Chapter 12: The Bloodline Richard Buried
The room fell silent.
Anna slowly withdrew her wrist from the woman's grasp.
"What did you just say?""
Her mother lowered herself into a chair, suddenly looking much older.
"Richard told me you were his daughter because he wanted you to inherit his name. But the truth is more complicated.""
Anna shook her head.
"No. I remember him. I remember living in his house. I remember him telling me I had his eyes.""
"He told you what he needed you to believe.""
"Who was my father?""
The woman looked toward the window.
"Your biological father was Daniel Mercer.""
Detective Harris glanced at the folder.
"Related to Evelyn Mercer?""
The woman nodded.
"Evelyn was Daniel's younger sister. She worked for Richard, and she helped him hide the truth about your birth.""
I stepped closer.
"Why would Richard raise another man's daughter?""
"Because Daniel had discovered the financial scheme Richard was building. He threatened to expose him. Richard retaliated by framing Daniel for embezzlement and making sure he disappeared.""
Anna gripped the back of the chair.
"You're saying my father was murdered?""
"I don't know whether he was killed. I never saw him again.""
"Then why did Richard take me?""
The woman hesitated.
"Daniel had access to a trust established by your grandmother. It contained shares in several companies, properties, and records proving Richard had stolen millions. When Daniel disappeared, the trust was supposed to pass to his only child.""
Anna stared at her.
"Me.""
"Yes.""
Harris opened the folder and examined the documents.
"That would explain why Richard created the guardianship arrangement. If Anna was believed to be dead, he could control the trust through forged records.""
I thought about Lily's photographs, the falsified adoption papers, and the ledger hidden beneath the house.
My father hadn't merely kidnapped a child.
He had built an entire system around stolen identities.
"Where is the trust now?"" I asked.
The woman pointed toward the leather folder.
"Those papers are copies. The original documents were placed in a secure vault at the old clinic. Richard believes they're still there.""
Anna's expression hardened.
"Then that's where we'll find Lily.""
Harris stood.
"We'll proceed with the operation, but nobody moves without my signal. The clinic will be surrounded before Anna enters.""
He turned toward me.
"Mr. Bennett, you're staying with the officers.""
I opened my mouth to argue.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Your father has already moved the child. The clinic is a decoy.*
A second message followed.
*Ask Evelyn what happened to the driver.*
I looked up.
The elderly woman had gone pale.
"Who was the driver?"" I asked.
Evelyn stared at the phone.
"Richard's driver?""
"Yes.""
She slowly shook her head.
"He wasn't a driver. He was a witness.""
"What did he witness?""
Evelyn looked at Anna.
"The night your father disappeared, Daniel Mercer was in the car.""
Anna stood so quickly that the chair toppled backward.
"What night?""
"The night Richard told everyone your father had fled the country.""
Anna's voice trembled.
"You said you didn't know what happened to Daniel.""
"I didn't. But I knew who was with him.""
"Who?""
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Robert.""
I turned toward the door.
"My uncle?""
She nodded.
"Robert drove them both to the old estate. Daniel went inside. Robert waited in the car. When Richard came out, he was alone.""
"And Robert never told anyone?""
"He was threatened. Richard told him that if he spoke, he'd make sure Anna disappeared forever.""
Anna backed away from the table.
"So Robert knows what happened to my father.""
"Yes.""
Harris immediately called for an officer to bring Robert from the protected location where he'd been staying.
But before the officer could leave, a gunshot echoed outside.
We all froze.
A second shot followed.
Detective Harris drew his weapon.
"Everyone down!""
Officers rushed toward the windows while Harris pulled Anna behind the sofa. I grabbed Evelyn's arm and guided her toward the hallway.
Glass shattered.
A bullet struck the wall above the fireplace.
Then the lights went out.
In the darkness, someone crashed through the front door.
I heard footsteps.
A struggle.
A sharp cry.
When the emergency lights flickered on, Evelyn was gone.
So was the black leather folder.
Anna scrambled to her feet.
"Mother!""
Harris rushed outside, shouting for backup. I ran toward the porch, but a dark vehicle was already speeding away from the house.
Its rear window was open.
For one brief moment, I saw Evelyn's face.
She wasn't struggling.
She was looking directly at me.
And she was smiling.
I stopped dead.
Anna reached the doorway.
"Where is she?""
I couldn't answer.
Because I'd seen something in Evelyn's hand as the vehicle turned the corner.
A small black device.
The kind used to trigger a remote lock.
Then my phone rang.
A man's voice spoke before I could say hello.
"Mark, you really should stop trusting women who claim to be your relatives.""
Richard.
I gripped the phone.
"Where is Lily?""
"Somewhere you won't find her.""
"What do you want?""
"The original ledger. The trust documents. And my daughter.""
I looked at Anna.
"She's not your daughter.""
Richard laughed.
"Biology is such an inconvenient little detail, isn't it?""
"You don't own her.""
"No. But I own the truth about her.""
I heard a faint sound behind him.
A child crying.
Lily.
"Grandpa, please let me go home.""
My throat tightened.
"Lily!""
Richard's voice became cold.
"You have one hour. Bring Anna to the old estate. Come alone, or I'll reveal what happened to Daniel Mercer.""
The line went dead.
Anna stared at me.
"Did he say Daniel?""
I nodded.
She pressed a trembling hand against her mouth.
"My father.""
Then my phone vibrated again.
A final message appeared.
It contained a photograph of Robert, sitting in a chair with his hands tied behind his back.
Beneath it was a sentence.
*Ask him why he let Daniel die.*
I looked at Anna.
She looked back at me, her face drained of color.
And for the first time since we'd found her, she seemed afraid of the truth more than she was afraid of Richard.
Because somewhere between the lies, the forged records, and the stolen children, my family had become something none of us could recognize.
And the person who might finally explain everything was the one man who had survived Richard's first attempt to erase him.
May you like
My uncle Robert.
The man who had just been taken.
