Chapter 5 - The Bennett Bloodline
Margaret Bennett had always believed in bloodlines.
Nora remembered it now.
The comments at Thanksgiving.
The obsession with family names.
The old portraits lining the Bennett estate.
Margaret speaking proudly about generations of Bennett men.
At the time, Nora had dismissed it as wealthy-family vanity.
Daniel shook his head.
“My grandfather created a trust.”
“What trust?”
“The Bennett Family Trust.”
Nora knew about it generally.
She had never known details.
“When a Bennett grandchild turns twenty-one, they inherit voting rights in Hartman-Bennett Logistics.”
Nora crossed her arms.
“What does that have to do with Lily?”
“She was the first grandchild.”
“So?”
“My mother would control her voting shares until adulthood if she became Lily’s legal guardian.”
Nora understood.
Money.
Power.
Control.
The oldest motive in the world.
“How much was it worth?”
“Today?”
Daniel hesitated.
“About eighty million.”
Nora stared.
“And six years ago?”
“Thirty-two.”
Nora felt something cold settle inside her.
Margaret had not stolen Lily because she loved her.
She had stolen her because she represented ownership.
Nora picked up her phone.
“Naomi needs to hear this.”
Daniel reached for her wrist.
She jerked away.
“Never touch me.”
He released her immediately.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“My mother doesn’t control the trust anymore.”
Nora frowned.
“Who does?”
“Lily does.”
“She’s six.”
“Indirectly.”
Daniel walked to a desk and opened a drawer.
He removed a folder.
“Three months ago, the trust was amended after my uncle died.”
Nora scanned the document.
Certain assets now passed automatically to the youngest living Bennett descendant.
Lillian Rose Bennett.
Nora’s eyes stopped on the name.
“She used Lily’s real name?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s legal proof she knew Lily was alive.”
Daniel nodded.
Nora almost smiled.
Finally.
Something concrete.
Then she noticed a date.
The amendment had been signed two weeks before the supermarket encounter.
“Why now?”
“I don’t know.”
Nora looked at him.
“What happens if Lily dies?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
The question hung between them.
He looked down at the document.
“Her shares revert.”
“To whom?”
Daniel’s voice became almost inaudible.
“My mother.”
Nora grabbed her keys.
“We need to find Lily now.”
Daniel stepped after her.
“Nora.”
She turned.
His face had gone pale.
“My mother isn’t the only one involved.”
“Who else?”
“Mercer.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You don’t.”
“What don’t I know?”
“He still works with Margaret.”
Nora stared.
“How do you know?”
“Because three months ago I saw him leaving her house.”
Nora’s phone rang.
Naomi.
She answered immediately.
“Tell me you found something.”
Naomi’s voice was tense.
“We found the stuffed rabbit.”
Nora stopped moving.
“Where?”
“In the abandoned car.”
“Lily’s rabbit?”
“Yes.”
Nora closed her eyes.
“Can you test it?”
“We already found hair.”
Nora’s hand shook.
“How long for DNA?”
“Normally days.”
“Normally?”
“I pushed it.”
Nora waited.
Naomi exhaled.
“We have a preliminary result.”
Daniel watched her face.
Nora whispered:
“And?”
“The child whose hair was on that rabbit is your biological daughter.”
Nora gripped the desk.
It was real.
Not instinct.
Not a necklace.
Not a lullaby.
Science.
Lily was hers.
Naomi continued.
“And Nora?”
“Yes?”
“The lab found something else.”
Nora’s chest tightened.
“What?”
“The rabbit had blood on one ear.”
Nora stopped breathing.
Naomi spoke quickly.
“Not much.”
“Whose?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Then Daniel looked through the window.
A black sedan had stopped across the street.
His face changed.
“Nora.”
She turned.
A man stepped out.
May you like
Daniel whispered:
“That’s Mercer.”
