CHAPTER 3 – THE NAME THAT WAS BURIED
CHAPTER 3 – THE NAME THAT WAS BURIED
Margaret locked the library doors.
No servants remained inside.
Only Daniel, Emily, Vanessa, Thomas, and the woman who had buried the truth for nearly three decades.
Emily placed the two birth certificates side by side.
"Sarah Bennett raised me from infancy."
"She never told me I was adopted."
Margaret stared at the floor.
"Sarah was not supposed to raise either child."
Daniel's voice became sharp.
"Start at the beginning."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Your father, William, had enemies."
"The foundation was moving money for families in witness protection."
"One night, two infants were brought to the manor."
"They were our daughters."
Emily frowned.
"Why were they hidden?"
"Because someone inside the foundation had betrayed us."
Vanessa laughed softly.
Margaret turned on her.
"You do not get to enjoy this."
Vanessa's expression remained calm.
"I have waited twenty-eight years to hear you admit it."
Daniel stepped between them.
"What happened to the twins?"
Margaret answered in a whisper.
"One was taken."
"Sarah escaped with the other."
"We believed the surviving child was Emily."
Emily touched the sapphire charm.
"Because of the bracelet."
Margaret nodded.
"The twins wore different bracelets."
"Sophia had silver."
"Emily had sapphire."
"Sarah fled with the child wearing sapphire."
Daniel walked toward the old newspaper clipping.
The published photograph had clearly been cropped.
Thomas enhanced the original scan.
A second child appeared at the far edge of the image.
Someone had cut her away before publication.
Emily felt sick.
"You erased one twin from the record."
Margaret wiped her eyes.
"William said it was the only way to protect the survivor."
Vanessa leaned forward.
"William said many things."
Before anyone could stop her, she pulled a folded document from the lining of her jacket.
It was another hospital form.
Across the top appeared the name Blackwood Holdings.
The form described a transfer of two female infants under emergency protection.
At the bottom, one line had been typed in red.
One identity must be permanently buried.
Daniel grabbed the paper.
"Where did you get this?"
Vanessa smiled.
"From the same archive your father ordered destroyed."
Thomas moved toward her.
"You are under constant observation."
Vanessa looked at the ceiling.
"Not constant enough."
The lights flickered.
A sharp metallic sound came from the corridor.
When Thomas opened the library door, the guard outside was unconscious.
Vanessa was no longer in her chair.
A hidden panel behind the bookcase stood open.
Daniel ran to it.
The passage was empty.
On the floor lay a single photograph.
It showed the two Ashford twins as toddlers.
May you like
Across the back, Vanessa had written one sentence.
If Emily learns who killed Sophia, none of you will survive.
