Chapter 23 - THE PRICE OF ADOPTION
Evelyn had believed Rebecca died in a car accident six years earlier.
Michael’s words destroyed that belief.
At the police station, she gave Harris everything she remembered about the night Rebecca died. Rebecca had received a phone call, packed a bag, and told Evelyn to hide if anyone came looking for her.
The following morning, she was dead.
The official report blamed icy roads.
But Michael had known details that were never released publicly.
Harris reopened the case and discovered that Rebecca’s car had been tampered with. Someone had cut a brake line.
Daniel sat beside Evelyn as she read Rebecca’s final letter.
I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth sooner. You were never abandoned. Your mother fought for you. If I cannot keep you safe, find Daniel Reed.
Evelyn pressed the letter against her chest.
“All these years, I thought my mother didn’t want me.”
Daniel took her hand.
“She never stopped looking for you.”
For the first time, Evelyn let herself cry against his shoulder.
But the moment of comfort ended when Daniel received a call from Emma’s caregiver.
Emma had disappeared from school.
A note had been left in her backpack.
Bring Evelyn to the old Northbridge estate. Come without the police.
Daniel immediately called Harris, who began tracing the message. Evelyn insisted on going with him.
“This is happening because of me,” she said.
“No,” Daniel replied. “It’s happening because someone is afraid of what you know.”
At the estate, they found Emma locked inside a small room. Daniel rushed toward her, but two men grabbed him. One punched him in the stomach while another forced him to his knees.
Evelyn tried to help, but a man seized her arm.
A familiar voice spoke from the staircase.
Margaret.
She looked exhausted, frightened, and furious.
“I told you to stop searching.”
Daniel struggled against the men.
“You helped take Emma?”
“I didn’t want her hurt.”
“Then let her go!”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect both girls.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“You let Rebecca die.”
Margaret flinched.
“I didn’t know they would kill her.”
“Who did?”
Margaret looked toward the upper floor.
A man stepped into view.
Michael.
Despite his arrest, he was standing free, holding a key and smiling.
“I did what the family required,” he said. “And I would do it again.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
Michael turned toward Evelyn.
“Your mother discovered something far more dangerous than a hidden adoption.”
He lifted a folder.
“She discovered who really owned Northbridge.”
May you like
Then he looked directly at Daniel.
“And the answer will destroy everything you think you inherited.”
