Chapter 6: The Truth About The First Daughter
Eleanor sat on the nursery floor until sunrise.
She read Lillian's letter three times.
Then a fourth.
Because every sentence changed the way she saw the past.
"Your daughter was never lost by accident.""
The words stared back at her.
"Someone inside your family arranged everything.""
Eleanor's hands tightened around the paper.
For twenty-five years, she had blamed herself.
She had wondered if she missed a warning.
If she should have asked more questions.
If she had failed as a mother.
But Lillian knew.
Someone had stolen her child.
And someone inside the Vance family helped them.
Eleanor immediately called Grace.
The young woman arrived minutes later.
"What happened?""
Eleanor handed her the letter.
Grace read silently.
Her expression changed with every line.
"My mother knew.""
Eleanor nodded.
"She tried to tell me.""
Grace continued reading.
Then she stopped.
"There's something missing.""
"What?""
Grace pointed at the page.
"The letter ends here.""
Eleanor looked.
She was right.
The letter stopped in the middle of a sentence.
"The person responsible is someone you trust. Someone who has always been close enough to—"
Nothing followed.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
Someone had removed the most important part.
Grace looked at Eleanor.
"Someone wanted you to find this.""
Eleanor nodded slowly.
"But not everything.""
A sound came from the hallway.
Both women turned.
Chloe stood there.
She looked exhausted.
"I need to talk to you.""
Eleanor folded the letter.
"What is it?""
Chloe stepped inside.
For the first time, she looked vulnerable.
"I found something in my father's old office.""
Grace watched her carefully.
Chloe handed Eleanor a small envelope.
"I found it hidden behind a drawer.""
Eleanor opened it.
Inside was a document.
A bank transfer record.
Her eyes widened.
The payment date was twenty-five years ago.
The same week her daughter was born.
The recipient name was hidden.
But the initials were visible.
L.M.
"Lillian Miller," Grace whispered.
Chloe shook her head.
"No.""
Everyone looked at her.
"What?""
Chloe swallowed.
"The payment wasn't made to her.""
She pointed at the document.
"The money came from her.""
Eleanor stared.
Impossible.
"Lillian paid someone?""
Chloe nodded.
"There was another document with it.""
She handed over another page.
This one was a hospital invoice.
But at the bottom was a handwritten note.
*"Transfer completed. Child delivered safely.""*
Grace stepped back.
"Child delivered?""
Eleanor felt a wave of fear.
Because suddenly, the story had another possibility.
Maybe Lillian wasn't only protecting Grace.
Maybe she was protecting someone else.
"Why would my mother pay someone?"" Grace asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Chloe quietly said:
"Because maybe she wasn't the person who took you.""
The words hung in the air.
Eleanor looked at her.
"What are you saying?""
Chloe looked ashamed.
"I'm saying maybe Lillian was trying to fix what someone else did.""
Before anyone could respond, Eleanor's phone rang.
The number was unknown.
She answered immediately.
"Hello?""
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then an older woman's voice whispered through the phone.
"Eleanor?""
Eleanor froze.
Because she knew that voice.
She had heard it once before.
Twenty-five years ago.
In the hospital.
"Lillian?""
Grace's eyes widened.
The voice continued.
"I know you found the letter.""
Eleanor stood.
"Where are you?""
A long pause.
Then the woman whispered:
"I was afraid to come back.""
"Why?""
The voice trembled.
"Because the person who stole your daughter...""
Another pause.
"...is still living inside the Vance family.""
The call suddenly ended.
Eleanor stared at the phone.
Grace looked at her.
"Who was it?""
Eleanor slowly lowered the phone.
May you like
And for the first time in twenty-five years, she said the words she had been afraid to say.
"Lillian is alive.""
