Chapter 7: The Daughter Who Died
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
Not the traffic.
Not the wind.
Not even my own breathing.
Only one sentence kept repeating inside my head.
It was you.
I stared at my mother.
“You thought I died?””
She nodded, tears running silently down her face.
“I was told you didn't make it.””
“But I'm standing here.””
“I know.””
“You've known that for nineteen years.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I didn't.””
I stepped away from her.
“You didn't know I was alive?””
She shook her head.
“I believed you were dead.””
Milo looked at me.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“I know,” Mom whispered.
Daniel's expression had changed.
He looked less angry now.
Almost guilty.
“Eleanor,” he said quietly, “tell her everything.””
Mom closed her eyes.
“I woke up after the delivery. They told me the girl had complications. They said she died before I could see her.””
“And you believed them?”” I asked.
“I was bleeding. I was drugged. Your grandfather was there. Richard told me the doctors had done everything they could.””
Richard stepped forward.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You told me my daughter was dead.””
“I told you what the hospital record said.””
Milo suddenly laughed.
“You expect us to believe that?””
Richard looked at him.
“I expect you to understand that things were different then.””
“No,” Milo said.
“People were different.””
He pulled out his phone.
“I found something else.””
He opened a photograph.
It showed a hospital document.
At the bottom was a signature.
My mother's.
But above it was a handwritten note.
*Infant transferred to private care. Female. Alive.*
My knees nearly gave out.
“Private care?””
Milo nodded.
“Someone took you.””
I looked at Mom.
“Who?””
She stared at the document.
“I don't know.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“I do.””
Everyone turned.
He pointed at Richard.
“Your grandfather arranged it.””
Richard's face hardened.
“You're lying.””
“You were terrified Eleanor would leave the family fortune behind.””
“Don't.””
“You needed her to stay.””
Richard's voice became cold.
“Daniel, you have no idea what you're saying.””
“I know exactly what I'm saying.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your grandfather told Eleanor that if she abandoned the family, both children would disappear.””
Mom shook her head.
“I remember.””
I stared at her.
“You knew he threatened you?””
“Yes.””
“And you still stayed?””
“I thought I could protect Milo.””
“But not me.””
She flinched.
“I thought you were dead.””
I looked down at the document.
A single thought burned through me.
“If I was alive, where was I?””
Nobody answered.
Then Milo spoke.
“Maybe that's why Daniel came back.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
“He's been looking for you.””
Daniel nodded.
“For years.””
“Why?””
He hesitated.
“Because I knew the hospital record was fake.””
Mom looked at him.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“You never told me.””
“You weren't exactly easy to find.””
She gave a bitter laugh.
“You could have tried harder.””
“I did.””
Richard interrupted.
“You're both forgetting something.””
He pointed at the flash drive in my hand.
“That drive belongs to me.””
I tightened my grip.
“No.””
“You don't understand what you're holding.””
“Then explain it.””
Richard's expression changed.
“It contains records that could destroy your family.””
I looked at Mom.
“What records?””
She shook her head.
“Don't open it here.””
“Why?””
“Because if Richard is telling the truth, someone may already be watching us.””
A phone buzzed.
Everyone froze.
It was Milo's.
He checked the screen.
His face went pale.
“What's wrong?”” I asked.
He handed me the phone.
There was a message from an unknown number.
**You found your sister. Good. Now bring her to the old St.
Mary's hospital before midnight. Come alone.**
I looked at Milo.
“What happens if we don't?””
Another message appeared.
*Then she learns what really happened to the baby who died.*
My blood ran cold.
I looked at my mother.
“Who sent this?””
She stared at the screen.
Then whispered,
“I know that number.””
“Whose is it?””
May you like
Mom's lips trembled.
“The doctor who signed your death certificate.””
