Chapter 7 - The Room Beneath The Blackwood Building
A woman stood at the doorway and whispered: "Sarah, you need to see what Rebecca left behind."
Ethan Blackwood stepped forward and saw the hospital bracelet in her hand.
It was the same bracelet Leo wore the night he was born.
But written inside it was a message: "Never let Ethan find his son."
Ethan realized the person who protected his family was also the person who destroyed it.
I couldn't move.
The woman standing at the door was not Rebecca.
Not Marcus.
Not someone from Ethan's past.
It was a woman I had never expected to see again.
The hospital nurse.
The woman who helped me when Leo was born.
The woman who held my hand when I cried alone in that hospital room.
The woman who told me everything would be okay.
Her name was Rebecca.
And now she was standing in front of us.
Alive.
Calm.
Holding the one thing that proved she had been part of the secret from the beginning.
Leo's hospital bracelet.
Ethan stared at her.
His face showed disbelief.
"You."
Rebecca looked at him.
Not afraid.
Not surprised.
Like she had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Ethan."
His voice became colder.
"Why do you have my son's bracelet?"
Rebecca looked at Leo.
Then at me.
"I think you already know."
I felt anger rise inside me.
"No."
My voice shook.
"You don't get to walk in here and act like you know anything."
Rebecca looked at me.
For a second, I saw something familiar in her expression.
The same kindness she showed me years ago.
But now I understood.
Maybe it was never kindness.
Maybe it was something else.
"You trusted me."
Her words made my chest tighten.
"Yes."
I stepped forward.
"And I was wrong."
The room became silent.
Ethan looked between us.
"You knew her?"
Rebecca looked at Ethan.
"She needed help."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"Answer the question."
I answered for her.
"She was my nurse when Leo was born."
Ethan froze.
The connection hit him immediately.
The bracelet.
The birth certificate.
Rebecca.
Everything.
He looked at her.
"You changed the records."
Rebecca didn't deny it.
That was the worst part.
No excuses.
No surprise.
Just silence.
Daniel moved closer.
"Why?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"You should know better than anyone."
Daniel's expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"You were part of it."
The room went completely still.
I looked at Daniel.
"No."
Daniel immediately shook his head.
"Sarah, listen—"
Rebecca interrupted.
"He wasn't the person who planned it."
She looked at Ethan.
"But he helped create the opportunity."
Ethan turned toward Daniel.
"Is that true?"
Daniel looked away.
That was enough.
Ethan's face changed.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
Sometimes disappointment hurt more.
"Everyone knew."
His voice was quiet.
"Everyone knew except me."
Victoria stepped closer.
"Ethan..."
"No."
He looked around the room.
"My father."
"My sister."
"Daniel."
"Rebecca."
He laughed quietly.
"And I thought Sarah was the one who betrayed me."
I looked at him.
Because that sentence hurt.
Even now.
Even after knowing the truth.
Ethan noticed my expression.
"I'm sorry."
Two words.
Simple.
But they carried two and a half years of pain.
I looked away.
Because I wasn't ready to forgive him yet.
Not completely.
Not after all the nights I spent alone.
Not after every birthday Leo had without knowing his father.
Rebecca walked toward the table.
She placed the bracelet down.
"You want the truth?"
Nobody answered.
But everyone listened.
She opened her bag.
She pulled out a folder.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Emails.
Everything.
"I didn't start this."
Ethan looked at her.
"Then who did?"
Rebecca looked toward the folder.
"Your father."
The room froze.
Ethan's expression changed.
"My father?"
Rebecca nodded.
"He discovered something about your family."
"What?"
She looked at Victoria.
"Your mother."
Victoria immediately shook her head.
"No."
Rebecca opened the folder.
She removed a photograph.
A hospital photograph.
A newborn baby.
A mother holding him.
Ethan looked at it.
Then slowly took the picture.
His hands began shaking.
Because the baby in the photograph had a small birthmark.
The same birthmark Ethan had.
The same birthmark Leo had.
"What is this?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"Your father had another child."
Silence.
Daniel whispered:
"The brother."
Rebecca nodded.
"The brother everyone believed died."
Ethan stared at the photograph.
"Where is he?"
Rebecca looked down.
"He never died."
The room went cold.
Another impossible truth.
Another person who was supposed to be gone.
Ethan looked exhausted.
"Then where is he?"
Rebecca hesitated.
And I noticed something.
For the first time...
She looked afraid.
"He's been closer than you think."
Nobody moved.
Ethan stepped forward.
"Who?"
Rebecca looked at the door.
Like she was afraid someone was listening.
Then she whispered:
"The person who has been protecting you from the truth."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Rebecca looked directly at Ethan.
"It means your entire life has been controlled by someone who loves you."
That sentence confused everyone.
Because how could someone who loved Ethan destroy his life?
How could someone who cared about him take away his family?
Ethan stared at her.
"Who?"
Rebecca didn't answer.
Instead, she opened another document.
A bank transfer.
A name.
A signature.
Ethan took the paper.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then his face changed.
Because the person who had been paying Rebecca...
Was not his mother.
Was not his father.
Was not anyone we expected.
It was someone who had been standing beside him for years.
Someone Ethan trusted.
Someone who knew every detail of his life.
Someone who had watched him lose Sarah.
And someone who had smiled while it happened.
Ethan looked up slowly.
"No..."
Victoria looked at the document.
Then covered her mouth.
"That can't be true."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Who?"
Ethan didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because the name was impossible.
The person responsible was the last person he would ever suspect.
Rebecca looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
Ethan stared at the signature.
Then he whispered:
"She was there the entire time."
My heart started racing.
"Who?"
Ethan lifted his eyes.
And before he could say the name...
The lights in the room suddenly went out.
A phone vibrated on the table.
One new message.
From the person whose name was on the document.
May you like
The message contained only four words:
"Don't let him remember."
