Chapter 5: The Daughter I Never Knew
"Laura?""
I grabbed the phone from the floor.
"Laura, where are you?""
There was a sound like someone closing a door.
Then her voice returned.
"Don't say my name too loudly.""
I looked at Rachel.
She had gone completely still.
"How did you get this number?""
"Your mother gave it to me.""
"Have you seen her?""
"Yes.""
"When?""
"Yesterday.""
My heart began pounding.
"Where?""
"Daniel, I can't explain everything over the phone. Your father has people who still work for him. I don't know who he can trust.""
I glanced toward the window.
The black sedan was still there.
"Tell me about the baby.""
Laura went silent.
Then she whispered, "I gave birth to a little girl.""
I closed my eyes.
"Was she mine?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I tried.""
Her voice broke.
"I called you. I wrote letters. I went to your apartment. But every time I tried to reach you, someone told me you didn't want to see me.""
"Who?""
"Your father.""
I gripped the phone.
"What did he tell you?""
"That you knew about the pregnancy and wanted nothing to do with the baby.""
I felt sick.
"He told me you had accepted a job in London. He said you were getting married to someone else.""
I stared at Rachel.
She covered her mouth.
"Laura, I never knew.""
"I know that now.""
"Where is our daughter?""
Laura didn't answer immediately.
Then she said, "Her name is Lily.""
The name seemed to echo through the kitchen.
"Lily.""
"She's twenty years old now.""
Twenty.
The baby in the photograph.
The little girl my father had erased from my life.
"Where is she?""
"That's complicated.""
"Laura, please.""
"I raised her for the first three years. Then something happened.""
"What happened?""
"Your father found us.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
Laura continued.
"He came to my apartment with Vivian. They told me they had documents proving I was mentally unstable. They threatened to take Lily away.""
"Did they?""
"They said your mother could help me. They promised that if I signed a temporary guardianship agreement, Lily would be safe.""
I could barely breathe.
"Did you sign?""
"I was twenty-three, Daniel. I had no money, no family support, and a man with connections threatening to destroy me.""
Her voice trembled.
"I signed.""
"And then?""
"They never gave her back.""
Rachel sat down heavily.
I closed my eyes.
My father hadn't simply hidden a child.
He had stolen one.
"Where is Lily now?""
"She was raised by someone else.""
"Who?""
Laura hesitated.
"Vivian.""
I felt a wave of nausea.
"Vivian raised my daughter?""
"She told everyone Lily was her niece. Later, she told people she was her daughter.""
I remembered family gatherings.
Vivian occasionally mentioned a young woman named Lily who lived abroad.
She had shown us photographs once.
A beautiful girl with dark hair and a small crescent-shaped birthmark near her wrist.
I remembered because Emma had pointed out that the girl looked like me.
Vivian had laughed.
"Funny how genetics work.""
I had never questioned it.
"Where is Lily now?"" I repeated.
"At the lake house.""
I looked at Rachel.
"She's there?""
"She came back three weeks ago. Vivian told her she needed to help settle some family business.""
"Does she know?""
"No.""
"Does she know I'm her father?""
Laura whispered, "I don't think so.""
I walked toward the window again.
The black sedan had disappeared.
"Laura, I need to see you.""
"Not yet.""
"Why?""
"Because your mother asked me to wait until you found the room.""
"What room?""
"Room 214.""
I looked at the silver key in my hand.
"What's inside?""
Laura's breathing became uneven.
"Everything your father has been hiding.""
Before I could ask another question, the call ended.
I immediately called back.
The number was unavailable.
Rachel stood up.
"We need to go.""
I nodded.
But before leaving, I looked at the old hospital bracelet.
The plastic band was small enough to fit around a newborn's wrist.
I slipped it into my jacket.
We drove toward the lake house just after noon.
The property had changed ownership several years earlier, but my father still maintained access through a private agreement with the new owner.
He had told us the house was being used for occasional business retreats.
I had never asked what kind of business.
When we arrived, the gate was open.
That frightened me more than a locked gate would have.
The gravel driveway curved through a line of pine trees.
The lake appeared beyond them, gray beneath the cloudy sky.
Rachel parked near the side entrance.
"Do you think Dad is here?""
"I don't know.""
We walked toward the porch.
The old wooden steps creaked beneath our feet.
I found the metal plate with the crescent moon.
It was still attached to the railing.
I took out the silver key.
It fit into a small hidden lock beneath the plate.
A click sounded.
A narrow panel opened.
Inside was a second key.
Rachel stared.
"Mom was right.""
I picked it up.
Unlike the first key, this one was made of brass.
The number 214 was engraved on its handle.
We entered the house.
It smelled of cedar, dust, and the faint sweetness of Vivian's perfume.
Rachel led the way upstairs.
The door to room 214 stood at the end of the hallway.
It was painted white.
A brass number hung above the handle.
I inserted the key.
The lock turned.
Inside, there was a single bed, a wooden wardrobe, and a small writing desk.
It looked like a bedroom that hadn't been used in years.
I opened the wardrobe.
Empty.
Rachel checked the desk.
Nothing.
Then I noticed the floor.
One section of the wooden boards looked newer than the rest.
I knelt and pressed my hand against it.
A hollow sound.
I searched for an edge and found a small metal ring.
With Rachel's help, I lifted the panel.
Beneath it was a black metal box.
The brass key opened it.
Inside were dozens of envelopes.
Hospital records.
Photographs.
Birth certificates.
And a thick folder bearing my father's signature.
I opened the first document.
It was a birth certificate.
The child's name was Lily Margaret Bennett.
Mother: Laura Bennett.
Father: Daniel Bennett.
The next document was a guardianship agreement.
The third was a medical record.
I read the date.
My hands began to shake.
It was dated twelve years earlier.
The same week my mother supposedly died.
The document described a woman admitted under a false identity.
Her physical description matched Margaret.
But the name on the admission form was different.
Vivian Robert's.
I stared at the signature.
Then I found the final document.
A handwritten statement.
My father's handwriting.
The original Margaret must remain legally deceased. Vivian will assume her identity within the family. Lily will remain under Vivian's care. Daniel must never learn about the child.
Rachel covered her mouth.
I turned the page.
At the bottom was another signature.
Vivian's.
Then I found a photograph.
It showed my mother sitting in a hospital room.
Her wrists were restrained.
A handwritten date was visible in the corner.
November 14.
The day she supposedly died.
I felt something inside me break.
Then a voice spoke from the doorway.
"You're not supposed to be here.""
We turned.
A young woman stood in the doorway.
She had dark hair, pale skin, and familiar eyes.
Her gaze moved from me to the photograph in my hand.
Then she looked at the birth certificate.
"Who are you?""
I couldn't answer.
She stepped forward.
"My name is Lily.""
She looked at the document again.
May you like
Then at me.
"Why does this say you're my father?""
