Chapter 5: The Lie in the Hospital
"That's not true.""
Ryan's voice was barely audible.
Mom stared at him.
"You know it is.""
I backed away.
"You killed my father?""
Ryan looked at me.
"No.""
"Mom said you did.""
"Your mother knows what she believes.""
Mom's expression hardened.
"I saw you.""
"You saw me standing beside him.""
"I saw the gun.""
"You saw the wrong man.""
Cole stepped between them.
"Enough. We're moving.""
"No," I said.
Everyone stopped.
"I want the truth.""
Cole looked at Mom.
She nodded.
Ryan leaned against the tunnel wall.
"Your mother and I were working together the night Daniel died.""
"Why?""
"We were trying to get him out.""
"Out of what?""
"The network.""
Ryan looked at Mom.
"Daniel had discovered Ethan was selling the Ledger.""
Mom nodded.
"He was going to expose everything.""
"Then what happened?""
Ryan's eyes dropped.
"Ethan found us.""
Mom covered her mouth.
"He shot Daniel.""
I stared at her.
"You said Ryan killed him.""
"I saw Ryan holding the gun.""
"After Ethan shot him," Ryan said.
Mom looked at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"You were six months pregnant.""
"That doesn't answer the question.""
Ryan's voice cracked.
"Because Ethan had a gun pointed at you.""
Silence.
"He told me if I spoke, he'd kill you and the baby.""
I looked at Mom.
"So you thought Ryan killed Daniel.""
"Yes.""
"And Ethan let you believe it?""
"He needed me to hate Ryan.""
Ryan looked at me.
"And it worked.""
A metallic clang echoed from somewhere behind us.
Cole checked his weapon.
"We're out of time.""
He pointed toward the end of the tunnel.
"There's a service exit.""
We hurried forward.
The tunnel ended beneath an abandoned warehouse.
Rain hammered the metal roof.
Cole pushed open a rusted door.
A black SUV waited outside.
We piled inside.
Nobody spoke.
I sat between Mom and Ryan.
I couldn't stop staring at him.
Finally I asked,
"Why did you stay away for seven years?""
Ryan looked through the window.
"Because I promised Daniel.""
"What promise?""
"That I'd protect you without letting you know I existed.""
"Why?""
"Because the people hunting your family believed you were the key.""
Mom touched my hand.
"They thought if they controlled you, they could unlock everything Daniel hid.""
"What did Daniel hide?""
Ryan looked at me.
"The evidence.""
"The Black Ledger?""
"No.""
He shook his head.
"The Ledger is a list. Daniel had something far more dangerous.""
"What?""
"The proof that powerful people had been buying information about witnesses.""
I frowned.
"Why would that be more dangerous?""
"Because the buyers included people inside the government.""
The SUV turned sharply.
I grabbed the seat.
"Are they still after us?""
Ryan nodded.
"They've been after you since you were born.""
Mom whispered, "That's why we changed identities.""
I looked at her.
"Then why did you marry Ethan?""
She closed her eyes.
"Because I didn't know who he was.""
The answer hurt more than I expected.
"What happened when you found out?""
"I tried to leave.""
"Ethan stopped you.""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you run?""
Mom looked at me.
"Because I had you.""
Her voice broke.
"I knew if I disappeared, he'd follow me. If I took you, he'd follow us. So I stayed.""
The SUV slowed.
A hospital appeared ahead.
I recognized it immediately.
"This is where I was born.""
Mom went still.
"Yes.""
"Why are we here?""
Ryan looked at Cole.
"We need the original birth records.""
Cole frowned.
"They were sealed.""
"Exactly.""
We entered through the emergency entrance.
A nurse recognized Mom.
"Mrs. Walker?""
Mom froze.
The nurse looked confused.
"Sorry. I thought you were someone else.""
Ryan pulled his badge.
"We need access to archived maternity records.""
The nurse hesitated.
"Those records are restricted.""
Cole showed his credentials.
"Federal authorization.""
She led us downstairs.
The archive room was tiny.
Dust covered the shelves.
Mom stood beside me while Ryan searched.
Then he stopped.
"Here.""
He pulled out a thin folder.
My name was written across the front.
Not Emily Walker.
Another name.
*EMILY DANIELS.*
I stared at it.
"Daniels?""
Mom began crying.
"You were never supposed to see that.""
Ryan opened the folder.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Mother: Sarah Daniels.
Father: Daniel Daniels.
No Ethan Walker.
No Walker anywhere.
I felt dizzy.
"My name isn't Emily Walker.""
Mom touched my shoulder.
"It was changed when we entered protection.""
I looked at the date.
The certificate had been issued the day after I was born.
Something was wrong.
"Mom.""
"What?""
"The signature.""
She leaned closer.
Her face turned white.
"That's not Daniel's.""
Ryan looked at the signature.
"You're right.""
Cole frowned.
"Whose is it?""
Mom whispered,
"Ethan's.""
I looked at the document.
"But Ethan wasn't my father.""
Ryan turned the page.
There was another document underneath.
A hospital photograph.
A nurse holding me.
Behind her stood Ethan.
But he wasn't smiling.
He was staring at the baby in her arms.
On the back was a handwritten sentence:
*HE CAME FOR THE CHILD BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.*
Mom grabbed the photograph.
"No.""
Ryan's expression changed.
"Sarah.""
She shook her head.
"No, no, no.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
She stared at the picture.
"Ethan knew you were Daniel's daughter before I ever met him.""
The hospital lights suddenly went out.
A man's voice came from the doorway.
"You finally figured it out.""
We turned.
Ethan stood there.
No handcuffs.
No agents.
No bruised face.
He smiled.
And behind him stood six armed men.
Ethan looked directly at me.
"Hello, Emily.""
May you like
Then he raised a small remote.
"Now let's see what your real father left you.""
