Chapter 12: The Final Piece
Vanessa collapsed into the chair.
"No.""
She stared at the message.
"I didn't give him anything.""
Daniel looked furious.
"Then explain this.""
"I can't.""
"Exactly.""
I stepped between them.
"Enough.""
They both stopped.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Tell me the truth.""
She looked exhausted.
"I met Robert yesterday.""
My chest tightened.
"When?""
"After the department store.""
The same day everything exploded.
"Why?""
She covered her face.
"Because he threatened me.""
"What did he want?""
"The original hospital records.""
I stared.
"And you gave them to him?""
"No!""
Her voice cracked.
"I tried to get them back.""
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"You went behind our backs.""
"I was trying to fix what I broke.""
I looked at her.
"Where are the records now?""
She shook her head.
"With Robert.""
I closed my eyes.
Everything kept leading back to him.
But one question remained.
"Why are those records so important?""
Nobody answered.
Then Nia spoke.
"Because of me.""
Everyone looked at her.
She stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't scared.
She looked determined.
"Dad.""
I walked toward her.
"What is it?""
She held something in her hand.
An old photograph.
"I found this inside Mom's book.""
I took it.
It was a picture of Emily.
Holding baby Nia.
Standing beside another person.
Someone I had never seen.
But Nia had.
"Who is that?""
She looked at the picture.
"Mom said he was the person who saved my life.""
I stared.
"Who?""
Nia whispered:
"The doctor who delivered me.""
Daniel stepped closer.
Then froze.
"That's impossible.""
I looked at him.
"You know him?""
His face lost color.
"Yes.""
"Who is he?""
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Then said the name.
"Robert.""
The room went silent.
The man who had manipulated Vanessa.
The man who forged documents.
The man who threatened Emily.
Was the same man who had been there the day my daughter was born.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Robert.
No words.
Just a picture.
A hospital bracelet.
Nia's name.
And underneath it:
*You have spent twelve years raising a child who was never supposed to survive.*
I felt my blood run cold.
Because suddenly, the question wasn't about money.
It wasn't about Vanessa.
It wasn't even about Emily.
May you like
It was about why Robert cared so much about my daughter.
And what secret had been buried with her birth.
