Chapter 10 - The Daughter They Tried To Erase
The door opened.
Everyone turned.
But nobody moved.
Because the person standing there was not a stranger.
It was someone we had all been waiting for.
Someone who had been hiding in the shadows.
My mother.
She stood in the doorway like she had never disappeared.
Like she hadn’t spent years making me believe she was gone.
Her hair was shorter.
Her face was older.
But her eyes were exactly the same.
The same eyes that looked at me when I was a child.
The same eyes that watched me become a mother.
The same eyes that watched me lose my daughter.
I couldn’t speak.
Because the person I wanted answers from most was finally standing in front of me.
And I hated that part of me still wanted to run to her.
"Elena."
Her voice was gentle.
Too gentle.
I took a step back.
"No."
My mother’s expression changed.
"You don’t understand."
I laughed quietly.
Everyone said that.
Everyone who hurt me said that.
"You’re right."
I held Lily closer.
"I don’t understand how you could let me suffer."
Her eyes moved to Lily.
And something changed.
A softness.
A sadness.
"You look just like her."
I froze.
"Like who?"
My mother looked at me.
"Your sister."
The room went silent.
Damian immediately looked at her.
"What sister?"
My mother didn’t answer him.
She only looked at me.
And suddenly I understood.
The secret wasn’t just about Lily.
It was about me.
My entire life.
"My sister?"
My voice was barely a whisper.
My mother closed her eyes.
"I was hoping you would never find out."
I felt dizzy.
"Find out what?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"Elena..."
I turned toward him.
"You knew too?"
He looked away.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
Everyone knew.
Everyone except me.
My mother walked slowly into the room.
Damian’s guards raised their weapons.
She didn’t react.
"Lower them."
Damian stared at her.
"Give me one reason."
She looked at Lily.
"Because I am the only person who knows where the other child is."
Everything stopped.
My breath disappeared.
My daughter.
The missing baby.
The child I had spent years imagining.
"Where is she?"
My mother looked at me.
"Safe."
"Where?"
She didn’t answer.
I stepped forward.
"Where is my daughter?"
Her face broke slightly.
"I protected her."
I shook my head.
"No."
Tears filled my eyes.
"You took her."
"No."
Her voice became emotional.
"I saved her."
I almost screamed.
"Stop saying that."
The room went quiet.
I wiped my tears.
"Everyone says they saved me."
I looked at Damian.
"I don’t need saving."
Then at Daniel.
"I needed someone to tell me the truth."
Finally, I looked at my mother.
"I needed my family."
My mother looked down.
And for the first time, she looked ashamed.
"I know."
"No, you don’t."
My voice cracked.
"You don’t know what it feels like to wake up every morning believing your child is gone."
She started crying.
But I couldn’t stop.
"You don’t know what it feels like to hate yourself."
I touched Lily’s hair.
"You don’t know what it feels like to wonder if your baby was scared when she died."
Nobody spoke.
Because there was no defense for that.
My mother whispered:
"I know."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"I know because I was there."
My heart stopped.
"What do you mean?"
She looked at Lily.
"The night you gave birth."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"You were there?"
She nodded.
"I was the first person who held both of your daughters."
Both.
The word hit me again.
"Why?"
My mother sat down slowly.
Like the weight of the truth was too heavy.
"Because when they were born, I found out something about our family."
Damian stepped closer.
"What?"
She looked at him.
"Something your father spent his entire life hiding."
Damian’s expression changed.
"My father?"
She nodded.
"He knew about the twins."
I looked at Daniel.
"Everyone knew."
Daniel looked broken.
"Not everyone."
I turned toward him.
"Then tell me."
He swallowed.
"I found out later."
"After Lily disappeared?"
He nodded.
I looked away.
The pain was worse because part of me believed him.
My mother continued.
"Your father made a deal."
My stomach tightened.
"With who?"
She looked toward Damian.
"With his family."
The room went still.
Damian’s face hardened.
"What deal?"
"A deal to keep a bloodline alive."
I shook my head.
"They were babies."
"I know."
"How could anyone do that?"
My mother looked at me.
"Because they didn’t see them as babies."
She paused.
"They saw them as the future."
Lily held my hand tighter.
I looked at her.
And all I could think about was how close I came to losing her forever.
"What happened to the other baby?"
My mother’s eyes filled with tears.
"I took her."
The words cut through the room.
Everyone reacted.
Daniel stepped forward.
"You?"
My mother nodded.
"I knew if I left her there, she would disappear forever."
I stared.
"Where did you take her?"
My mother looked at me.
"To someone who could protect her."
"Who?"
She hesitated.
And that hesitation terrified me.
Then she said:
"Your sister."
My blood ran cold.
"My sister?"
My mother nodded.
"Your older sister."
I froze.
"I don’t have an older sister."
My mother looked at me.
"That is what we made you believe."
The room became silent.
I couldn’t breathe.
A sister.
A secret family.
A missing daughter.
Another lie.
"My sister is alive?"
My mother nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
She looked toward the window.
"She has been closer than you think."
Damian immediately turned.
"What does that mean?"
My mother didn’t answer.
Then the security alarm sounded again.
Everyone looked toward the monitors.
A new image appeared.
A woman standing outside the building.
Holding a little girl’s hand.
My heart stopped.
Because the little girl looked exactly like Lily.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same small smile.
My knees almost collapsed.
"That’s her."
My mother whispered.
"The daughter you lost."
I stared at the screen.
The woman beside the child slowly turned toward the camera.
And I recognized her.
Because she wasn’t a stranger.
She wasn’t hiding.
She was someone who had been standing beside me for years.
Someone I trusted.
Someone I never suspected.
My mother whispered:
"Elena..."
The woman on the screen lifted her hand.
May you like
And waved.
Because she knew we were watching.
