Chapter 11: The Nanny Who Disappeared
My father's words followed me across the pier.
You were never supposed to survive.
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
He looked at Anna.
Then at me.
“Your grandfather had a contingency plan.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
Thomas stood beside him, silent.
I took another step.
“Let Anna go.”
My father shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because she is the only reason they haven't killed you.”
“Who?”
He looked toward the fog.
“The people who own the contract.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“What contract?”
“The one your grandfather signed.”
Emma stepped onto the pier behind me.
My father saw her.
His expression changed.
“You.”
Emma's voice was steady.
“You tried to kill me.”
“I tried to protect my son.”
“You murdered people.”
“I prevented a war.”
“You stole my daughter.”
“I saved her.”
I turned.
“Enough.”
Both of them looked at me.
“I want the truth.”
My father nodded.
“Then you must hear everything.”
He pointed toward a warehouse.
“Inside.”
We entered.
Anna stayed beside Thomas.
Lily was still in Sarah's vehicle, protected by two officers.
The moment Anna saw Lily, she froze.
Lily saw her too.
The girls stared at each other.
Then Lily whispered:
“Anna?”
Anna nodded.
They ran toward each other.
They hugged.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Like they had known each other forever.
I couldn't speak.
Emma cried silently.
Sarah looked away.
My father watched them.
“You see?”
He whispered.
“They were always meant to be together.”
I turned toward him.
“Then why did you separate them?”
“Because your grandfather wanted one of them.”
“Which one?”
“Neither.”
He looked at Anna.
“He wanted the contract fulfilled.”
“What contract?”
My father finally told me.
Years before I was born, my grandfather's company had nearly collapsed.
He borrowed money from an international private organization controlled by the Vale family.
The loan came with conditions.
One condition was simple.
If the debt wasn't repaid, control of the Carter family assets would transfer.
But there was another condition.
A biological heir would become the designated successor.
My grandfather agreed.
Then he discovered the organization wanted more.
They wanted access to Carter genetic research.
They wanted a child genetically linked to the Carter family.
A child they could control.
My father refused.
My grandfather didn't.
That's when Project Daughter began.
The embryo wasn't created to make money.
It was created because my family had promised a child.
But when Emma became pregnant with Lily, my father changed the plan.
He split the embryo.
One child would stay with Emma.
The other would be carried by another woman.
Victoria.
Except Victoria lost the pregnancy.
So another woman carried Anna.
My father looked at me.
“Victoria was never Anna's mother.”
“Then why did she pretend?”
“To keep you confused.”
“And Thomas?”
“Thomas was assigned to watch the children.”
I stared.
“But the DNA report said Thomas was Anna's father.”
My father looked at Thomas.
Thomas said nothing.
My father sighed.
“That report was fake.”
I felt relief and rage at the same time.
“Why?”
“To make you question whether Anna was yours.”
I looked at Thomas.
“You lied to me.”
Thomas finally spoke.
“I did what I was ordered to do.”
“By my father?”
“No.”
He looked toward the shadows.
“By your grandfather.”
A woman stepped into the warehouse.
Sarah raised her gun.
“Stop!”
The woman froze.
She was elderly.
Gray hair.
Medical coat.
I recognized her.
Dr. Shaw.
She carried a small box.
“I have something for Daniel.”
I opened it.
Inside was a cassette tape.
An old photograph.
And a name.
MARGARET HOLLIS.
I stared.
“Who's that?”
Dr. Shaw looked at Emma.
“The nanny.”
My father closed his eyes.
“She was supposed to disappear.”
“What nanny?”
Emma whispered:
“The woman who cared for Lily after she was born.”
I looked at her.
“I never knew her.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew about Anna.”
Dr. Shaw nodded.
“She was the first person who discovered that Lily had a twin.”
“Where is she?”
“She vanished.”
“When?”
“Three days before Emma disappeared.”
“Was she killed?”
Dr. Shaw shook her head.
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
“She left something behind.”
The cassette.
I found an old player in the warehouse.
Inserted the tape.
Static.
Then a woman's voice.
Terrified.
“If anyone finds this, my name is Margaret Hollis.”
I looked at Emma.
The recording continued.
“I was hired to care for Lily Carter.”
A pause.
“But there were two babies.”
My heart raced.
“Anna was hidden.”
Static.
“Mr. Carter ordered me never to speak about her.”
Another pause.
“But Mrs. Carter found out.”
Emma closed her eyes.
Margaret continued.
“She begged me to take Anna away.”
My father whispered:
“No.”
The recording continued.
“I took the baby.”
Everyone went silent.
I looked at Anna.
Then Lily.
Margaret's voice broke.
“I was supposed to bring her to Emma.”
Static.
“But someone intercepted me.”
The tape clicked.
A man's voice appeared.
Thomas.
“Give me the baby.”
Margaret screamed.
The recording ended.
I stared at Thomas.
“You took Anna.”
He didn't deny it.
“I was ordered to.”
“By my grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you take her?”
Thomas looked at my father.
My father whispered:
“Not where you think.”
I stepped closer.
“Where?”
Thomas reached into his coat.
Pulled out a photograph.
A young woman.
Holding baby Anna.
The woman was smiling.
I didn't know her.
Until Emma spoke.
“My sister.”
I turned.
“What?”
Emma stared at the photograph.
“She died twenty years ago.”
I looked again.
The woman holding Anna was smiling.
But beneath the photograph was a handwritten note:
She didn't die.
I looked at my father.
“What have you done?”
He didn't answer.
The warehouse doors suddenly slammed shut.
Lights went out.
A woman's scream echoed from somewhere behind us.
Then the sound of a lock turning.
I grabbed Lily.
Sarah raised her weapon.
“Everyone stay together!”
A voice came through the darkness.
Not Thomas.
Not my father.
Not Victoria.
A woman's voice.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
“You've spent all night searching for the wrong woman, Daniel.”
A light flickered on.
Victoria stood behind the glass partition.
She was holding a gun.
But she wasn't pointing it at us.
She was pointing it at my father.
“Now,” she said, “we're going to talk about who really ordered Emma's death.”
My father stared at her.
“You wouldn't.”
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“You taught me how.”
May you like
She raised the gun.
And pulled the trigger.
