Chapter 8 - The Child No One Knew AboutI thought I knew my daughter.
That was the first lie I had been telling myself.
Avery had always been private.
But private wasn't the same as secret.
I called her best friend, Rachel.
No answer.
Robert couldn't get out of the hospital.
Daniel Cross was still searching for Alan.
Margaret sat across from me.
“What happened three years ago?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I know about the child.”
My chest tightened.
“Tell me everything.”
She finally spoke.
“Avery became pregnant at twenty-four.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because Alan found out.”
I stared at her.
“He knew?”
“He used it.”
“How?”
“By threatening the child's safety.”
I stood.
“Where is the child?”
Margaret looked toward the window.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
She reached for her phone.
Before she could answer, the phone rang.
Rachel.
I answered.
“Rachel?”
Her voice was shaking.
“Mr. Hale, you have to listen.”
“Where is Avery?”
“I don't know.”
“You know about the child.”
Silence.
“Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Another pause.
“Your grandson is alive.”
I closed my eyes.
“Where?”
“He's with my mother.”
My stomach dropped.
“Your mother?”
“She protected him.”
“From Alan?”
“From everyone.”
I asked the question I was terrified to ask.
“Who is the father?”
Rachel started crying.
“I don't know.”
I looked at Margaret.
She looked horrified.
Then Rachel whispered:
“Alan says he is.”
The call ended.
I stood frozen.
No.
It couldn't be.
Alan marrying Avery wasn't just about the ranch.
He had been trying to control the heir.
Robert had been right.
The ranch wasn't the real prize.
The bloodline was.
A knock came at the door.
Daniel Cross entered.
“We found Alan's vehicle.”
“Where?”
“At an abandoned farm twenty miles away.”
“Is Avery there?”
“No.”
“What did you find?”
“A video camera.”
He placed it on the table.
The screen showed Avery sitting in a chair.
She was crying.
A man stood behind her.
Alan.
He spoke to her softly.
“You could have told your father.”
Avery shook her head.
“I tried.”
Alan looked into the camera.
“But he never listened.”
Avery stared directly into the lens.
Then she said something.
Not to Alan.
To me.
“Dad, the baby isn't mine.”
The video ended.
I felt the room go silent.
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
I didn't know.
Margaret stood suddenly.
“She was adopted.”
I turned.
“What?”
“Not officially.”
Margaret's face had gone white.
“The child was never born to Avery.”
“Then whose child is he?”
She looked at me.
“Eleanor.”
The room stopped moving.
“Eleanor's?”
Margaret nodded.
“She had the child after she survived the crash.”
My mind raced.
“Then why was Avery raising him?”
“Because Eleanor believed Alan would find him.”
“Why did she give him to Avery?”
“Because Avery was the only person Alan trusted.”
I stared.
“So Alan married Avery to get access to the child.”
“Yes.”
“And the ranch?”
Margaret swallowed.
“The child is the beneficiary.”
I felt a chill.
“If the child dies—”
“The trust passes to Alan.”
Daniel Cross suddenly looked toward the hallway.
Someone had entered the building.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Fast.
Daniel reached for his weapon.
Then a voice came from outside.
“Clifford!”
Alan.
Daniel opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Only a package.
Inside was a baby bracelet.
Engraved on the metal were two words.
JULIAN HALE.
My grandson's name.
And beneath it was a note.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
On the back was another sentence.
COME TO THE CEMETERY WHERE ELEANOR DIED.
Margaret stared at the note.
“I know what they're going to do.”
“What?”
She whispered:
“They're going to force Eleanor to confess.”
“To what?”
May you like
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“To a murder she didn't commit.”
