Chapter 7: The Woman Who Took Charlotte
“The woman who took Charlotte that night was your mother.””
Jasmine stared at her phone.
For several seconds, the words refused to make sense.
Outside, Jessica stood at the gate, one hand resting on the iron bars. Ethan had gone completely still beside the doorway. Charlotte looked as though someone had pulled the floor out from beneath her.
David reached for the phone.
“Dr. Lang, this is David Mitchell. You're going to explain exactly what you mean.””
“I will,” the retired physician replied.
“But not over the telephone. There are things I should have told you eleven years ago.””
“Then start with the truth.””
A heavy sigh came through the speaker.
“Eleanor did take Charlotte from the hospital. But she did not intend to abandon her. She believed Jessica was arranging a safe placement for the baby, and she wanted to stop it once she discovered what Jessica was planning.””
Charlotte stepped forward.
“Why would my mother give me away in the first place?””
The question came out sharp and wounded.
Dr. Lang fell silent.
Then he said, “Because she was frightened, and because people she trusted convinced her she had no other choice.””
“Who?””
“Jessica. And someone else.””
Jasmine looked at David.
His face had turned ashen.
“Who was the other person?”” he demanded.
“I'll tell you when we meet. I have documents that explain the arrangement, but I need you to understand something first. Eleanor was not the woman who wanted Charlotte erased from the family. She was the woman who tried to bring her back.””
The call ended.
Jasmine lowered the phone.
Charlotte sank onto the sofa.
“All my life,” she whispered, “I thought my mother didn't want me.””
David approached her slowly.
“Charlotte, I don't know what happened before I met Eleanor. I don't know why she made the choices she did. But I swear to you, if she tried to protect you, we'll find out how.””
Charlotte looked up at him.
“You don't get to promise me anything.””
He stopped.
She wiped her cheeks angrily.
“You weren't there. You didn't look for me. You married the woman who took me, and you let her tell you I was dead.””
David accepted every word without defending himself.
“I know.””
“You could have found me.””
“I should have.””
The admission seemed to take something out of him.
Jasmine sat beside Charlotte, leaving a little space between them.
“I don't know how to be your sister,” she said quietly.
“I don't even know what that means yet.””
Charlotte glanced at her.
“Neither do I.””
“But I know I don't want Jessica deciding what happens to either of us anymore.””
For the first time, Charlotte's expression softened.
Then someone knocked sharply at the front door.
Three times.
Jessica's voice followed.
“David? Open this door. We need to talk.””
Ethan backed away from the entrance.
“Don't let her in.””
David looked at him.
“You brought her here?””
“No. I didn't know she was coming.””
Jessica knocked again.
“Ethan, I know you're in there. Open the door.””
Charlotte rose.
“I want to hear what she has to say.””
David hesitated.
“Are you sure?””
“No. But I'm tired of being afraid of her.””
He opened the door.
Jessica stepped inside, took one look at Charlotte, and stopped.
For the first time, Jasmine saw genuine shock cross her stepmother's face.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“You,” Jessica whispered.
Charlotte folded her arms.
“Disappointed I'm still alive?””
Jessica recovered quickly.
“Charlotte, darling, you've misunderstood everything.””
“Don't call me darling.””
“I've spent years trying to help you.””
“You told me my father abandoned me. You told me my sister was the favored child who stole the life that should have been mine.””
Jessica's eyes flickered toward Jasmine.
“I was trying to explain a complicated situation.””
“You told me to sign documents I didn't understand. You promised me money if I helped you take the estate. And now someone has used my identity to secure a mortgage.””
Jessica's expression hardened.
“Those are serious accusations.””
“So is stealing a baby.””
David stepped forward.
“Enough. We know about the hospital records, Jessica. We know Eleanor filed a complaint. We know your name appears on the discharge paperwork.””
Jessica looked at him with wounded disbelief.
“After everything I've done for you, you believe these people over me?””
“Answer the question.””
She lifted her chin.
“Eleanor made her own decisions. She was confused, frightened, and dying. You weren't there for every conversation we had.””
“Then explain the truth.””
Jessica looked at Charlotte.
“Your birth mother wanted you protected. She knew she couldn't raise two children while battling cancer, and she asked me to help.””
Charlotte laughed bitterly.
“Then why tell everyone I died?””
Jessica didn't answer.
“Why forge Dad's signature?”” Jasmine demanded.
“Why take my money?””
“I did not take your money.””
“Your son's account received £325,000 from my trust.””
Jessica turned to Ethan.
“Tell them what that money was for.””
Ethan looked at his mother.
“I don't know anymore.””
Her face changed.
“You know perfectly well.””
“I thought it was an investment. You said the money came from the estate sale.””
“Exactly.””
“But the sale hadn't happened.””
Jessica took a step toward him.
“Ethan, don't be foolish.””
He moved away.
“No. I'm done being told what to say.””
David watched his stepson with an expression of disgust and something close to pity.
“Where is the rest of the money?””
Jessica looked at him.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
“Three million pounds has disappeared from Eleanor's trust. A mortgage has been arranged against the estate. And you've been negotiating a sale with Northbridge Property Holdings.””
Jessica's face remained composed, but her right hand began to tremble.
“Northbridge is a legitimate company.””
“Then you won't mind explaining the agreement.””
David held out the document Ethan had brought.
Jessica glanced at it.
Her eyes stopped at the handwritten note in the margin.
For a moment, her composure cracked.
Then she reached for the paper.
David pulled it away.
“Don't.””
Jessica stared at him.
“You have no idea what you're holding.””
“Then explain it.””
She looked toward the door.
Jasmine noticed.
So did Charlotte.
“You're not leaving until you answer us,” Charlotte said.
Jessica's expression turned cold.
“You have no authority to detain me.””
“Then answer voluntarily.””
For several seconds, Jessica stood silently.
Then she looked directly at Charlotte.
“You want the truth? Fine. Your mother was going to destroy your life before you ever had the chance to live it.””
Charlotte recoiled.
“What?””
“Eleanor was ill. She was terrified of dying and leaving two daughters behind. She knew David would never accept you because you weren't his biological child.””
“That is a lie,” David said.
Jessica ignored him.
“She wanted to give you away, but she couldn't bear to admit it. So she made me handle the arrangements. When she changed her mind, she expected me to undo everything.””
Charlotte's face crumpled.
“You're lying.””
“Am I?””
Jessica reached into her handbag and produced a folded sheet of paper.
“I have Eleanor's original instructions.””
She held it out.
David snatched the page.
The document was dated eleven years earlier. It contained a declaration stating that Eleanor wished Charlotte to be placed with an approved adoptive family and that her identity should remain confidential.
At the bottom was Eleanor's signature.
Jasmine felt her heart sink.
“Dad?””
David examined the page.
“I've seen her handwriting thousands of times.””
“Then you know it's real,” Jessica said.
He studied the signature again.
“It's real,” he admitted.
“But that doesn't prove she agreed to everything you did afterward.””
Jessica gave a small, satisfied smile.
“Finally, some sense.””
Charlotte shook her head.
“If my mother wanted me adopted, why did she file a complaint when I was taken?””
Jessica's smile disappeared.
“Because she changed her mind.””
“And why didn't you return me?””
“Because the legal process had already begun.””
“Why did you tell David I was dead?””
Jessica said nothing.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“Look at me. Why did you tell him I was dead?””
Jessica's eyes narrowed.
“Because you were never supposed to be part of this family.””
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Silence filled the room.
David stared at his wife.
Jasmine felt every doubt she'd carried about Jessica settle into something colder and clearer.
Charlotte stood perfectly still.
Then she whispered, “Thank you.””
Jessica frowned.
“For what?””
“For finally telling the truth.””
Jessica turned toward the door.
This time, nobody tried to stop her.
But as she passed David, he spoke.
“Your access to the estate accounts is suspended. Martin is reporting the disputed transactions. The lender has been notified that the mortgage guarantee is fraudulent.””
Jessica stopped.
“You can't do that.””
“I already have.””
Her face hardened.
“You'll lose more than money if you continue.””
David looked at her.
“Is that a threat?””
“It's a warning.””
She walked out and slammed the door.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Charlotte looked at the document in David's hand.
“Is that really my mother's signature?””
David nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
Charlotte sat down and covered her face.
Jasmine knelt beside her.
“I'm sorry.””
Charlotte shook her head.
“I don't know what to believe anymore.””
“Then we'll find out.””
Charlotte lowered her hands.
“How?””
Jasmine looked toward the front window, where Jessica's car disappeared around the corner.
“By finding the person who knows what happened after Mum changed her mind.””
David glanced at the phone.
“Dr. Lang.””
He called the retired physician and arranged to meet him the following morning.
But before they could leave Charlotte's house, Ethan's phone buzzed.
He read the message.
Then all the color drained from his face.
Jasmine stood.
“What is it?””
Ethan handed her the phone.
The message came from an unknown number.
*Jessica knows you have the original agreement. If you want to keep your mother out of prison, bring it to Northbridge tonight. Come alone.*
Beneath the message was a photograph.
A woman sat in a dimly lit room, her hands folded on a table.
Her face was older than the face in Jasmine's photograph, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
The woman had Eleanor's eyes.
May you like
And beneath the photograph was a single line.
*Ask Dr. Lang who paid him to fake Charlotte's death.*
