Chapter 12: The Daughter Raised by the Enemy
Nobody slept that night.
Walter sat at the kitchen table with the three birth certificates arranged in front of him.
Danny.
Michael.
Emily.
And now Rebecca.
Four children.
One marriage.
Twenty-four years of lies.
He looked at the photographs scattered across the table.
He had spent most of his life believing he had one son.
Now he was discovering that his family had been divided into pieces and handed to strangers.
Emily poured him coffee.
“Do you want some sugar?””
Walter looked up.
“Two spoons, please.””
She smiled faintly.
“Mom said you liked it that way.””
Walter stopped.
“Your adoptive mother knew me?””
Emily nodded.
“She met you once. Years ago.””
Walter stared.
“Where?””
“At a hospital fundraiser in Cleveland. She recognized your name from Eleanor's papers.””
Walter slowly shook his head.
“She never told me.””
“She was afraid.””
He looked at his daughter.
“Everyone was afraid.””
Emily sat beside him.
“Not everyone.””
Walter looked at her.
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
“I'm not afraid of you.””
For the first time since the discoveries began, Walter smiled.
Then Danny entered the room.
“We found Rebecca.””
Caleb had spent the night researching the address in Emily's notebook.
The house belonged to Richard Miller.
He lived there with his wife, Linda, and their adopted daughter.
Rebecca Miller.
The records showed that Rebecca was now twenty-five.
She worked as a paralegal in Columbus.
She had attended college, graduated with honors, and recently become engaged.
Walter studied her photograph.
She had Eleanor's smile.
Danny pointed to another detail.
“Look at her left hand.””
Walter leaned closer.
A small scar ran across the base of her thumb.
“Could that be from an accident?””
Emily shook her head.
“Maybe.””
Danny looked at her.
“Why do you think she remembers?””
Emily opened the notebook.
“Because Eleanor wrote that Rebecca knew the truth.””
Walter stood.
“Then we go to Columbus.””
Rhett shook his head.
“Not until we know what we're walking into.””
Walter's face hardened.
“That's my daughter.””
“And Richard Miller is a dangerous man.””
Walter looked directly at him.
“I know.””
Rhett nodded.
“Then we'll do this carefully.””
They arrived in Columbus the following afternoon.
Rhett had arranged for two club members to wait nearby.
Caleb found Rebecca's workplace through public records.
She worked in a downtown law office.
Walter insisted on meeting her there.
“I don't want to frighten her at home,” he said.
Danny agreed.
They entered the building shortly before five.
A receptionist greeted them.
“Good afternoon.””
“We're here to see Rebecca Miller,” Danny said.
“Do you have an appointment?””
Walter stepped forward.
“Please tell her Walter Hayes is here.””
The receptionist looked confused.
“Who?””
“Walter Hayes.””
She picked up the phone.
A few moments later, a young woman appeared in the hallway.
She wore a navy suit and carried a folder.
Her hair was dark brown.
Her eyes were Eleanor's.
She looked at Walter.
Then Danny.
Then Emily.
Her face changed.
“Where did you get that name?””
Walter swallowed.
“I'm your father.””
Rebecca dropped the folder.
Papers scattered across the floor.
“No.””
Walter took a careful step forward.
“Rebecca…”
She backed away.
“Don't call me that.””
Danny moved between them.
“We're not here to hurt you.””
Rebecca stared at him.
“You're Danny?””
“Yes.””
She looked at his scarred hand.
Then she began shaking.
“Oh, God.””
Walter reached out.
“Sweetheart…”
Rebecca raised her hand.
“Stop.””
Her voice cracked.
“I know who you are.””
Walter froze.
Rebecca looked toward the receptionist.
“Please close the door.””
They sat in a small conference room.
Rebecca remained standing.
She looked at the documents Emily had brought.
Then she laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she had finally been given proof of something she had spent her entire life trying to understand.
“Richard told me I was abandoned,” she said.
Walter looked at her.
“He lied.””
“He said my biological mother was unstable. He said my father never wanted me.””
Walter's eyes filled.
“I never knew you existed.””
Rebecca looked away.
“That's what I was told.””
Danny leaned forward.
“Did you remember anything about your birth mother?””
Rebecca nodded.
“A woman came to see me when I was little. I was about three.””
Emily looked at her.
“Eleanor?””
Rebecca nodded.
“She sat beside my bed and sang to me. I remember her crying.””
Walter covered his mouth.
“What did she say?””
Rebecca looked at him.
“She told me I had a brother who loved motorcycles.””
Danny's face crumpled.
Rebecca continued.
“She said I had a father who loved breakfast and never forgot birthdays.””
Walter began crying.
“I never forgot yours.””
Rebecca's eyes filled.
“You didn't know my birthday.””
Walter looked at the documents.
Then he said:
“August 17.””
Rebecca went completely still.
“How do you know that?””
Walter pointed to the birth certificate.
“I know now.””
She looked down.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Rebecca sat beside him.
She didn't embrace him.
But she didn't move away, either.
It was enough.
Rebecca opened her briefcase and removed a small envelope.
“I kept something.””
She placed it on the table.
Inside was a photograph of Eleanor holding a newborn baby.
On the back was written:
My little Rebecca. If you ever find your father, tell him I tried.
Walter touched the photograph.
“Why did you keep this?””
“Because Richard told me it was fake.””
Danny looked at her.
“Did he know you had it?””
Rebecca nodded.
“He tried to take it away when I was sixteen. I hid it.””
Emily frowned.
“Why did you never contact us?””
Rebecca gave a bitter smile.
“I didn't know who you were.””
She looked at Walter.
“But I did know Richard was lying.””
Danny leaned forward.
“What do you mean?””
Rebecca opened her briefcase again.
She removed a folder filled with legal documents.
“I work with property records. Three years ago, I found a company registered under Richard's name. It owned several properties that had belonged to the Hayes family.””
Walter frowned.
“My family business?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Richard transferred them through shell companies. But there was one property he never managed to sell.””
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed an old brick building with a faded sign.
*HAYES MOTOR WORKS.*
Walter stared.
“That was my father's garage.””
Danny looked up.
“I thought Mom sold it.””
“She didn't,” Rebecca replied.
“Then who owns it?””
Rebecca turned the document around.
The property was registered to a trust.
Its beneficiary was listed as:
*DANIEL HAYES.*
Danny stared.
“My name?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Richard has been paying taxes on that property for twenty-four years. He never transferred it because the trust cannot be dissolved without the beneficiary's consent.””
Walter looked confused.
“Why would he keep it?””
Rebecca opened another page.
“Because there's something hidden inside.””
Danny leaned forward.
“What?””
Rebecca looked at Walter.
“Your grandfather left a safe beneath the original workshop floor.””
Walter slowly stood.
“I remember that safe.””
Danny looked at him.
“What was inside?””
Walter shook his head.
“My father told me it contained the original family trust documents. He said it was the one thing nobody could take away from us.””
Rebecca nodded.
“Richard has been trying to open it for years.””
Emily looked at her.
“Why?””
Rebecca turned to the final page.
It was a handwritten note from Eleanor.
The safe contains proof of everything. If Richard opens it, he will destroy us all.
Walter looked at his children.
For the first time, he understood why the lies had continued for so long.
The stolen money was only part of the story.
His father's property.
The family trust.
The hidden documents.
Everything led back to the old garage.
Then Rebecca's phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Her face turned white.
“It's Richard.””
Danny stood.
“Don't answer.””
Rebecca looked at Walter.
“I have to.””
She pressed the button.
“Hello?””
Richard's voice came through.
“Where are you?””
“At work.””
“Don't lie to me.””
Rebecca looked at the others.
Richard continued:
“I know you've been meeting people.””
Rebecca swallowed.
“Who?””
“Your biological family.””
Silence.
Then Richard spoke again.
“You have ten minutes to come home.””
Rebecca's voice trembled.
“Why?””
“Because your father has something to tell you.””
Walter frowned.
Rebecca slowly looked at him.
Richard continued.
“And if you don't come, I'll tell you what really happened to your mother.””
The call ended.
Rebecca lowered the phone.
Danny grabbed her hand.
“What does he mean?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Walter stepped forward.
“Then we find out together.””
But before anyone could move, another message appeared on Rebecca's screen.
It contained a photograph of an old woman standing outside a hospital.
Beneath it were seven words.
*YOUR MOTHER DIDN'T DIE IN THAT FIRE.*
Rebecca stared at the screen.
Then she whispered:
“That's impossible.””
Emily looked at her.
“Why?””
Rebecca lifted her eyes.
May you like
“Because I buried her three months ago.””
And suddenly, the entire family understood that someone had been lying about more than one death.
