Chapter 7 - THE MONEY
“Tell me.”
Daniel sat on the floor.
He looked exhausted.
“I don't have the money.”
“What money?”
“My father left an account.”
“What account?”
“Offshore.”
Rebecca went silent.
Daniel continued.
“I found it after he died.”
“How much?”
“Eight million dollars.”
My mouth fell open.
“What?”
“I didn't take it.”
“Then where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I never touched it.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if anyone knew I had access to it, they'd kill us.”
I stared at him.
“You knew all this and still let me believe your mother was just crazy?”
“She is crazy about this.”
“She stole my baby's DNA.”
“I know.”
“You lied about my identity.”
“I know.”
“You hid an eight-million-dollar account.”
“I know.”
I shook my head.
“I don't know you.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I love you.”
“That doesn't erase what you did.”
“No.”
He looked at Noah.
“I know.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“Where is the account?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Switzerland.”
Rebecca stared at him.
“Do you have access?”
“No.”
“Who does?”
“My father created a trust.”
“For whom?”
Daniel looked at me.
“For Emma Whitmore.”
Silence.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew what happened to your mother.”
Rebecca whispered,
“He left the money for you.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
My entire life had been built around a secret account belonging to a woman I had never known.
“Why would he do that?”
“Guilt.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Or leverage.”
We returned to the warehouse.
Daniel opened an old laptop.
He entered a password.
Nothing happened.
He tried another.
Access denied.
Then he entered a third.
The screen opened.
A folder appeared.
CLAIRE.
Inside were hundreds of files.
Photos.
Hospital records.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Everything.
Then a video file.
Daniel clicked it.
Claire appeared on screen.
Older than in the photographs.
Tired.
But alive.
My breath caught.
“Emma,” she said.
I covered my mouth.
“If you're seeing this, I failed to find you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Claire continued.
“I need you to understand something. I did not abandon you.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“They took you.”
I began crying.
“My little girl, if you're alive, I'm sorry.”
Daniel looked away.
Claire continued.
“Your father is not the only person responsible.”
A document appeared beside her.
Names.
One by one.
Hospital officials.
Police officials.
Adoption brokers.
And then one name that made my blood freeze.
Margaret Vale.
Claire said:
“She is still operating.”
The screen went black.
Then another video opened automatically.
Margaret.
Standing beside my mother.
And Daniel's mother.
My husband whispered,
“No.”
Margaret looked directly into the camera.
“Claire, if you ever see this, you know what happens when you betray family.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then the warehouse lights went out.
Rebecca grabbed my arm.
“Get down.”
A gunshot shattered the window.
We dropped to the floor.
Another shot.
Daniel covered Noah.
Rebecca crawled toward the back exit.
“Move!”
We ran.
A second bullet struck the wall.
I heard someone outside shouting:
“Take the girl alive!”
The girl.
Me.
Not my baby.
Not Daniel.
Me.
We reached the rear door.
Rebecca opened it.
A black car waited outside.
The driver was already holding the door open.
“Get in!”
We jumped inside.
The car sped away.
I looked back.
Three men stood outside the warehouse.
One of them removed his mask.
Even from a distance, I recognized him.
The delivery driver.
The investigator.
He raised his phone.
It rang.
My phone rang at the exact same moment.
Unknown number.
I answered.
His voice came through.
“You should have stayed home, Emma.”
May you like
Then he said something that made my blood freeze.
“Your mother is waiting for you.”
