Chapter 5 - The Daughter I Was Never Supposed To Know
The bathroom door opened.
Everyone turned.
Nobody breathed.
A woman stepped out slowly.
She was holding a small black bag.
Her eyes moved across the cabin.
Then stopped on me.
On Lily.
And finally on Victoria.
I didn't know her.
But everyone else did.
Emma covered her mouth.
Ethan immediately reached for something inside his jacket.
Victoria whispered one word.
"No."
The woman smiled.
A cold, familiar smile.
"Hello, Victoria."
Victoria stepped back.
"You were supposed to be gone."
The woman tilted her head.
"So were you."
I looked between them.
My mind couldn't process what I was seeing.
Another person.
Another secret.
Another piece of a life I thought I understood.
"Who is she?"
Nobody answered.
I raised my voice.
"Who is she?"
The woman looked directly at me.
Then at Lily.
"I think I should introduce myself."
She walked closer.
Ethan blocked her path.
"Don't."
She stopped.
"Still playing hero, Ethan?"
His jaw tightened.
"You don't get near them."
She smiled.
"Funny."
Her eyes moved toward me.
"You spent years protecting Daniel from the truth."
Then she looked at Lily.
"But you never protected him from her."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Stop talking in riddles."
The woman looked at me.
"Daniel Whitmore."
The way she said my name made my skin crawl.
"You deserve answers."
"Then give me answers."
She looked at Emma.
"She didn't tell you?"
I turned toward Emma.
Again.
Another secret.
Emma looked like she was about to break.
"I wanted to."
"No."
The woman interrupted.
"You wanted to protect yourself."
Emma's face changed.
Pain.
Guilt.
Fear.
All at once.
I held Lily tighter.
"Someone explain what is happening."
Victoria finally spoke.
"Her name is Clara Voss."
The name meant nothing.
But the reaction around me did.
Ethan looked angry.
Emma looked terrified.
Victoria looked like she was preparing for war.
"Who is Clara Voss?"
Victoria stared at the woman.
"The person who helped fake my death."
Silence.
I looked at Clara.
"You were involved?"
Clara didn't deny it.
"I was the only reason Victoria survived."
"Then why are you here?"
Her eyes moved to Lily.
"Because the truth about your daughter is finally coming out."
I felt my chest tighten.
I looked down at Lily.
She was still asleep.
Peaceful.
Unaware.
Everyone around her was fighting over secrets she never asked for.
"What truth?"
Clara reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small envelope.
Another envelope.
Just like the one Ethan gave me.
I laughed bitterly.
"Do all of you carry pieces of my life around?"
Nobody smiled.
Clara walked closer.
"This was written the day Lily was born."
Emma whispered:
"Clara, don't."
Clara ignored her.
"Daniel needs to know."
I looked at Emma.
"What is inside?"
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"The truth."
I opened my mouth.
But before I could speak, the plane shook violently.
The lights went out.
People screamed.
The cabin became dark.
Only emergency lights remained.
I immediately moved my body over Lily.
Protecting her.
A few seconds later, the lights returned.
But Clara was no longer standing where she had been.
She was gone.
My heart raced.
"Where did she go?"
Nobody answered.
Then I noticed something.
The envelope was gone too.
I looked at Ethan.
"You let her take it?"
His face was tense.
"No."
He looked toward the aisle.
"She didn't take it."
My eyes narrowed.
"Then who did?"
A sound came from my phone.
Another message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A video.
I pressed play.
The screen showed a hospital room.
Six months ago.
The day Lily was born.
I watched myself enter the room.
I watched Emma crying.
I watched Victoria standing near the window.
Then the camera moved.
A person stepped into view.
Someone holding a newborn baby.
Not Lily.
Another baby.
My breathing stopped.
Because the timestamp showed the same day.
The same hospital.
The same hour.
Two babies.
Two births.
Two secrets.
Then a voice appeared in the recording.
My father's voice.
Arthur Whitmore.
"If Daniel ever sees this..."
I froze.
My father continued.
"Tell him the girl he raises is not the only child born that night."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
The video ended.
The cabin was silent.
Everyone was watching me.
I slowly looked at Victoria.
Then Emma.
Then Adrian.
"My father knew."
Nobody answered.
I looked at Adrian.
"You knew too."
He looked away.
That was enough.
My entire childhood.
My entire family.
Everything I believed about my father.
It was all built on something hidden.
The plane began descending.
The captain announced they would make an emergency landing.
But nobody was listening anymore.
Because my world had already crashed.
I turned to Emma.
"Where is the other baby?"
Her lips trembled.
"Daniel..."
"Where?"
She closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"Your father took her."
The words hit me.
"Taken where?"
Emma looked at Adrian.
And Adrian finally spoke.
"Not taken."
He stepped closer.
"Hidden."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
His expression changed.
For the first time...
He looked afraid.
"Because she was the only person who could expose him."
I felt cold.
"Expose who?"
Adrian looked at Lily.
Then at me.
And whispered:
"The person who has been controlling everything since before you were born."
A warning alarm suddenly sounded.
The flight attendant rushed toward us.
Her face was pale.
She looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
"We have a problem."
"What problem?"
She swallowed.
"The pilot just received a message."
I waited.
She looked at Lily.
May you like
Then quietly said:
"The message was from someone who says they are holding your other daughter."
