Chapter 4 - Celeste Revealed She Knew About My Secret Daughter, and Rory Realized the Conspiracy Had Reached Far Beyond His MansionThe darkness lasted twelve seconds.
Twelve.
But that was enough.
When the emergency lights came on, Celeste was gone.
No guards saw her leave.
No door had opened.
No camera recorded her.
Rory stood beside me.
“Your daughter.”
I swallowed.
“How did she know?”
“That's what we'll find out.”
I wanted to call my sister.
Rory stopped me.
“Not from the mansion.”
“Why?”
“They're monitoring your phone.”
He was right.
The security chief found a transmitter attached to my charger.
I felt sick.
Someone had been listening to every call.
The security room contained dozens of compromised devices.
Phones.
Laptops.
Cameras.
Even the nursery monitors.
Celeste had been watching everything.
Then Rory found something worse.
A hidden folder containing photographs of my daughter.
For three months.
School.
Playground.
My sister's house.
I felt the room disappear around me.
“My daughter.”
Rory stared.
“I'll protect her.”
“She isn't your responsibility.”
“She is now.”
I looked at him.
For the first time, I believed him.
He ordered a team to retrieve her.
But before they arrived, the phone rang.
My sister.
She was crying.
“They took her.”
I nearly collapsed.
“What?”
“Two men.”
“Where are they?”
“I don't know.”
Rory took the phone.
“Listen to me.”
The line went silent.
Then a male voice.
“Rory Starks.”
He recognized it.
“Evan.”
The man laughed.
“You're finally paying attention.”
“Bring the children back.”
“Children?”
“My daughters.”
“And your maid's daughter.”
My blood froze.
“He has them all,” Rory whispered.
Evan demanded something.
The family archive.
If Rory handed it over, the children would be returned.
If not, they would disappear.
Rory refused.
Then the voice changed.
“I didn't take them.”
“Then who?”
“Celeste.”
Rory froze.
“You're protecting her.”
“No.”
“You worked with her.”
“I survived her.”
Evan gave us a location.
An abandoned school.
We went.
The school was empty.
But there were toys.
Three.
Lily's.
Rose's.
My daughter's.
I felt sick.
Evan had been telling the truth.
Celeste had them.
We found another clue.
A golden ribbon.
Rory recognized it.
His wife used to wear that color.
He knelt.
Then whispered:
“This isn't Celeste's style.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“She never wears gold.”
“So?”
“She wants everyone to think she is.”
Someone else had planted the clues.
Maybe Celeste wasn't the mastermind.
Maybe she was following someone.
The next room contained files.
My mother's name.
Rory's wife.
Evan.
Celeste.
And one final name.
Dr. Marcus Hale.
He was the dead accountant.
Except he wasn't dead.
The foundation director.
And the man who had been controlling the money.
The real mastermind.
He had manipulated Celeste.
He had created the fake records.
He had funded the torture.
He wanted Rory's empire.
But why target the twins?
Because Rory would do anything for them.
Why target my daughter?
Because he wanted leverage over me too.
He had planned beyond one family.
He wanted control of an entire network.
Then the lights in the building flickered.
A speaker crackled.
“Rory.”
Hale's voice.
“You have one hour.”
Rory looked at the wall.
“What do you want?”
“Your companies.”
“No.”
“Then your children die.”
Rory's eyes became cold.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You gave me a reason to stop caring about your rules.”
He turned to his men.
May you like
“Find him.”
The war had begun.
Related Stories
