Chapter 8: The Woman Waiting Outside
We reached Connecticut shortly after midnight.
I sat in the back of the SUV beside Emma, watching the highway lights streak across the windows.
My father had insisted on coming.
I had refused twice.
He had climbed into the vehicle anyway.
"Adrian, whether you believe me or not, Elizabeth is my daughter too.""
I kept my eyes on the road.
"Then you should have protected her thirty-one years ago.""
Richard lowered his head.
Emma sat quietly beside me.
She had barely spoken since we left the mansion.
I reached for her hand.
"Are you all right?""
She nodded.
But her fingers were cold.
"I keep thinking about what she must have experienced," Emma whispered.
"Growing up without knowing she had two siblings.""
"She'll know now.""
"What if she hates us?""
"Then we'll give her time.""
Richard looked toward us.
"Your mother used to say the three of you would be inseparable.""
Emma turned away.
"She never got to see that.""
Nobody spoke again.
When we arrived at Elizabeth's apartment building, two police officers were already outside.
A black sedan sat near the entrance.
I recognized the driver immediately.
The same man from the mansion.
He was standing beside the police cruiser, speaking calmly with an officer.
I opened the SUV door.
"That's him.""
The man turned.
His expression didn't change.
"Mr. Blackwood.""
I walked toward him.
"Where is Elizabeth?""
He glanced at the officers.
"She's safe.""
"Where?""
"Inside.""
One of the officers stepped between us.
"Sir, we need everyone to remain calm.""
I looked at the man.
"Who are you?""
He reached into his coat.
The officers immediately drew their weapons.
"Don't move!""
He slowly removed a leather identification wallet.
It contained an FBI badge.
"Special Agent Daniel Brooks," he said.
"I've been investigating the Blackwood case for six years.""
I stared at him.
"You're federal?""
"Yes.""
"Then why did you threaten my sister?""
His expression hardened.
"I didn't threaten her. I was trying to keep her alive.""
Emma stepped forward.
"By showing her photographs of her family?""
"By preventing Thomas Blackwood from reaching her first.""
Richard looked stunned.
"Thomas is being investigated?""
Agent Brooks nodded.
"Your brother has been using multiple identities. We believe he's responsible for several financial crimes and at least two attempted murders.""
My stomach tightened.
"Two?""
Brooks looked at my father.
"Your wife and your son.""
Richard staggered.
"You're saying Thomas killed my wife?""
"We believe he arranged it.""
I stepped closer.
"Then why hasn't he been arrested?""
"Because we don't have enough admissible evidence to connect him directly to either incident.""
I thought of Victor.
"What about Victor Hale?""
Brooks nodded.
"He's been under investigation as well.""
"He's still at our mansion.""
"We know.""
I stared at him.
"Then why are you standing here instead of arresting him?""
"Because Victor isn't the person we're trying to catch tonight.""
Before I could ask another question, a door opened behind us.
A woman stood in the entrance.
She was about my age, with shoulder-length dark hair and a small scar near her eyebrow.
She wore jeans and a gray sweater.
Her eyes moved from Richard to Emma.
Then they stopped on me.
"Adrian?""
I nodded.
She stepped outside.
"Emma?""
Emma covered her mouth.
For a long moment, neither woman moved.
Then Elizabeth approached slowly.
"Are you really my sister?""
Emma nodded.
"Yes.""
Elizabeth looked between us.
"I thought I was an only child.""
"So did we," I said.
She laughed through her tears.
"That's a terrible thing to discover at thirty-one.""
Emma embraced her.
Elizabeth held on tightly.
I watched them, feeling something inside me finally begin to heal.
Then Elizabeth stepped away.
"There's something you need to see.""
She led us upstairs to her apartment.
The living room was small, with bookshelves against the walls and photographs covering one side table.
She picked up a framed picture.
It showed an older couple standing beside a young girl.
"My adoptive parents," she explained.
"They raised me. They loved me.""
She swallowed.
"My mother died last year. Before she passed, she told me I was adopted.""
Richard approached.
"Did she tell you who your biological parents were?""
Elizabeth shook her head.
"She said the records had been sealed.""
She opened a drawer and removed a small wooden box.
"After she died, I found this.""
Inside was a folded letter.
The handwriting was unmistakably my mother's.
Elizabeth unfolded it.
My dearest Elizabeth,
If you're reading this, I have failed to return to you. I need you to know that you were never unwanted. I gave you away because I believed it was the only way to keep you alive.
Your brother Adrian will protect you. Your sister Emma will love you. And one day, all three of you will understand why I made this terrible choice.
Elizabeth began crying.
Then she turned the page.
There was another paragraph.
But never trust your father's brother. He knows the truth about the night I died.
Richard took the letter.
His face drained of color.
"Thomas knew she wrote this?""
Elizabeth nodded.
"He contacted me three weeks ago. He said he was my biological father.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"He told me my mother had an affair and that Richard Blackwood wasn't my real father.""
Richard gripped the letter.
"That's a lie.""
Elizabeth looked down.
"He also offered to give me a large inheritance if I agreed to meet him.""
Agent Brooks stepped forward.
"Did you accept?""
"No.""
"Good.""
Elizabeth walked to the kitchen and returned with a second envelope.
"He sent this yesterday.""
I opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of a birth certificate.
The name of the father had been left blank.
But someone had written a note across the top.
*YOUR BROTHER KNOWS WHY YOU WERE GIVEN AWAY. ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FOURTH BABY.*
I stared at the words.
"Fourth baby?""
Elizabeth looked at Emma.
"Is there something else you haven't told me?""
I shook my head.
Then Agent Brooks received a call.
He listened for several seconds.
His expression changed.
"Understood.""
He ended the call and turned toward us.
"Mr. Blackwood, we have a serious problem.""
"What now?""
"Victor Hale has disappeared.""
My phone vibrated.
A message from Victor appeared.
*THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THE FAMILY TOGETHER. NOW I KNOW WHERE ALL THREE OF YOU ARE.*
A second message followed.
It contained a photograph.
My father's study.
And on the desk sat an old family portrait.
May you like
Someone had drawn a red circle around a fourth figure standing behind my mother.
A little boy.
