Chapter 2: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Adrian had heard men beg for their lives in boardrooms.
He had watched powerful executives crumble when their companies collapsed and politicians smile through scandals that destroyed their careers.
But he had never heard a sound like Clara Bennett made when Victoria spoke those four words.
“Bring the children home.””
Clara clutched Lily against her side and backed toward the wall.
“No,” she whispered.
“No, not again.””
Adrian stood between Clara and his bride.
“Who did you call?”” he demanded.
Victoria slipped the black phone into her bouquet.
“Someone who can take care of this.””
“Take care of what? Two children?””
“They shouldn't be here!””
“They're standing in my house, Victoria. And you're talking about them like they're evidence in a murder trial.””
Her expression hardened.
“Perhaps because you don't understand what you're dealing with.””
“Then explain it.””
Victoria glanced toward the guests.
The hall had become a forest of raised phones, horrified faces, and whispered speculation. Adrian's aunt was already ordering the staff to close the main doors. His best man, Daniel Reeves, had stepped forward and positioned himself near the bride.
Victoria noticed.
“Daniel,” she said sharply, “tell him to calm down.””
Daniel looked at the discarded wedding ring.
“I think he has every reason not to.””
Adrian pointed toward the side corridor.
“Everyone except my family and the staff, please leave the hall.””
No one moved at first.
Then his aunt, Margaret Blackwood, rose from the front row.
“Adrian, don't be foolish. Whatever this is, we can settle it privately.””
He turned toward her.
“You knew Eleanor.””
Margaret's face stiffened.
“I knew your mother, of course.””
“Did you know she had another daughter?””
Margaret's hand tightened around her pearl necklace.
Victoria spoke before the older woman could answer.
“Adrian, your mother was ill. She said things that weren't true. This woman could have stolen that photograph from an archive.””
Clara slowly stood.
“You told me she was dead.””
Victoria turned on her.
“Be quiet.””
“You told me she died in a fire.””
“Clara—”
“You told me my mother had burned to death in a house outside Boston, and that if I ever tried to find the Blackwoods, Lily would be taken away from me.””
Adrian looked at Clara sharply.
“Your mother was Eleanor Blackwood?””
Clara nodded.
“I was born Clara Eleanor Blackwood. My mother changed my name after she disappeared because she thought your father would find me.””
“Why would my father want to find you?””
Clara looked at the children.
“Because he didn't want anyone to know what happened to your mother.””
Margaret abruptly stood.
“This is absurd. Eleanor left the family willingly.””
Clara turned toward her.
“Then why did you sign the hospital papers?””
Margaret froze.
Adrian noticed the reaction.
“What hospital papers?””
Clara reached into her bag again and produced a folded document protected by a plastic sleeve.
The paper was yellowed, its edges worn. At the top was the name of a private medical facility that had closed more than fifteen years earlier.
Beneath it were two names.
Eleanor Blackwood.
And Margaret Blackwood.
Adrian took the document.
The date was twenty years old.
His mother had been admitted under a false name three days before she disappeared.
The reason for admission had been crossed out.
But someone had written a note in the margin.
*Patient claims she is being held against her will. Requests police protection.*
Adrian looked up.
“Why was my mother in a hospital?””
Margaret's voice shook.
“She was grieving. Your father was trying to help her.””
“Then why was her name changed?””
“She wanted privacy.””
“Why did you sign the paperwork?””
Margaret's eyes darted toward Victoria.
That tiny movement answered a question Adrian hadn't yet asked.
He turned to his bride.
“You knew about this.””
Victoria lifted her chin.
“I knew your mother had problems. I did not know about some old hospital form.””
Clara let out a bitter laugh.
“You knew everything.””
Victoria crossed the space between them, her heels striking the marble.
“You have no idea what I know.””
“I know you came to my apartment three months ago,” Clara said.
“I know you offered me two hundred thousand dollars to leave the country. I know you told me that if I ever appeared in front of Adrian, my children would disappear.””
The guests erupted into whispers.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“You threatened her?””
“I offered her money to protect this family!””
“From a five-year-old girl?””
“From you finding out the truth!””
The words burst out of Victoria before she could stop them.
Adrian stared at her.
Victoria pressed a hand against her mouth.
For the first time that evening, she looked genuinely lost.
Then she began to cry.
Not the delicate tears she had shed during their rehearsal dinner. These came with shaking shoulders and ragged breaths.
“Adrian, please. You don't understand. Everything I did was to protect us.””
“Us?””
“Our future. Our family.””
“Which family, Victoria? Mine or yours?””
She looked at Lily.
The little girl immediately buried her face against Clara's dress.
Adrian felt something twist in his chest.
Whatever this secret was, it had already reached a child who should have been worrying about bedtime stories, not frightened adults.
He took off his jacket and wrapped it around Lily's shoulders.
“It's okay,” he told her gently.
“Nobody is going to take you anywhere without my permission.””
Victoria let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh.
“You cannot promise that.””
“I just did.””
“You don't even know who these children are.””
“Then tell me.””
She looked at the exits again.
Daniel moved closer to the main doors.
“Victoria,” he said, “I wouldn't try to leave.””
She gave him a look of pure hatred.
“You're making a terrible mistake, Adrian.””
“Then tell me what the mistake is.””
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Finally, she lowered her voice.
“Clara isn't the only child Eleanor had.””
Adrian's stomach tightened.
Clara went completely still.
“What did you say?”” she whispered.
Victoria looked at her.
“Your mother didn't disappear alone. She had another child. A boy.””
Clara's eyes widened.
“No.””
“He was born six months before you.””
“No,” Clara repeated, louder this time.
Adrian turned toward her.
“Clara, do you know about this?””
She shook her head.
“My mother never told me about a brother.””
“Because he was taken from her,” Victoria said.
The words seemed to empty the air from the room.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Who took him?””
Victoria's face twisted with something between anger and grief.
“Your father.””
Adrian's hands curled into fists.
“My father died twelve years ago.””
“His secrets didn't die with him.””
Clara's knees weakened. Adrian caught her elbow before she fell.
Lily looked up at her.
“Mommy, who's the boy?””
Clara pressed her trembling lips to her daughter's forehead.
“I don't know, sweetheart.””
Victoria's eyes shone.
“You should. Because he's the reason Eleanor spent the rest of her life running.””
Adrian pulled out his phone.
“Daniel, call the police. And contact the hospital listed on this document. I want every record they have.””
Victoria suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Don't.””
He looked down at her hand.
“Let go.””
“If you bring the police into this, people will die.””
“Who?””
She swallowed.
Then she leaned close enough that only he, Clara, and Daniel could hear her.
“The man who answered my phone isn't coming for the children.””
Adrian's face hardened.
“Then who is he coming for?””
Victoria's eyes moved to Clara.
“You.””
Before anyone could react, the lights in the wedding hall went out.
Women screamed.
Glass shattered somewhere near the bar.
Adrian heard Clara cry out, then the thud of footsteps racing toward the side doors.
He grabbed Lily with one arm and reached blindly for Clara with the other.
“Stay with me!”” he shouted.
A flashlight flickered on.
Daniel stood beside the fallen wedding cake, holding his phone in one hand.
“Adrian!””
The emergency lights came on a second later.
Clara was on the floor, clutching Mia.
Lily was beside Adrian.
And Victoria was gone.
Only her white veil remained, lying across the marble like a discarded shroud.
Adrian stared at the open service door.
Then he noticed something on the floor beside it.
A small envelope addressed in his father's handwriting.
Inside was a single photograph.
A newborn baby lay in a hospital bassinet, a silver necklace beside his tiny hand.
On the back, someone had written a date and one sentence.
*If Adrian ever learns the truth, make sure he never meets his brother.*
Adrian read the sentence twice.
Then he turned the photograph over again.
The hospital bracelet around the baby's wrist bore a name.
Not a Blackwood name.
May you like
A name Adrian knew better than his own.
Daniel Reeves.
