Chapter 9: The Sister Behind the Name
Mark read the message three times.
*Bring Victoria. She knows why I was abandoned.*
The words seemed to burn into the screen.
He looked at Victoria.
“You know who she is.””
Victoria didn't answer.
“Victoria.””
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
“Who is my sister?””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Before you say anything, we need to find Daisy.””
Mark turned to him.
“My daughter is being held by a woman who says Victoria knows her.””
“That doesn't mean Victoria helped her.””
Mark looked at Victoria again.
“Did you?””
Victoria's lips trembled.
“I knew she existed.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“No.””
Mark searched her face.
“Then why does she say you know why she was abandoned?””
Victoria took a slow breath.
“Because I was there.””
“Where?””
“At the hospital.””
Mark's expression hardened.
“When?””
“The night she was born.””
The room went completely still.
Rebecca stepped forward.
“My daughter?””
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
Rebecca stared at her.
“You knew?””
“I was there when Thomas took her.””
Mark looked at his mother.
“Mom?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“I thought she died.””
Victoria looked down.
“She didn't.””
Mark's voice dropped.
“You had a sister this entire time?””
Rebecca nodded slowly.
“I had twins.””
Mark stared.
“Twins?””
“One survived.””
She looked at him.
“You.””
Mark felt as though the floor had disappeared.
“And the other?””
“A girl.””
He couldn't breathe.
“What happened to her?””
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“Thomas said she was sick.””
Victoria whispered, “She wasn't.””
Mark turned sharply.
“What happened?””
Victoria swallowed.
“She was born healthy.””
“Then why did my father take her?””
“Because someone told him the child carried a blood disorder.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“There was no disorder.””
Victoria continued.
“A doctor was bribed to falsify the record.””
Mark looked toward James.
“Did you know this?””
James shook his head.
“No.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“I did.””
Mark stared at him.
“How?””
“I found the birth records years ago.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know where she was.””
Victoria nodded.
“She disappeared.””
“Who took her?””
“Thomas.””
Mark's chest tightened.
“My father stole my sister.””
“Yes.””
“Where did he send her?””
Victoria looked at the message again.
“She wasn't sent anywhere.””
Mark froze.
“She stayed close.””
“Where?””
Victoria looked toward the estate.
“In a house your father owned across the river.””
Mark's face went pale.
“All these years?””
“She grew up believing your father abandoned her.””
“Why?””
Victoria's voice broke.
“Because he did.””
Mark stared.
“So why would she blame you?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Because I helped him.””
Silence.
Mark's expression hardened.
“How?””
“I was the one who delivered the envelope.””
“What envelope?””
“The one containing her new identity.””
Rebecca stared at Victoria in disbelief.
“You changed my daughter's name?””
Victoria nodded.
“Your father ordered me to.””
Mark stepped backward.
“What was her name?””
Victoria whispered:
“Anna.””
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“My little Anna.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
James was standing there with a phone against his ear.
“She's at the estate.””
Mark moved instantly.
“Daisy?””
James shook his head.
“No.””
“Then who?””
James looked at Mark.
“Anna.””
Mark's phone rang at the same moment.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A woman's voice came through.
“Mark.””
It was young.
Calm.
Controlled.
“You've been looking for me.””
“Where's my daughter?””
“With me.””
“Is she hurt?””
“No.””
“I want to speak to her.””
A pause.
Then Daisy's voice.
“Daddy?””
Mark closed his eyes in relief.
“Daisy, baby, are you okay?””
“Yes.””
“Are you safe?””
“Yes.””
“I'm coming.””
Anna's voice returned.
“Come alone.””
“No.””
“Then you may not see her again.””
Mark's jaw tightened.
“What do you want?””
“The truth.””
“You have it.””
“No.””
Her voice became colder.
“You know what your father did. You don't know why.””
Mark frowned.
“Why what?””
“Why he gave you everything.””
Mark looked toward the trust documents.
“Because he wanted to protect Daisy.””
“No.””
Anna laughed softly.
“He wanted to protect his favorite child.””
Mark went still.
“I never asked for any of this.””
“Neither did I.””
“Where are you?””
“At the pool.””
Mark's blood ran cold.
The same pool.
The same place everything had started.
“I’m coming.””
“Bring Victoria.””
The call ended.
Victoria took a step forward.
“I'll go.””
Mark looked at her.
“I don't know whether to trust you.””
“You shouldn't.””
“Then why come?””
“Because she wants me there.””
Rebecca touched Mark's arm.
“She'll hate you because of him.””
Mark looked at his mother.
“I don't care.””
“I do.””
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“She is my daughter.””
Mark nodded.
“Then stay here.””
“No.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“I've spent thirty-one years hiding.””
She reached for his hand.
“I'm not hiding anymore.””
They drove to the pool in three cars.
Mark went first.
Victoria followed.
Daniel and Ethan stayed behind with Rebecca and James.
When Mark stepped onto the pool deck, Daisy was sitting on one of the lounge chairs.
Her hands were untied.
She looked frightened but unharmed.
Mark immediately rushed toward her.
“Daddy!””
He hugged her tightly.
“Oh, baby.””
Daisy clung to him.
“I knew you'd come.””
“I always will.””
He looked around.
“Where is she?””
A voice answered from the far end of the pool.
“Here.””
A woman stepped out from behind a stone column.
She was about Mark's age.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
The same eyes as Rebecca.
The same eyes as Mark.
Victoria stopped behind him.
Anna looked directly at her.
“You.””
Victoria's face collapsed.
“Anna.””
“You remember me.””
“I never forgot you.””
“You delivered me to strangers.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
“You gave me a fake name.””
“Yes.””
“You told me my mother didn't want me.””
Victoria began to cry.
“I was told to say that.””
“And you obeyed.””
Mark stepped between them.
“Enough.””
Anna looked at him.
“You really don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
She pointed toward Daisy.
“Your father loved her.””
Mark frowned.
“He loved Daisy.””
“He loved the child who came after him had already lost one daughter.””
Mark's face tightened.
“What are you talking about?””
Anna walked closer.
“When I was twelve, I found his letters.””
“Letters?””
“To Rebecca.””
Mark looked at his mother.
Rebecca arrived behind him.
Anna stared at her.
Rebecca couldn't move.
“Anna?””
Anna's face broke.
“Mom.””
Rebecca crossed the distance between them.
She wrapped her arms around Anna.
Anna resisted for one second.
Then collapsed against her.
Mark stood frozen.
He had imagined his mother returning.
He had never imagined meeting the sister he had never known existed.
Daisy watched them.
“Is she my aunt?””
Mark swallowed.
“Yes.””
Anna looked at Daisy.
“You nearly died because of me.””
Daisy shook her head.
“No.””
“I brought you here.””
“Why?””
“Because I wanted Mark to learn the truth.””
Daisy looked at her.
“You scared me.””
Anna's eyes filled.
“I know.””
Mark stepped forward.
“Then tell me the truth.””
Anna nodded.
“Your father didn't give the estate to Daisy because she was his favorite.””
Mark waited.
“He gave it to her because he knew what I would become.””
Mark frowned.
“What?””
Anna pointed toward the old greenhouse.
“He knew I would come back.””
“Why?””
“Because I was angry.””
She looked at Victoria.
“And because someone taught me to be.””
Mark looked at Victoria.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria whispered:
“Daniel.””
Daniel appeared at the edge of the pool.
Everyone turned.
He looked at Anna.
“You were never supposed to know.””
Anna shook her head.
“You lied too.””
“I was protecting you.””
“You all say that.””
Mark looked at Daniel.
“What did you do?””
Daniel sighed.
“I told Anna that Thomas abandoned her.””
Anna's face hardened.
“I believed him.””
Daniel nodded.
“I wanted you to hate him.””
“And me,” Anna said to Victoria.
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
Mark stared at all of them.
“You used my sister.””
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I thought hatred would keep her away from the estate.””
Anna stepped closer.
“But I found something you didn't know about.””
Mark asked, “What?””
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a letter.
“My father's final letter to me.””
Rebecca whispered, “Thomas?””
Anna nodded.
She handed it to Mark.
He unfolded it.
*Anna,*
*I failed you before I ever held you.*
Mark's eyes moved down the page.
*I separated you from your mother because I believed money could protect the family name.*
His hands shook.
*I was wrong.*
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
*The Hale Estate is not your inheritance, and it is not Daisy's either.*
Mark stopped.
Below it:
*The estate belongs to the person who can prove the original theft was committed under my orders.*
Mark looked up.
Anna was watching him.
“That's you,” she said.
Mark frowned.
“Why?””
“Because you have the last piece.””
“What piece?””
Anna smiled sadly.
“The original bank ledger.””
Mark's stomach dropped.
“We found it.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You found a copy.””
“Where's the original?””
Anna pointed toward Victoria.
“Ask her.””
Mark turned.
Victoria had gone pale.
“Victoria?””
She looked at him.
Then whispered:
“I hid it.””
“Where?””
Victoria closed her eyes.
“In the pool.””
Mark stared.
“The pool?””
“I was ordered to destroy it.””
“But you didn't.””
“No.””
“Why?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Because your father wasn't the only person who wanted the truth buried.””
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a small waterproof envelope.
And placed it in Mark's hand.
“It contains the name of the person who ordered your father's final cover-up.””
Mark opened it.
Inside was one page.
One name.
His heart stopped.
He had known that name for years.
Trusted it.
Defended it.
Called it family.
May you like
The name was:
*Rebecca Hale.*
