CHAPTER 6 — THE SECOND DAUGHTER
Raina couldn't speak.
The words echoed inside her mind.
The real heir.
The Voss fortune.
Her sister.
Everything she thought she knew had collapsed.
She turned toward Dr. Hart.
“My sister…”
“Yes.”
“What is her name?”
Dr. Hart hesitated.
“Clara.”
Raina frowned.
“Clara what?”
“Clara Voss.”
Raina stared.
The name sounded familiar.
Not personally.
But from somewhere.
Then Gabriel pulled out his phone.
He opened an old photograph.
A young woman stood beside Elena.
She had the same eyes as Raina.
The same dark hair.
The same small scar near her eyebrow.
Raina stared.
“That’s me.”
“No.”
Gabriel enlarged the image.
“That's Clara.”
Raina felt the air leave her lungs.
They looked almost identical.
Not similar.
Identical.
“What happened to her?”
Gabriel looked at Orson.
“Tell her.”
Orson took a breath.
“Clara disappeared twenty-seven years ago.”
“Because of the network?”
“Yes.”
“Was she the one they were looking for?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She inherited something they couldn't access.”
“The money?”
“No.”
Raina stared.
“Then what?”
Orson's voice dropped.
“Control.”
“Control of what?”
“The network.”
Raina frowned.
“How could a child control an organization?”
“Not as a child.”
Orson paused.
“Once she turned twenty-five.”
Raina's eyes widened.
“The trust.”
“Yes.”
“The account.”
“Yes.”
“The beneficiary.”
“Yes.”
She suddenly understood.
“My baby.”
Orson nodded.
“Your baby is connected to Clara.”
“How?”
“Because the trust recognizes bloodline succession.”
Raina stared.
“So if I'm not a Voss…”
“You are not the primary heir.”
“Then who is?”
“Clara.”
“And Damon knows?”
“Yes.”
Raina's voice became cold.
“That's why he needed my baby.”
“Partly.”
“What else?”
Orson hesitated.
“Damon believed you knew where Clara was.”
Raina laughed bitterly.
“I didn't even know she existed.”
“I know.”
“He married me because he thought I could lead him to her.”
“Yes.”
Raina sat down.
For the first time, the pieces began connecting.
The questions.
The documents.
The strange bank transfers.
The hospital.
The unborn child.
Lacey.
Everything.
But one question remained.
“Where is Clara?”
Nobody answered.
Dr. Hart looked away.
Raina stood.
“You know.”
The doctor shook her head.
“I don't.”
“Then who does?”
Dr. Hart whispered,
“Your mother.”
Raina stared.
“She died.”
“Yes.”
“But she left instructions.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Dr. Hart looked at Gabriel.
He reached into his coat.
He removed another envelope.
“This was found inside the old hospital records.”
Raina took it.
Her mother's handwriting.
Again.
She opened it.
There was only one sentence.
IF RAINA IS READING THIS, CLARA IS ALREADY WATCHING HER.
Raina's heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Gabriel said nothing.
Orson's phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
A security officer spoke rapidly.
Orson's expression changed.
“Repeat that.”
He listened.
Then looked at Raina.
“What happened?”
Orson slowly lowered the phone.
“Someone entered the estate.”
“Who?”
“They don't know.”
“Damon?”
“No.”
“Lacey?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Orson looked at the photograph of Clara.
“The cameras caught her.”
Raina's heart pounded.
“Clara?”
Orson nodded.
“She was standing in your bedroom.”
They returned to the estate.
The security footage was already waiting.
Raina stood in front of the monitor.
The video began.
Her bedroom.
Empty.
Then the door opened.
A woman entered.
Long dark hair.
Cream coat.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same height.
Raina's breathing stopped.
Clara walked toward the mirror.
She looked at herself.
Then smiled.
She removed something from her coat.
A photograph.
She placed it on Raina's bed.
Then she walked away.
The technician paused the footage.
Raina whispered,
“Play it.”
The footage continued.
Clara turned toward the camera.
She spoke.
The audio was faint.
But clear enough.
“Tell Raina I'm sorry.”
Raina froze.
Clara continued.
“I never wanted this.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“But Damon forced my hand.”
Raina's face changed.
“Why?”
Clara's expression became cold.
“Because he found Victor.”
The video ended.
Raina turned.
“Who is Victor?”
Orson answered,
“Victor Black.”
“Where is he?”
“We don't know.”
A phone began ringing.
Everyone looked around.
It wasn't Orson's.
It wasn't Gabriel's.
It was Raina's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Raina.”
Raina froze.
She knew the voice.
It was the woman from the video.
“Clara?”
“Yes.”
Raina's heart pounded.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere Damon can't find me.”
“Why did you enter my bedroom?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
Clara was silent.
Then she said,
“Lacey.”
Raina frowned.
“What about her?”
“She isn't Damon’s mistress.”
Raina's blood ran cold.
“What?”
“She was sent to watch you.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Clara whispered,
“By me.”
Raina couldn't speak.
“What?”
“I needed to know if you were safe.”
“You had someone pretending to be Damon's mistress watching me?”
“Yes.”
“She humiliated me.”
“I know.”
“She took my clothes.”
“I know.”
“She helped lock me in a kennel.”
Clara's voice cracked.
“I didn't know Damon would do that.”
Raina closed her eyes.
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't.”
A pause.
“Not yet.”
Raina swallowed.
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Your mother's grave.”
Raina froze.
“My mother has a grave.”
“Yes.”
“Who is buried there?”
Silence.
Then Clara whispered,
“That's what you need to find out.”
The call ended.
Raina stood motionless.
Orson stared at her.
“What did she say?”
Raina slowly lowered the phone.
“Tomorrow.”
“What happens tomorrow?”
Raina looked toward the dark window.
“I'm going to meet my sister.”
Then another message appeared on her phone.
A photograph.
Raina opened it.
It showed Damon.
He was sitting inside a car.
Beside him sat Lacey.
But behind them, in the shadows, stood a third man.
Victor Black.
And beneath the photograph were six words:
YOUR HUSBAND KNOWS WHERE CLARA IS.
Raina stared at the image.
Then another message arrived.
AND HE KNOWS WHO YOUR BABY REALLY IS.
Raina's hand moved protectively over her stomach.
Her heart began pounding.
Because suddenly, the question wasn't whether Damon wanted her child.
It was why.
And whatever the answer was…
it was important enough to make three generations of powerful people lie, disappear, and kill.
Raina looked at Orson.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow, we're going to my mother's grave.”
Orson nodded.
“And after that?”
Raina's eyes hardened.
“We find Damon.”
She looked down at her stomach.
“And this time…”
May you like
Her voice became cold.
“…he's going to answer every question.”
