Chapter 6: Lorraine's Confession
Lorraine stood at the end of the hallway, soaked from head to toe.
Blood trickled from a cut above her eyebrow.
Her hands were trembling.
But the gun wasn't.
It was pointed steadily toward the staircase.
Andrew stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
“Mom?”
Lorraine's eyes snapped toward him.
“Don't call me that.”
Andrew froze.
I looked from one to the other.
“Lorraine, where did you come from?”
She ignored me.
“Where is File 17-B?”
I tightened my grip on the folder.
“Why?”
“Because if they get it, we're all dead.”
The words settled over the room like smoke.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Put the gun down.”
Lorraine swung it toward him.
“Stay where you are.”
Daniel stopped.
I raised both hands.
“Lorraine, nobody is going to hurt you.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That's what they told me.”
“Who?”
“The people who took me.”
Andrew moved closer.
“Who took you?”
Lorraine looked at him.
“Your father's lawyer.”
Andrew went completely still.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“The man at the cottage?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he take you?”
“Because I know the truth.”
“What truth?”
Lorraine's eyes filled with tears.
“The truth about your father.”
She looked at me.
“Not Michael.”
I frowned.
“My father was Michael Carter.”
“Yes.”
“Then who are you talking about?”
She whispered:
“Richard Vale.”
The name struck me immediately.
My father's business partner.
The man everyone believed had died two years before Michael.
The man whose name appeared in File 17-B.
Daniel looked confused.
“Who is Richard Vale?”
“My father's partner,” I said.
Lorraine shook her head.
“Not his partner.”
She lowered the gun slightly.
“His enemy.”
Andrew stepped forward.
“Mom, you're not making sense.”
Lorraine stared at him.
“You have no idea what your father did.”
Andrew's expression hardened.
“You told me my father abandoned us.”
“He did.”
“You told me he died.”
“He did.”
“Then why is he alive?”
Lorraine's face went pale.
“I don't know if he is.”
Silence.
I stepped forward.
“Then who is at the cottage?”
“The lawyer.”
“Why does he have File 17-B?”
“Because he created it.”
My heart skipped.
“What?”
Lorraine looked at me.
“Your father discovered that Richard was stealing from the company.”
I remembered the bank records.
The missing money.
The mysterious transfers.
“He was stealing?”
“For years.”
“From my father?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Millions.”
Daniel shook his head.
“And Michael found out?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Lorraine's voice dropped.
“He confronted Richard.”
“When?”
“Three days before your wedding.”
I stared at her.
“My wedding?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“They fought.”
“Physically?”
“No.”
Lorraine looked toward the floor.
“Richard threatened to destroy Michael's family.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did he threaten?”
“To expose me.”
I stared at her.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew too much.”
Andrew suddenly spoke.
“About me?”
Lorraine nodded.
“About you.”
She looked at him.
“About who your real father was.”
Andrew's face tightened.
I felt a strange pressure in my chest.
“You said my father was Andrew's biological father.”
“He was.”
“Then why did you say Richard?”
Lorraine shook her head.
“Because I lied.”
The room went silent.
I felt dizzy.
“Why?”
“Because your father asked me to.”
“Why would he ask you to lie about Andrew's father?”
“Because he wanted to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From Richard.”
I stared at her.
“Start from the beginning.”
Lorraine lowered the gun.
Finally.
Her shoulders sagged.
She looked like a woman who had been carrying a secret too heavy for one lifetime.
“Twenty-four years ago, I worked for Michael.”
“I know.”
“We had an affair.”
Andrew looked away.
“I became pregnant.”
She continued.
“Michael believed the child was his.”
“But he wasn't?”
Lorraine shook her head.
“No.”
My heart stopped.
“Then who was?”
She looked at Andrew.
“Richard.”
Andrew staggered backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Andrew's face crumpled.
“You told me Michael was my father.”
“I know.”
“You spent my entire life telling me that.”
“Because Michael believed it.”
“And you knew?”
“I found out after you were born.”
“How?”
“Blood tests.”
Andrew stared at her.
“You tested me?”
“Yes.”
“And Richard?”
“He was your biological father.”
I looked at Andrew.
The pieces began shifting.
My father's strange protectiveness.
The trust.
The investigation.
Richard's name.
File 17-B.
The lawyer.
The cottage.
Everything seemed connected.
I asked:
“Why did Michael put the house in my trust?”
Lorraine looked at me.
“Because Richard wanted it.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had hidden something beneath the property.”
My heart raced.
“What?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“Richard's crimes.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What kind of proof?”
“Financial records.”
“That's all?”
“No.”
Lorraine looked at me.
“Names.”
My stomach tightened.
“Whose names?”
“People who helped him.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Lawyers. Bankers. Politicians.”
I stared at her.
“And Andrew?”
Lorraine looked at her son.
“Andrew was supposed to help him.”
Andrew's face went pale.
“What?”
“Richard approached you years ago.”
“I've never met him.”
“Yes, you have.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Andrew shook his head.
“No.”
“He came to the lake cottage.”
“I've never seen him.”
“You did.”
“Then why don't I remember?”
“Because he introduced himself under another name.”
Andrew's breathing became uneven.
“What name?”
Lorraine whispered:
“Daniel Reeves.”
The room went silent.
Everyone turned toward Daniel.
He stood completely still.
My heart dropped.
Daniel looked at us.
Then slowly smiled.
Not the nervous smile I had seen before.
Not the polite stranger who had delivered photographs.
A different smile.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Andrew whispered:
“Who are you?”
Daniel reached into his jacket.
Lorraine raised her gun.
“Don't!”
Daniel stopped.
I looked at him.
“You're Richard.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
He sighed.
“I was hoping we could avoid this.”
Andrew stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
Daniel looked at him.
Then at me.
“My real name is Daniel Vale.”
Lorraine closed her eyes.
“Richard's son.”
Daniel nodded.
“And the person who hired me?”
I asked.
He looked directly at me.
“Your father.”
My heart stopped.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then how did he hire you?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“He didn't.”
Silence.
I felt the room tilt.
“You said he did.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to open the safe.”
I stepped backward.
The betrayal hit harder than I expected.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father hid something that belongs to my family.”
“Richard's family?”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“My father.”
Lorraine raised the gun.
“You're not getting it.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You don't have a choice.”
He reached into his coat again.
This time he pulled out a small remote.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
“A trigger.”
“For what?”
He smiled.
“The lake cottage.”
My blood ran cold.
Andrew lunged toward him.
Daniel pressed a button.
A loud explosion echoed from somewhere far away.
The windows shook.
The lights flickered.
Andrew stopped.
“What did you do?”
Daniel looked at his watch.
“Your mother was right about one thing.”
He looked at me.
“The lawyer isn't the biggest threat.”
I heard sirens in the distance.
Daniel stepped toward the front door.
I shouted:
“Where are you going?”
He stopped.
Then turned.
“I'm going to collect what your father buried.”
“What?”
He smiled.
“Your real inheritance.”
He disappeared into the rain.
I ran to the window.
His car sped away.
Then my phone buzzed.
A video had arrived.
I opened it.
The footage showed the lake cottage.
Smoke was rising from the roof.
But that wasn't what terrified me.
The camera slowly moved toward the basement.
And there, on the concrete floor, was a steel door.
Someone had spray-painted three words across it.
YOUR FATHER LIED.
Then the video zoomed closer.
A hand appeared from beneath the door.
It was holding a photograph.
The photograph showed my father.
And beside him stood a little girl.
Me.
But I was wearing a hospital bracelet.
The date was the day I was born.
I stared at the screen.
Something was wrong.
My father had always told me I was born in the family hospital.
But the bracelet showed a different hospital.
One I'd never heard of.
Then I saw the name printed beneath the date.
MERCY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.
My breathing stopped.
I had never been born there.
At least, that was what my birth certificate said.
I turned toward Lorraine.
“Why does this photograph say I was born somewhere else?”
She looked at it.
Her face collapsed.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
She whispered:
“You were never supposed to see that.”
I stepped closer.
“Tell me.”
Lorraine began crying.
“The girl in that photograph isn't you.”
I stared at her.
“Then who is she?”
She looked at Andrew.
Then back at me.
And whispered:
“She is your sister.”
My entire body went numb.
“I don't have a sister.”
Lorraine's voice broke.
“You did.”
May you like
She looked toward the burning lake cottage in the distance.
“And your father spent thirty-two years making sure you never found out why she disappeared.”
