Chapter 8: Chloe’s Real Name
For one terrible second, I thought Margaret meant me.
Brother.
The word entered my head and destroyed everything around it.
Chloe’s hand in mine at restaurants.
Her head on my shoulder.
Her lips against mine.
The engagement ring.
Three months until our wedding.
I stumbled away from Margaret.
“No.””
Hector caught my arm.
“Alexander.””
“No.””
Margaret was still conscious on the floor, glass glittering around her. The projectile had struck the wall above her, showering her with fragments, but I couldn’t see blood beyond a cut along her temple.
Detective Morgan crouched beside her.
“Margaret, stay with me.””
Margaret ignored her.
Her eyes remained fixed on me.
“She came back for her brother.””
I could barely speak.
“You mean me?””
Margaret’s face twisted with confusion.
Then realization.
“Oh.””
She shook her head quickly.
“No.””
Air returned to my lungs.
“No?””
“No, child. Not you.””
I stared at her.
“Then who?””
Sirens approached outside.
Margaret tried to sit up.
Morgan stopped her.
“Don’t move.””
Margaret gripped Morgan’s sleeve.
“The papers.””
Hector was already collecting them.
“Which one?””
“Birth register.””
He found a yellowed sheet and brought it over.
Margaret pointed with a trembling finger.
“There.””
Two handwritten entries had been circled.
*Male infant — Hayes.*
*Male infant — Bennett.*
But there was a third notation beneath them.
A name.
*Female infant — Bennett.*
I looked at Margaret.
“Twins?””
She nodded.
“The Bennetts had twins.””
A boy.
And a girl.
My eyes dropped to the page.
The female infant’s first name had been written clearly.
*Chloe.*
My stomach turned.
“And the boy?””
Margaret looked at me.
“The boy disappeared during the blackout.””
I touched the back of my neck.
“The baby with the crescent mark.””
“Yes.””
“Me.””
“I don’t know.””
My anger flared.
“You just said—”
“I said the Bennett boy had the mark.””
She took a painful breath.
“I never said you were that baby.””
The room became silent.
I understood.
A birthmark could be copied.
Medical records could be falsified.
A child could be renamed.
Everything I thought proved something only created another question.
“Then who am I?””
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I don’t know.””
That answer hurt more than any lie.
Detective Morgan looked toward the broken window.
“We need to move.””
Her partner entered.
“Vehicle is gone. Patrol has the description.””
“Any plate?””
“Covered.””
Morgan looked at Hector.
“Get Mr. Hayes out through the rear.””
“I’m not leaving Margaret.””
“You are if whoever fired that comes back.””
Margaret reached for my hand.
“Go.””
I looked down at her.
“Not until you tell me what Adrian found.””
She swallowed.
“Samuel kept copies.””
“Of what?””
“The nursery records.””
“Where?””
“Nathan found them after his father died.””
Nathan.
Everything returned to him.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Years.””
“Then why didn’t he tell me?””
Margaret’s eyes filled with sadness.
“Because Nathan was paying for his father’s sins.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Before she could answer, paramedics entered.
Morgan stood.
“That’s enough.””
“No.””
“Mr. Hayes.””
“I need answers.””
“And I need you alive long enough to hear them.””
That ended the argument.
Twenty minutes later, I was in the back of Hector’s SUV.
Detective Morgan followed behind us.
I called Marisol.
She answered immediately.
“Alexander?””
“Put the girls somewhere secure.””
“They are.””
“Not the house.””
Silence.
“What happened?””
“Someone knows where I am.””
“Chloe?””
“I don’t know.””
“Where should we go?””
I thought.
Hotels were obvious.
My office was obvious.
Then Hector spoke.
“The safe property.””
I nodded.
Years earlier, we had purchased a small guesthouse under a corporate security subsidiary for emergency relocation.
Almost nobody knew about it.
“Marisol, Hector’s team is coming for you.””
“Okay.””
“Bring nothing except what the girls need.””
“What about you?””
“I’ll meet you there.””
“Alexander?””
“Yes?””
“Are you all right?””
I looked at the shattered glass still clinging to my jacket.
“No.””
She was silent.
Then she said, “Come back anyway.””
The call ended.
My phone immediately rang again.
Unknown number.
Hector glanced at it.
“Don’t.””
I answered.
“Hello?””
Chloe.
“Alexander.””
My entire body tightened.
“Where are you?””
“That doesn’t matter.””
“It matters to me.””
“You need to stop looking.””
I laughed.
“You lost the right to tell me what I need.””
“You don’t understand what you’re uncovering.””
“Then explain it.””
Silence.
“Chloe.””
“My name isn’t Chloe Bennett.””
I looked at Hector.
“What is it?””
She hesitated.
“Chloe Mercer Bennett.””
Mercer.
The name she had used with Emily.
“So Emily knew your real name.””
“Yes.””
“And you lied to me.””
“Yes.””
The simplicity of the admission made me angrier.
“You knew my wife.””
“Yes.””
“You approached her before she died.””
“Yes.””
“You threatened her.””
“No.””
“I read the messages.””
“You read fragments.””
“You told her to think about her daughters.””
“Because she was about to expose people who had already killed before.””
“Who?””
Silence.
“Your family?””
A bitter laugh.
“You still think Hayes is your family.””
My grip tightened.
“Where is Nathan?””
Another silence.
“Alive.””
“You expect me to believe you?””
“He’s alive.””
“Where?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“Can’t or won’t?””
“Both.””
I closed my eyes.
“Did you hurt him?””
“No.””
“Did you hurt Emily?””
Her breathing changed.
“No.””
“Did you have anything to do with her death?””
“No.””
“Then why did she fear you?””
Chloe didn’t answer immediately.
When she finally did, her voice was different.
No polished confidence.
No cruelty.
Just exhaustion.
“Because I wanted the same thing she wanted.””
“What?””
“The truth.””
I almost laughed.
“You abused my daughters to find the truth?””
“No.””
My anger exploded.
“I watched you!””
Hector glanced toward me.
“You grabbed Valeria. You humiliated Sofia. You told them I didn’t want them. Don’t tell me no.””
Chloe’s voice cracked.
“I know what I did.””
“Then don’t justify it.””
“I’m not.””
“Good.””
“I became something I thought I could control.””
“What does that even mean?””
“It means I spent twenty years believing the Hayes family stole my brother.””
I went still.
“And when I finally got inside your house, I stopped seeing your daughters as children.””
Her voice became quieter.
“I saw them as Hayes.””
I felt sick.
“They’re six and nine.””
“I know.””
“No. You don’t get to say that now.””
“I know.””
“You deliberately frightened them.””
“Yes.””
“You planted stolen property to frame Marisol.””
“Yes.””
“You tried to isolate them from me.””
“Yes.””
Each admission was another nail.
“Why?””
“Because Marisol found Emily’s notebook.””
“What notebook?””
“The original one.””
I frowned.
“The black notebook?””
“No.””
My pulse quickened.
“There’s another?””
“Emily kept a red journal.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
“Then why were you looking for the blue box?””
“Because I thought she put it there.””
I looked at Hector.
He was listening.
“What’s in the red journal?””
“The name of the person who ordered the switch.””
I stopped breathing.
“At the hospital?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have spent years searching.””
I stared through the window as the city passed.
“Why marry me?””
The question came out quieter.
Chloe didn’t answer.
“Why?””
“To get access.””
“To my house?””
“To your family records. Your father’s files. The company archive.””
“You could have broken in.””
“Not where the real records are stored.””
“Where are they?””
“In the Hayes family trust vault.””
I frowned.
“There is no trust vault.””
“Yes, there is.””
“No.””
“Ask Adrian.””
My jaw tightened.
“You’ve been calling him.””
“Yes.””
“So he is alive.””
“Yes.””
“Is he really my brother?””
A pause.
“I don’t know.””
That answer surprised me.
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
“He says he is.””
“Adrian says many things.””
“Did he answer the lake question?””
Silence.
Then Chloe whispered, “Emily told you about that?””
“Valeria did.””
“Don’t ask Adrian.””
“Why?””
“Because he knows the answer.””
“That would prove he’s Adrian.””
“No.””
Her voice sharpened.
“It proves someone told him the answer.””
I felt cold.
“My father?””
“Possibly.””
“Emily?””
“Possibly.””
“Who else knew?””
Chloe paused.
“Samuel Cole.””
Of course.
Samuel again.
“What did Samuel want?””
“Money at first.””
“And later?””
“Control.””
“Of what?””
“The Hayes estate.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It will when you see the trust.””
“What trust?””
“The original one.””
I looked at Hector.
“Where is it?””
“Your father hid it.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
“You know nothing when I ask the important questions.””
Chloe gave a broken laugh.
“That’s because everyone who learned everything ended up dead.””
Emily.
My father.
Possibly whoever lay in Adrian’s grave.
“Chloe.””
“Yes?””
“Who shot at Margaret Bell?””
Her breathing stopped.
“How do you know Margaret?””
“I’m asking the questions.””
“Alexander, where is she?””
“Safe.””
“Where?””
“Why?””
“Because if you found Margaret, they know.””
“Who are they?””
“I don’t know their names.””
“Stop lying!””
“I’m not!””
For the first time, Chloe sounded genuinely frightened.
“Samuel called them the trustees.””
“What trustees?””
“The people behind the original arrangement.””
“What arrangement?””
“The children.””
My mouth went dry.
“What children?””
“You. Adrian. My brother.””
Hector looked at me.
“Three boys?””
“Yes.””
“What did they do?””
“I only know pieces.””
“Give me the pieces.””
Chloe inhaled.
“The blackout wasn’t an accident.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“The maternity wing lost power deliberately.””
“Why?””
“To move two babies without electronic records.””
“Which babies?””
“The Hayes baby and my brother.””
“Why?””
“Because one of them was worth millions.””
I closed my eyes.
“And the other?””
“Was useful.””
I felt nauseated.
“Useful for what?””
“Leverage.””
Against whom?
The Bennetts?
The Hayes family?
My father?
I couldn’t tell anymore.
“Where are you?”” I asked.
“I told you—”
“Where are you?””
Silence.
Then Chloe whispered, “St. Catherine’s.””
I sat upright.
“What?””
“The old maternity wing.””
“Why?””
“Nathan brought me here.””
“Why?””
“He found Samuel’s archive.””
My heartbeat accelerated.
“What’s in it?””
“I haven’t seen everything.””
“Chloe.””
“There are photographs.””
“Of what?””
“The babies.””
My throat tightened.
“And blood cards.””
Hector turned sharply.
Blood cards.
Newborn screening samples.
Potential DNA.
“Do they still exist?”” I asked.
“Yes.””
“Then we can find out who I am.””
Chloe didn’t answer.
“Chloe?””
“They already tested one.””
My stomach tightened.
“Whose?””
“The Bennett boy’s.””
I stared at nothing.
“And?””
Her voice became barely audible.
“He survived.””
My heart slammed.
“Where is he?””
“That’s why I called.””
“What?””
“I know who my brother is.””
“Who?””
A door opened on Chloe’s end.
She gasped.
Then Nathan’s voice came faintly through the phone.
“Chloe, put it down.””
“Nathan?””
She ignored him.
“Alexander, listen to me.””
“I’m listening.””
“The man calling himself Adrian is not Adrian Hayes.””
I stood even though the SUV was moving.
“Who is he?””
Chloe started crying.
Not loudly.
One broken breath.
Then another.
“My brother.””
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?””
“He’s the Bennett boy.””
I couldn’t speak.
“He has the crescent mark,” she continued.
“Samuel gave him Adrian’s identity after the accident.””
“Why?””
“To keep him hidden.””
“Then where is the real Adrian?””
“I don’t know.””
Nathan shouted in the background.
“Chloe!””
She spoke faster.
“But there’s something worse.””
“What?””
“The blood card labeled Alexander Hayes doesn’t match you.””
My mouth went dry.
“What does it match?””
She hesitated.
Then said, “Valeria.””
I froze.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
“Valeria is my daughter.””
“I know.””
“So of course she shares my DNA.””
“No, Alexander.””
Chloe’s voice shook.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then make me understand.””
“The blood card labeled Alexander Hayes belongs to the original Hayes baby.””
“Yes.””
“And that child grew up.””
“Who?””
A crash came through the phone.
Chloe screamed.
Then Nathan shouted, “Run!””
The call filled with footsteps.
“Chloe!””
She came back breathless.
“Alexander, get your daughters away from the Hayes estate.””
“They’re already leaving.””
“Good.””
“Tell me who the original baby became.””
A door slammed.
Chloe whispered, “The DNA proves Valeria is his granddaughter.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What?””
“She isn’t only connected to you.””
“No.””
“She’s connected directly to the real Hayes bloodline.””
I gripped the seat.
“Who is he?””
Another crash.
Then Chloe said a name.
A name I knew.
A man who had held Valeria when she was born.
A man Emily trusted enough to make executor of her private medical directives.
A man who had been inside my family for decades.
“Hector.””
I slowly turned.
Hector was staring at me.
Chloe’s voice came through the speaker.
“The original Alexander Hayes grew up under another name.””
I couldn’t breathe.
Then she finished.
“His name is Hector Ruiz.””
Neither of us moved.
The phone slipped slightly in my hand.
I stared at the man who had protected me for ten years.
Hector stared back.
May you like
And then, very slowly, his hand moved away from the steering wheel.
Toward the gun beneath his jacket.
