CHAPTER 5 — THE MAN BEHIND THE WALL
The ballroom had become a graveyard of shattered glass, overturned chairs, and unanswered questions.
Victoria lay motionless on the marble floor.
The security guards surrounded her.
Eleanor stood frozen.
Daniel stared at his mother.
Emily stared at Eleanor.
Nobody seemed willing to speak.
Then the voice came again from upstairs.
"Emily!"
She knew it.
That voice.
The voice she had heard in the hallway.
The voice that had told her to run.
"That's him," Emily whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
"Who?"
"My father."
Eleanor suddenly grabbed her arm.
"No."
Emily pulled away.
"Let me go."
"You don't know who you're dealing with."
"You don't know who you're talking about!"
Eleanor's face twisted with fear.
"Emily, listen to me."
"My whole life has been a lie!"
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
Eleanor didn't answer.
Emily stepped closer.
"From my father?"
Silence.
"Was Thomas Carter really alive?"
Eleanor looked away.
Emily's voice broke.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You knew!"
"I didn't know where he was."
"But you knew he wasn't dead."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Daniel stared at her.
"Mother..."
Eleanor looked at him.
"I swear to you, I didn't know he was alive."
"Then why did Victoria tell Emily not to trust you?"
Eleanor's expression changed.
"I don't know."
Emily stepped backward.
She wanted to believe her.
But every answer seemed to open another locked door.
Then footsteps sounded upstairs.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was walking down the corridor.
Daniel immediately positioned himself in front of Emily.
The guests backed away.
The security guards raised their weapons.
Eleanor whispered:
"Don't shoot."
A shadow appeared at the top of the staircase.
A man stood there.
Older.
Tall.
His hair was streaked with gray.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
He wore a dark coat.
And in his hand was an old photograph.
Emily stared.
She couldn't breathe.
The man looked directly at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Rose."
Emily's knees weakened.
"Who are you?"
The man slowly walked down the stairs.
"I've been waiting thirty years to hear you ask me that."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Stay away from her."
The man looked at him.
Then stopped.
His expression changed.
He seemed to recognize Daniel immediately.
"My son."
Daniel froze.
"No."
Thomas Carter nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel's voice shook.
"You can't be."
"I am."
"You died."
"They told you I did."
Thomas looked toward Eleanor.
"They told all of you."
Eleanor stepped forward.
"Thomas."
His eyes hardened.
"Don't say my name."
Eleanor stopped.
"I thought you were dead."
"You wanted to."
"No."
"You accepted my death."
"I was told you were killed."
"You never searched."
"I did."
Thomas laughed bitterly.
"For how long?"
Eleanor didn't answer.
"Three months?"
His voice became louder.
"Six?"
"Years."
"Years?"
Thomas shook his head.
"You stopped searching after six months."
Eleanor's face crumpled.
"I was told you had died."
"And you believed them."
"I was grieving."
"You were living."
The words struck her.
Thomas turned toward Emily.
"But I never stopped looking for my children."
Emily stepped forward.
"You are really my father?"
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you come for me?"
His face collapsed.
"Because I couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because Richard had people watching you."
Emily shook her head.
"Richard was dead."
"His influence wasn't."
Daniel looked confused.
"What happened?"
Thomas stared at him.
"Your father wasn't the only man involved."
Daniel frowned.
"Who else?"
Thomas looked around the ballroom.
"Someone here helped him."
Everyone fell silent.
Thomas slowly raised the photograph.
"This was taken the night you disappeared."
He handed it to Emily.
The photograph showed a young Margaret holding a baby.
Beside her stood Thomas.
And behind them...
Eleanor.
Emily stared.
Her mother was smiling.
Thomas continued.
"That was the last time I saw your mother."
Emily looked up.
"What happened?"
"She was trying to escape with you."
"From Richard?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she die?"
Thomas's face became hollow.
"She didn't."
Emily's heart stopped.
"What?"
Thomas looked directly into her eyes.
"Your mother is alive."
The ballroom erupted.
Eleanor whispered:
"No."
Thomas nodded.
"Margaret is alive."
Emily began shaking.
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
"Her grave..."
"Wasn't hers."
Emily's knees nearly collapsed.
"My mother died in front of me."
Thomas shook his head.
"That woman wasn't Margaret."
Emily stared.
"What do you mean?"
"The woman who raised you was not your biological mother."
"But..."
Thomas stepped closer.
"Richard replaced her."
Emily felt sick.
"Replaced her with who?"
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
"Someone who looked enough like her to fool a child."
Eleanor's face turned white.
"Thomas..."
"You knew."
"I didn't."
"You knew something was wrong."
"I suspected."
"You always suspected."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"I was manipulated too."
Thomas looked away.
"Maybe."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Then where is Margaret?"
Thomas hesitated.
"She's alive."
"Where?"
"Somewhere Richard couldn't reach."
Daniel frowned.
"Richard has been dead for twenty-seven years."
Thomas's expression became grim.
"That's what you believe."
Silence.
Emily stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
Thomas lowered his voice.
"Richard Whitmore didn't die twenty-seven years ago."
Eleanor staggered backward.
"No."
Thomas nodded.
"The man buried under his name wasn't Richard."
Daniel's face went pale.
"Then who was buried?"
Thomas looked toward the ballroom doors.
"A man Richard hired."
Emily felt her stomach twist.
"Then where is Richard?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the security cameras mounted near the ceiling.
"He's watching us."
Everyone looked up.
The cameras were still operating.
A tiny red light blinked.
Thomas's expression changed.
"He's been watching you for years."
Daniel rushed toward the security office.
"Turn them off!"
The guards followed him.
Thomas grabbed Emily's arm.
"We have to leave."
Emily pulled away.
"No."
"Rose."
"I need answers."
"You'll get them."
"Now."
Thomas looked at her.
"Then come with me."
Eleanor stepped between them.
"No."
Emily looked at her.
"Why?"
Eleanor's voice trembled.
"Because if you go with him, you may never come back."
Thomas laughed bitterly.
"That's exactly what he wants you to believe."
Daniel returned.
His face was pale.
"The cameras aren't connected to the building."
Thomas's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"They're being accessed remotely."
"By whom?"
Daniel held up a tablet.
"I traced the signal."
Everyone gathered around.
A location appeared on the screen.
A mansion.
Twenty miles outside the city.
Daniel stared.
"This is..."
Eleanor's face went white.
"My old house."
Emily frowned.
"Old house?"
"The house where Rose disappeared."
Thomas's expression hardened.
"He's there."
"Who?" Emily asked.
Thomas looked at the screen.
"Richard."
Suddenly the tablet went black.
A message appeared.
WELCOME HOME, ROSE.
Emily's blood froze.
Another message appeared.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
Then:
COME ALONE.
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Thomas grabbed the tablet.
A final message appeared.
OR YOUR MOTHER DIES.
Emily's heart stopped.
She stared at Thomas.
"Which mother?"
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
Margaret.
Alive.
Older.
Terrified.
She was sitting in a dark room.
A man stood behind her.
His face was hidden.
But on his wrist was a distinctive silver watch.
Eleanor suddenly gasped.
She knew it.
"That's Richard's watch."
Thomas stared at the photograph.
"Impossible."
Emily looked at him.
"Whoever has her..."
Thomas whispered:
"...is wearing Richard's watch."
Then the photograph zoomed closer.
The man's hand moved.
For one second, his face became visible.
Eleanor screamed.
"No!"
Daniel turned.
"Who is it?"
Eleanor backed away.
Her entire body was shaking.
"It's..."
She couldn't finish.
Emily grabbed her shoulders.
"Who?"
Eleanor finally whispered:
"Your brother."
Emily frowned.
"My brother?"
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
Then at Emily.
"There was another child."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
Eleanor's voice broke.
"Another baby was born that night."
Emily stared.
"Another twin?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward the photograph.
"Your father's first child."
Thomas's face turned pale.
"That's impossible."
Eleanor whispered:
"He's been dead for thirty years."
The photograph suddenly disappeared.
A final message appeared.
MIDNIGHT. COME TO THE OLD HOUSE.
Then the screen went black.
Emily looked at the clock.
11:07 PM.
Less than one hour remained.
Daniel stepped toward her.
"You're not going."
Emily looked at him.
"My mother is alive."
"That's a trap."
"Probably."
Thomas moved beside her.
"And I'll go with you."
Eleanor shook her head.
"No."
Thomas looked at her.
"You don't get to decide anymore."
Eleanor stared at him.
Then she whispered:
"If you go there..."
Thomas waited.
"You won't find Richard."
"What will I find?"
Eleanor's eyes filled with terror.
"You'll find the reason he separated the twins."
Emily looked at her.
"What reason?"
Eleanor finally said the words.
"The Whitmore family wasn't afraid of losing its fortune."
She swallowed.
"They were afraid of what Daniel and I would inherit."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Eleanor looked at him.
"Your blood."
The clock continued ticking.
11:08.
Emily picked up her ruined wedding veil.
She wrapped it around the jade pendant.
Then looked toward the doors.
"Let's go."
Thomas nodded.
Daniel followed.
Eleanor remained behind for one second.
Then she whispered to herself:
"God help us."
Because she had just remembered something.
Something she had buried for thirty years.
The night Rose disappeared...
May you like
There hadn't been two babies in the nursery.
There had been three.
