Chapter 8 - The Third Child
“You never told me about a third child.”
Victor's voice was barely above a whisper.
The underground room remained dark.
Poppy clung to his chest.
Hannah stood motionless beside the table.
Elena didn't answer.
Then a small emergency light flickered on near the far wall.
Its weak red glow revealed the room in fragments.
Victor saw Hannah.
He saw Elena.
He saw the old crib.
And he saw the third empty chair.
A child's chair.
Small.
Painted white.
Victor slowly turned toward Elena.
“Who was the third child?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know if the baby survived.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
“I know.”
“Who?”
She looked at Poppy.
Then at the empty chair.
“Her name was Lily.”
Victor froze.
Poppy lifted her head.
“Lily?”
Elena nodded.
“She was your sister.”
Poppy stared at her.
Victor's heart hammered.
“Poppy didn't know.”
“No.”
“Then why does she know the name?”
Elena looked terrified.
“Because children remember things adults think they've forgotten.”
A metallic sound came from somewhere above them.
Victor immediately moved Poppy behind him.
Hannah stepped closer.
“Victor.”
“What?”
“The man who brought us here…”
Victor looked at her.
“Who was he?”
Hannah shook her head.
“I never saw his face.”
“You were in the car with him.”
“He wore a mask.”
“What did he say?”
“He said one thing.”
“What?”
“He said you would come.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“What else?”
“He said you would bring Elena.”
Victor looked at Elena.
“Why?”
Elena whispered,
“Because he wanted me to remember.”
“Remember what?”
“The night Lily disappeared.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“When was Lily born?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Two days after Poppy and Daniel.”
Victor stared.
“Three babies?”
“Yes.”
“Twins don't become triplets.”
“They weren't triplets.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Then explain.”
Elena took a shaky breath.
“Poppy and Daniel were mine.”
“And Lily?”
Elena looked toward the empty chair.
“Lily was born to another woman.”
Victor frowned.
“Who?”
Elena didn't answer.
Hannah did.
“Me.”
Victor turned.
Hannah was crying.
“I was pregnant when I came to work here.”
Victor stared at her.
“You were seventeen.”
“Yes.”
“And Lily was your daughter.”
“Yes.”
Victor looked at Poppy.
Then back at Hannah.
“What happened to her?”
Hannah wiped her face.
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“When?”
“The night Elena disappeared.”
Elena looked at Hannah.
“I thought Lily was dead.”
Hannah shook her head.
“So did I.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Then why did someone tell me she existed?”
Hannah looked toward the ceiling.
“Because she's alive.”
Victor felt a chill.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
Poppy buried her face against Victor.
A speaker crackled somewhere in the wall.
A man's voice filled the room.
“Good.”
Victor looked around.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Show yourself.”
“No.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Coward.”
The voice laughed.
“You always sounded like your father when you were angry.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You took my daughter.”
“No.”
“You took Hannah.”
“No.”
“You took Leo.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Victor's breathing changed.
“Where is he?”
“Closer than you think.”
“Where?”
“Ask Elena.”
Victor turned.
“Elena?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The voice laughed.
“She always says that.”
Victor looked toward the speaker.
“What do you want?”
“The same thing your father wanted.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“What did he want?”
“The heir.”
“Which one?”
“The right one.”
Victor glanced at Poppy.
“Poppy is my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“She is the heir.”
“No.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Then who?”
Silence.
The voice answered,
“Neither.”
Victor stared.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your father lied to you.”
Victor looked at Elena.
“What did my father lie about?”
Elena's voice broke.
“Everything.”
Victor turned toward her.
“Then start talking.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
She sat down beside the old crib.
“When your father discovered I was pregnant, he ordered tests.”
Victor frowned.
“Tests?”
“Blood tests.”
“For what?”
“Compatibility.”
Victor stared.
“With what?”
“The family trust.”
He shook his head.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you understand your father.”
Elena looked at him.
“He believed the Castellano empire could only pass to someone with a particular genetic marker.”
Victor said nothing.
“He had doctors testing everyone in the family.”
“And?”
“Leo had it.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“And Poppy?”
“No.”
Hannah stepped forward.
“Neither did Lily.”
Victor looked at her.
“Then why were they involved?”
Elena answered.
“Because someone changed the results.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Elena looked at Gregory's photograph lying on the table.
“Gregory.”
Hannah shook her head.
“No.”
Elena looked at her.
“He was working with Victor's father.”
Hannah's face changed.
“That isn't true.”
“It is.”
“He saved Lily.”
“He helped take her.”
Hannah stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
Elena's voice became sharp.
“I watched him carry her out.”
Hannah froze.
Victor looked between them.
“Where?”
Elena swallowed.
“Through the east corridor.”
“When?”
“The night of the fire.”
Victor stared.
“You were alive that night.”
“Yes.”
“And you saw Gregory take Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop him?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was holding Poppy.”
Victor stared.
“You chose one child.”
“I thought I could come back.”
“But you never did.”
“I was trapped.”
“By whom?”
Elena looked at the floor.
“Your father.”
Victor's face went cold.
“My father kept you prisoner?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Eight months.”
Victor stopped.
“What?”
“He kept me alive because he needed information.”
“About what?”
“About Lily.”
Victor frowned.
“Why would he care about Lily if she wasn't his child?”
Elena looked at Hannah.
“Because Lily had something Poppy didn't.”
“What?”
“A birthmark.”
Victor stared.
“What kind?”
“A small red mark shaped like a crescent.”
Hannah's face went white.
Victor looked at her.
“You've seen it.”
Hannah nodded.
“On Lily.”
“Where?”
“Behind her left shoulder.”
Victor's heart pounded.
The speaker crackled again.
“You're getting close.”
Victor turned toward it.
“Show yourself.”
“No.”
“Then tell me where Lily is.”
The voice became quiet.
“She is with your brother.”
Victor froze.
“Leo?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
The voice laughed softly.
“Where you buried him.”
Victor stared.
“The cemetery?”
“Yes.”
Victor looked at Elena.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You suspected my brother was at his own grave?”
“Yes.”
Victor turned toward the door.
Marcus's voice suddenly came through his earpiece.
“Victor.”
Victor touched it.
“What?”
“I've got movement outside.”
“How many?”
“Six vehicles.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Police?”
“No.”
“Gregory?”
“No.”
Marcus paused.
“Someone else.”
Victor looked at Elena.
The voice in the speaker returned.
“Your hour is almost over.”
Victor raised his voice.
“You have Poppy's mother.”
“No.”
“I have Poppy.”
“No.”
Victor frowned.
“What do you mean?”
The voice answered,
“You have the wrong girl.”
Victor looked down.
Poppy was still holding his shirt.
She looked up at him.
“Mr. Victor?”
Victor stared at her.
“What did you say?”
The voice repeated,
“You have the wrong girl.”
Victor's eyes moved toward Hannah.
Hannah looked confused.
Then Elena suddenly screamed.
“Poppy!”
Everyone turned.
A small red mark was visible behind Poppy's left shoulder.
A crescent.
Victor's blood ran cold.
Hannah stepped backward.
“No.”
Elena whispered,
“That's impossible.”
Victor stared at the mark.
The voice laughed.
“You finally found her.”
Victor looked toward the speaker.
“Found who?”
“The child your father spent twelve years trying to recover.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“You said Lily was with Leo.”
“She was.”
“Then why is Poppy marked?”
Silence.
Then the voice answered.
“Because Poppy isn't Poppy.”
Victor stared at the child.
The little girl looked frightened.
She had no idea what they were talking about.
Victor turned toward Elena.
“What is he saying?”
Elena couldn't speak.
Hannah suddenly grabbed the edge of the table.
Her eyes were fixed on Poppy.
“That's Lily's mark.”
Victor looked at her.
“How do you know?”
Hannah's lips trembled.
“Because I gave birth to her.”
Victor's eyes widened.
Hannah stepped toward Poppy.
“No…”
She covered her mouth.
“No, no, no…”
Victor held the child tighter.
“Stay back.”
Hannah stared at him.
“That mark…”
“What about it?”
“I kissed that mark every night.”
Victor's breathing stopped.
The voice came through the speaker one last time.
“Now ask Elena what she did with the real Poppy.”
Victor slowly turned.
Elena was crying.
Victor's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Where is my daughter?”
Elena looked at him.
“I can explain.”
“Where is Poppy?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“Where is she?”
Elena's lips trembled.
Then a sound came from the corridor.
A child crying.
Not Poppy.
A different child.
A little girl's voice.
“Mommy?”
Hannah turned toward the hidden passage.
Her face went white.
“Lily?”
The crying came again.
Closer.
Then footsteps stopped directly behind the sealed door.
A tiny hand touched the other side.
May you like
And a child's voice whispered—
“Daddy…”
