Chapter 7 — Diane's First Confession
The second gunshot hit the wooden doors.
Michael pulled me behind a stone pillar.
Matthew disappeared with Lily.
For one horrifying second, I thought he had taken my daughter.
Then I heard him shout:
“She's safe!”
I looked toward the side entrance.
Matthew was crouched behind an old baptismal wall, Lily's stroller beside him.
He had covered her with his coat.
Michael looked at me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Emma—”
“I am not hiding while that woman hunts my daughter.”
Another gunshot.
The church went silent.
Then Diane walked through the doors.
She wasn't holding the gun anymore.
She didn't need to.
Her expression was enough.
She looked at Matthew.
“Thirty-seven years.”
Matthew stood.
“You should have been arrested thirty-seven years ago.”
Diane smiled.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Michael stepped forward.
“You lied to me.”
Diane looked at him.
“I protected you.”
“You told me my brother died.”
“He had to.”
“You told me I was your son.”
Diane's face changed.
“You are my son.”
Matthew laughed.
“No.”
Michael turned toward him.
Matthew looked directly at him.
“She's your mother.”
Then he paused.
“But David wasn't your father.”
Michael stopped breathing.
I looked at Diane.
She closed her eyes.
The secret had finally been spoken.
Michael's voice was barely audible.
“Who is my father?”
Diane said nothing.
Matthew answered.
“Daniel Morris.”
Michael staggered backward.
I covered my mouth.
The entire Bennett family was built on a lie.
Michael wasn't David Bennett's biological son.
He was Daniel Morris's.
Which meant—
Lily's biological father and Michael shared the same father.
Half-brothers.
And that explained the DNA.
It explained why Lily carried the Morris blood.
It explained why Diane had been terrified.
But it created an even more horrifying question.
Why had Diane wanted Lily dead?
Matthew answered it.
“Because Lily is the first child in this family who carries the complete Morris line.”
Diane shouted:
“Enough!”
Matthew continued.
“She doesn't just inherit blood.”
He pointed toward Michael.
“She inherits rights.”
Diane looked at me.
“You still don't understand.”
I stepped forward.
“Then explain it.”
She stared at Lily.
“Your daughter was born with a claim to the Morris estate.”
I frowned.
“The Morris estate?”
“Not just the estate.”
Diane's voice became bitter.
“The Bennett Foundation. The pharmaceutical holdings. The private trusts.”
Michael stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel Morris left a succession clause.”
Matthew nodded.
“And Diane spent thirty-seven years trying to prevent it from activating.”
I looked at him.
“What clause?”
“Any surviving biological descendant of Daniel Morris becomes the controlling beneficiary.”
My heart raced.
“Then why didn't you claim it?”
Matthew smiled sadly.
“Because Diane made sure the world believed I was dead.”
“And Michael?”
“Diane raised him as a Bennett.”
“So he couldn't claim it.”
Matthew nodded.
“Exactly.”
I looked at Diane.
“You killed Matthew's identity.”
“No.”
“You erased him.”
“I protected the family.”
“You tried to kill Lily.”
Diane's face twisted.
“I tried to stop her from destroying everything.”
I stepped toward her.
“She is a baby.”
“And that's why she was dangerous.”
I stared at her.
Diane whispered:
“She couldn't be bribed.”
The words sounded insane.
But then she continued.
“She couldn't be manipulated.”
She looked at Michael.
“And she would eventually inherit everything.”
Michael shook his head.
“You tried to kill my daughter for money.”
Diane looked at him.
“No.”
She pointed at me.
“I tried to kill her because once she grew up, she would discover what your father did.”
“What did he do?”
Diane laughed.
“Ask Matthew.”
Matthew's face darkened.
“David discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That Daniel Morris wasn't the only one who disappeared.”
I felt cold.
“Who else?”
Matthew looked at Lily.
“Her mother.”
My heart stopped.
“My mother?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Lily's biological mother.”
I stared at him.
“I am her mother.”
Matthew's expression softened.
“Biologically?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
I couldn't speak.
Diane smiled.
Then she said:
“That's what the DNA test was designed to make you believe.”
My hands began shaking.
“What are you saying?”
Diane looked directly at me.
“The woman who raised you isn't your mother either.”
The world tilted.
Michael stared at Diane.
“Stop.”
But she continued.
“Emma, your entire identity was manufactured.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Your birth certificate is false.”
She looked at Lily.
“Your marriage is based on a lie.”
Then she smiled.
“And Lily's birth is the final piece.”
Before I could respond, sirens filled the street.
Police surrounded the church.
Detective Bennett entered with her weapon drawn.
“Diane Bennett!”
Diane raised her hands.
But she smiled at me.
Because she knew something I didn't.
May you like
And I was about to learn it.
The woman who raised me had never been my mother.
