Chapter 10: The Third Baby Was Never Supposed to Exist
The darkness swallowed everything.
Someone screamed.
A gunshot exploded near the entrance.
“ROSE! GET DOWN!””
Nathaniel grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a stack of wooden crates.
Grace dropped beside us.
I could hear people running, boots striking concrete, and the metallic sound of weapons being cocked.
“Mom?”” I whispered.
“I'm here, sweetheart.””
“What's happening?””
“Victoria planned this.””
A flashlight swept across the warehouse.
Then a familiar voice spoke.
“Stop hiding. This is getting embarrassing.””
Victoria.
She had escaped her police escort, and apparently, several officers were working for her.
Nathaniel leaned toward me.
“When I say run, you run toward the loading dock.””
“What about you?””
“Don't worry about me.””
“I am not leaving you!””
He looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something beyond anger in his eyes.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
Then a flashlight illuminated our hiding place.
“There they are!””
Nathaniel pushed us toward the loading dock.
“GO!””
We ran.
Grace held my hand as we crossed the warehouse floor. Behind us, Marcus shouted instructions while struggling with two armed men.
We reached the loading dock.
But the exit was blocked.
A woman stood in front of the metal door.
She wore a navy police uniform and carried a shotgun.
“Going somewhere?””
Grace stopped.
I recognized the woman immediately.
She had been standing beside Detective Miller earlier.
Victoria's accomplice.
The woman smiled at my mother.
“Hello, Grace.””
Grace's face drained of color.
“Patricia.””
The woman laughed.
“It's been a long time.””
Nathaniel stepped forward.
“Move.””
Patricia raised the weapon.
“I'm afraid I can't do that.””
Grace moved in front of me.
“Please, Patricia. Don't hurt my children.””
Patricia looked amused.
“Your children? You mean the two you abandoned?””
Then she pointed the shotgun at Grace.
“You should have stayed dead.””
Before she could fire, Nathaniel grabbed a nearby metal trolley and shoved it toward her.
The trolley struck her knees.
She fell.
The shotgun clattered across the floor.
I rushed toward the door and pulled the emergency release.
It wouldn't move.
“It's locked!””
Grace looked around.
“There must be another exit.””
Nathaniel grabbed the weapon and pushed it away.
Then Marcus appeared, bleeding from his forehead.
“Mr. Callaway! This way!””
He led us through a narrow corridor toward a maintenance staircase.
We climbed two flights before emerging into a parking area.
An unmarked black SUV waited beside the wall.
Marcus opened the back door.
“Get in!””
Nathaniel helped Eleanor, who had been brought there by another security officer.
We drove away just as police sirens approached the warehouse.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Nathaniel turned toward Grace.
“Now tell us the truth. Was Victoria really your third child?””
Grace looked out the window.
“Yes.””
I stared at her.
“How?””
She took a shaky breath.
“During my pregnancy, the doctors discovered that I was carrying triplets. But Richard was never told the full truth.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because the third baby was born with a serious medical complication. The hospital transferred her to a specialist facility. Richard was told she had died.””
I looked at her.
“Did she?””
“No. She survived.””
Grace began crying.
“Richard arranged for Margaret to adopt her. He wanted to raise one child who would be completely loyal to him.””
Nathaniel's face hardened.
“So Victoria grew up believing Margaret was her mother?””
“Yes. Richard told her the truth when she was sixteen.””
“Why?””
“Because he wanted her to help him control the family.””
I looked at Grace.
“Did you know where she was?””
Grace nodded.
“I found out when Victoria was eleven. I tried to approach her, but Richard threatened to have you and Nathaniel taken away permanently.””
My throat tightened.
“So you knew I had a sister, and you never told me?””
“I didn't know she would become the woman she is today.””
Nathaniel leaned back.
“That's not an answer.””
Grace looked at him.
“Richard raised her to hate me. He told her I abandoned her. He showed her photographs of me with you and Rose, convincing her that I had chosen both of you over her.””
I looked down.
Three babies.
One mother.
Three lives destroyed by one man's obsession with control.
Nathaniel's phone vibrated.
Marcus checked the screen.
“It's the security department.””
He answered.
Then his expression changed.
“What?””
He listened for several seconds.
Finally, he handed the phone to Nathaniel.
“Mr. Callaway, you need to hear this.””
Nathaniel put it on speaker.
A male voice spoke.
“Sir, we've recovered the original hospital records from the warehouse.””
“Where?””
“Inside a locked safe. There's also a sealed envelope addressed to all three Callaway children.””
Nathaniel looked at me.
“All three?””
“Yes, sir. It appears to have been written by Richard before his death.””
Grace covered her mouth.
“Don't open it.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“Why?””
“Because your father never left anything without a reason.””
Nathaniel looked at the envelope visible in the photograph Marcus had sent.
Then he read the handwriting.
To my three children. When you finally stand together, you will discover that the greatest betrayal did not come from your father.
He looked up.
“Who did it come from?””
Grace closed her eyes.
Before she could answer, Marcus's phone rang again.
This time, it was an unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice spoke calmly.
“Tell Nathaniel that Charles sends his regards.””
Marcus went rigid.
Nathaniel grabbed the phone.
“Charles is in prison.””
The man laughed.
“Then you should ask the prison director why he released him twenty minutes ago.””
The call ended.
I stared at Nathaniel.
May you like
Our uncle was free.
And he knew exactly where we were.
