Chapter 9: The Truth Under the Floor
I ran.
The church doors slammed open behind me as I sprinted toward the car.
Meline was already outside.
"What happened?""
"Our daughter.""
Her face went white.
"What?""
"She's at the estate.""
Meline grabbed my arm.
"Then drive.""
We tore through the rain.
No one spoke.
Every second felt like a blade.
When we reached the estate, the gates were open.
The security SUVs were gone.
Their doors stood abandoned.
Thomas got out first.
His weapon raised.
"Stay behind me.""
We entered the burned mansion.
The air was unnaturally still.
No guards.
No movement.
No sound.
Meline whispered, "Where's the baby?""
I looked toward the floor.
"Under the house.""
We descended through the hidden passage.
The underground archive was empty.
The computer had been smashed.
The documents were scattered.
And the steel door at the far end stood open.
A faint crying sound came from beyond it.
Meline ran.
I followed.
We entered another room.
A crib sat beneath a hanging lamp.
Our daughter was inside.
Alive.
Crying.
Meline collapsed beside the crib.
"Oh, baby.""
She lifted her carefully.
I stood there, unable to move.
For the first time since the night she was born, I heard her cry without a machine between us.
She was tiny.
Furious.
Alive.
I touched her cheek.
"She's okay.""
Meline kissed her forehead.
"She's freezing.""
Thomas removed his jacket.
"We need to get her out.""
Then a voice came from the darkness.
"Not yet.""
We turned.
Victor Vance stepped into the light.
I hadn't seen him in fifteen years.
He looked older.
Thinner.
But his eyes were exactly as I remembered.
Cold.
Patient.
He held a pistol loosely at his side.
Meline moved in front of the baby.
I stepped toward him.
"You.""
Victor smiled.
"Hello, Damen.""
"You faked your death.""
"I had to.""
"You worked with the Courtlands.""
"Sometimes.""
"You ordered my mother's murder.""
He shook his head.
"No.""
"Then who did?""
Victor looked at Meline.
"Her mother.""
Meline froze.
"What?""
Victor's expression remained calm.
"Claire Carter ordered the hit.""
"You're lying.""
"I was there.""
"You said Richard Courtland ordered it.""
"Richard financed it.""
Victor looked at me.
"Claire arranged it.""
I stared.
"Why would she murder herself?""
"She didn't intend to die.""
His smile vanished.
"She intended to disappear.""
Meline's face drained of color.
"But my mother survived.""
"Yes.""
"Then why did my father believe she was dead?""
"Because Claire wanted him to.""
I looked at Victor.
"Why?""
"Because she was running from all of us.""
He glanced toward the crib.
"Especially the Courtlands.""
I shook my head.
"You've been manipulating Elena.""
"Elena was easy.""
"She believed you.""
"She believed what she needed to believe.""
"She pushed Meline.""
Victor shrugged.
"That was her choice.""
My hands clenched.
"You destroyed my marriage.""
"No.""
He smiled.
"You destroyed your marriage.""
The words hit home.
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I asked:
"What do you want?""
"The child.""
"No.""
"Not the child.""
Victor's eyes moved to Meline.
"The bloodline.""
Meline held our daughter tighter.
"You need me to activate the trust.""
"Correct.""
"And Damen.""
"Correct.""
"Then why kidnap the baby?""
Victor smiled.
"Because fear makes people sign things.""
A voice came from behind him.
"No.""
Victor's smile disappeared.
Elena stepped into the room.
Her gun was pointed directly at him.
Victor turned.
"Elena.""
"You used me.""
"Of course.""
"You told me Meline stole my life.""
"She did.""
"You told me Damen betrayed me.""
"He did.""
Elena's hands trembled.
"But you never told me about the twins.""
Victor stared at her.
"You weren't supposed to know.""
"I know now.""
She looked at Meline.
"I'm sorry.""
Meline didn't answer.
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"I spent twenty-seven years hating the wrong people.""
Victor raised his gun.
Elena fired.
The shot struck his shoulder.
He stumbled.
Thomas tackled him.
The pistol skidded across the floor.
I pulled Meline and the baby behind the wall.
Another shot echoed.
Then silence.
When I looked again, Victor was on the ground.
Elena stood over him.
Her gun was shaking.
"Why?"" I asked.
She looked at me.
"Because he killed our mother.""
Meline stepped closer.
"Mom is alive.""
Elena's face crumpled.
"I know.""
Meline stared.
"You knew?""
"I saw her tonight.""
"You spoke to her?""
Elena nodded.
"She told me everything.""
I looked between them.
Two sisters.
Separated at birth.
Standing ten feet apart.
Neither knew how to cross the distance.
Then Elena lowered the gun.
"I thought you had everything.""
Meline whispered, "I never wanted what you had.""
"You had Damen.""
Meline looked at me.
"I almost lost him.""
I swallowed.
"You didn't.""
She looked at me.
"Not yet.""
The words hurt.
Because she was right.
I had come back.
But coming back wasn't the same as repairing what I'd destroyed.
Thomas called the police.
I picked up our daughter.
She quieted almost immediately.
I stared down at her tiny face.
Then I noticed something around her wrist.
A thin silver bracelet.
There was a folded strip of paper tucked beneath it.
I pulled it free.
My father's handwriting.
*Damen,*
*If you found this, then Victor has failed.*
I read the next line.
*But there is one final truth you must know before you decide whether Meline can ever forgive you.*
My heart pounded.
I kept reading.
*The night you left Meline, she did not call you because she wanted to stop you from leaving.*
I frowned.
*She called because she had discovered who Elena really was.*
I looked at Meline.
She stared at the paper.
"You knew that night?""
She nodded slowly.
"I knew Elena was your father's hidden enemy.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I had proof.""
"What proof?""
Meline looked toward Elena.
Then toward the dead silence of the hallway.
"I found her DNA.""
I stared.
"Her DNA?""
"On the documents.""
She swallowed.
"And there was another name.""
"Whose?""
Meline's voice became barely audible.
"Your mother's.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"My mother?""
Meline nodded.
"Your mother wasn't just connected to Elena.""
She looked at the baby in my arms.
"She was Elena's mother too.""
I couldn't breathe.
Then Elena whispered from across the room:
"That's not the worst part.""
Everyone turned toward her.
She was staring at the bracelet.
At my father's handwriting.
Her face had gone completely white.
"What?"" I asked.
Elena pointed at the paper.
"Turn it over.""
I did.
There was one final sentence.
Seven words.
*Your mother never died. She is watching.*
Behind us, the lights went out.
And from the darkness above the staircase came a woman's voice.
"Damen.""
I knew that voice.
I had heard it every night in my childhood dreams.
May you like
My mother's voice.
"Come upstairs, sweetheart."" :::
