Chapter 10: The Last File
The basement went completely dark.
I could hear my own breathing.
Then Milo's hand found mine.
“Don't move,” he whispered.
A lock clicked somewhere above us.
My mother whispered, “Richard.””
Daniel answered from the darkness.
“No. He's not alone.””
A metallic sound followed.
Someone was opening the basement door.
I tightened my grip on the folder.
“What's in the last file?”” I whispered.
Milo's fingers tightened around mine.
“I don't know.””
“You just told me not to open it.””
“Because the cover has my name on it.””
A flashlight suddenly swept across the room.
Thomas stepped in front of us.
“Stay back.””
A voice came through the doorway.
“Thomas, you have five minutes.””
Richard.
My mother shouted, “Let us out!””
Richard laughed.
“You always were impatient, Eleanor.””
Daniel moved toward the door.
“Come in here and say that to my face.””
Richard's voice turned cold.
“You don't understand the situation.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“You don't.””
A gunshot hit the metal door.
My mother screamed.
Everyone ducked.
Milo pulled me behind a filing cabinet.
Thomas whispered, “There has to be another exit.””
“There is,” Dr. Shaw said.
She pointed toward the back wall.
“Behind the records.””
Thomas shoved aside two cabinets.
A narrow passage appeared.
My mother stared.
“You knew about this?””
Dr. Shaw nodded.
“I built it.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because nineteen years ago, I realized Richard wasn't protecting the family.””
She looked at me.
“He was protecting the trust.””
I opened the folder again.
The last file was a sealed envelope.
My name was written across it.
*Katherine Mercer.*
Underneath:
*OPEN ONLY AFTER HER NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY.*
Tomorrow.
I looked at the date.
11:57 p.m.
Three minutes.
Milo saw my expression.
“Kate.””
“I have to open it.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because I found that file once.””
“And?””
“I was too scared to read it.””
“Why?””
He swallowed.
“Because Richard told me what it contained.””
“What?””
Milo stared at the envelope.
“The truth about who actually ordered your kidnapping.””
I tore it open.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed my mother in a hospital bed.
She was holding newborn Milo.
Beside her stood a second baby.
Me.
But someone had written across the photograph:
*THE GIRL IS NOT YOURS.*
My mother stared at it.
“No.””
I pulled out the second page.
It was a DNA report.
My eyes moved down the page.
*Biological Mother: Eleanor Mercer — 99.98% probability.*
I exhaled.
“So I am your daughter.””
Mom nodded.
“Yes.””
I looked at the next line.
*Biological Father: Daniel Mercer — 99.99% probability.*
Daniel closed his eyes.
Then I reached the bottom.
There was another name.
*Genetic Sibling: Milo Mercer — identical twin.*
I looked at Milo.
He gave me a broken smile.
“We're twins.””
I nodded.
“We're twins.””
Then I saw the final page.
It wasn't a medical record.
It was a bank transfer.
A payment made nineteen years ago.
The recipient wasn't Richard.
It wasn't Thomas.
It wasn't the hospital.
It was a company.
*Hayes Family Foundation.*
My mother's face went pale.
She looked at Thomas.
“You knew.””
Thomas shook his head.
“I knew about the adoption.””
“No.””
She pointed at the document.
“You knew who paid.””
Thomas said nothing.
Daniel stared at him.
“You bastard.””
Thomas backed away.
“I didn't know where the money came from.””
“You signed the agreement.””
“I was trying to save Kate.””
My mother stepped toward him.
“You weren't saving her.””
Thomas looked at me.
“I was.””
“How?””
“Because the person who paid for you wasn't Richard.””
He pointed to the final line.
“Look at the authorization.””
I did.
The signature belonged to Eleanor.
My mother.
But she stared at it as though she'd never seen her own name before.
“I didn't sign that.””
Thomas whispered,
“I know.””
The basement door shook.
Richard shouted,
“Time's up.””
Then another voice came through the door.
A woman's voice.
“Richard, step aside.””
Everyone froze.
My mother whispered,
“No.””
I recognized the voice.
It belonged to the woman from the photograph.
Laura Bennett.
The nurse who supposedly disappeared.
The woman who had helped hide me.
The door opened.
She stepped into the light.
Alive.
And she looked directly at me.
“Kate,” she said.
“I've been waiting nineteen years to tell you who your real mother is.””
My mother staggered backward.
“Laura…”
Laura's eyes filled with tears.
“I'm sorry, Eleanor.””
May you like
Then she looked at me.
“She's not the only woman who gave birth that night.””
