Chapter 14 - THE LAST LIERyan was alive.

Barely.

The bullet had passed through his shoulder.

The police found my father in the basement.

Alive.

Terrified.

But alive.

Richard had escaped through an underground tunnel.

Vanessa disappeared.

Margaret was arrested before dawn.

Daniel surrendered.

For the first time in months, the machinery around me was collapsing.

But there was one thing I still didn't understand.

Why had Ryan changed?

At the hospital, I stood beside his bed.

He looked at me.

“Claire.”

“What?”

“I know you hate me.”

“I don't hate you.”

He smiled weakly.

“You should.”

“Why did you shoot him?”

“I didn't.”

I froze.

“What?”

“Richard shot me.”

“Why?”

“Because I refused to kill you.”

Silence.

“You were going to?”

He looked away.

“I was supposed to bring you to him.”

“And then?”

“I couldn't.”

I stared.

“After everything?”

He swallowed.

“When I saw Sophie and Ethan crying…”

His eyes filled.

“I realized I'd become my father.”

I said nothing.

Then he whispered:

“There's something you still don't know.”

“What?”

“The baby.”

I stiffened.

“What about her?”

“Richard wasn't trying to steal the baby for the inheritance.”

I frowned.

“Then why?”

“Because the baby is proof.”

“Proof of what?”

Ryan closed his eyes.

“Of a murder.”

My heart stopped.

“Whose murder?”

He looked at me.

“Your grandfather's.”

I felt cold.

“He wasn't killed because of the inheritance.”

“Then why?”

“Because he discovered the baby program.”

I stared.

“The clinic.”

Ryan nodded.

“Richard has been using fertility clinics for years.”

“What?”

“He switched embryos.”

“Why?”

“To create biological connections between families.”

My stomach turned.

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Leverage.”

Ryan looked at me.

“Once children were born with unexpected biological parents, Richard could manipulate custody, inheritance, and blackmail.”

I felt sick.

“Our baby…”

“Was supposed to connect your family to the Cole family.”

“Why?”

“Because Nathan was Richard's original target.”

Everything snapped into place.

Nathan wasn't just Vanessa's brother.

He had been a previous victim.

His DNA was used as part of a much larger operation.

I looked at Ryan.

“Where is Vanessa?”

“I don't know.”

“Where is Richard?”

He whispered:

“She's with him.”

My phone rang.

The police chief.

“We have a problem.”

“What?”

“We found Vanessa.”

“Where?”

“She went to your house.”

My blood froze.

“My house?”

“Yes.”

“She has the children.”

I couldn't breathe.

“Are they alive?”

A pause.

“They're alive.”

“Then what?”

“She left a message.”

“What message?”

The chief said:

“She wants the ring.”

I looked at Ryan.

He whispered:

“She knows you still have the evidence.”

I grabbed my coat.

“No.”

“Claire?”

“This ends tonight.”

I returned to the house.

The front door stood open.

The lights were off.

“Sophie?”

No answer.

“Ethan?”

Nothing.

Then I heard crying.

Upstairs.

I ran.

The nursery door was locked.

I slammed against it.

Again.

Again.

Then it opened.

Sophie was inside.

Alone.

Crying.

I grabbed her.

“Where's Ethan?”

She pointed toward the closet.

I opened it.

Ethan was hiding inside.

He jumped into my arms.

“Mommy!”

I held both children.

“Where's Vanessa?”

Sophie whispered:

“She went downstairs.”

My blood ran cold.

I ran.

Vanessa stood in the kitchen.

Holding a knife.

She looked at me.

“Hello, Claire.”

I froze.

“Where is Richard?”

She smiled.

“You still don't understand.”

She raised the knife.

“He doesn't want the ring.”

“What does he want?”

She smiled.

“He wants you.”

Then someone behind me whispered:

“Claire, duck.”

I dropped.

A gunshot cracked through the house.

Vanessa fell.

And standing in the doorway was my father.

Alive.

Holding a gun.

But the person he shot wasn't Vanessa.

The bullet struck the wall beside her.

Because he had aimed at someone behind her.

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Who had just stepped out of the shadows.