PART 8
For a moment, nobody in the office moved.
My father's name hung in the air like a warning.
Harrison Carter had been found unconscious inside the house.
The same man who had threatened me the night before.
The same man who had accused me of stealing millions.
Now he was lying unconscious in the house he had spent years pretending belonged to him.
I looked at the officer.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes. Paramedics are taking him to the hospital.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“We don't know yet.”
The officer looked at his partner.
“There's evidence of a struggle.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Was anyone else there?”
The officer shook his head.
“Not when we arrived.”
I suddenly remembered my mother's face.
Her fear.
Her silence.
And the mysterious company that had received the trust money.
“Where is my mother?”
The officers exchanged a glance.
“We haven't located Eleanor Carter.”
My heart sank.
She was gone.
* * *
They didn't arrest me immediately.
Margaret convinced the officers to review the trust documents before taking any action.
The situation changed quickly.
The supposed account in my name had been opened using stolen identification.
The money transfer had been made from a computer inside my parents' house.
And the security footage showed that I had been nowhere near the property when the transfer occurred.
But there was still something that frightened me.
Someone had deliberately created a trail leading directly to me.
Someone wanted me to take the blame.
And that person knew exactly how to manipulate the system.
Daniel and I waited at the hospital.
Hours passed.
Finally, a doctor came out.
“Are you family members of Harrison Carter?”
I nodded.
“I’m his daughter.”
The doctor looked at me.
“He has a serious head injury, but he's stable.”
“Can I see him?”
“Only one person.”
I looked at Daniel.
He nodded.
“Go.”
I walked into the room.
My father lay motionless beneath the white hospital sheets.
Machines beeped quietly beside him.
For the first time in my life, he looked small.
Not powerful.
Not frightening.
Just an old man lying alone.
I stood beside his bed.
“You told me I was nothing.”
He didn't move.
“You told me I owed you everything.”
Nothing.
“You hit me in front of my daughter.”
My voice cracked.
“And now I'm standing here wondering why I still care whether you live.”
His fingers suddenly moved.
I froze.
His eyes opened slightly.
He looked at me.
“Emily…”
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
He struggled to breathe.
“Your mother…”
I leaned closer.
“Where is she?”
His eyes widened.
“She took…”
He coughed.
“The original ledger.”
“What ledger?”
He looked terrified.
“The one that proves everything.”
I grabbed his hand.
“Dad, where is Mom?”
His lips trembled.
“She knows where Daniel was taken.”
My heart stopped.
“You said you didn't know.”
He closed his eyes.
“I lied.”
“Why?”
His breathing became faster.
“Because she made me.”
I stared at him.
“What does she have?”
He looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
“Your daughter.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What?”
He tried to speak again.
But suddenly the monitor began screaming.
Doctors rushed into the room.
“Step back!”
I was pushed away.
“Dad!”
The doors closed in front of me.
I stood frozen in the hallway.
Daniel ran toward me.
“What happened?”
I looked at him.
“He said Mom has Hazel.”
Daniel's face went white.
“What?”
I grabbed my phone.
There were three missed calls.
All from an unknown number.
Then a new message appeared.
UNKNOWN:
If you want your daughter alive, stop talking to the police.
My hands began shaking.
A second message appeared.
You have thirty minutes.
Then a photograph arrived.
I opened it.
My knees almost gave out.
It was Hazel.
Sitting in a dark room.
Her stuffed rabbit was clutched against her chest.
She looked terrified.
And behind her stood my mother.
Eleanor.
Alive.
Holding a phone.
I screamed.
“Hazel!”
Daniel grabbed my shoulders.
“Emily, don't panic.”
“She's got my daughter!”
“I know.”
“I have to go.”
“That's exactly what she wants.”
I stared at him.
“What am I supposed to do? Wait?”
“No.”
He looked at the photograph carefully.
“Look at the background.”
I zoomed in.
There was a small window behind Hazel.
Outside the window was a red sign.
Daniel's eyes widened.
“I know that place.”
“Where?”
He pointed at the screen.
“It's the old medical facility where they kept me.”
I stared at him.
The place where my brother had spent years hidden from the world.
The place my parents had claimed never existed.
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother didn't take Hazel randomly.”
“What do you mean?”
“She took her there because there's something she wants us to find.”
I shook my head.
“Or she wants to kill us.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Then we need to get there before she does.”
* * *
We left the hospital with Margaret and contacted the police.
This time, they listened.
A tactical team began preparing.
But my mother's message kept repeating in my head.
Thirty minutes.
We had less than twenty left.
As we drove toward the abandoned facility, my phone rang.
Eleanor.
I answered.
“Mom!”
Her voice was calm.
Far too calm.
“Did you receive the photograph?”
“Yes.”
“Then you understand.”
“If you hurt Hazel—”
“You're going to listen to me.”
I clenched my teeth.
“What do you want?”
“The original trust agreement.”
“You already stole millions.”
“I don't want the money anymore.”
That frightened me more.
“What do you want?”
She laughed softly.
“I want the one thing your grandmother never gave me.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
I stared at the road ahead.
“What truth?”
Her voice became colder.
“The truth about who your father really is.”
I froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
A long silence followed.
Then she said:
“Emily, Harrison isn't your biological father.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“You've been asking the wrong questions your entire life.”
The call ended.
I looked at Daniel.
He had heard everything.
His face was pale.
Then my phone buzzed again.
A new message.
UNKNOWN:
Come alone.
And bring the original birth certificate.
Because if you want Hazel back…
you need to learn who your real father is.
