Chapter 4: The Daughter Victoria Tried to Erase
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The name Eleanor had spoken seemed to hang in the air.
Victoria Callaway.
My biological mother.
I looked at the woman standing across from me. She was forty-three, impeccably dressed, and had spent the last hour trying to have me arrested.
She was also apparently the woman who had given birth to me.
"No," I whispered.
Victoria's expression hardened.
"Don't listen to her.""
I turned toward Eleanor.
"Tell me she's lying.""
Eleanor stepped into the room, supported by the police officer.
"I wish I could.""
"Then explain it.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Victoria gave birth to you twenty-six years ago. She was eighteen. Your grandfather Arthur had discovered that Richard was planning to use the pregnancy to secure control of the family trust.""
Richard struck his cane against the floor.
"That's enough.""
Eleanor ignored him.
"Victoria wasn't supposed to become a mother. Richard had arranged for the child to be taken away immediately after birth. He intended to have the baby declared medically unfit for the inheritance provisions.""
I looked at Victoria.
"Why?""
Richard answered before she could.
"Because Arthur had written a provision into his will. His grandchildren would receive voting rights in the company once they reached adulthood.""
Daniel stared at him.
"So you wanted the child gone because he could eventually challenge your control?""
Richard smiled coldly.
"Business is not a fairy tale, young man.""
Victoria stepped forward.
"You're making this sound like I had a choice.""
I stared at her.
"You could have told me.""
She laughed bitterly.
"Tell you what? That I was a frightened teenager who had been manipulated by her own father?""
"You could have found me.""
"I did.""
The words stopped me.
Victoria's eyes glistened.
"I searched for you for years.""
I shook my head.
"Then why did you try to kill Eleanor?""
Her face changed immediately.
"Because she was going to destroy everything.""
Eleanor raised her voice.
"Because I discovered what you and Richard had done!""
Richard moved toward the old desk.
The police officer immediately blocked his path.
"Sir, stay where you are.""
Richard's smile disappeared.
"Do you know who I am?""
"Yes," the officer replied.
"That's why I suggest you cooperate.""
I looked at Victoria.
"Tell me about Grace.""
Her jaw tightened.
"She was my mother's personal assistant.""
Eleanor shook her head.
"She was my daughter's closest friend.""
Victoria looked away.
"Grace helped me after you were born. She was the only person who didn't treat me like a disgrace.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"She raised me.""
"Yes.""
"She gave me her name.""
Victoria nodded.
"She was supposed to return you.""
"Supposed to?""
Victoria wiped her cheek.
"Richard arranged everything. Grace was supposed to hand you over to a private family. Instead, she disappeared with you.""
Richard slammed his cane against the floor.
"She stole an asset belonging to the Callaway family!""
I turned toward him.
"An asset?""
He looked at me with complete indifference.
"Your birth gave this family certain legal advantages. You were never supposed to be raised by a nobody.""
I took a step forward.
"That nobody worked three jobs to keep me fed. She stayed awake when I had pneumonia. She sold her wedding ring to pay my college tuition.""
My voice cracked.
"And you call her a nobody?""
Richard's face remained expressionless.
"She interfered with matters she didn't understand.""
Eleanor began crying.
"Grace understood everything. That's why she ran.""
I looked at Victoria again.
"Did you know she was alive?""
Victoria hesitated.
Richard answered.
"We knew where she was.""
My stomach dropped.
"What?""
"We knew where Grace lived. We monitored her movements for years.""
I could barely speak.
"Then why didn't you leave her alone?""
Richard leaned on his cane.
"Because she possessed something that belonged to me.""
"The ownership records?""
His smile returned.
"Among other things.""
Daniel quietly moved toward the police officer.
"Sir, I think we need to separate these individuals.""
But Richard suddenly reached into his jacket.
The officer shouted.
"Hands where I can see them!""
Richard froze.
A small black device slipped from his pocket and landed on the floor.
Victoria stared at it.
"Father, what are you doing?""
Richard looked at her.
"Finishing what your grandmother should have allowed me to finish twenty-six years ago.""
He pressed a button on the device.
Somewhere inside the building, an alarm began screaming.
Red emergency lights flashed.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"That's the building lockdown system!""
The police officer rushed toward Richard, but one of the men accompanying Victoria shoved a bookcase into his path.
Chaos erupted.
Victoria ran toward the hallway.
Richard followed.
I lunged after them, but Daniel held me back.
"Don't!""
The officer recovered and tackled Richard's bodyguard.
Eleanor grabbed my sleeve.
"Nathaniel, listen to me!""
I turned.
"Not now!""
"Grace left you something else. Something that proves who ordered her disappearance.""
"Where?""
Eleanor pointed toward the photograph.
"Look at the back.""
I turned it over.
Beneath the altered date, there was a small inscription I hadn't noticed before.
For Nathaniel. When he is old enough to know the truth.
A second line appeared beneath it.
The woman who gave birth to you wasn't the only person who loved you.
I looked up.
Eleanor was crying.
"Grace knew you would eventually find us.""
"How?""
"Because she knew that Richard would come looking for you.""
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Then the fire alarm stopped.
Daniel looked at his radio.
"Security says the lockdown has been overridden.""
"By whom?"" I asked.
He listened.
His expression changed.
"Victoria.""
I looked toward the open doorway.
A police officer rushed into the room.
"Mr. Brooks, we've got a situation.""
"What?""
He swallowed.
"The woman you identified as Victoria Callaway has disappeared.""
Eleanor gripped my hand.
"That's impossible.""
The officer shook his head.
"There's more. Someone accessed the hotel's underground parking garage using your mother's old employee identification.""
My blood ran cold.
"Grace's identification?""
He nodded.
"And the vehicle that left the garage belongs to Nathaniel Brooks.""
I stared at him.
"I don't own a car.""
The officer lowered his voice.
"Then someone wants us to believe you do.""
Twenty minutes later, I was standing in the hotel lobby while police searched my room.
Daniel approached with a tablet.
"There's another problem.""
I was exhausted.
"What now?""
He showed me a photograph of a black sedan leaving the underground garage.
The license plate was registered to a company I had never heard of.
But the driver was unmistakable.
Victoria.
And sitting in the passenger seat was a young woman wearing my mother's old silver bracelet.
I stared at the screen.
"Who is that?""
Daniel zoomed in.
The woman turned toward the camera.
For a moment, I thought I was looking at a reflection of myself.
Then Daniel whispered:
"That's impossible.""
"What?""
He pointed to the woman's face.
"That's Grace Brooks.""
My heart stopped.
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Because the woman who had supposedly died eleven years ago was driving away with Victoria Callaway.
And she looked exactly as she had in my childhood photographs.
