Chapter 8: The Woman Who Knew His Father
James didn't get into the car immediately.
He had spent the last several hours discovering that almost everyone he trusted had lied to him. His wife had concealed a secret arrangement. His sister had been imprisoned. A dead man's signature had appeared on a document he had supposedly signed himself.
Now a stranger was offering to help him recover his kidnapped daughter.
He wasn't about to accept another mystery without an answer.
“Who are you?”” he demanded.
The elderly woman lowered her window another inch.
“My name is Eleanor Price. I worked with your father.””
“Doing what?””
“Trying to stop him.””
James stepped closer.
“That doesn't sound like someone I should trust.””
“Then don't trust me. Trust the fact that I'm the only person standing here who knows where Lily is.””
Emily came out behind him.
“James, wait.””
Eleanor glanced at her.
“Emily Reed?””
Emily stiffened.
“How do you know my name?””
“Your mother and I were friends.””
“My mother died when I was twelve.””
“I know.””
Eleanor opened the passenger door.
“Get in. Both of you. We have no time for this.””
James looked toward the house.
Victoria stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around herself.
“I'm coming with you,” she said.
“No,” James replied.
“James, Lily is my daughter too.””
He looked at her.
“You signed an agreement that put our children in danger.””
“I never agreed to have them taken!””
“But you knew someone wanted them.””
Victoria flinched.
“Please.””
For a moment, James saw the woman he had married. The woman who had held his hand in hospital corridors, who had cried when they heard the twins' heartbeats, who had once fallen asleep on his shoulder while they planned their nursery.
He wanted to believe that woman still existed.
But he couldn't afford to confuse love with trust.
“Stay here,” he said.
“If anyone contacts you, call the police. And don't delete anything else.””
Victoria nodded, tears running down her face.
James climbed into the sedan with Emily.
Eleanor drove immediately.
For several minutes, the only sound was the rain striking the windshield.
Then James asked, “What did my father leave inside Lily?””
Eleanor kept her eyes on the road.
“Not inside her physically. The genetic sequence is the important part. Your father was researching a hereditary condition that ran through several generations of his family. He believed he could identify the mutation responsible and develop a treatment before it caused serious illness.””
James stared at her.
“My father never mentioned a hereditary disease.””
“He wouldn't. He was ashamed.””
“Of what?””
Eleanor took a breath.
“Your grandmother died from a neurological disorder. Your father believed the condition had been passed down through the family, but he couldn't find a reliable way to identify carriers. He began collecting genetic samples from relatives, including himself and his firstborn son.””
“Nathan.””
“Yes.””
“Why did he keep the research secret?””
“Because the results revealed something he couldn't accept.””
Eleanor turned onto a narrow road lined with bare trees.
“Your father discovered that the mutation wasn't present in every member of the family. It followed a specific genetic pattern. Nathan carried one version.
You carried another. But there was a third variation in a sample collected from an unknown donor.””
James leaned forward.
“And Lily inherited it?””
“According to the report, yes.””
“Why would anyone kidnap a newborn over a genetic marker?””
“Because your father believed the variation could lead to a treatment for the disease. Other people believed it could be patented, sold, and controlled.””
Emily frowned.
“So the babies were part of a research program.””
“Not originally,” Eleanor said.
“The original research was legitimate. It became something else when private investors got involved.””
James remembered the contract.
The transfer agreement.
The money.
The phrase delivery of both infants.
“Who was funding it?””
Eleanor was silent for a moment.
Then she said, “Your father.””
James shook his head.
“He tried to shut it down.””
“He did. But before he could, he made one final arrangement. He wanted the genetic samples transferred to a secure location and the children protected from anyone who might use them.””
“Which children?””
“Any child carrying the relevant sequence.””
Emily looked at James.
“That's why Nathan called you.””
Eleanor nodded.
“Nathan discovered the program had continued after Thomas died. He tried to expose it, but he was young and had no proof. He disappeared because he believed someone inside the company was tracking him.””
“Why didn't he contact me?””
“Because he believed you were being watched.””
James looked out the window.
The world he knew seemed to have become a maze, every road leading back to his father's decisions.
“Where are we going?””
“To the old Cole house.””
James turned sharply.
“You said the evidence was there.””
“Your father kept a safe in his study. He told me the key was hidden where nobody would think to look.””
“Where?””
Eleanor glanced at him.
“Inside his wedding ring.””
James felt a strange ache in his chest.
His father had been buried wearing that ring.
They reached the old property twenty minutes later.
The house had been empty for years, its windows dark and its front garden overgrown. James had visited once after the funeral, but the property had been sold to a holding company and left vacant.
Eleanor produced a key from her handbag.
“How do you have that?””
“Your father gave it to me.””
“When?””
“The night before he died.””
James stared at her.
“You knew he was going to die?””
“No. I knew he was afraid.””
She unlocked the door.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and damp wood. Their footsteps echoed through the hallway.
James went straight to his father's study.
The desk remained in the corner, covered with a thin layer of dust. A faded photograph of Thomas stood on the mantelpiece.
James picked it up.
His father looked younger than he remembered, with dark hair and a serious expression. Beside him stood a woman James had never seen before.
“Who's that?””
Eleanor approached.
“Your father's first wife.””
James turned.
“My father was married before my mother?””
“Yes.””
“Who was she?””
“Margaret Cole. She died shortly after Nathan was born.””
James looked at the photograph again.
“And nobody told me?””
“Your father wanted to erase the past.””
Emily moved toward the desk.
“Let's find the safe.””
They searched the drawers, the bookshelves, and the cabinets. Finally, James noticed a loose panel beneath the desk.
Behind it was a small metal safe.
He entered the date of his father's death.
Nothing happened.
He tried his father's birthday.
Nothing.
Eleanor watched him.
“Think about the ring.””
James remembered the inscription inside his father's wedding band.
A date.
September seventeenth.
The same date as the forged agreement.
He entered the numbers.
The safe clicked open.
Inside lay three envelopes, a flash drive, and a small black notebook.
James opened the first envelope.
It contained a letter addressed to him.
James, if you're reading this, then I failed to keep the past from reaching you.
He swallowed.
You have spent your life believing I was a good father. I tried to be. But I made decisions that harmed people, and I cannot ask you to forgive me for what I did.
James continued reading.
The research was never intended to create children for wealthy families. But when I discovered the genetic sequence in Nathan, I became obsessed with finding a treatment. I allowed people I should never have trusted to continue the work.
The next paragraph made his hands tremble.
I learned that Nathan's biological mother had a daughter after his birth. Her name was Danielle Reed. If she ever had children, they might carry the same genetic variation.
James looked at Eleanor.
“Danielle was Nathan's sister?””
Eleanor nodded slowly.
“Your father's daughter.””
James returned to the letter.
I never met Danielle as an adult. I was told she had died. I later discovered that the report was false. Someone had taken her child into the program and erased her identity.
Emily covered her mouth.
James kept reading.
The most dangerous person involved is not Dr. Shaw. Shaw is a technician who believes money will protect him. The person who controls the program has access to my records, my accounts, and my identity.
A final line was written beneath the signature.
If you find this letter, do not trust anyone who claims to have inherited my authority.
James lowered the page.
“Who inherited his authority?””
Eleanor's face had gone pale.
She looked toward the study door.
“Your father left the company to a trustee.””
“Who?””
Before she could answer, a floorboard creaked in the hallway.
Emily turned.
“Did you hear that?””
James picked up the metal flashlight from the desk.
He moved toward the doorway.
A shadow crossed the hall.
“Who's there?”” he shouted.
A man stepped into view.
He was tall, lean, and looked to be in his late thirties. His eyes were the same dark gray as James's.
For several seconds, neither brother spoke.
Then the man said, “You shouldn't have come here.””
James recognized the voice.
Nathan.
But before James could move, Nathan raised a hand.
“Listen carefully. Eleanor isn't who she says she is.””
Eleanor backed away from the desk.
Nathan stared at her.
“She didn't come here to help you find Lily.””
James felt his stomach tighten.
“What are you talking about?””
Nathan's jaw clenched.
“She's the trustee who inherited your father's authority.””
The room fell silent.
Eleanor looked at James.
Then she smiled.
“Your father always did have a talent for making the wrong people look innocent.””
She reached into her handbag.
Nathan lunged toward her.
But Eleanor was faster.
She pulled out a small black device and pressed a button.
Somewhere outside, a vehicle engine roared to life.
Nathan grabbed James's arm.
“We have to go!””
Eleanor's smile vanished.
“Too late.””
A loud crash shook the house.
May you like
The front door slammed shut.
And from somewhere upstairs came the unmistakable sound of a baby crying.
