Chapter 6: The Baby Eleanor Chose to Save
The penthouse had become a crime scene.
Police officers moved through the rooms, collecting evidence. Paramedics examined Eleanor's injured shoulder. Marcus stood near the entrance, speaking quietly with investigators.
But nobody was paying attention to any of that.
All I could hear was Eleanor's confession.
“I chose which baby I would save.””
Nathaniel stood in front of her.
“Mom, explain.””
Eleanor wiped her cheeks.
“Your father discovered that Grace had given birth to twins. He was furious. He had expected only one child.””
Nathaniel sat opposite her.
“Why?””
“Because he had already arranged for a powerful family to adopt you. He believed you would become their heir if anything happened to him.””
Grace shook her head.
“That isn't what you told me.””
“I know.””
Eleanor looked at her.
“I lied because I was trying to protect you.””
My mother stepped closer.
“Protect me from what?””
Eleanor took a shaky breath.
“Richard wanted Rose gone. He believed a daughter would weaken his control over the inheritance. He wanted Nathaniel raised under his supervision.””
Nathaniel's face tightened.
“So he planned to give me away?””
“Temporarily. Charles convinced him it would be safer to separate you from Grace until the adoption papers were finalized.””
I stared at her.
“And me?””
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
“Richard intended to send you to a private institution overseas. He had already arranged everything.””
Grace's voice rose.
“He wanted to take my daughter too?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you stop him?””
“I tried!””
Eleanor stood suddenly, despite the paramedic's warning.
“I begged him. I told him I would expose everything. I threatened to leave him.””
The room fell silent.
“Then what happened?”” Nathaniel asked.
Eleanor looked at Grace.
“On the night the babies were born, Richard arranged for Nathaniel to be removed from the hospital nursery. Charles was waiting outside with forged documents.””
Grace covered her mouth.
“I remember waking up and being told my son had been transferred.””
Eleanor nodded.
“I knew they were coming for Rose next.””
“So you took me?”” I whispered.
“No, sweetheart. I tried.””
She reached into her handbag.
From inside, she removed a tiny hospital bracelet.
It was yellowed with age.
My name was written on it.
ROSE CARTER.
“I hid this in my handbag that night,” she said.
“I planned to take Rose out through the staff entrance and bring her to Grace.””
My mother stared at her.
“But you never came.””
Eleanor's tears spilled over.
“Richard caught me before I reached the exit.””
Nathaniel leaned forward.
“What did he do?””
“He took Rose from my arms.””
I felt my knees weaken.
“He took me?””
Eleanor nodded.
“I fought him. I screamed. I begged him not to separate you from your mother. But he threatened to have Grace arrested for kidnapping both children.””
Grace closed her eyes.
“He told me Rose had died.””
“I know,” Eleanor whispered.
“And I was forced to confirm his story.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then I looked at the hospital bracelet.
“Why did you keep this?””
“Because I promised myself I would find you one day.””
I picked it up carefully.
The plastic was cracked.
But my name was still visible.
I pressed it against my chest.
Nathaniel stared at his mother.
“Did you know where Rose was?””
“Not at first. Richard placed her with a family under a false identity. When I eventually found out she was in foster care, he threatened to have her moved somewhere I would never find her.””
I swallowed.
“That's why nobody ever contacted me.””
Eleanor nodded.
“I sent money anonymously to the foster agency. I made sure you had clothes, school supplies, and medical care. But I couldn't approach you.””
I stared at her.
“You knew I existed?””
“Every single day.””
“Did you ever see me?””
She nodded slowly.
“Once.””
My heart stopped.
“When?””
“When you were seventeen. You were standing outside a public library in Queens. You were wearing a blue coat and carrying a backpack.””
I remembered that coat.
It had belonged to another foster child.
Eleanor smiled sadly.
“You were laughing with a girl your age. I wanted to run over and hug you. But Richard's security men were watching.””
I turned away.
All those years, I had wondered why nobody came.
And she had been there.
Watching.
Protecting me from a distance.
Nathaniel put an arm around my shoulders.
“Rose, you're not alone anymore.””
I looked at him.
My twin brother.
A man I had met only hours earlier.
Yet somehow, his presence felt strangely familiar.
Then Grace stepped forward.
“There is something else you both need to know.””
Nathaniel sighed.
“Mom, how many more secrets can there be?””
Grace didn't smile.
“Richard didn't separate the twins because of the inheritance alone.””
She looked at Eleanor.
“Tell them.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“Grace, please.””
“It's time.””
I looked between them.
“What?””
Grace reached into her handbag and removed a second envelope.
Unlike the first, this one was sealed with red wax.
She handed it to Nathaniel.
“Your father arranged a secret trust before the twins were born. It was supposed to belong equally to both children.””
Nathaniel opened the envelope.
Inside was a legal document bearing the signature of Richard Callaway.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
“What's wrong?”” I asked.
He looked up slowly.
“The Callaway fortune doesn't legally belong to me.””
“What?””
He turned the document toward me.
The trust listed two beneficiaries.
Nathaniel Callaway.
Rose Carter.
And beneath their names was a clause that neither of us understood.
Upon the discovery of the original birth records and the reunion of both beneficiaries, control of the entire family trust shall pass to the surviving twins jointly.
I stared at him.
“Does that mean...?””
Nathaniel nodded.
“We own everything together.””
Eleanor began crying again.
But Grace wasn't looking at the document.
She was looking at the clock.
“There's one problem.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“What problem?””
Grace pointed toward the signature at the bottom.
The trust required the approval of the original family executor before it could be activated.
And that executor was Charles Callaway.
Nathaniel looked toward the elevator.
“Charles is in police custody.””
Grace shook her head.
“No. You don't understand.””
She pulled another paper from the envelope.
It was a recent legal filing.
Charles had already transferred his executor authority to someone else.
Someone whose signature appeared at the bottom.
Victoria Callaway.
Nathaniel's face went completely blank.
“She can't be the executor. She's not even family.””
Grace looked at him.
“Your father made her one.””
“Why?””
Grace's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because Victoria isn't just the woman Charles hired to marry you.””
She placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Victoria as a child, standing beside Richard Callaway.
On the back was a handwritten note.
My daughter. My final insurance policy.
Nathaniel stared at the photograph.
Then he looked toward the police officers.
“Where is Victoria?””
Marcus immediately checked his radio.
His expression changed.
“Sir...””
“What?””
“Victoria was never arrested.””
Nathaniel stood.
“What do you mean?””
Marcus swallowed.
“The police searched the wedding venue, but she disappeared before they arrived.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Victoria's childhood face was smiling.
Then Marcus received a message.
He read it once.
His hands began shaking.
“Mr. Callaway, we've just received a video from an unknown number.””
Nathaniel took the phone.
The screen showed Victoria sitting in the driver's seat of a black SUV.
She was wearing her wedding dress.
Her lipstick was perfect.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Congratulations, Nathaniel. You've finally met your sister.””
The video continued.
She lifted a champagne glass.
“But there's something Rose doesn't know about her mother.””
Then Victoria leaned toward the camera and smiled.
“Ask Grace who really started the fire.””
The screen went black.
My mother slowly backed away.
For the first time since I had found her, she looked genuinely terrified.
“Rose,” she whispered.
I reached for her hand.
“What?””
She closed her eyes.
“Victoria is telling the truth.””
I stared at her.
“What did you do, Mom?””
Grace began to cry.
May you like
And then she said the one thing I never expected to hear.
“I was the one who struck the match.””
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