Chapter 5: The Man in the Greenhouse
Daniel carried no weapon.
That somehow made him more frightening.
He walked into the study wearing a dark coat, his eyes fixed on Mark.
“Don’t move,” Mark said.
Daniel smiled.
“You still think this is about money.””
“It’s about my daughter.””
“No,” Daniel replied.
“It’s about your father.””
Victoria stood behind Mark.
Daniel looked at her.
“You were supposed to keep him away from the greenhouse.””
“I tried.””
“You failed.””
Mark stepped forward.
“You’ve been manipulating us for years.””
Daniel laughed softly.
“Your father manipulated everyone.””
“Why?””
“Because he was terrified of the truth.””
“What truth?””
Daniel’s face went cold.
“You’re not his only child.””
Mark froze.
“You already told me that.””
“No. I told you I was his son.””
Daniel walked closer.
“I’m not.””
Victoria whispered, “Daniel…”
He ignored her.
“Your father had a daughter too.””
Mark frowned.
“Who?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“Your mother.””
Silence.
Mark stared.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“She was adopted.””
“What?””
“Your father’s first child was taken away before you were born.””
Mark’s mind raced.
Daniel reached into his coat and removed another document.
“This is the original birth record.””
Mark took it.
A name appeared.
*Evelyn Margaret Hale.*
Under father:
*Thomas Hale.*
Under mother:
*Rebecca Hale.*
Mark read it again.
“My mother.””
“Yes.””
“Where is she?””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Dead.””
Mark felt sick.
“When?””
“Thirty-one years ago.””
“That’s impossible. My mother died when I was a baby.””
“She was murdered.””
Mark looked at Victoria.
She was crying.
“You knew.””
Victoria nodded.
“I found out three years ago.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because Daniel said he would kill Daisy.””
Daniel’s voice was calm.
“I never said that.””
“You implied it.””
“I implied what your father did to Evelyn would happen again.””
Mark turned back to him.
“What happened to her?””
Daniel reached into another pocket.
“Your father had her committed under a false identity after she discovered his financial scheme.””
Mark stared in disbelief.
“He destroyed his own daughter.””
“He buried her story.””
Daniel handed him a photograph.
It showed an old woman in a hospital bed.
Mark recognized the eyes.
His mother’s eyes.
At the bottom of the photograph was a date.
Five years ago.
Mark looked up.
“She was alive.””
“For decades.””
“Where is she now?””
Daniel said nothing.
“Where?””
Daniel finally answered.
“She died believing you abandoned her.””
Mark’s knees weakened.
Victoria touched his shoulder.
He pulled away.
Then a phone rang.
Not Mark’s.
Victoria’s.
She answered with trembling hands.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice screamed through the speaker.
“Victoria! He found me!””
Victoria’s face went white.
“Who is this?””
The caller sobbed.
“Daisy’s grandmother.””
The phone dropped from Victoria’s hand.
Mark stared at her.
“My mother?””
Victoria shook her head slowly.
“No.””
Then another message appeared on Mark’s phone.
A photograph.
Daisy asleep in her bedroom.
Taken from inside the house.
May you like
Underneath it was one sentence:
*You should have stayed out of the greenhouse.*
