Chapter 9 - The Child Hidden in the Shadows
The security monitor flickered.
Everyone stared at the screen.
The person standing in the hallway was motionless.
Holding two photographs.
One of me.
One of the baby I never knew existed.
My entire body went cold.
Because whoever was standing there knew.
They knew about my daughter.
They knew about the child who disappeared.
They knew the secret everyone had spent two years protecting.
Damian immediately stood.
"Lock every exit."
His guards moved.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"Elena, you need to leave."
I pulled away.
"No."
His eyes widened.
"What?"
I looked at him.
"I spent two years running from the truth."
I looked toward the screen.
"Not anymore."
Damian watched me silently.
Then he nodded.
"Stay behind me."
I almost laughed.
Because yesterday he was a stranger.
Today he was the person standing between me and the people who destroyed my life.
The office door remained closed.
The footsteps outside stopped.
Whoever was there knew we were listening.
They wanted us to wait.
They wanted us afraid.
Then the intercom turned on.
A voice filled the room.
A woman’s voice.
Old.
Calm.
Familiar.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it every day growing up.
"Elena."
I grabbed the edge of the desk.
"No."
Damian looked at me.
"Who is it?"
I couldn’t answer.
Because my mouth refused to say the words.
Daniel whispered:
"Your mother."
The room went silent.
The woman outside laughed softly.
"Daniel."
His face changed.
"You’re alive."
A pause.
"So is my granddaughter."
I felt dizzy.
Granddaughter.
Not daughter.
Granddaughter.
The woman who gave me life was talking about my child like she belonged to her.
I stepped closer to the speaker.
"Why?"
The entire hallway went quiet.
Then my mother answered.
"Because I had to."
My hands shook.
"You had to?"
"Elena, you don’t understand."
"No."
My voice cracked.
"You’re right."
I stared at the door.
"I don’t understand how my own mother could let me believe my baby died."
Silence.
Then:
"I never wanted you to suffer."
A painful laugh escaped me.
"You never wanted me to suffer?"
I wiped my tears.
"You took my child."
"I protected her."
The same word again.
Protected.
Everyone used it.
Everyone who hurt me used it.
I looked at Lily.
She was holding onto Damian’s jacket.
Afraid.
Confused.
My voice became quiet.
"Where is my other daughter?"
The woman didn’t answer.
That was enough.
"Where is she?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"Elena..."
I ignored him.
"Tell me."
Finally, my mother spoke.
"She is safe."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
Another silence.
Then she said:
"With the person who loved her first."
I felt sick.
"What does that mean?"
No answer.
I looked at Daniel.
He looked terrified.
"What?"
He didn’t speak.
"Daniel."
He finally whispered:
"Elena..."
"What do you know?"
His eyes filled with guilt.
"The second baby wasn't taken."
I froze.
"What?"
Daniel looked at Lily.
Then at me.
"She was given away."
The words destroyed me.
"Given away?"
"To someone who could protect her."
I shook my head.
"No."
Daniel looked broken.
"I tried to stop it."
"But you didn’t."
"I couldn't."
"You couldn't?"
My voice rose.
"You were her father."
The pain on his face told me he knew.
He knew he failed.
The woman outside spoke again.
"Elena."
I turned toward the speaker.
"Your daughter is alive because of me."
I wanted to scream.
But I couldn’t.
Because somewhere deep inside, I needed that to be true.
I needed my other child to be alive.
Even if the person who saved her was the person who destroyed me.
"Let me see her."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
My heart broke.
"Why?"
"Because if you see her, everything changes."
"What does that mean?"
My mother didn’t answer.
Then Damian’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Everyone looked.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He didn’t respond.
I walked toward him.
"Damian."
He slowly turned the phone around.
A message.
From an unknown number.
There was a photograph attached.
A little girl.
About two years old.
Standing beside a woman.
My breath stopped.
Because the child had my eyes.
The same eyes as Lily.
The same eyes I saw every morning in the mirror.
Below the photograph was one sentence.
"She has been waiting for you."
I covered my mouth.
Tears fell.
My second daughter.
Alive.
Then another message appeared.
A location.
And a warning.
"Come alone."
I looked at Damian.
"No."
He immediately shook his head.
"Absolutely not."
My mother’s voice came through the speaker.
"You don’t have a choice."
Damian stepped toward the door.
"You think this changes anything?"
The woman laughed.
"No, Damian."
A pause.
"This changes everything."
The lights flickered again.
The security monitors turned black.
Marco looked at the screen.
"Someone is overriding the system."
Daniel looked toward the door.
His face became pale.
"She's not alone."
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
He swallowed.
"Your mother never came to take Lily."
The hallway outside went silent.
"She came to take you."
The door handle slowly began to turn.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Damian pulled Lily behind him.
Daniel moved beside me.
May you like
And then the lock clicked open from the outside.
Someone whispered my name.
