Chapter 13 - The Daughter in the Dark
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
The woman looked about twenty-five.
Same dark eyes.
Same nose.
Same crescent-shaped scar above the eyebrow.
The only difference was her hair.
Longer.
Darker.
My entire body went cold.
“Who are you?”
She lowered the gun.
“My name is Anna.”
Grandpa closed his eyes.
“I should have told you years ago.”
“Who is she?”
Anna looked at me.
“I'm your sister.”
I stared.
“No.”
Grandpa nodded.
“Sarah had twins.”
The world tilted.
“Twins?”
“Elias knew about Hannah,” Grandpa said.
“He didn't know about Anna.”
Anna stepped closer.
“Mom gave me to Henry when we were babies.”
“Why?”
“Because they were looking for both of us.”
I looked between them.
“Why?”
Anna pointed to the vault.
“Because one of us inherited the land.”
“The land?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“The mineral rights.”
I finally understood.
The Walker family had been hiding the ownership structure.
One legal heir controlled half.
The other controlled the remainder.
Redwood couldn't obtain the full rights without both.
They had spent twenty-seven years searching for Anna.
“What happened to you?”
“I grew up in a house across the state.”
“Did Mom know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she never find me?”
“She did.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
The same week Grandpa vanished.
I stared at her.
“What happened?”
“Mom and Henry planned to bring us together.”
“And then?”
“Elias found them.”
Anna pointed toward the tunnel.
“They took Henry.”
“And Mom?”
“She escaped.”
I looked at the hard drive.
“Where is she now?”
Anna smiled sadly.
“Watching the road.”
My heart jumped.
“She knows I'm here?”
“She brought you here.”
“What?”
Anna nodded.
“The three knocks.”
My grandfather looked at me.
“Sarah created the signal.”
“Why didn't she just call me?”
“Because every phone was monitored.”
Mason looked at the ceiling.
“The pumps.”
We heard them.
A deep mechanical rumble.
The countdown continued.
Anna lifted her gun.
“There's another way.”
She pointed at the tunnel.
“The old drainage passage leads directly beneath the farmhouse.”
Grandpa nodded.
“Go.”
“You're coming with me.”
He shook his head.
“Someone has to shut the secondary valve.”
“Grandpa…”
“Hannah.”
He touched my face.
“For twenty-four years, I called you my granddaughter so you could live.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I'm not ready to lose you again.”
He smiled.
“You already found me.”
The three of us ran.
The drainage passage was narrow.
Water poured through the cracks.
Behind us, explosions echoed.
Redwood was breaching the vault.
We reached the farmhouse.
The kitchen floor was burning.
Mason kicked through the flames.
Under the floor was an old metal wheel.
Anna turned it.
Nothing.
“It's jammed.”
I helped.
Together we pulled.
The wheel moved.
The pumps stopped.
Silence.
For one second, we thought we'd won.
Then a voice came through the doorway.
“Beautiful family reunion.”
Elias stood there.
Robert was behind him.
Alive.
And he was holding a gun.
I looked at Robert.
“Whose side are you on?”
He looked at me.
Then at Elias.
His hand began shaking.
Elias smiled.
“Robert.”
Robert raised his weapon.
I closed my eyes.
A gunshot exploded.
I felt something hit the floor beside me.
When I opened my eyes, Elias was on his knees.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Robert had shot him.
Then Robert dropped his weapon.
“I was on my family's side.”
Elias laughed.
“You idiot.”
Then the farmhouse exploded.
May you like
The ceiling collapsed.
And Grandpa disappeared beneath the fire.
