Chapter 7 - MY MOTHER'S WARNING“Don't trust your father.”
Those words destroyed everything I thought I knew.
My father stared at me.
“Bella.”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
I could see the pain in his eyes.
But pain wasn't proof of innocence.
My mother was alive.
And she had warned me against him.
Mercer stepped between us.
“We need to verify the voice.”
My father nodded.
“How?”
“Voice authentication.”
Five minutes later, the analysis returned.
Ninety-eight percent match.
It was my mother.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
“Where is she?”
My father looked at Mercer.
“No idea.”
Nathan's voice returned through the speakers.
“I'll make this easy.”
A photograph appeared on the monitor.
My mother.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
A clock behind her showed the current time.
Nathan continued.
“Victor has twenty-four hours.”
“For what?”
“For the Calder archive.”
My father remained silent.
Nathan laughed.
“He won't give it to you, Isabella.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because you're the one thing Victor stole from me.”
I frowned.
“My mother?”
“No.”
“You.”
The call ended.
My father walked toward me.
“I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Nathan isn't your biological uncle.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He isn't your mother's brother.”
“Then who is he?”
My father looked at the floor.
“He's your biological father.”
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
“No.”
“I was told your mother had been with Nathan before she met me.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You knew all these years?”
“I knew he was your biological father.”
My vision blurred.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Nathan wasn't humanely fit to raise a child.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“He was violent.”
I laughed bitterly.
“And you thought hiding my identity was better?”
“I thought keeping you alive was better.”
I stepped away.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“For twenty years.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Did my mother know?”
“She did.”
“Then why did she tell me not to trust you?”
My father had no answer.
Mercer interrupted.
“The archive.”
Everyone looked at him.
“We need to find it before Nathan does.”
I wiped my tears.
“Where is it?”
My father hesitated.
“In the original Whitmore estate.”
The abandoned estate.
The place we had just been standing in.
I returned downstairs.
A hidden room was behind a fireplace.
Inside was a safe.
My father entered a code.
The door opened.
Empty.
He froze.
“The archive was here.”
I looked around.
“Someone moved it.”
Mercer examined the room.
“There are tire marks.”
“From when?”
“Recently.”
My phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
A video.
I opened it.
Nathan stood in a warehouse.
Beside him was my mother.
Behind them was the archive.
He smiled.
“Victor lost.”
My father grabbed the phone.
Nathan continued.
“Tomorrow at midnight.”
“Where?”
“The Whitmore Tower.”
“What happens then?”
Nathan smiled.
“If Isabella comes alone, her mother lives.”
“And if she doesn't?”
Nathan looked at me.
“She dies.”
The video ended.
My father turned to me.
“You're not going.”
“I am.”
“No.”
“She dies if I don't.”
“I'll send the army.”
Nathan will kill her.”
My father slammed his fist against the table.
“Then I'll go.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“This is my fault.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“This is my life.”
He said nothing.
“I spent three years being treated like a helpless wife.”
My voice hardened.
“I'm done.”
Mercer looked at me.
“What are you planning?”
I picked up the memory card from my pocket.
“I'm going to meet Nathan.”
“And?”
I smiled.
“But I'm not going alone.”
Mercer understood.
He nodded.
Then my phone rang again.
This time, it was Kyle.
I answered.
His voice was urgent.
“Isabella, listen to me.”
“What?”
“Nathan isn't kidnapping your mother.”
“Then what is he doing?”
Silence.
Then Kyle whispered:
“He's moving her because someone else is coming.”
“Who?”
Kyle's breathing changed.
“He said her name.”
“Whose name?”
Kyle whispered three words.
May you like
“The Calder queen.”
The call ended.
