Chapter 11: The Sister They Buried
Emily led us into the mansion.
She locked the doors and closed every curtain.
"How long have you lived here?"" I asked.
"Since I was twelve.""
"Who raised you?""
Emily hesitated.
"Margaret.""
I stared at her.
"The same woman who told everyone I was dead?""
Emily nodded.
"She said you died in the fire. She told me that if I ever asked questions, Vincent would take me away.""
Thomas looked devastated.
"Why didn't you contact me?""
Emily lowered her eyes.
"Because Margaret told me you were the one who caused the fire.""
Thomas stepped backward.
"What?""
"She showed me documents. She said you were dangerous and that you had tried to kill us.""
"Emily, I would never hurt you.""
"I know that now.""
She wiped her eyes.
"But I was a child. I believed her.""
I approached my sister.
"Why did she keep you here?""
Emily looked toward the staircase.
"Because she needed me.""
"For what?""
"To replace you.""
The room went silent.
Emily took us upstairs to a bedroom.
On the wall were photographs of a little girl wearing a yellow dress.
Me.
Beside them were photographs of Emily.
In several pictures, she wore my old clothes.
My old necklace.
Even my hairstyle.
I stared at the photographs.
"Why?""
Emily sat on the edge of the bed.
"After the fire, Margaret needed everyone to believe Isabella had died. But she also needed a living child to maintain the Whitmore family image.""
Adrian frowned.
"She used you as Isabella?""
Emily nodded.
"She told the servants, lawyers, and family friends that I was Isabella. She changed my school records. She even had my hair cut to match yours.""
I looked at the photographs.
"How long did that continue?""
"Until I was sixteen.""
"And then?""
Emily's eyes filled.
"Then I discovered the truth.""
She walked to an old wardrobe and removed a small wooden box.
Inside were newspaper clippings, medical records, and a tiny gold bracelet.
The bracelet had a name engraved on it.
ISABELLA.
I touched it.
"Where did you get this?""
"From the hospital.""
Emily handed me a document.
It was a birth record.
Two female infants.
One born at 2:13 a.m.
The other at 2:19 a.m.
Both listed under the name Margaret Whitmore.
Adrian examined the dates.
"Twins?""
Emily nodded.
"Margaret told everyone there was only one baby. But there were two.""
I stared at the document.
"Who was the other baby?""
Emily looked at me.
"You.""
My knees weakened.
"Then who was the girl in the coffin?""
Emily closed her eyes.
"Me.""
Thomas staggered backward.
"No.""
Emily began crying.
"Margaret told me I had been born with a heart condition. She said I might die young. When the fire happened, she used the confusion to bury another child under Isabella's name.""
I covered my mouth.
"She buried you?""
Emily shook her head.
"No. She buried a third child.""
Adrian went still.
"A third child?""
Emily opened the box and removed another photograph.
It showed Margaret holding three newborn babies.
I stared.
"How is that possible?""
Emily's voice dropped.
"Because there were triplets.""
Thomas sank into a chair.
"That's impossible.""
"That's what Margaret told you," Emily replied.
"But one of the babies was taken away immediately after birth.""
Adrian looked at the photograph.
"Where is the third child now?""
Emily swallowed.
"I don't know.""
She placed another document on the bed.
It was an adoption record.
The child's name had been changed.
But the original name was still visible beneath the correction.
ALEXANDER WHITMORE.
Marco stepped forward.
His face went pale.
"That's my name.""
Emily nodded.
"You're the third child.""
Marco stared at the paper.
"No.""
"Margaret gave you to Vincent after you were born. She told him the baby had died, then arranged for him to raise you as his own.""
Marco looked at Adrian.
"So we're brothers.""
Adrian slowly nodded.
"Apparently.""
Marco sat down.
For years, he had believed Vincent was his father.
Now he had learned that Vincent had raised him as a cover for a secret that involved the very family he had been ordered to destroy.
I looked at Emily.
"Why would Margaret do this?""
Emily hesitated.
"Because the Whitmore trust was supposed to be divided among the three children.""
Adrian picked up the adoption papers.
"Three heirs.""
"Exactly," Emily replied.
"But if the world believed there was only one surviving child, Margaret could control everything.""
Thomas stood.
"She murdered an innocent child to protect her inheritance?""
Emily nodded.
"She thought nobody would ever discover the truth.""
I looked at the photograph of the three babies.
Three sisters and brothers.
Three lives manipulated before we were old enough to speak.
Then Adrian noticed something.
The adoption document had a witness signature.
He turned it toward Marco.
"Look at this.""
Marco stared.
The signature belonged to a doctor.
Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
Thomas's younger brother.
"Uncle Samuel?"" I whispered.
Thomas nodded slowly.
"He delivered the babies.""
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Then he knew everything.""
Emily walked to the window.
"There's more.""
She pointed toward a small building behind the mansion.
"Margaret kept all the original records there. She told me never to enter.""
Adrian grabbed his coat.
"Where is the key?""
Emily pointed to a portrait above the fireplace.
"Behind that painting.""
Marco removed the painting.
A small brass key was taped to the back.
We crossed the courtyard together.
The building was locked.
Inside, we found shelves of medical files and old photographs.
Adrian opened a filing cabinet.
One folder was labeled:
WHITMORE TRIPLETS — CONFIDENTIAL.
I pulled it out.
Inside was a hospital photograph.
Three newborn babies.
And a handwritten note from Dr. Samuel.
All three children are healthy. The third infant has a distinctive crescent-shaped birthmark behind the left ear.
My hand flew to my neck.
The birthmark that had revealed my identity.
Adrian turned the page.
There was a second note.
The child designated Alexander will be transferred to Vincent Kane. The remaining two will be raised under Margaret's supervision.
Then he reached the final page.
It was dated ten years earlier.
The handwriting was different.
The message was short.
The child in the coffin was not Isabella. It was the real Margaret.
Thomas frowned.
"What?""
Emily began trembling.
Adrian read the next line.
The woman currently using the name Margaret Whitmore is not Margaret Whitmore.
I felt my blood turn cold.
"Then who is she?""
Before anyone could answer, a loud explosion shook the building.
The lights went out.
Someone had locked the doors from outside.
And through the darkness, a woman's voice spoke over the security system.
"Hello, children.""
It was the woman from the video.
The woman who claimed to be my mother.
"Did you enjoy learning about your family?""
May you like
Then she laughed.
"Because now it's time you learned which one of you should never have been born.""
