Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Raised the Secret
We found Mrs. Carter in the chapel.
She was kneeling alone.
When she saw Luca, she didn't look surprised.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Luca stopped.
"Take what?"
"For Elena's son to start asking the right questions."
His face hardened.
"You've known."
"Since before you were born."
I stepped closer.
"You knew my father?"
Mrs. Carter looked at me.
"I knew your family."
"Why did you hire me?"
"I didn't."
"Liar."
Her eyes filled.
"I was ordered to bring you into this house."
"By whom?"
"Elena."
I felt dizzy.
"My mother was dead."
"She left instructions."
"For what?"
"To protect you."
Luca looked at her.
"From whom?"
"From Richard."
His father's name hung in the air.
Mrs. Carter reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Elena holding a little girl.
Me.
I was six.
She was wearing the same red scarf I remembered from my childhood.
"My mother knew me."
"Yes."
"She watched me grow up."
"From a distance."
"Why?"
"Because Richard was looking for you."
Luca frowned.
"Why would he?"
"Because your father gave John Parker the ledger."
"Why does that involve Hannah?"
Mrs. Carter looked at me.
"John hid a copy inside something your daughter carried."
"My daughter?"
She smiled sadly.
"Your mother had a daughter."
I shook my head.
"I'm an only child."
"Not by blood."
Everything stopped.
"What?"
Mrs. Carter pulled out another document.
A birth record.
A second child.
A girl named Hannah Elizabeth Parker.
"That's me."
"No."
She pointed to another line.
Mother: Sarah Parker.
Father: John Parker.
Same names.
But another entry.
Stillborn.
I stared.
"Then who am I?"
Mrs. Carter whispered,
"Elena saved you."
Luca looked stunned.
"You're saying Hannah isn't John Parker's biological daughter?"
"She's related to him."
"How?"
Mrs. Carter looked toward me.
"Your mother had a sister."
I felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath me.
"My mother had a sister?"
"Maria."
"Where is she?"
"Dead."
"When?"
"Thirty years ago."
"Then who am I?"
Mrs. Carter took my hand.
"John's niece."
I stared at Luca.
"My father raised me."
"Yes."
"But why hide it?"
"Because your biological father was one of Arthur's men."
My breath caught.
"No."
"His name was Daniel Cross."
Luca's expression changed.
"I know that name."
"Everyone in your world does."
"He disappeared after betraying Arthur."
Mrs. Carter nodded.
"Because he fell in love with your mother."
I couldn't process it.
"My mother..."
"Sarah was pregnant."
"With me?"
"Yes."
John knew.
He adopted you and raised you as his own."
I closed my eyes.
My whole identity had been built on a lie.
But why?
"Because Arthur wanted you dead," Mrs. Carter said.
"Why?"
"Your biological father stole something."
"The ledger?"
"No."
"The emerald?"
Mrs. Carter shook her head.
"The name list."
"What name list?"
"The names of children Arthur had taken from enemy families."
My stomach turned.
"Children?"
"Arthur ran a trafficking network disguised as a charity organization."
Luca's face hardened.
"My father knew."
"Richard knew everything."
"And Elena?"
"She tried to stop him."
Mrs. Carter looked at me.
"Your biological father helped Elena."
"What happened to him?"
"Richard found him."
"Did he kill him?"
Mrs. Carter nodded.
"Then my mother?"
"She was killed years later."
"And my father?"
"The crash was staged."
I couldn't breathe.
Luca came closer.
"Who ordered it?"
"Richard."
"But he's dead."
"Yes."
"Then why are we still running?"
Mrs. Carter looked at him.
"Because Arthur inherited the evidence."
"Arthur was working with Richard."
"At first."
"What changed?"
"He wanted the organization for himself."
Luca looked stunned.
"Arthur didn't disappear because he lost."
"No."
"He disappeared because he won."
Daniel entered the chapel.
"We have a problem."
Luca turned.
"What?"
"The house has been breached."
"How?"
"Tunnel."
He looked at me.
"What tunnel?"
Mrs. Carter closed her eyes.
"The one your father used."
I followed Luca to the basement.
Behind the wine cellar was a hidden door.
Inside was a narrow passage under the city.
Someone had used it recently.
Footprints.
Fresh.
Luca crouched.
"Two people."
Daniel checked the ground.
"One is Arthur."
"The other?"
He looked at the print.
"Smaller."
I felt a chill.
"Vanessa."
We followed the tunnel.
It opened beneath an abandoned warehouse.
A black SUV waited outside.
Inside, we found Vanessa's purse.
But she was gone.
And on the driver's seat was a white envelope.
Luca opened it.
A photograph fell out.
It showed me at six years old.
Beside me stood a little boy.
I didn't recognize him.
May you like
On the back:
Your brother is still alive.
