Chapter 14 - The DaughterOliver could barely speak.
“Daniel took her?”
Evelyn nodded.
“But why?”
“To protect her.”
Robert shook his head.
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
Daniel returned suddenly, covered in blood.
Robert raised his weapon.
“You.”
Daniel stopped.
“What happened?”
Oliver stepped forward.
“You took Lily.”
Daniel’s face collapsed.
“Who told you?”
“My father.”
Daniel looked at Robert.
“Then you know.”
Robert whispered:
“She had a daughter.”
Daniel nodded.
“Lily was born seventeen months before Oliver.”
Oliver stared.
“That means…”
Daniel looked at him.
“You have a sister.”
The word struck harder than any gunshot.
Oliver sat down.
“My mother never told me.”
“She was trying to protect both of you.”
“Where is Lily?”
Daniel hesitated.
Oliver grabbed him.
“Where?”
Daniel finally answered.
“Alive.”
Robert closed his eyes.
“Where?”
“She was sent away under another name.”
“Which name?”
“Lily Hale.”
Silence.
Oliver stared.
“Hale?”
Daniel nodded.
“Clara gave her Robert’s family name in secret.”
Robert looked stunned.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted Lily to know who her father was.”
Oliver swallowed.
“Then why did she keep me?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because when you were born, the threats became worse.”
“What happened?”
“The people behind the operation discovered Lily existed.”
Oliver stared.
“And they wanted her too.”
Daniel nodded.
“Clara could only save one child by making the other disappear.”
Oliver shook his head.
“She sacrificed herself.”
“Yes.”
Robert’s eyes filled with tears.
Daniel continued:
“She asked me to hide Lily.”
Robert looked at him.
“You betrayed her.”
“I protected her.”
“You lied to me.”
“I had to.”
Oliver stood.
“Where is my sister?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out a photograph.
A young woman stood beside a hospital window.
Twenty-eight years old.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
And the unmistakable Hale jawline.
Oliver stared.
“She looks like Mom.”
Robert whispered:
“She has Clara's eyes.”
Daniel nodded.
“She has spent her entire life believing her father abandoned her.”
Robert covered his face.
Oliver turned away.
The pain was unbearable.
He had spent his life believing he was alone.
His mother had spent her life carrying secrets.
And somewhere across the country, a woman had lived believing she had no family.
Then Daniel said:
“There is something else.”
Oliver turned.
“Of course there is.”
Daniel handed him another document.
A birth certificate.
Father:
Robert Hale.
Mother:
Clara Morgan.
Child:
Lily Morgan Hale.
But the date was wrong.
Robert stared.
“That date…”
“It was changed,” Daniel said.
“Why?”
“Because the original birth record named someone else.”
Robert looked up.
“Who?”
Daniel’s face was grim.
“Marcus Sterling.”
Oliver’s blood ran cold.
“What?”
Daniel nodded.
“Marcus claimed Lily was his daughter.”
Robert stared.
“He forged the record?”
“Yes.”
Oliver suddenly understood.
Marcus did not want Lily for sentimental reasons.
He wanted control over both heirs.
“The trust.”
Daniel nodded.
“If Marcus controls Lily and Oliver, he can challenge the succession.”
Oliver looked at the photograph again.
“Where is she now?”
Daniel answered:
“In the city.”
“Where?”
“At Hale Memorial Hospital.”
Robert looked horrified.
“My hospital.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Marcus knows.”
At that exact moment, Oliver’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman’s voice whispered:
“Oliver?”
He froze.
“Yes?”
“My name is Lily.”
Oliver could not breathe.
“I think you’re my brother.”
Silence.
Then Lily whispered:
“Please help me.”
A crash sounded behind her.
She screamed.
“Someone found me.”
The call ended.
Oliver looked at Robert.
“Dad.”
May you like
Robert was already moving.
“We're going.”
