Chapter 5: The Daughter Who Was Never Missing
"Call Daniel!""
I shouted into the phone.
There was no answer.
I tried again.
Nothing.
I turned toward Elena.
"Where is Ava?""
She was staring at the photograph on my phone.
Her lips trembled.
"Rebecca has her.""
I grabbed her shoulders.
"Where?""
"I don't know.""
"Elena, I need you to tell me everything!""
She looked toward the closed steel door.
Then she began speaking.
"Six years ago, Rebecca gave birth to a little girl. She was alone. Her boyfriend had disappeared, and she had no money. She contacted me after the delivery.""
I listened, barely breathing.
"She asked me to take the baby. She said she couldn't raise her. She signed temporary guardianship papers.""
"Then what happened?""
"She changed her mind.""
Elena wiped her face.
"By then, you and I were expecting twins. Rebecca had become obsessed with the idea that she deserved the life we had. She believed our family, our money, and our home should have belonged to her.""
I shook my head.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of her?""
Elena nodded.
"She told me that if I exposed the arrangement, she'd destroy everything. She had connections at the hospital. She had Graham. And she had already changed some of the medical records.""
I looked at the two bracelets.
"Which baby is Ava?""
Elena closed her eyes.
"The baby Rebecca gave birth to was Sophie.""
I stared at her.
"And our biological daughter?""
"That's Ava.""
The room seemed to spin.
"So Rebecca took our daughter and left Sophie with us?""
Elena nodded.
"She switched the babies before you saw them. I discovered it two days later. But Graham had already altered the records. Rebecca threatened to have you arrested for kidnapping if I tried to expose her.""
I stepped backward.
"Why would she do that?""
"Because she wanted Ava. She believed the Hale family fortune would eventually belong to her biological daughter.""
I looked at the photograph again.
The little girl in it had Ava's eyes.
Her smile.
The tiny scar above her left eyebrow.
"Where has she been for six years?""
Elena swallowed.
"With Rebecca. She raised her as Sophie.""
I felt something inside me break.
For six years, I had kissed the wrong child goodnight without knowing it.
For six years, I had celebrated birthdays, bought toys, read bedtime stories, and believed I was raising my daughter.
And now both little girls were caught in the middle of a crime committed by adults.
"Where is Sophie?"" I asked.
Elena shook her head.
"I don't know.""
I grabbed the phone.
This time, Daniel answered.
"Mr. Hale!""
"Where is Ava?""
There was a pause.
"Sir, the little girl upstairs is here.""
"Then who sent me that message?""
"I did.""
"Explain.""
Daniel lowered his voice.
"I found the box. But there's something else. There's a hidden compartment underneath it.
I found photographs of two little girls. One is Ava. The other is the child who's currently in the house.""
"Are they together?""
"No, sir. The second girl is with Rebecca.""
I closed my eyes.
"Where?""
"Your west wing security room.""
I looked at Elena.
She understood immediately.
"She's in the house," she whispered.
I turned back to Daniel.
"Lock every exit. Don't let anyone leave.""
"Already trying, sir. But the security system isn't responding.""
"Where's Rebecca?""
"She's in the main hall.""
I heard a crash through the phone.
Then Daniel shouted.
"Get away from her!""
The call ended.
I grabbed the pistol.
Elena tried to stand.
"Marcus, wait.""
"We're getting out.""
She caught my hand.
"There's something else.""
I turned.
"What?""
"Rebecca isn't doing this alone.""
I looked at her.
"Graham?""
Elena shook her head.
"No.""
She looked toward the ceiling.
"Your father.""
I froze.
My father had died eight years earlier.
His name was Richard Hale.
He had built the company from a small construction business into one of the largest property development groups in the state.
He had been strict, controlling, and obsessed with protecting the family name.
But he had been dead for years.
"Elena, what are you talking about?""
She pointed to the papers scattered on the floor.
"Look at the trust documents.""
I picked them up.
There was a signature at the bottom.
Richard Hale.
The date was six years earlier.
My father's signature.
I stared at it.
"That's impossible.""
"Your father knew about the twins.""
I shook my head.
"How?""
"He arranged the hospital switch.""
I felt dizzy.
Elena took my hand.
"Richard believed the Hale family needed an heir. He wanted a grandson, but when he learned you were having daughters, he became furious. He believed your company would be vulnerable if the inheritance passed to a woman.""
I stared at her.
"So he arranged for Rebecca to raise one of our children?""
"Yes.""
"And you let him?""
"I didn't know until after the birth.""
She began crying.
"By then, he had already threatened to destroy your career. He said he would make sure you lost everything if I told you.""
I looked at the photograph.
My father had been dead for eight years.
But his decisions were still destroying my family.
I felt anger rising inside me.
Then the speaker crackled.
Graham's voice returned.
"Mr. Hale, I hope you've enjoyed your family reunion.""
I looked up.
"Where are you?""
"Somewhere comfortable.""
"Where's my daughter?""
"Which one?""
I clenched my jaw.
"Both.""
He laughed.
"You're finally beginning to understand.""
A video appeared on the monitor.
It showed the mansion's main hall.
Rebecca stood beside a little girl.
The child wore a pale blue dress.
Her hair was tied into two ponytails.
She looked exactly like Ava.
But she was smaller.
Thinner.
And she was crying.
Rebecca knelt beside her.
"Tell me your name, sweetheart.""
The little girl shook her head.
"My name is Ava.""
Rebecca smiled.
"No, darling. Your name is Sophie.""
The girl began sobbing.
"My daddy calls me Ava!""
Rebecca grabbed her chin.
"Your daddy doesn't know anything.""
I slammed my fist against the table.
"LET HER GO!""
Graham's voice came through the speaker.
"There's a problem, Marcus.""
I stared at the monitor.
"What problem?""
"Your wife has been keeping a secret.""
I turned toward Elena.
She was shaking her head.
Graham continued.
"The child you raised as Ava isn't your biological daughter. But she isn't Rebecca's daughter either.""
I felt my breath catch.
"Stop playing games.""
"Ask Elena who the biological father of Sophie is.""
I turned.
Elena's face had gone white.
"Marcus...""
I stepped toward her.
"Who?""
She couldn't meet my eyes.
"Richard.""
I stared at her.
"My father?""
Elena nodded.
"Rebecca had an affair with him. Before you married me. He was the father of the child she gave birth to.""
The room fell silent.
I looked at the little girl on the monitor.
Sophie.
The child I had raised.
The child who called me Daddy.
She was my half-sister's daughter.
My father's child.
My family had been built on a lie.
And somewhere in the mansion, the little girl who was actually my daughter was being held by the woman who had stolen her.
I turned toward the ventilation shaft.
"Can we get out through there?""
Elena nodded.
I helped her climb.
The passage was narrow, but we managed to crawl through it.
After several minutes, we reached a maintenance corridor behind the pool equipment room.
I kicked open the access panel.
The mansion was quiet.
Too quiet.
I heard footsteps from the main hall.
Then a child's voice.
"Daddy?""
I ran.
I reached the staircase and saw Daniel standing near the front door.
His shirt was torn.
Blood ran down his forehead.
But he was alive.
"Where are they?""
Daniel pointed toward the library.
"Sir, I tried to stop her.""
I rushed into the room.
Rebecca stood beside the fireplace.
Graham was near the desk.
And between them stood a little girl.
My daughter.
Ava.
She was holding a photograph of me.
When she saw me, she screamed.
"DADDY!""
I ran toward her.
Rebecca grabbed her shoulder.
"Stop!""
I froze.
She pulled a small object from her pocket.
A silver lighter.
Then she held it over a stack of papers.
"One more step, Marcus, and your entire family history disappears.""
I stared at the papers.
They were the original hospital records.
The DNA reports.
The birth certificates.
Everything.
Rebecca smiled.
"You have two choices. You can have the little girl, or you can have the truth.""
I looked at Ava.
She was crying.
I looked at Elena.
She was standing behind me, barely able to remain upright.
Then I looked at Rebecca.
"You're wrong.""
Her smile faded.
"About what?""
I took one step forward.
"Those aren't the only copies.""
For the first time, Rebecca looked uncertain.
I pulled a small USB drive from my pocket.
It was the one I'd found beneath the pool.
Elena had hidden it for a reason.
And when I held it up, Rebecca's face changed completely.
Because she knew what was on it.
Graham slowly lowered his hand toward his briefcase.
Then Daniel spoke from the doorway.
"Mr. Hale, you might want to see who's outside.""
Through the library windows, blue and red lights flashed across the driveway.
Police cars.
Ambulances.
And another vehicle.
A black SUV.
The rear door opened.
A woman stepped out.
She looked exactly like Elena.
Except she was wearing a hospital gown.
Rebecca dropped the lighter.
"That's impossible," she whispered.
Elena grabbed my arm.
May you like
Then she said the words I would never forget.
"Marcus... that's our other daughter.""
