Chapter 7: The Woman Wearing My Mother's Necklace
I stared at the silver crescent hanging around Rebecca's neck.
The woman in the hospital bed had just told me she was my biological mother. She had explained the accident, the adoption, and the lies that had followed me for thirty-five years.
Now a photograph of Anna had arrived with a warning not to trust the woman wearing my mother's necklace.
And Rebecca was wearing it.
“Take it off,” I said.
Rebecca's fingers closed around the pendant.
“Marcus, please.””
“Take it off.””
Lily looked between us, her eyes wide with fear.
“Daddy, don't be angry with her.””
I glanced at my daughter.
“I'm not angry with you, sweetheart.””
“But Mommy said the necklace was important.””
Rebecca's expression changed.
“What exactly did Anna tell you about this necklace?””
Lily hesitated.
“She said it belonged to the woman who gave Daddy away.””
The words struck harder than I expected.
Rebecca slowly removed the chain and placed it on the blanket.
“Your mother gave me this necklace when we were young,” she said.
“She was the woman who raised you, Marcus. Eleanor.””
I stared at her.
“Eleanor's necklace?””
“Yes. She gave it to me the night she promised to protect you.””
“Then why does Anna have the same one?””
Rebecca looked down.
“Because Eleanor had two made. One for me, one for herself. They were supposed to be a symbol of our friendship.””
I picked up the pendant.
It was heavier than it looked. I turned it over and found a tiny seam along the edge.
“Does it open?””
Rebecca nodded.
“There's something inside.””
I pressed the edge with my thumbnail. The crescent separated into two halves, revealing a tiny folded strip of paper.
I unfolded it carefully.
Three names were written in faded ink.
*Thomas Reed. Daniel Reed. Marcus Reed.*
Below them was a date.
The day I had been born.
Rebecca began to cry.
“Thomas was Daniel's father,” she whispered.
“He died trying to protect you.””
I looked at her.
“You told me Daniel was my biological father.””
“He is.””
“Then why is Thomas's name here?””
“Because Thomas was the man who exposed Alexander. He was also the man who helped me escape the first time.””
I felt the familiar pressure building behind my eyes.
Every answer seemed to produce another question.
“Who am I supposed to trust?””
Rebecca reached for my hand.
“Trust the evidence. Not me. Not Eleanor.
Not Daniel. Not even Anna until you know what she's been forced to do.””
I pulled away.
“That sounds convenient.””
“I know how it sounds.””
“You expect me to believe you after everything I've heard tonight?””
“No.”” Her voice broke.
“I expect you to ask questions I may not be able to answer.””
I looked at Lily.
She was watching Rebecca with a mixture of fear and hope.
“Did you know my mother?”” Lily asked.
Rebecca nodded.
“I knew Anna before you were born.””
“Did she tell you where Ethan is?””
“No.””
Lily lowered her head.
“Then you're not going to help me find him.””
Rebecca's face crumpled.
“I will do everything I can.””
“Everyone says that,” Lily whispered.
“But Mommy is always the one who disappears.””
Nobody had an answer for her.
I placed the necklace in an evidence envelope and called the detective handling Alexander's arrest. He agreed to send an officer to guard Rebecca's room and examine the note.
Then I made a decision.
I wasn't going to Platform Nine at midnight.
Not alone, and certainly not because someone had ordered me to.
Instead, I called Daniel.
He answered after the third ring.
“Marcus?””
“I'm at the hospital. I need you to tell me everything you know about Thomas Reed.””
His breathing changed.
“Where did you hear that name?””
“From Rebecca.””
A long silence followed.
Then Daniel said, “I can tell you what I know, but you need to understand something first.””
“What?””
“Thomas wasn't just my father. He was the only man who ever tried to stop Alexander.””
“Was he killed?””
“I don't know.””
I looked toward the hospital window.
“Everyone keeps disappearing, Daniel. I'm tired of hearing that nobody knows.””
“I understand.””
“Then stop protecting people.””
He took a shaky breath.
“Thomas left behind a recording. Eleanor kept it in a safe-deposit box for years. After your accident, I found the box, but the recording was gone.””
“Who had access?””
“Eleanor. Brielle. And Anna.””
I glanced at the photograph in my hand.
“Why would Anna take it?””
“Because she discovered something in it that changed everything.””
“What?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Thomas said that if Alexander ever returned, we should look for the child who was never recorded on the birth certificate.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Which child?””
“I don't know.””
Before I could ask more, a nurse entered the room and informed us that Rebecca needed rest.
I stepped into the corridor with Lily.
At the far end, a man in a dark uniform stood beside the elevators. He wore a hospital identification badge, but something about his posture made me uneasy.
He was watching us.
When our eyes met, he turned away.
I took Lily's hand.
“Stay close.””
We walked toward the nurses' station. I asked the receptionist to call hospital security, but before she could lift the phone, the lights flickered.
The elevator doors opened.
Two men stepped out.
One carried a medical bag.
The other had a black-bird tattoo on his neck.
I recognized him immediately.
He was one of the men who had tried to take Lily from the old house.
“Run!”” I shouted.
I grabbed Lily and sprinted toward the stairwell.
Footsteps thundered behind us.
We reached the landing just as a hand caught the back of my jacket. I twisted, driving my shoulder into the attacker. He stumbled against the railing.
Lily screamed.
I shoved the door open and pushed her through.
“Go down! Don't stop!””
She raced ahead.
I followed, but the man caught my arm. We struggled on the narrow steps until a security officer appeared from the floor below and tackled him.
The second attacker fled.
By the time I reached the ground floor, Lily was hiding behind the reception desk.
She threw herself into my arms.
“Daddy, they were going to take me!””
“I know.””
I held her until her shaking subsided.
Then I checked my phone.
A new message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a single photograph.
Rebecca, lying unconscious in her hospital bed.
Someone had written across the image:
You were warned.
I ran back upstairs with two security officers.
Rebecca's room was empty.
The window stood open despite being several floors above the ground.
Her hospital gown lay on the bed, and the silver necklace was gone from the evidence envelope.
On the pillow rested a second note.
Midnight. Platform Nine.
Bring the ledger.
Come alone.
At the bottom, someone had added a final line.
*If you want to know which child was never recorded, ask your mother what happened on Christmas Eve.*
I stared at the words.
Then I remembered the photograph Lily had brought to the wedding.
The picture of me, Anna, and our daughter.
The date on the back.
December 24.
Our first Christmas together.
May you like
But the photograph had been taken three years before Lily was born.
And I had no memory of the child standing beside me.
