Chapter 64 - MARGARET FINALLY NAMED THE PERSON WHO STOLE CLAIRE—THEN VICTORIA REALIZED HER FATHER HAD LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING
Margaret entered the conference room slowly.
For the first time since Sofia had known her, the elderly woman seemed unwilling to look anyone in the eye.
Daniel stood beside the table.
"Margaret."
She stopped.
"Before you say anything, I want you to know I never meant for Claire to disappear."
Elizabeth stared.
"You knew me?"
Margaret looked at her.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Yes."
Elizabeth stepped forward.
"You knew who I was?"
Margaret nodded.
"Not when you first returned as Elizabeth Ashford. But later, I recognized the scar."
Elizabeth touched her eyebrow.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Margaret began crying.
"Because I was afraid Richard would hurt you again."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"My father."
Margaret looked at her.
"Yes."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Was Richard responsible?"
Margaret nodded.
"But he didn't act alone."
Sofia felt her pulse accelerate.
"Who helped him?"
Margaret looked toward Charles's portrait.
"Charles's financial adviser."
Daniel frowned.
"Which adviser?"
"Arthur Bellamy."
Silence.
Daniel recognized the name.
Bellamy had managed Hawthorne family investments for decades.
He had retired years earlier, but his firm still controlled several historical trusts.
Daniel stared.
"Arthur helped Richard take Claire?"
Margaret nodded.
"Helena discovered that Bellamy had been transferring assets through companies connected to Meridian."
Sofia felt cold.
"And Claire was the legal heir."
"Yes."
Margaret continued.
"If Helena exposed the transfers, Bellamy and Richard could lose everything."
Elizabeth stepped forward.
"So they took me."
Margaret lowered her head.
"Yes."
"Where was my mother?"
Margaret began sobbing.
"Helena tried to stop them."
Elizabeth's face crumpled.
"What happened to her?"
Margaret shook her head.
"I don't know."
Victoria looked furious.
"My father told me Helena was dangerous."
Margaret nodded.
"Richard spent years making sure everyone believed that."
Daniel reached for his phone.
"Marcus, locate Arthur Bellamy."
Marcus answered immediately.
"We've already started."
Sofia turned toward Elizabeth.
"Did Richard ever tell you why he changed your name?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
"He said I needed protection."
Sofia felt a bitter familiarity.
Protection.
The same word had been used to justify so many terrible choices.
Daniel looked at Margaret.
"Why did you help them?"
Margaret's face collapsed.
"I didn't understand what they intended until it was too late."
Sofia stepped forward.
"But you helped transport Claire."
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
"You helped hide her identity."
"Yes."
"And you stayed silent."
Margaret began crying harder.
"Yes."
Sofia looked away.
The woman she had saved from Victoria's violence had once helped destroy another child's life.
Both truths existed.
Neither canceled the other.
Elizabeth approached Margaret.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Elizabeth asked quietly:
"Did my mother love me?"
Margaret's face broke.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Elizabeth's eyes filled.
"Please."
Margaret nodded.
"More than anything."
Elizabeth covered her mouth.
Margaret continued.
"Helena fought for you. She never agreed to let you go."
Elizabeth began sobbing.
Victoria embraced her.
Sofia watched silently.
She remembered the day she had slapped Victoria beside the swimming pool.
Back then, she had seen only cruelty.
Now she saw two women standing inside the wreckage of their father's decisions.
Victoria had still been responsible for what she did.
But the history that shaped her had been far darker than anyone understood.
Suddenly, Marcus entered.
"Mr. Hawthorne."
Daniel turned.
"Did you find Bellamy?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Marcus hesitated.
"At the old Meridian facility."
Sofia felt cold.
"Why would he go there?"
Marcus looked at his tablet.
"Because someone sent him a message."
Daniel frowned.
"What message?"
Marcus turned the screen toward them.
A photograph showed Arthur Bellamy standing outside an abandoned medical building.
He was holding an envelope.
On the envelope were three words.
HELENA IS ALIVE.
Elizabeth stopped breathing.
"My mother?"
Marcus nodded.
"That's what the message claims."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Who sent it?"
Marcus looked toward Sofia.
"We don't know."
Then his radio crackled.
A security officer spoke urgently.
"Sir, there's been an incident at the facility."
Daniel grabbed the radio.
"What happened?"
The officer hesitated.
"Arthur Bellamy has disappeared."
Sofia stared.
"And?"
The guard's voice became strained.
"We found a room beneath the building."
Daniel frowned.
"What room?"
"A private medical suite."
Sofia felt her stomach tighten.
The guard continued.
"There's a woman inside."
Elizabeth began shaking.
"Who?"
The guard swallowed.
May you like
"She says her name is Helena Mercer."
TO BE CONTINUED...
