Chapter 9: The Daughter Before Mia
Daniel read the message until the words blurred.
Her first child.
He looked at Emily, who had followed him into the hallway despite the nurse's protests.
She was pale, shaking, and barely able to stand.
“Daniel?”” she whispered.
“What's happened?””
He showed her the photograph.
When she saw Mia crying in the back seat, she pressed a hand to her mouth.
Then Daniel showed her the second message.
Emily's knees buckled.
He caught her before she fell.
“Emily, what does it mean?””
She clutched his shirt.
“No.””
“What first child?””
She began shaking her head.
“Please. Not now.””
“Emily, someone has our daughter!””
“I know!””
Her voice broke through the hallway.
Several nurses turned toward them.
Emily struggled to breathe.
“Daniel, I need you to understand something. Thomas has been threatening me with this for years. I thought he was bluffing. I thought he was using it to keep me quiet.””
“Using what?””
Emily looked into his eyes.
“I had a baby before Mia.””
Daniel went completely still.
“What?””
She covered her face.
“I was nineteen. I was terrified. My family had very little money, and I wasn't married.
My parents told me the baby had been placed with another family. They said I would never be allowed to see her.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was told she had died.””
He felt the world tilt.
“You were told?””
Emily nodded through her tears.
“My parents received a letter from the agency. They said the baby had a serious medical condition and died shortly after birth. I never saw a death certificate. I never saw a grave.””
Daniel remembered Thomas's words.
Ask Emily who you are.
His father had known about the child.
Perhaps he had known all along.
“Did Thomas arrange the adoption?””
“I don't know.””
“Did he know where the baby went?””
Emily closed her eyes.
“Three years ago, before Vanessa locked me away, Thomas came to see me. He told me my first child had survived.””
Daniel's breath caught.
“Who is she?””
Emily shook her head.
“He wouldn't tell me. He said I would never see her unless I signed the trust documents.””
“And you refused?””
“I refused to help him steal Mia's inheritance. I didn't know whether he was telling the truth about the baby. I thought he was trying to break me.””
Daniel looked again at the photograph of Mia.
The unknown man beside her wore a silver ring shaped like a serpent.
Daniel recognized it.
He had seen the same ring on a photograph in his father's study, worn by a man standing beside Thomas at a business dinner.
A man identified in the caption as Victor Sloane.
Thomas's former business partner.
The man who had disappeared shortly before Thomas's supposed death.
Daniel called the police again and gave them the name.
The dispatcher confirmed that officers were already investigating the abduction.
But Daniel knew waiting would be dangerous.
He turned to Emily.
“I'm going to the estate.””
“No.””
“They have Mia.””
“That's exactly why you can't go alone.””
“They specifically told me to come alone.””
Emily grabbed his arm.
“Daniel, Thomas doesn't make threats unless he has already planned how to carry them out. If he wants the trust file, it's because it contains something he can't afford to let anyone see.””
“Then I'll bring the file.””
Emily shook her head.
“You don't understand. The original file isn't just about money. It's about the baby.””
Daniel frowned.
“What?””
Emily took a breath.
“When I was imprisoned, Vanessa told me something. She said the baby I lost had been adopted by a family connected to Thomas. She said he had arranged it so that he could control the child's inheritance before she was even born.””
Daniel's thoughts raced.
“Are you saying your first daughter might be connected to the Mercer family?””
Emily nodded.
“I think Thomas used the adoption to hide a financial arrangement. He wanted a child he could control without anyone questioning where the money came from.””
Daniel looked toward the hospital exit.
A terrible realization settled over him.
If Thomas had arranged Emily's first child's adoption, then he might have been manipulating both daughters for decades.
He took Emily's hand.
“I'll find Mia. And I'll find the truth about your first daughter.””
Emily looked at him desperately.
“Promise me something.””
“What?””
“If you discover who she is, don't let Thomas use her the way he used us.””
Daniel kissed her forehead.
“I promise.””
He left the hospital after arranging for two trusted officers to remain with Emily.
Outside, the sky was bruised purple with the first hints of evening. He drove toward the old Mercer estate, a sprawling property north of Austin that had belonged to his grandfather.
The house had been empty for years.
Thomas claimed it was too expensive to maintain.
Now Daniel suspected it had never been empty at all.
When he arrived, the iron gates stood open.
A single light burned in the upstairs window.
Daniel parked beside the old fountain and stepped out.
The air smelled of rain and dry leaves.
He carried a small bag containing a copy of the trust documents, a flashlight, and the recording device. He had already sent copies of the recording to the police and a lawyer he trusted.
He wasn't going to walk blindly into another trap.
The front door opened before he reached it.
Thomas stood inside.
“Come in, son.””
Daniel kept his distance.
“Where is Mia?””
“Safe.””
“Let me see her.””
“In a moment.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You have one chance to do this right.””
Thomas sighed.
“You sound just like your mother.””
“Don't talk about her.””
“Your mother believed that every problem could be solved by telling the truth. It was a charming quality, but it made her vulnerable.””
Daniel stepped into the foyer.
“Where's Victor Sloane?””
Thomas's expression flickered.
“You've been doing some research.””
“Where is my daughter?””
Thomas gestured toward the dining room.
“First, we discuss the documents.””
Daniel followed him into a room lined with dark wood paneling. On the table sat a thick leather folder, a glass of water, and a small silver key.
Thomas opened the folder.
“Your grandfather established the trust to protect the family fortune. Over time, the arrangements became more complicated. I made decisions that I believed were necessary.””
“You stole from your granddaughter.””
“I borrowed against assets that would eventually return to the family.””
“You forged documents.””
Thomas's eyes narrowed.
“Careful.””
Daniel placed the recording device on the table.
“I have your voice telling Vanessa to keep Emily beneath the house.””
Thomas looked at the device without surprise.
“Then you also have my voice discussing matters you don't understand.””
“I have enough to send you to prison.””
Thomas gave a quiet laugh.
“You have a recording of a conversation that could be interpreted a dozen different ways. Meanwhile, I have decades of financial records showing that you authorized transfers from the trust.””
“I never authorized anything.””
“Your signature appears on every document.””
“Because you forged it!””
Thomas stood.
“Do you know how easy it is to forge a signature when you have access to someone's private papers?””
Daniel stared at him.
“You're admitting it?””
“I'm explaining how the world works.””
Thomas walked to a cabinet and removed a thin folder.
He placed it on the table.
Inside was a photograph of a young woman holding a newborn baby.
The woman's face was Emily's.
Daniel's hands trembled.
“That's Emily.””
“Yes.””
“And the baby?””
“Your wife's first child.””
Daniel looked closer.
A hospital bracelet encircled the baby's wrist.
The name printed on it was barely legible.
*BABY GIRL — E. MERCER.*
Beneath the photograph lay an adoption record.
The adoptive parents' names had been blacked out, but a handwritten note remained visible.
Placement approved by Victor Sloane. Financial guardianship assigned to Thomas Mercer.
Daniel looked up.
“You controlled the child?””
“I controlled the account established for her.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew she would be important someday.””
Daniel felt sick.
“Important how?””
Thomas opened another document.
It contained a list of names, dates, and payments.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Victor Sloane.
Another appeared beside it.
Vanessa Reed.
Daniel stared at the page.
His wife had not simply married into the family.
She had been part of the arrangement long before she entered their home.
Thomas closed the folder.
“Now you understand why I needed the trust file.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“I understand why you were afraid of it.””
Thomas's expression hardened.
“Give me the original file.””
“Show me Mia.””
Thomas pressed a button beneath the table.
A door opened at the far end of the room.
Victor Sloane stepped inside, holding Mia by the shoulder.
She was crying, but she appeared unharmed.
“Daddy!””
Daniel took a step forward.
Victor raised a pistol.
“Not another step.””
Thomas nodded toward the chair.
“Sit down, Daniel.””
Daniel remained standing.
“Let her go.””
Victor tightened his grip.
“Your father has been very patient.””
Mia twisted free for a moment.
“Daddy, don't give them the papers!””
Victor seized her again.
Thomas's expression darkened.
“Quiet, child.””
Daniel looked at the man who had raised him, the man who had supposedly died, the man who had turned his family into a prison.
Then he looked at Mia.
“Okay,” he said quietly.
“I'll give you the file.””
He placed the leather folder on the table.
Thomas opened it.
His eyes moved across the first page.
Then the second.
Suddenly, his face changed.
“This isn't the original.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Thomas slammed the folder shut.
“Where is it?””
Daniel looked at Victor.
“Let my daughter go, and I'll tell you.””
Thomas reached inside his jacket and removed a second pistol.
“Your wife should have taught you when to stop bargaining.””
Then he turned toward Victor.
“Take the girl upstairs.””
Victor began pulling Mia toward the door.
Mia fought him, screaming.
“Daddy! Daddy, help me!””
Daniel lunged forward.
A gunshot exploded.
Pain ripped through his shoulder.
He fell against the table, knocking the documents to the floor.
Thomas stood over him, the pistol smoking in his hand.
“You should have stayed out of this.””
Daniel pressed his palm against his wound.
Victor dragged Mia into the hallway.
Thomas bent down and whispered, “The original file is the only thing keeping your wife's first daughter alive.””
Daniel froze.
Thomas smiled.
“Because the woman you think you're saving isn't the only daughter Emily lost.””
Then the lights went out.
From upstairs came a scream.
And a woman's voice shouted, “Dad, stop!””
Thomas went pale.
Daniel recognized the voice immediately.
It was the voice from beneath the floor.
May you like
But this time, it didn't belong to Emily.
It belonged to the daughter she had lost thirty years earlier.
