Chapter 7 - The Night Sophie Disappeared
The photograph slipped from my fingers.
I stared at the woman standing beside my father.
She was smiling.
Elena's hand was in hers.
And beneath the photograph were five words that made no sense.
She was never Elena's daughter.
I picked it up again.
"No."
Elena stood behind me.
"What is it?"
I turned the photograph toward her.
She froze.
Her face changed before she even read the words.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was inside my father's room."
She reached for it.
I pulled it back.
"Who is she?"
Elena stared at the woman.
"I don't know."
"That's you."
"No."
"You are holding her hand."
"I know."
"Then who is she?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't remember."
My mother stood near the doorway.
She looked at the photograph.
Then she whispered:
"Her name was Rebecca."
I turned.
"Who was Rebecca?"
My mother didn't answer.
"Mom."
She looked at Elena.
"Rebecca was your mother."
Elena went completely still.
I looked at my wife.
She seemed unable to breathe.
"My mother?"
My mother nodded.
Elena shook her head.
"No."
"You were told she died."
"When?"
"When you were four."
Elena's eyes filled with confusion.
"My father told me my parents died in a car accident."
My mother looked down.
"That wasn't true."
Daniel stepped into the room.
He looked at the photograph.
"Where did you find this?"
I handed it to him.
He studied the image.
His expression changed.
"Catherine."
My mother looked at him.
"Don't."
"You told me she was gone."
"She was."
"Rebecca was alive when this was taken."
My mother shook her head.
"She shouldn't have been."
I stared at them.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Your grandfather had another family secret."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course he did."
Daniel ignored the sarcasm.
"Rebecca discovered the trust."
"What did she discover?"
"That your grandfather had hidden assets outside the family."
"Why?"
"Because he knew Catherine would eventually try to take control."
My mother stepped forward.
"That's not what happened."
Daniel turned toward her.
"You erased Rebecca."
Elena's voice cracked.
"Why?"
My mother looked at her.
"Because your mother knew too much."
"Did you kill her?"
"No."
"Then where is she?"
My mother didn't answer.
Elena stepped closer.
"Where is my mother?"
"I don't know."
"You said she was gone."
"I thought she was."
"You thought?"
Elena's voice rose.
"You let me believe my mother died."
My mother looked at her.
"You were a child."
"And now?"
"I was trying to protect you."
Elena laughed through her tears.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
She turned toward me.
"I spent my entire life believing my parents were dead."
I looked at my mother.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
"Because Rebecca disappeared after she threatened to expose the family."
Daniel shook his head.
"She didn't disappear."
I looked at him.
"Then what happened?"
He stared at Elena.
"She ran."
"From whom?"
"Your grandfather."
Elena covered her mouth.
"My grandfather?"
Daniel nodded.
"He wanted Rebecca silenced."
My mother whispered:
"He wanted everyone silenced."
The room went quiet.
I looked at the photograph again.
There was something written on the bottom corner.
A tiny number.
I remembered seeing it before.
The same number appeared on the old documents.
"What's seventeen?"
Daniel looked at the photograph.
His expression hardened.
"Room seventeen."
"Where?"
"The old D'Angelo clinic."
I frowned.
"We don't own a clinic."
"We did."
"When?"
"Twenty years ago."
My mother suddenly looked frightened.
"Daniel, stop."
"Roman deserves to know."
I looked at him.
"What happened there?"
Daniel answered quietly.
"That was where Sophie was born."
I looked at Elena.
She shook her head.
"No."
"You told me she was born at St. Mary's."
"I was told that."
"By whom?"
Elena looked at my mother.
My mother closed her eyes.
"By Catherine."
I stepped backward.
Everything was connecting.
The secret trust.
Rebecca.
The clinic.
Sophie.
The night Elena disappeared.
I turned toward Elena.
"Tell me what you remember about Sophie's birth."
She swallowed.
"I remember the hospital."
"Which hospital?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I was sedated."
"Why?"
"They said there were complications."
I looked at my mother.
"Was there a complication?"
She didn't answer.
Elena stepped toward her.
"Tell me."
My mother whispered:
"There were two babies."
Silence.
I stared at her.
"What?"
Elena's face went white.
My mother looked at me.
"Two babies were born that night."
I couldn't speak.
Daniel closed his eyes.
I looked at Elena.
She was shaking.
"I had twins?"
My mother nodded.
"One survived."
Elena's hand went to her mouth.
"What happened to the other?"
My mother didn't answer.
"Mom."
She looked at me.
"The second baby was declared stillborn."
Elena stumbled backward.
"No."
"I'm sorry."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You said Sophie was my only child."
"I believed she was."
"You believed?"
My mother started crying.
"I was told the second baby didn't survive."
"Who told you?"
My mother looked toward the metal door.
"My father."
I felt cold.
"My grandfather."
She nodded.
Daniel stepped forward.
"He lied."
I turned.
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw the second baby."
Elena stared at him.
"You did?"
Daniel nodded.
"She was alive."
Elena broke down.
I caught her before she fell.
"Who was she?"
Daniel looked at us.
"I don't know."
My mother whispered:
"Rebecca took her."
Elena stopped crying.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she knew what your grandfather planned to do."
"What did he plan?"
My mother looked at me.
"He planned to use the children."
"For what?"
"The trust."
Daniel answered.
"Your grandfather wanted one child to inherit everything and the other to disappear."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because he needed a legal heir and a hidden safeguard."
Elena looked at Sophie.
"Which one is Sophie?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at my daughter.
She was sitting quietly on the edge of the bed.
Her eyes were fixed on the photograph.
I crouched beside her.
"Sweetheart."
She looked at me.
"Do you remember another little girl?"
She nodded.
My heart stopped.
"What little girl?"
Sophie pointed toward the photograph.
"The baby."
I looked at Elena.
"What baby?"
Sophie touched the woman's face in the photograph.
"Mommy said she had a sister."
Elena began crying again.
I stared at Sophie.
"You remember?"
Sophie nodded.
"She had a red blanket."
My hands went cold.
The red flannel.
The same fabric.
"Where is she?"
Sophie looked toward the ceiling.
"Grandma took her."
My mother covered her face.
"No."
I stood.
"Mom."
She shook her head.
"No, Roman."
"You took another child?"
"I didn't know."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
Daniel looked at my mother.
"You know exactly where she is."
She turned toward him.
"Don't."
"Tell him."
"No."
"Tell him."
My mother began trembling.
Then the lights in the room flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The security monitor on the desk suddenly turned on.
A video appeared.
Black and white.
Old footage.
A hospital corridor.
A clock showed 2:17 a.m.
I stepped closer.
The camera showed Elena being pushed in a wheelchair.
She looked unconscious.
A nurse carried a newborn baby.
Then another nurse appeared.
Carrying a second newborn.
I felt Elena grab my arm.
"That's me."
The footage continued.
My mother appeared in the corridor.
She took one baby.
The nurse handed her the child.
Then my grandfather entered the frame.
He said something to her.
The audio was too faint.
Daniel moved closer.
"Turn it up."
Marcus adjusted the controls.
The sound became clearer.
My grandfather's voice came through the speaker.
"Take the first one."
My mother answered:
"And the other?"
My grandfather replied:
"Rebecca knows what to do."
The screen went black.
Elena stared at it.
"Rebecca took my baby."
I couldn't answer.
Then the screen came back.
A second recording.
Three years earlier.
A dark road.
A car.
Elena driving.
Sophie asleep in the back seat.
A second vehicle following.
The camera angle changed.
Someone was filming from inside the pursuing car.
Elena suddenly looked into her rearview mirror.
She accelerated.
The pursuing vehicle followed.
Then another car appeared from the opposite direction.
Elena slammed on the brakes.
The video froze.
I stared at the screen.
"That's the night she disappeared."
Daniel nodded.
The footage continued.
A man opened Elena's car door.
He pulled her out.
Another person took Sophie.
I moved closer.
The image was blurry.
But the person carrying Sophie turned toward the camera.
I recognized the coat.
The watch.
The scar.
Daniel whispered:
"That's him."
The screen zoomed in.
The man carrying Sophie wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't my mother.
It wasn't my father's attorney.
It was someone I knew.
Someone I had trusted.
Someone who had stood beside me for three years while I searched for my wife and daughter.
My security director, Marcus Hale.
I turned slowly.
Marcus was no longer behind us.
His phone lay on the floor.
The basement door was open.
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And from the darkness beyond it came Sophie's frightened voice:
"Daddy... he's taking me again."
