Chapter 14: The Truth About Lily
I read the report again.
Then again.
The words still refused to make sense.
A genetic connection.
My DNA.
Lily.
A child I had raised.
A child I loved.
But a child I had always believed entered my life by chance.
“What are you saying?””
My father looked at me.
“I’m saying Victor knew something about you.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
He pointed to the report.
“Before you met Vanessa, before you knew about Lily, Victor had been studying your family.””
I felt sick.
“Why?””
My father hesitated.
“Because of your mother.””
Everyone looked at him.
“My mother?””
He nodded.
“She was a scientist.””
The room became still.
I had heard pieces of this before.
My mother had died when I was young.
I knew she worked in research.
But my father never talked about it.
“She discovered something Victor wanted.””
“What?””
“A genetic treatment.””
I frowned.
“And Lily?””
My father looked at the report.
“Lily was part of a study.””
Rachel stepped forward.
“No.””
Her voice shook.
“She was a baby.””
My father nodded.
“I know.””
Daniel looked furious.
“Are you saying Victor experimented on children?””
“No.””
My father looked at him.
“I’m saying he wanted access to research connected to genetics.””
I looked down at the report.
“So Lily was never about custody.””
“No.””
My father’s voice was heavy.
“She was about what she represented.””
I looked upstairs.
At my daughter.
The little girl who loved pancakes.
Who left toys everywhere.
Who thought feeding a stranger behind a wall was normal.
She wasn’t a project.
She wasn’t proof.
She was Lily.
And that was all she ever needed to be.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
My father looked broken.
“Because I was afraid.””
I stared at him.
“Everyone was afraid.””
Nobody spoke.
Because it was true.
Fear had controlled every decision.
Every lie.
Every betrayal.
Then Daniel spoke.
“There’s something else.””
I turned.
“What?””
He looked at Rachel.
She nodded slowly.
Daniel continued.
“Victor wasn’t acting alone.””
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?””
Rachel looked at Vanessa.
“He had someone inside.””
Vanessa went pale.
“No.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“You knew.””
She shook her head.
“I didn’t.””
Rachel held up a letter.
“This was found in Victor’s files.””
I took it.
The handwriting looked familiar.
I read the first line.
*Everything is going according to plan. Ethan trusts me completely.*
My blood froze.
The letter was signed.
But not by Victor.
By someone else.
Someone in the room.
I looked at the signature.
Then slowly raised my eyes.
Everyone followed my gaze.
Toward Vanessa.
“No.””
She stepped back.
“No, Ethan.””
The room exploded.
Rachel looked furious.
Daniel looked devastated.
My father looked like he already knew.
“Tell me this isn’t yours.””
Vanessa cried.
“It is.””
The admission was quiet.
But it destroyed everything.
I couldn’t breathe.
“How?””
She covered her face.
“I wrote it years ago.””
“Why?””
“Because Victor forced me.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was scared!””
Her voice broke.
“He had evidence. He threatened Lily.””
I looked at her.
“And you still lied.””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“I did.””
The honesty hurt.
But so did everything else.
“I was wrong.””
For the first time, she didn’t ask for forgiveness.
She didn’t defend herself.
She just accepted what she had done.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
I answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
Victor.
“Ethan.””
I said nothing.
“You know now.””
“What do you want?””
A pause.
“I want you to understand something.””
His voice became colder.
“Everyone around you betrayed you.””
I looked at Vanessa.
At my father.
At Daniel.
At Rachel.
The painful truth was that he wasn’t completely wrong.
But he didn’t know the one thing that mattered.
Lily.
Victor continued.
“Come alone.””
“No.””
“If you don’t, I release everything.””
I looked at the others.
“Everything about your family.””
My jaw tightened.
“You’re threatening a child.””
“No.””
His voice softened.
“I’m offering you a choice.””
“What choice?””
A pause.
Then:
“Come meet me.””
“Why?””
His answer chilled me.
“Because I need to show you the person who started all of this.””
The call ended.
A message arrived seconds later.
An address.
I looked at my father.
“What is there?””
His face changed.
“I don’t know.””
Daniel looked at the screen.
“I do.””
Everyone turned.
“What?””
Daniel whispered:
“That’s the old research facility.””
May you like
My heart sank.
“The place where Lily was born.””
