CHAPTER 14 — EMMA WAS NEVER THE TARGET
I wasn't running anymore.
For the first time in twenty-eight years, I wasn't waiting for someone else to tell me who I was.
I wanted answers.
All of them.
And I wanted them before midnight.
James stood beside the window, watching the street where the black car had disappeared.
Anna was sitting at the dining table.
My mother stood behind her.
My father hadn't spoken in several minutes.
Lauren was holding the old photograph.
Everyone looked exhausted.
But nobody was leaving.
James turned from the window.
“We have seven hours.”
Anna nodded.
“Less.”
“Why?”
“Because Thomas won't wait until midnight.”
I looked at her.
“Then why did he give us a deadline?”
“Because he wants you frightened.”
“He wants me to sign.”
“Yes.”
“What happens if I refuse?”
Anna looked at my father.
“He'll take Emma.”
My chest tightened.
“Then Emma is the target.”
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
She looked directly at me.
“Emma was never the target.”
I frowned.
“Then what is?”
“You.”
The room went silent.
“Why me?”
“Because you're the legal bridge between Rebecca's bloodline and Emma's.”
James stepped forward.
“Explain.”
Anna opened the old ledger.
“Your grandmother designed the trust in layers.”
She pointed to the first section.
“The first generation created it.”
She pointed to Rebecca's name.
“The second generation protected it.”
Then she pointed to my name.
“The third generation activates it.”
Finally, Emma.
“The fourth generation inherits it.”
I stared at the pages.
“So I don't actually own the company.”
“No.”
“You're saying I only activate the transfer.”
“Yes.”
“And Emma becomes the heir.”
“Yes.”
James looked at Anna.
“Then why does Thomas need her?”
“He doesn't.”
My mother's face tightened.
“He needs the woman who can override the transfer.”
I understood.
“Me.”
Anna nodded.
“If you sign the emergency authorization, the trust bypasses Emma.”
“And goes to Thomas?”
“Not directly.”
“Then where?”
Anna looked at my father.
He answered.
“Victor Hale.”
My stomach turned.
“So Victor gets everything.”
“On paper.”
“And Thomas controls Victor.”
“Yes.”
James paced slowly.
“That's why they used Lauren.”
Lauren looked down.
“They wanted the ledger.”
“And the ledger contains the authorization?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
I looked at the black ledger.
“Inside the final section.”
James opened it.
The final pages had been sealed with wax.
He carefully broke the seal.
Inside was a single document.
SUCCESSION AUTHORIZATION.
I read the first line.
Upon the birth of a direct female descendant, control shall transfer to the surviving daughter of Rebecca Walker.
My heart stopped.
“That means me.”
Anna nodded.
“But read the next paragraph.”
I continued.
If the surviving daughter is unwilling or unable to assume control, authority shall pass to the nearest qualified guardian.
James frowned.
“Guardian?”
My father pointed toward the bottom.
“That's where Thomas changed the document.”
I looked.
A handwritten amendment had been added.
Guardian: Victor Hale.
James's expression hardened.
“This amendment is forged.”
“Yes.”
“Then why hasn't anyone challenged it?”
“Because the original was hidden.”
“Where?”
My father looked at me.
“Inside the final vault.”
James closed the ledger.
“So we need the vault.”
Anna nodded.
“And the second twin.”
I looked at her.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca divided the final authentication between us.”
James frowned.
“Blood?”
“Blood and memory.”
“What does that mean?”
Anna touched her temple.
“She taught us things when we were babies.”
I stared at her.
“Babies don't remember.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“But adults can recover memories.”
My heart began racing.
“She encoded information into our childhood.”
“How?”
“Songs.”
“Songs?”
“Nursery rhymes.”
Anna smiled sadly.
“Rebecca would sing the same song to me every night.”
“What song?”
Anna began humming.
A simple melody.
I froze.
I knew it.
Not from childhood.
From somewhere deeper.
I joined her without thinking.
We sang together.
The same words.
The same rhythm.
James looked between us.
“You both remember.”
I shook my head.
“I don't remember learning it.”
Anna nodded.
“That's the point.”
She opened the ledger.
At the bottom of one page was a series of numbers.
4-12-7-19-3.
James stared.
“Coordinates?”
“No.”
Anna looked at me.
“Letters.”
She translated them.
D.
L.
G.
S.
C.
I frowned.
“That doesn't mean anything.”
Anna shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Then my mother stepped forward.
“Try the song.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“The song isn't a song.”
She pointed toward the numbers.
“It's a key.”
James immediately understood.
“Musical notes.”
Anna nodded.
“Exactly.”
They converted the sequence.
The letters formed a phrase.
OLD CHAPEL.
I felt a chill.
“The old chapel?”
My father nodded.
“Your grandmother's chapel.”
“It's been abandoned for years.”
“Exactly.”
James grabbed his jacket.
“We're going.”
My mother stopped him.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because Thomas expects that.”
James looked at her.
“Good.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
My mother pulled out a photograph.
It showed the chapel.
And beside it—
Rebecca.
Alive.
The date was recent.
Six months ago.
My breath caught.
“She was there.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three days before Emma was born.”
I stared at the photograph.
Rebecca had known.
She knew Emma was coming.
She knew the trust would activate.
And she had been waiting.
“Why didn't she contact me?”
My mother whispered:
“Because she was afraid of what would happen if you remembered.”
“What?”
“That you would remember the night of the fire.”
I froze.
“The night I was six months old?”
My mother nodded.
“You weren't unconscious.”
“What?”
“You saw something.”
My heart began pounding.
“What did I see?”
My mother looked at Anna.
Anna's face had gone pale.
“You saw Thomas.”
I stared.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Doing what?”
Anna whispered:
“Killing someone.”
Silence.
“Who?”
My mother began crying.
“Your biological father.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Elias?”
She nodded.
James immediately stepped forward.
“Elias is dead?”
“No.”
My mother shook her head.
“He survived.”
“Then why did Rebecca disappear?”
“Because she believed he had betrayed her.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
My mother looked at me.
“Elias was the one who saved you.”
I felt dizzy.
“Then where is he?”
Nobody answered.
A phone vibrated.
James checked it.
Unknown number.
One message.
OLD CHAPEL. 11:15 A.M.
Another appeared.
COME WITHOUT EMMA.
Then:
COME WITH THE TWIN.
Anna looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“They know.”
James nodded.
“They always knew.”
I looked at Anna.
“Will you come with us?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
My mother grabbed my arm.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
She whispered:
“Because the last time the twins were together…”
May you like
She swallowed.
“Someone died.”
