Chapter 4 - Emily couldn't breathe.Her mother.
Alive.
Waiting.
The entire world she had built around one painful truth had shattered in less than a minute.
Raymond caught her shoulders.
“Emily.”
“Take me downstairs.”
“No.”
“She’s my mother.”
“It’s a trap.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
Emily pulled away.
“You lied to me.”
Raymond’s expression softened.
“I did.”
“For years.”
“Yes.”
“Then give me one honest answer.”
He nodded.
“Did my mother survive?”
Raymond looked at the dead screen.
“Yes.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Then she's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where has she been?”
“I don't know.”
“But Victoria does.”
“I don't know if that's really her.”
Emily stared at him.
“She has my mother's face.”
“People can use disguises.”
“That wasn't a disguise.”
The security chief interrupted.
“Mr. Black, we found where the signal came from.”
Raymond turned.
“The basement.”
“Correct.”
“How many guards?”
“Twelve.”
“Take twenty.”
Emily stepped forward.
“I'm coming.”
Raymond shook his head.
“No.”
“I’m not staying here.”
“Emily.”
“She knows me. If this is a trap, she designed it around me. Leaving me behind makes no sense.”
Raymond considered her words.
Finally, he nodded.
“Stay beside me.”
They descended through the service elevator.
The basement was almost completely dark.
Emergency lights blinked along the walls.
The hospital looked ancient down here.
Cold concrete.
Old pipes.
Locked storage rooms.
Raymond's security team spread out.
Emily held her breath.
Then they heard footsteps.
A woman appeared at the end of the corridor.
Gray coat.
Silver hair.
Thin face.
Emily stopped.
The woman looked at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the woman whispered:
“Emily?”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“Mom?”
The woman stepped forward.
Emily ran.
Raymond caught her before she reached the woman.
“Wait.”
The woman looked terrified.
“What are you doing?”
Emily stared at her.
The woman's eyes were exactly like Margaret's.
But something was wrong.
She seemed confused.
Frightened.
And suddenly, she collapsed.
Emily screamed.
“Mom!”
The guards rushed forward.
Dr. Shaw checked her pulse.
“She’s alive.”
They lifted her onto a stretcher.
Emily looked around.
“Where's Victoria?”
Nobody answered.
A basement door stood open.
Raymond walked toward it.
Inside was a small room.
There was a chair.
A camera.
And a table.
On the table sat a single envelope.
Emily picked it up.
Her name was written on the front.
She opened it.
Emily,
If you're reading this, they have finally found you.
Her hands shook.
Do not trust the woman you just saw.
Emily stared at the message.
Raymond looked over her shoulder.
The letter continued.
She is not your mother.
Emily dropped the paper.
“What?”
Raymond picked it up.
At the bottom was a signature.
Margaret Carter.
Emily stared.
“No.”
The letter contained another page.
The real Margaret is still alive.
But she is not in this hospital.
Then one final line:
She is standing beside the only person you were told never to trust.
Emily looked at Raymond.
He was pale.
“The only person…”
Raymond's eyes moved toward Dr. Shaw.
“No.”
Emily turned.
Dr. Shaw backed away.
“Doctor?”
He raised his hands.
“I don't know anything about this.”
Raymond's voice was cold.
“Then why did your access card open this room?”
Dr. Shaw froze.
Emily looked at the security camera.
A small red light was blinking.
Recording.
Then the basement lights suddenly came back on.
Every security monitor around them displayed the same image.
A photograph.
Emily as a newborn.
Held in the arms of a man.
Her father.
The photograph had been taken sixteen years ago.
Raymond stared.
Emily zoomed in.
The man holding her wasn't Daniel Hayes.
It wasn't Richard Hayes.
It wasn't anyone she recognized.
But Raymond did.
His expression changed completely.
“Who is he?” Emily asked.
Raymond whispered:
“Your father.”
“Who?”
Raymond slowly answered.
“Lucas Black.”
Emily's stomach dropped.
“That isn't possible.”
“Why?”
Raymond looked at her.
“Because Lucas Black died twenty years ago.”
The monitors went black.
Then a phone rang.
It wasn't Emily's.
It wasn't Raymond's.
It was Dr. Shaw's.
He slowly pulled it from his pocket.
May you like
The caller ID showed one name.
LUCAS.
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