CHAPTER 11 – THE CHILD WHO LOST HER NAME
CHAPTER 11 – THE CHILD WHO LOST HER NAME
The birth certificate trembled in Emily's hands.
No one spoke.
Rain beat steadily against the manor windows.
Daniel read the document again.
Then a third time.
The words never changed.
Birth Name: Sophia Ashford.
Current Legal Name: Emily Sarah Bennett.
Margaret slowly lowered herself into a chair.
"I don't understand."
"My husband always believed Emily survived."
Daniel looked at the signatures.
"The seal is genuine."
"The registration number matches records from 1998."
Emily whispered,
"So my mother didn't take the wrong child."
"No."
"She deliberately changed my identity."
The room fell silent.
Everything they had believed only minutes earlier collapsed.
The estate physician returned from the treatment room.
"She regained consciousness."
Daniel immediately looked up.
"Can she speak?"
"For a few minutes."
"But she's extremely weak."
Emily didn't hesitate.
"I want to see her."
The woman everyone had called Vanessa looked toward the doorway as Emily entered.
Her face was pale.
Her shoulder was heavily bandaged.
For the first time, there was no arrogance in her eyes.
Only exhaustion.
Emily stood beside the bed.
"Who are you?"
The woman managed a faint smile.
"You deserve the truth."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Your name."
She closed her eyes.
"My name is Anna Caldwell."
Margaret gasped softly.
Richard Caldwell's missing daughter.
Alive.
After twenty-eight years.
Emily pulled up a chair.
"Why pretend to be Vanessa?"
Anna coughed painfully.
"Because Vanessa died."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Anna nodded weakly.
"The real Vanessa Cole was killed in a car accident six years ago."
"Blackwood stole her identity."
"They gave it to me."
Emily stared at her.
"They forced you?"
Anna looked away.
"They gave me a choice."
"Become Vanessa or disappear forever."
Daniel folded his arms.
"You framed Emily."
Anna's eyes filled with regret.
"Yes."
"I did."
Emily's voice remained calm.
"Why?"
Anna swallowed with difficulty.
"Because they were watching."
"If I refused, they would kill someone else."
Daniel looked unconvinced.
"Who?"
Anna whispered,
"My son."
Silence.
Emily blinked.
"You have a child?"
Anna nodded.
"A little boy."
"Seven years old."
"They've had him since he was born."
Emily felt her anger soften.
"So every crime was done under threat."
Anna closed her eyes.
"I hated every second."
Daniel stepped toward the bed.
"Who shot you?"
Anna answered immediately.
"Blackwood."
"They heard the recording in the cemetery."
"They knew I was about to tell you everything."
Emily leaned closer.
"Where is Blackwood?"
Anna slowly shook her head.
"I've never met the people at the top."
"They only contacted me through one person."
Daniel asked,
"Who?"
Anna looked directly into his eyes.
"Your father."
The room froze.
Margaret stood up so quickly her chair fell backward.
"No."
"My husband is dead."
Anna nodded.
"The man I met used William Ashford's name."
Daniel stared at her.
"Are you saying someone pretended to be my father?"
Anna whispered,
"Yes."
The room became silent.
Daniel remembered every document they had found.
The forged contract.
The inconsistent signatures.
The mysterious recordings.
Everything suddenly fit together.
Emily spoke softly.
"The man who signed those papers may never have been William Ashford."
Anna nodded.
"I realized that years later."
"But by then, I couldn't escape."
The physician interrupted.
"Please."
"Only a few more questions."
Anna's pulse was weakening.
Emily took her hand.
"There's one thing I need to know."
Anna smiled sadly.
"I know."
"Ask."
Emily fought back tears.
"Who am I?"
Anna stared at her for a long moment.
Then answered carefully.
"You were born Sophia Ashford."
Emily closed her eyes.
"But..."
Anna continued.
"There is something your mother never knew."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
Anna whispered,
"The twins changed bracelets."
Margaret's eyes widened.
"What?"
Anna nodded weakly.
"The night before everything happened, the girls were playing."
"They exchanged their bracelets."
Emily remembered Margaret's words.
Only the bracelets had distinguished the twins.
Anna continued.
"So when Sarah Bennett identified the child, she trusted the bracelet."
Emily's breathing stopped.
"The bracelet lied."
Anna nodded.
"No one ever knew which twin survived."
Daniel stared in disbelief.
"So even now, we still don't know."
Anna whispered,
"Exactly."
Suddenly, the heart monitor beeped rapidly.
Anna's eyes widened in fear.
"They're here."
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
"Who?"
Anna struggled to sit up.
"They never leave witnesses."
At that instant, the lights throughout Ashford Manor went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
Emergency alarms began blaring.
The security chief shouted from outside.
"Power failure!"
"Backup generators are offline!"
A loud explosion echoed from somewhere inside the estate.
Glass shattered.
People screamed.
Daniel grabbed Emily's arm.
"Stay behind me."
Red emergency lights flickered on.
Smoke drifted beneath the hospital-room door.
Someone was inside the manor.
The security chief burst into the room.
His uniform was covered in dust.
"Sir!"
Daniel turned.
"What happened?"
"The evidence room."
"It exploded."
Emily's heart sank.
"The files?"
The chief nodded.
"Destroyed."
"But that's not the worst part."
Daniel frowned.
"What?"
The chief swallowed.
"Someone entered the treatment room next door during the blackout."
Daniel immediately looked back toward Anna's bed.
The blanket had slipped onto the floor.
The IV line hung loose.
The bed was empty.
Only one object remained on the pillow.
A small white envelope.
May you like
Across the front, written in elegant handwriting, were six chilling words:
You still have the wrong sister.
