Chapter 11 - The detectives opened fire.Victor disappeared behind the doorway.
Security alarms screamed through the hospital.
Patients fled into hallways.
Daniel grabbed Lily and ran.
I stayed beside Clara.
Rebecca froze.
Victor's voice echoed from somewhere nearby.
“You should have listened to your mother.”
Clara looked at me.
“That's not Victor.”
I stared.
“What?”
“That man.”
She swallowed.
“He's his son.”
My mind reeled.
“Victor has a son?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is Victor?”
Clara looked terrified.
“Dead.”
“What?”
“He died twelve years ago.”
The man outside had been using Victor's identity.
A successor.
A person who knew everything.
A person who had inherited the secrets.
The detectives chased him.
They caught him in the parking garage.
He surrendered without resistance.
His name was Daniel Hale.
Victor's son.
He smiled when they put him in cuffs.
“You don't understand.”
The detective asked:
“Understand what?”
Daniel Hale looked at me.
“Your mother didn't create this.”
“Then who did?”
He laughed.
“Maria.”
The world stopped.
“What?”
“She planned everything.”
Clara whispered:
“No.”
Daniel Hale continued.
“Maria knew Victor wanted the money.”
“She knew Helen wanted you.”
“So she made them fight.”
The detective frowned.
“You're saying Maria staged her disappearance?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect her daughters.”
I stared.
“But she died.”
“No.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You're lying.”
Daniel Hale smiled.
“She disappeared.”
“Where is she?”
He said nothing.
The detective tightened the cuffs.
“Where is Maria?”
Daniel Hale looked at me.
“You've been asking the wrong question.”
“What is the right one?”
“Which daughter is the real heir?”
Everyone froze.
Clara stepped forward.
“I am.”
Daniel laughed.
“No.”
Rebecca said:
“Then me.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Not you either.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
“The trust was changed.”
“When?”
“Six weeks ago.”
The same week Lily was born.
“Who changed it?”
Daniel smiled.
“You did.”
“I didn't.”
“You signed.”
The detective demanded proof.
Daniel gave him a document.
My signature.
A legal amendment.
It transferred control of the entire trust to Lily.
I stared.
“I never signed this.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Your mother did.”
“But this is my signature.”
“Forged.”
The detective looked at me.
“Who had access to your documents?”
I thought.
My mother.
My sister.
My father.
And one other person.
Daniel.
He had access through my office.
I looked at him.
“You forged it.”
He smiled.
“No.”
He pointed toward the hallway.
“Ask your father.”
Dad stood frozen.
The detective looked at him.
“Mr. Bennett?”
Dad's face collapsed.
“I…”
My heart pounded.
“What did you do?”
He whispered:
“I signed it.”
Silence.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was told you would be killed.”
I stared at him.
“By whom?”
Dad looked at Clara.
Then Rebecca.
Then me.
“Maria.”
The room went silent.
“She contacted me six weeks ago.”
“You spoke to Maria?”
“Yes.”
“She was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
He closed his eyes.
“I don't know.”
“You knew she was alive and you didn't tell me?”
“She said you weren't ready.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Not ready?”
“She told me Helen would try to kill you if she knew.”
“She nearly killed Lily!”
“I know.”
Dad broke down.
“I thought I could control it.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
The detective asked:
“What exactly did Maria want?”
Dad answered:
“To protect all three daughters.”
I looked at Clara.
“Three?”
Clara nodded.
“There is another.”
I stared.
“What?”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“Maria had four children.”
My heart stopped.
“Four?”
“One died.”
“Who?”
Clara whispered:
“Lily.”
I froze.
“My daughter?”
“No.”
Clara shook her head.
“Maria's first daughter was named Lily.”
The name hit me like lightning.
My baby's name.
The name I'd chosen because it had been my grandmother's favorite flower.
Or so I thought.
“I chose Lily because…”
Clara interrupted.
“You didn't choose it.”
My blood went cold.
“Helen did.”
I stared.
“She said it came from a family tradition.”
Clara nodded.
“It wasn't a tradition.”
“It was Maria's first daughter's name.”
The truth became darker.
Helen had named my baby after the daughter Maria lost.
Why?
Daniel Hale smiled.
“Because every generation repeats the same mistake.”
The lights flickered again.
A detective's radio crackled.
“Sir, we found someone outside.”
“Who?”
The radio went silent.
Then:
May you like
“It's an elderly woman.”
“She says her name is Maria Bennett.”
