Chapter 9: The Sister Hidden From the World
The room beneath Ashford Manor became completely silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
The kind that comes after a truth so impossible that the mind refuses to accept it.
Charlotte stared at Arthur.
Her fingers tightened around the tiny bracelet.
“Twin sister?””
The words sounded strange coming from her own mouth.
Arthur looked away.
Nobody answered.
That was when Charlotte understood.
Everyone knew.
Again.
Everyone except her.
“No.””
She shook her head slowly.
“No, that’s not possible.””
Thomas looked at her with sadness.
“It is.””
Charlotte turned toward him.
“You knew?””
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“Yes.””
The pain on her face changed into anger.
“How many people knew about my life except me?””
Nobody spoke.
She laughed quietly.
A broken laugh.
“Is that what my entire existence has been?””
She held up the bracelet.
“A secret everyone protected?””
Julian stepped beside her.
“Charlotte.””
She looked at him.
“I had a sister.””
Her voice trembled.
“And nobody told me.””
Julian had no answer.
Because there wasn’t one.
Clara moved closer.
“Charlotte, we need to understand what happened.””
Charlotte looked at the photograph again.
Two women.
A baby.
A past she had never known.
“Who is she?””
Arthur remained silent.
Charlotte turned.
“Arthur.””
The use of his first name shocked everyone.
Not father.
Not uncle.
Not family.
Just Arthur.
“Tell me.””
Arthur looked at the photograph.
Then finally spoke.
“Her name was Catherine.””
Charlotte froze.
“Catherine?””
Arthur nodded.
“Catherine Ashford.””
The room felt smaller.
“She was born twenty minutes before you.””
Charlotte stared.
“Twenty minutes?””
“Yes.””
“So why…”
She couldn’t finish.
Arthur did.
“Because Catherine was taken.””
Everyone went still.
“Taken?””
Arthur nodded.
“The night William discovered the financial records, he also discovered something else.””
“What?””
“That someone inside the family had been hiding Catherine’s existence.””
Charlotte looked confused.
“But why?””
Arthur looked at her.
“Because Catherine was the first child.””
A chill passed through the room.
Julian frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Arthur answered quietly.
“According to the original inheritance rules, William’s first child would inherit control of the family estate.””
Charlotte looked down.
“And me?””
Arthur’s silence hurt more than any answer.
Thomas spoke.
“You were the second child.””
Charlotte looked at him.
“So Catherine was the heir.””
“Yes.””
“And someone wanted her gone.””
Nobody spoke.
The truth was becoming clearer.
Someone hadn’t just wanted Charlotte’s identity.
They had wanted an entire bloodline erased.
Julian looked around the room.
“Where is Catherine now?””
Arthur’s face changed.
“I don’t know.””
Charlotte looked at him.
“You don’t know?””
“She disappeared.””
“When?””
“The same night as the fire.””
Charlotte stared.
Another missing child.
Another secret.
Another life destroyed.
Edward stepped closer.
“There’s something you should know.””
Charlotte looked at him.
“What?””
Edward took a deep breath.
“The fire wasn’t the beginning.””
“What do you mean?””
“The fire was the final step.””
He looked at the documents on the table.
“Everything started years before.””
Clara picked up one of the papers.
“These are financial records.””
She turned pages carefully.
“Transfers.””
Julian looked over her shoulder.
“To where?””
Clara’s expression changed.
“A private account.””
Arthur looked at the documents.
“Whose?””
Clara pointed to a name.
Nobody moved.
Because the name was familiar.
Too familiar.
*Catherine Ashford.*
Charlotte frowned.
“But she was a child.””
Thomas nodded.
“Exactly.””
Julian looked at Arthur.
“Someone was using her name.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
A sound interrupted them.
A soft click.
Everyone turned.
The door behind them had closed.
Not slammed.
Closed.
Slowly.
Charlotte walked toward it.
“Hello?””
No response.
Then a voice came through the other side.
A woman’s voice.
“Still asking questions, Charlotte?””
Everyone froze.
Charlotte stepped back.
She knew that voice.
Not from memory.
From the nightmare that had followed her for years.
Victoria.
But Victoria was not in the room.
Julian looked around.
“Where is she?””
Charlotte stared at the door.
“Victoria.””
The voice laughed.
“You finally remembered.””
Arthur moved toward the door.
“Open this.””
Victoria’s voice became colder.
“You still think you can order everyone around.””
A moment later, the lock clicked.
The door opened.
But Victoria wasn’t standing outside.
She was standing at the end of the hallway.
Holding a folder.
Everyone stared.
“How did you get down here?””
Victoria smiled.
“You all forgot something.””
She looked at Charlotte.
“This was my hiding place too.””
Charlotte stepped forward.
“You knew about Catherine.””
Victoria looked at the bracelet in Charlotte’s hand.
“Yes.””
“Who is she?””
Victoria’s expression softened.
For the first time, there was no anger.
Only sadness.
“She was my friend.””
Everyone froze.
Charlotte looked confused.
“Your friend?””
Victoria nodded.
“Catherine was the only person in this family who ever saw me.””
The confession surprised everyone.
“She knew I wasn’t important.””
Victoria laughed quietly.
“But she treated me like I was.””
Charlotte watched her carefully.
“You knew her.””
“Yes.””
“What happened to her?””
Victoria looked at Arthur.
“Ask him.””
Arthur’s face hardened.
“Victoria.””
“No.””
She opened the folder.
“I’m done carrying everyone’s sins.””
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Documents.
She handed them to Charlotte.
“Look.””
Charlotte took the first photograph.
Her hands immediately shook.
It showed Catherine.
Older.
Not a baby.
Not a child.
A young woman.
Standing beside someone.
Someone Charlotte recognized.
The person standing beside Catherine was Victoria.
Julian looked shocked.
“You knew her as an adult?””
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
Charlotte looked at her.
“But everyone said she disappeared.””
“She did.””
“When?””
Victoria looked down.
“Five years ago.””
The same night.
The same fire.
The same lie.
Charlotte’s voice became quiet.
“What happened to her?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
Instead, she handed Charlotte another document.
Charlotte read it.
Then froze.
The paper was a hospital record.
The patient name:
*Catherine Ashford.*
The date:
Five years ago.
The status:
*Transferred under protective identity.*
Charlotte looked up.
“She survived.””
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
Arthur looked shocked.
“You knew?””
Victoria looked at him.
“You knew too.””
Arthur said nothing.
Charlotte stared at both of them.
“Where is she?””
Victoria’s eyes moved toward the door.
“She’s closer than you think.””
A cold feeling moved through Charlotte.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria looked at her.
“Because the woman who has been watching this entire night…”
She paused.
“The woman who sent the messages…”
Everyone held their breath.
Victoria finished:
“She isn’t trying to destroy you.””
Charlotte’s heart raced.
“Then what does she want?””
Victoria looked at the bracelet.
“She wants you to remember who you were before everyone lied to you.””
The lights suddenly flickered.
A phone began ringing.
Not Arthur’s.
Not Julian’s.
Not Victoria’s.
A phone sitting on the old table in the hidden room.
Nobody had noticed it before.
Charlotte walked toward it slowly.
The screen showed a name.
A name that made everyone stop breathing.
*Catherine.*
Charlotte picked up.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman whispered:
“Charlotte.””
Her knees almost gave out.
Because the voice was real.
The voice of someone who shared her blood.
Her face.
Her past.
“I’ve waited five years to talk to you.””
Charlotte covered her mouth.
“Catherine?””
A pause.
Then:
“Yes.””
Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes.
“Where are you?””
The woman on the phone took a breath.
“Somewhere I was hidden to keep me alive.””
Charlotte looked around the room.
“Who hid you?””
Silence.
Then Catherine answered:
“The same person who tried to erase both of us.””
Charlotte’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Who?””
Catherine’s voice became barely audible.
“Charlotte…”
A pause.
“You need to leave Ashford Manor before he finds out I called you.””
“Who?””
The line crackled.
Then Catherine said the name.
A name nobody expected.
A name that turned every face toward Arthur.
“Your father’s killer is…”
The call suddenly cut off.
May you like
And in the silence that followed, a single sound came from upstairs.
A gunshot.
