Chapter 11: The Daughter They Buried
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Victor had said.
The words seemed to hang in the vault like smoke.
She is your sister.
I looked at Lily.
Then at Victor.
Then back at Lily.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“You've spent your entire life believing that girl was your daughter.”
“She is my daughter.”
“You raised her.”
“Yes.”
“You love her.”
“Yes.”
“But she was never your child.”
I stepped toward him.
“Stop playing games.”
Victor didn't move.
“Ask Sarah.”
I turned.
Sarah was crying.
“Is he telling the truth?”
She closed her eyes.
“Daniel…”
“Is Lily my sister?”
Silence.
That silence destroyed me.
“Sarah.”
She finally nodded.
“Yes.”
Lily looked between us.
“What does that mean?”
I couldn't answer.
Sarah knelt beside her.
“It means…”
Her voice broke.
“Your father isn't your biological father.”
Lily stared at me.
“And you're my brother?”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
She shook her head.
“But you called me your daughter.”
“Because you are.”
Victor laughed.
“No, Daniel. That's exactly the lie we've been using.”
I turned toward him.
“You don't get to define what family means.”
His smile disappeared.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Victor walked toward the desk.
He picked up the red folder.
“Your mother, Mara, gave birth to two children.”
He placed the folder down.
“You.”
Then he pointed toward Lily.
“And her.”
I stared at him.
“Twins?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Twenty years apart.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Mara had you first.”
Victor's eyes darkened.
“Then she disappeared.”
“Where did she go?”
“She ran.”
“From you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she discovered what I was building.”
I looked at Sarah.
“And Lily?”
Victor continued.
“Mara returned years later.”
“She had Lily.”
“Why did she hide her?”
“Because she knew I would use the child.”
I looked at Lily.
“For what?”
Victor smiled.
“The same reason Alexander created Blackbird.”
“To control the organization?”
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“To destroy it.”
I frowned.
Victor's voice lowered.
“Blackbird wasn't created to protect my empire.”
“It was created to destroy every person who could expose it.”
He pointed toward the thousands of files.
“Your mother discovered the organization's entire network.”
“She stole the records.”
“She hid them.”
“And then she gave birth to Lily.”
I looked at Lily.
“So she put the evidence inside her.”
Victor nodded.
“Not all of it.”
“Then what?”
“The final piece.”
He pointed toward the master key.
“That.”
I looked at the small glass chip.
“What does it contain?”
Victor smiled.
“The names of everyone who funded Blackbird.”
Robert suddenly stepped forward.
“Government officials.”
Victor looked at him.
“Executives.”
“Judges.”
“Military officers.”
“Politicians.”
“And one very important name.”
Robert raised his gun.
“Don't.”
Victor laughed.
“You still think you can stop this?”
Robert's expression hardened.
“I've been trying for twenty years.”
Victor looked at Sarah.
“And you failed.”
Sarah stepped forward.
“No.”
Victor turned toward her.
“You couldn't save Mara.”
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
“You killed her.”
Victor shook his head.
“She killed herself.”
I felt rage explode inside me.
“You're lying.”
Victor looked at me.
“She walked into the river.”
“No.”
“She knew what would happen to her children.”
“You killed her.”
“I gave her a choice.”
“You killed her.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You sound exactly like her.”
I raised the gun.
Victor didn't flinch.
“Go ahead.”
Sarah grabbed my arm.
“Daniel, don't.”
Victor smiled again.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Try me.”
“Because you still need answers.”
I hated that he was right.
I lowered the gun slightly.
“Where is my mother?”
Victor stared at me.
“She died twenty years ago.”
“You said she killed herself.”
“She did.”
“Then why does Sarah say you killed her?”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Because Sarah was there.”
Sarah stepped forward.
“I watched you push her.”
Silence.
Victor looked at her.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Sarah froze.
I looked at her.
“What does he mean?”
Victor's smile returned.
“You really don't know?”
Sarah shook her head.
Victor pointed at her.
“Sarah wasn't the woman you married.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
Victor continued.
“The real Sarah died three years ago.”
I stared at the woman beside me.
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“She took Sarah's identity.”
I looked at her.
She was crying.
“Daniel…”
“Tell me he's lying.”
She couldn't.
My chest tightened.
“Who are you?”
She whispered:
“My name is Mara.”
Everything went silent.
I stared at her.
“Mara?”
She nodded.
“Your mother.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
“I tried to protect you.”
“You told me you were Sarah.”
“I had to.”
“You let me believe my wife was dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You raised Lily.”
“She was my daughter.”
“She is my sister.”
“Yes.”
My mind couldn't keep up.
Three years of grief.
Three years of memories.
Three years of believing I had lost my wife.
And now the woman standing in front of me was claiming to be my mother.
I looked at Lily.
She was crying.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Mara looked at her.
“Because if you remembered who you were, Victor would find you.”
Victor laughed.
“He found her anyway.”
Then the vault doors suddenly slammed shut.
Robert turned.
“What happened?”
Victor pressed a button on the wall.
Steel shutters dropped over every exit.
A red light began flashing.
Mara's face went white.
“Victor…”
He smiled.
“You've all been so focused on the past.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“You forgot the future.”
Lily suddenly screamed.
She grabbed her head.
“Daddy!”
I rushed toward her.
She collapsed.
Her eyes rolled back.
The Blackbird symbol appeared on every monitor.
Then a voice filled the vault.
FINAL MEMORY SEQUENCE INITIATED.
Mara screamed:
“No!”
I held Lily.
“What is happening?”
“She remembered the final command.”
“What command?”
Mara stared at Victor.
“It's not a command to kill you.”
“Then what?”
Mara whispered:
“It tells her who to trust.”
I looked at Lily.
Her body suddenly went still.
Then she opened her eyes.
She looked directly at Victor.
And smiled.
Victor's expression changed.
“What did you remember?”
Lily stood slowly.
Then she walked toward him.
Victor raised his gun.
“Stay back.”
Lily stopped.
She tilted her head.
“You're scared.”
Victor's face hardened.
“Who told you that?”
“No one.”
She smiled.
“I remember you.”
Victor's hand began trembling.
“Impossible.”
Lily pointed toward him.
“You weren't the one who raised my mother.”
Victor froze.
“You weren't the one who built Blackbird.”
He took a step backward.
“And you weren't the one who killed my grandfather.”
Victor's face turned white.
Lily looked at me.
“Daddy…”
I stepped forward.
“Yes?”
She whispered:
“Alexander is alive.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He wasn't shot.”
Mara looked shocked.
“How do you know?”
Lily pointed toward the ceiling.
“Because he's coming.”
A massive explosion shook the vault.
The lights went out.
Then the ceiling above us cracked.
Concrete began falling.
And through the dust, a figure dropped into the vault.
Alexander Morgan.
Alive.
Holding a gun.
He pointed it directly at Victor.
“It's over.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked at Lily.
“You still don't know what she is.”
Alexander's face changed.
Victor whispered:
“Ask her what she remembers about the night she was born.”
Lily suddenly screamed.
Her hands flew to her head.
And then she began speaking in a language none of us understood.
Alexander lowered his weapon.
His face became terrified.
“Everyone get away from her.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He looked at Lily.
“Because that's not Lily speaking.”
Then Lily slowly lifted her head.
And when she spoke again, the voice belonged to a man.
May you like
A man who had been dead for twenty years.
“Hello, Daniel.”
