Chapter 8: The Child They Stole From Me
“Where did you take her?””
The question came out of my mouth before I even realized I had spoken.
Edward stood in the attic doorway, the gun still pointed downward, his expression unreadable.
But Daniel looked destroyed.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Destroyed.
I turned toward him.
“She?””
He couldn't meet my eyes.
“Daniel.””
Nothing.
I stepped closer.
“Was my baby a girl?””
His face crumpled.
“Yes.””
The word barely existed in his voice.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
For six years, I had believed my child had died inside me.
I had mourned a baby who had never even been given a name.
Now I was standing in an attic while a man with a gun told me she had been alive.
“Where is she?””
Edward answered.
“Safe.””
I laughed.
The sound was raw.
“You call stealing a newborn safe?””
“You wouldn't have been able to protect her.””
“I was her mother.””
Edward's eyes hardened.
“And that's precisely why she was valuable.””
I looked at Daniel.
“What did you do?””
He swallowed.
“I didn't know at first.””
Edward gave a cold smile.
“He knew enough.””
“Tell me!””
Daniel flinched.
“I was there.””
My stomach turned.
“At the hospital?””
He nodded.
“You told me the baby died.””
“I was told she had complications.””
“By who?””
Daniel looked at Edward.
I stared at them both.
“By who?””
Edward answered.
“By the doctor.””
“Which doctor?””
“Samuel Grant.””
The name hit me like a blow.
The doctor from the financial records.
The doctor who had been treating Eleanor.
The doctor who had been paid through DCM Holdings.
“He was part of it.””
Edward nodded.
“Your daughter was born alive.””
I closed my eyes.
Everything came rushing back.
The fluorescent hospital lights.
The sterile smell.
Daniel's hand around mine.
The nurse refusing to let me hold the baby.
Daniel telling me to rest.
The doctor's solemn face.
The paperwork.
The funeral arrangements.
All of it had been a lie.
“When did you take her?””
Daniel finally spoke.
“Minutes after she was born.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“What did you tell me?””
“That she had stopped breathing.””
“You looked me in the eyes.””
“I know.””
“You held me while I cried.””
“I know.””
“You buried an empty box.””
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
I slapped him.
The sound cracked through the attic.
Daniel didn't move.
I slapped him again.
“You let me grieve my own child.””
He whispered, “I'm sorry.””
“Don't.””
He looked at me.
“I mean it.””
“Sorry doesn't bring back six years.””
Edward watched us with an unsettling calm.
Then Rachel's voice came from the hidden stairs.
“Where is she?””
Everyone turned.
Rachel had come back.
Oliver was behind her.
“I heard everything.””
She looked at Edward.
“You said the child was safe.””
“She is.””
“Where?””
Edward stared at her.
“You have no right to ask.””
Rachel stepped forward.
“She is my granddaughter.””
That made me freeze.
“Your granddaughter?””
Rachel's face hardened.
“No.””
She looked at me.
“She isn't mine.””
Her voice cracked.
“She is yours.””
I couldn't understand.
“But you said—”
“My son is Oliver.””
She pointed at Daniel's child.
“I gave birth to Oliver.””
I looked at her.
“Then whose baby did Daniel take?””
Rachel answered in a whisper.
“Yours.””
The room spun.
Oliver's little face appeared behind her shoulder.
I looked at him.
Then at Daniel.
Then at Edward.
“How?””
Rachel stepped into the attic.
“When you were pregnant, Daniel came to me.””
I could barely breathe.
“He told me you might lose the baby.””
I stared.
“He knew I was pregnant?””
Rachel nodded.
“He said the marriage was falling apart before it even began.””
I shook my head.
“That isn't true.””
“He told me he loved me.””
Daniel whispered, “Rachel…”
She turned on him.
“You don't get to speak.””
He fell silent.
Rachel continued.
“He said if you had the baby, everything would change. He said the Mercer trust would belong to your child.””
Eleanor appeared at the top of the stairs.
Her face was wet with tears.
“He was afraid your child would inherit before him.””
I looked at her.
“So Daniel planned this before my daughter was born?””
“Yes.””
My knees weakened.
I grabbed the desk.
Rachel continued.
“He told me Edward had a plan.””
Edward's expression didn't change.
“He said the child would disappear for a few days.””
“Why?””
“Because they needed you to believe she'd died.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Then where did you take her?””
He whispered,
“Another hospital.””
“What hospital?””
“St. Agnes.””
I knew the name.
It was nearly forty miles away.
“You put my baby in another hospital?””
“She was registered under another name.””
My voice shook.
“What name?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Rachel did.
“Emily Vaughn.””
I stared at her.
“Your last name?””
She nodded.
“They needed someone to make the paperwork believable.””
I covered my mouth.
“You made me believe my baby was dead while she was alive in another hospital.””
“Yes.””
“Who raised her?””
Silence.
I looked from face to face.
Then I saw Eleanor's expression.
She knew.
“Grandma?””
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
“I was never allowed to see her.””
“Who had her?””
Daniel looked down.
Edward finally answered.
“A family.””
“What family?””
“One we trusted.””
I felt a terrible chill.
“Do I know them?””
Edward didn't respond.
“Do I know them?””
“Yes.””
I stared.
“Who?””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Claire…”
“Who?””
He looked like he couldn't say it.
Then Eleanor whispered,
“Patricia.””
I stopped breathing.
“Your mother?””
Daniel nodded.
I laughed in disbelief.
“Patricia raised my daughter?””
“She was there for the first year,” Daniel said.
“For the first year?””
“Then something happened.””
“What?””
Daniel swallowed.
“She became attached to the child.””
I stared.
“She refused to give her back?””
Edward's jaw tightened.
“She became disobedient.””
Rachel looked horrified.
“What did you do?””
Edward didn't answer.
I did.
“What did you do to Patricia?””
Nothing.
“Daniel?””
He finally whispered,
“She died.””
My blood ran cold.
“Patricia died?””
Two years ago.
I remembered the call.
Daniel telling me his mother had suffered a sudden medical emergency.
The funeral.
The flowers.
The closed casket.
He had cried.
I had held him.
I had comforted him.
I had told him she was finally at peace.
“She was killed?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Yes.””
“By who?””
His voice broke.
“I don't know.””
Edward stared at him.
“Liar.””
I turned toward Edward.
“You killed her?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Edward's gaze moved toward the stairs.
“Ask your husband.””
I looked at Daniel.
His face had gone pale.
“What did you do?””
“I tried to get her back.””
“Who?””
“Your daughter.””
My breath caught.
“You found her?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
Three years.
He had known.
For three years, my daughter had been alive somewhere.
And he had said nothing.
“Where was she?””
“A private school.””
I stared at him.
“She was old enough to go to school.””
“Yes.””
“What name?””
He hesitated.
“Emily.””
I closed my eyes.
Rachel stepped beside me.
“There was a girl at the school.””
I looked at her.
“Did you see her?””
“Yes.””
“What did she look like?””
Rachel began crying.
“She had your eyes.””
My heart broke open.
I could suddenly picture a little girl I had never met.
Dark hair.
Small hands.
Maybe a missing front tooth.
A laugh I had never heard.
Six birthdays I had never celebrated.
Six Christmas mornings without me.
I turned on Daniel.
“Where is she now?””
He looked toward Edward.
Edward gave no answer.
“Where is my daughter?””
Daniel's voice shook.
“I don't know.””
I stared.
“You don't know?””
“They moved her.””
“Who moved her?””
“Edward.””
I turned.
Edward said nothing.
“Where?””
He finally answered.
“She was moved after Patricia died.””
“Where?””
“To a foster family.””
The room went silent.
I felt the floor beneath me disappear.
“A foster family?””
“She was never legally theirs.””
“Then where is she?””
“We lost track of her.””
My voice broke.
“You lost track of my daughter?””
Edward's expression hardened.
“Things became complicated.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don't get to call this complicated.””
I grabbed the USB drive from the desk.
“You stole my baby.””
I grabbed the fake confession.
“You planned to frame me for murder.””
I grabbed the financial records.
“You stole Eleanor's money.””
I pointed at Daniel.
“And you lied to me for six years.””
Daniel looked at me.
“I know.””
“No.””
I took a step backward.
“You don't know.””
The police sirens sounded in the distance.
Everyone froze.
Rachel looked at me.
“You called them?””
I nodded.
“I did.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“When?””
“When you were talking.””
Edward immediately moved toward the attic window.
“There's no time.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You said they weren't coming.””
“I was wrong.””
Edward turned toward the hidden stairs.
“Take the boy.””
Rachel stepped backward.
“No.””
Edward raised the gun.
Daniel lunged.
A shot exploded through the attic.
Oliver screamed.
The bullet struck the wooden beam above us.
Daniel tackled Edward to the floor.
Rachel grabbed Oliver.
Eleanor shouted.
“Run!””
I pulled the hidden door open.
Rachel dragged Oliver down the stairs.
I followed.
But before I descended, I heard Edward scream.
“Daniel!””
I looked back.
Edward was pinned beneath him.
“Tell her!””
Daniel froze.
Edward laughed.
“The address.””
Daniel went pale.
“What address?””
“The address where the girl is.””
My heart stopped.
He was talking about my daughter.
I turned.
“Daniel!””
He looked at me.
Tears filled his eyes.
Then he whispered six numbers.
An address.
An address I recognized.
Because it was the house of the woman who had attended my wedding…
May you like
The woman Daniel had always called “just an old family friend.””
And when I finally understood whose daughter had been living there all these years, I heard the police pounding on the front door downstairs.
