Chapter 5: The Child Without A Name
The police arrived five minutes later.
But even with the entire farmhouse surrounded, I felt trapped.
Because the danger was no longer just outside.
It was inside my own family.
Daniel was arrested immediately.
He didn’t fight.
He didn’t run.
He simply looked at me with that same arrogant expression.
“You’ll regret saving her.””
I grabbed his arm before the officers pulled him away.
“Who?””
His eyes moved toward Sarah.
Then Lily.
“Everyone.””
The officer dragged him outside.
Nora was taken next.
But before she left, she stopped beside me.
“You want the truth?””
I stared at her.
“I want every truth.””
She smiled.
“Then ask your wife why she never registered your daughter’s birth.””
Sarah flinched.
Nora walked away.
I waited until she was gone.
Then I turned.
“Sarah.””
She closed her eyes.
“Ethan…”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“I spent seven years thinking you were dead.””
She cried.
“I know.””
“I mourned you.””
“I know.””
“I raised a company while believing my daughter was gone.””
“I know.””
I stepped closer.
“So tell me why you hid something from me.””
Sarah looked at Lily.
Then back at me.
“Because I was trying to save her.””
The anger inside me weakened.
Just slightly.
“From what?””
Sarah sat down slowly.
From the way she looked, I realized she had been carrying this weight for seven years.
“When Lily was born, the doctors found something unusual.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“She had a rare genetic marker.””
I stared.
“And?””
“Someone wanted her.””
The room felt colder.
“Who?””
Sarah swallowed.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
She shook her head.
“All I knew was that people were asking questions. Strangers came to the hospital. They wanted access to her records.””
My jaw tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I didn’t know who I could trust.””
The words hurt.
“Not even me?””
Sarah looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“I trusted you more than anyone.””
“Then why?””
“Because they had already reached inside Blackwood Industries.””
I froze.
“What?””
“Someone was leaking information. Someone close to you.””
Daniel.
The answer came immediately.
Sarah nodded.
“I suspected Daniel.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because the night I planned to tell you…”
She stopped.
Her voice broke.
“The fire happened.””
I looked away.
All those years.
The fire.
The hospital.
The lies.
A child’s voice interrupted us.
“Daddy?””
I turned.
Lily stood in the doorway.
She looked so small.
So frightened.
I knelt.
“What is it?””
She held something in her hand.
A folded piece of paper.
“I found this in my pocket.””
I opened it.
My heart stopped.
It was old.
Yellowed.
Handwritten.
The first line made my hands shake.
*Ethan, if you are reading this, it means Nora failed to keep us apart.*
I looked at Sarah.
She covered her mouth.
“That’s my handwriting.””
I read the letter.
Every word felt like a piece of my stolen life returning.
I don’t know how long I have.
I don’t know if you will ever forgive me.
But please believe this.
I never left you.
My vision blurred.
At the bottom of the page was one final sentence.
A sentence that made my blood run cold.
The person who started the fire was not Daniel.
I looked up.
Sarah was crying.
“Who was it?””
She shook her head.
“I never found out.””
Behind us, the farmhouse lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
A phone rang in the darkness.
Not mine.
Not Sarah’s.
Lily froze.
Because the ringtone was coming from her backpack.
I slowly reached inside.
I pulled out a small black phone.
A phone I had never seen before.
The screen showed one incoming call.
May you like
The name displayed:
*MOM.*
