breathe.
The hospital corridor seemed to tilt.
"That means..."
"Yes."
I stared at Lily.
"No."
Felix's voice broke.
"We weren't related."
"No."
"But our parents..."
He stopped.
I put my hands over my mouth.
"That means Rachel..."
"Is my cousin."
The truth was horrifying enough to feel unreal.
Odette had hidden the bloodline.
She had separated entire branches of the family.
And used the confusion to control the company.
"But Lily's father?"
Felix looked at the birth certificate.
"Unknown."
I stared at the paper.
Then something clicked.
The man in Rachel's photograph.
The familiar face.
The smile.
The old Kingsley house.
"Wait."
I took the photograph from my bag.
The man standing beside Rachel.
I showed it to Felix.
His face changed.
"That's him."
"Who?"
"The man Mother said was my uncle."
"His name?"
"Daniel Kingsley."
Felix searched his phone.
"Daniel died seven years ago."
I shook my head.
"Everyone in this family seems to have died exactly when they became inconvenient."
Felix looked at me.
"You're right."
Suddenly, Adrian's voice came through the hospital intercom.
"Felix."
We both looked up.
A nurse's station monitor switched on.
Adrian appeared on screen.
"I don't have much time."
Felix stepped closer.
"Where are you?"
"Don't worry about me."
"What happened to Rachel?"
"She escaped."
My stomach dropped.
"How?"
"Someone opened her cell."
"Who?"
Adrian looked toward the camera.
"You have to leave the hospital."
"Why?"
"Because the hospital isn't secure."
He said it quietly.
"They know where Lily is."
I looked at my daughter.
"Who?"
Adrian hesitated.
"The person behind Protocol Seven."
The monitor flickered.
"Wait."
A shadow moved behind him.
Adrian turned.
"Someone's here."
The screen went black.
Then every monitor in the hallway changed.
A single message appeared.
YOU WANTED THE TRUTH.
Another line.
HERE IT IS.
A photograph loaded.
It showed Felix.
Holding Lily.
Except the photograph had been taken before Felix ever met her.
Seven years earlier.
My stomach dropped.
Someone had known he was her father before I told him.
Then the final line appeared.
FELIX WAS NEVER THE TARGET.
SARAH WAS.
The hospital lights went out.
Lily screamed.
Emergency alarms blared.
I ran to her room.
The bed was empty.
The nurse was unconscious on the floor.
The window was open.
And on the bed lay a note.
I opened it.
May you like
YOUR DAUGHTER WAS NEVER KIDNAPPED.
SHE WAS TAKEN HOME.
