Chapter 15 — THE LAST LETTER FROM ROBERT
I couldn't move.
Daniel Cross stood at the end of the corridor.
Alive.
Calm.
Almost peaceful.
The man whose name had haunted every document.
The man who had supposedly died decades ago.
The man who had been hunting Emma.
My biological father.
He looked at me like we'd met yesterday.
“Son.”
The word made my stomach turn.
“Don't call me that.”
His smile disappeared.
“You've been lied to.”
“By you?”
“By everyone.”
“You killed my father.”
“Robert?”
“Yes.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
He looked at Rachel.
She lowered her eyes.
“Ask her.”
I turned.
“Rachel?”
She was crying.
“I didn't know.”
Daniel laughed.
“You knew enough.”
Rachel shook her head.
“I was nine.”
“You were old enough to open the door.”
I stared at her.
“What door?”
Daniel continued.
“The night Robert died.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
“Stop.”
“You watched.”
Rachel began sobbing.
“I didn't understand.”
“You saw what Sarah did.”
“Stop!”
I stepped toward Daniel.
“What did Sarah do?”
Daniel looked at me.
“She tried to kill me.”
I frowned.
“Then why did my father die?”
“Because he got between us.”
I felt cold.
“Explain.”
Daniel sighed.
“Your father discovered Sarah had stolen the original trust.”
“What trust?”
“The one that belongs to Emma.”
“Why would Sarah steal it?”
“To protect her.”
“From you?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Emma.
Daniel's expression softened.
“You have no idea what that child means.”
“She means everything to me.”
“She is more dangerous than you understand.”
“She is four.”
“She remembers.”
I tightened my jaw.
“What did she remember?”
“The first night.”
“What happened?”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“Ask her.”
Lily stepped backward.
“I don't want to.”
“Tell him.”
“No.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“You've been hiding long enough.”
I moved between him and the girls.
“Don't come near them.”
He smiled.
“You still think you can protect them.”
“I can.”
“You couldn't protect Sarah.”
I froze.
“What did you do to her?”
“I didn't kill her.”
“Then where is she?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“She is closer than you think.”
I suddenly heard footsteps above us.
Someone was walking through the house.
Mercer shouted from upstairs.
“Michael!”
I looked at the stairs.
Daniel stepped aside.
“Go.”
“What?”
“Go see her.”
“See who?”
“Your wife.”
I ran upstairs.
Rachel followed.
Lily and Emma behind us.
We reached the kitchen.
Mercer stood beside the back door.
He looked terrified.
“She's here.”
“Who?”
He pointed toward the hallway.
A woman stepped out of the shadows.
Long dark hair.
Pale face.
Older than I remembered.
But unmistakable.
Sarah.
My wife.
The woman I had buried two years ago.
The woman I had cried over.
The woman whose death certificate sat in my safe.
She looked at me.
“Michael.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Sarah?”
She nodded.
Emma froze.
“Mommy?”
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
She looked at Emma.
“My baby.”
Emma ran toward her.
Sarah dropped to her knees.
They embraced.
I stood frozen.
Every emotion I'd buried came rushing back.
Anger.
Love.
Betrayal.
Grief.
Hope.
Hatred.
Confusion.
“How?”
Sarah looked at me.
“I couldn't tell you.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“For two years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me raise Emma alone.”
“I had to.”
“You had to?”
My voice broke.
“You let me bury you.”
Sarah began crying.
“I know.”
“You watched me destroy myself.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
She looked at Daniel.
“Because of him.”
Daniel stood silently behind us.
Sarah continued.
“Daniel wasn't the only threat.”
“Then who?”
She looked at Rachel.
“The people behind the foundation.”
I shook my head.
“What foundation?”
“The original Bennett Foundation.”
“You said it was charity.”
“It was supposed to be.”
“What happened?”
“Your grandfather changed it.”
“How?”
“He turned it into a system.”
“A system for what?”
Sarah looked at the girls.
“For finding children with the genetic marker.”
I stared.
“The children were tracked?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Charles Bennett believed they could be controlled.”
My stomach turned.
“And Emma?”
“She was born with the marker.”
“So was Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were they separated?”
Sarah looked at Lily.
“Because Daniel wanted one.”
I turned.
“Why?”
“Because Lily remembered.”
“Remembered what?”
Sarah whispered:
“What happened to your father.”
I looked at Lily.
She was trembling.
“What happened?”
Lily finally spoke.
“Your father wasn't killed by Sarah.”
I looked at her.
“He was killed by Daniel.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Lily continued.
“He made Sarah believe she had killed him.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“He used a drug.”
Daniel's expression changed.
Lily pointed at him.
“He wanted everyone to think Sarah was responsible.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Is that true?”
He said nothing.
Sarah stood.
“He manipulated everyone.”
“But why?”
“Because Robert had discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
Sarah took a breath.
“Daniel wasn't working for the foundation.”
“Then who was he working for?”
Sarah looked at me.
“The person who owns it.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
I stared.
“Charles Bennett is dead.”
Sarah shook her head.
“His body is.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?”
She looked toward the basement.
“Charles created a private trust before he died.”
“Who controls it?”
“No one.”
“Then how?”
Sarah looked at Emma.
“It activates when she turns five.”
I felt cold.
“And then?”
“Every secret becomes public.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Unless we stop it.”
Sarah turned toward him.
“You're too late.”
Daniel smiled.
“Not yet.”
He pulled out a small device.
A countdown appeared.
47:59:12
I stared.
“What is that?”
Daniel looked at Emma.
“The trust has already been activated.”
I felt my blood run cold.
“What happens when it reaches zero?”
Daniel smiled.
“Every file your family buried will be released.”
Sarah whispered,
“And everyone connected to the foundation will come after Emma.”
Daniel nodded.
“Which is why you have to choose.”
“Choose what?”
He pointed at Emma.
“Give me the child…”
Then he pointed at Sarah.
“…or lose the mother.”
Sarah suddenly gasped.
She collapsed.
I caught her.
“Sarah!”
She was bleeding.
A small red stain appeared across her shirt.
Daniel stepped backward.
The front door opened.
A gunshot echoed through the house.
And somewhere outside, someone screamed:
“GET THE GIRLS!”
I pulled Emma and Lily behind me.
The house erupted into chaos.
And for the first time, I understood something terrifying.
May you like
The countdown wasn't the real threat.
The people coming for my daughters were already inside the house.
