Chapter 34 - What My Mother Took
My mother wouldn't look at me.
That was the first thing that frightened me.
Not the threat.
Not Adrian.
Not the missing baby.
Her silence.
“Where is it?”
She shook her head.
“Mom.”
“I can't.”
“You took something from me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Stop saying that.”
My voice cracked.
“Everybody says that after they betray me.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Claire—”
“No.”
I pointed at him.
“You don't get to defend her.”
He stopped.
I looked at Evelyn.
“What is the recording?”
She wiped her face.
“It was made the night your father disappeared.”
My heart tightened.
“You told me he died.”
“I believed he was dead.”
Arthur looked away.
My mother noticed.
“You knew he wasn't.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“We didn't know for certain.”
“You all lied.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father told me to.”
I stared.
“Dad talked to you?”
“On the phone.”
“When?”
“The night before he vanished.”
“What did he say?”
She took a breath.
“He said Eleanor would eventually come for you.”
My stomach dropped.
“He said Blackwell couldn't be stopped by destroying the accounts.”
“What could stop it?”
“A witness.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
“You.”
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.”
“He said you had to reach adulthood before you knew the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because you were part of the succession.”
“I wasn't even aware Blackwell existed.”
“That was the point.”
I stared at her.
“What did he leave?”
“A recording.”
“Where?”
She hesitated.
“With me.”
“Where is it now?”
She looked at the nursery.
I followed her eyes.
“The blanket.”
“What?”
“The blanket you saw in the crib.”
I froze.
“The baby blanket?”
“Yes.”
“He hid something in it.”
My heart started pounding.
I looked down at the white blanket.
Bennett took it from the crib.
He turned it inside out.
Nothing.
Evelyn pointed.
“The seam.”
He opened the stitching.
A thin plastic strip slid out.
A memory card.
Daniel stared.
“That's it.”
“That's the recording?”
“Yes.”
I took it.
My hands were shaking so badly that Bennett had to steady them.
“We need a reader.”
Daniel pulled a small device from his pocket.
“Here.”
He inserted the card.
A file appeared.
REC_11-42_PM.
I pressed play.
Static.
Then my father's voice.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
“Evelyn, listen carefully. If you're hearing this, I wasn't able to stop Eleanor.”
My mother's breath caught.
My father's voice continued.
“She believes Adrian is the successor.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“She is wrong.”
I stared at the screen.
My father spoke again.
“The boy isn't the heir.”
A pause.
“The boy is the proof.”
The recording skipped.
Then:
“Eleanor used biological samples from three branches of the family.”
Daniel whispered, “Claire.”
My father continued.
“Arthur's line. Eleanor's line. And mine.”
I couldn't breathe.
“The purpose was not inheritance.”
The audio crackled.
“It was authentication.”
Bennett looked at me.
My father said:
“Blackwell can recognize blood.”
I stared at my son in the other room.
My father's voice dropped.
“But it can also be taught to recognize blood.”
The screen froze.
“What does that mean?” I whispered.
Daniel rewound.
The same words.
The same crackle.
Then the final sentence came through.
“Never let Eleanor have the child before the root registry is destroyed.”
The recording ended.
I looked at my mother.
“You knew.”
“I knew part of it.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“She threatened your life.”
“She threatened everyone.”
“She had people inside the police.”
Bennett stiffened.
“And inside the courts.”
“You're saying Blackwell controlled all of them?”
“Not controlled.”
My mother looked at me.
“Bought.”
Thomas spoke quietly.
“She wasn't lying.”
Everyone turned.
He was staring at the memory card.
“Your father wasn't trying to protect Blackwell.”
“What was he trying to do?”
“Burn it.”
“Then why did he fail?”
“Because someone betrayed him.”
“Who?”
Thomas looked at Arthur.
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Myself.”
I stared.
“What?”
Arthur swallowed.
“Your father asked me to destroy the original succession agreement.”
“And you didn't.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed Eleanor.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That Adrian would die.”
My breath caught.
“She threatened him.”
“She told me the boy was sick.”
“And you believed her.”
“Yes.”
“You helped her.”
Arthur nodded.
“I did.”
I stepped back.
For years I had thought Arthur was the one person in the family who remained honest.
He wasn't.
He had simply become better at hiding his guilt.
A siren sounded outside.
Bennett looked toward the hallway.
“What now?”
A police officer entered.
“We received a report from Baltimore.”
My heart stopped.
“My son?”
“Alive.”
Relief hit so hard I almost collapsed.
“Where is he?”
The officer's face tightened.
“At a private warehouse.”
“Whose?”
“Registered to a company that doesn't exist.”
Thomas cursed.
“The fourth heir.”
“Adrian?”
The officer nodded.
“But there's more.”
“What?”
“They found one person inside.”
“Who?”
“Daniel's brother.”
Daniel went white.
“What?”
“His name was listed on the warehouse lease.”
Daniel shook his head.
“My brother died twelve years ago.”
The officer looked at him.
“Apparently he didn't.”
No one moved.
I turned to Daniel.
His face had gone completely blank.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice said:
“Tell Claire what you forgot.”
Daniel whispered:
“Michael?”
The caller laughed.
“You're going to need to remember everything.”
The call ended.
I looked at Daniel.
“What did you forget?”
May you like
He didn't answer.
And I knew whatever came next was going to destroy whatever trust we had left.
