Chapter 9: The Price of the Mitchell Name
Marcus was bleeding.
David dropped beside him as another gunshot struck the study window.
“Marcus!””
The security chief groaned, clutching his shoulder.
“I'm okay.””
“You've been shot!””
“It's not deep.””
David grabbed a folded cloth from the desk and pressed it against the wound.
Rachel moved toward the door.
“David, we have to get out!””
Robert remained standing.
He looked almost annoyed.
“Richard always did have terrible timing.””
David stared at him.
“Where is the fourth child?””
Robert shook his head.
“Not now.””
“Tell me!””
Outside, a car door slammed.
Then came the sound of several people approaching the house.
Marcus struggled to sit up.
“There's a rear passage.””
David looked at him.
“Can you walk?””
Marcus nodded.
“Help me up.””
Robert pointed toward the bookshelf.
“There's another way out. Behind the study.””
David looked at him.
“Why should I trust you?””
Robert's expression hardened.
“Because if you stay here, Richard will kill you before you discover what happened to your brother.””
The word struck David.
Brother.
He had grown up an only child.
His mother had never mentioned another pregnancy.
His father had never spoken about a second child.
Now a photograph of a newborn had turned his entire childhood upside down.
Rachel grabbed his arm.
“David, please.””
He looked at Marcus.
Then at the approaching footsteps.
He helped Marcus stand.
Robert moved toward the bookshelf and pressed a hidden switch.
A narrow door opened.
“Go.””
David stared at him.
“Come with us.””
Robert shook his head.
“I need to finish something.””
“You're not staying here.””
“I'm already a dead man, David.””
“You're my father.””
Robert's expression softened.
For the first time, he looked genuinely ashamed.
“That's why I'm staying.””
He handed David a small black case.
“Everything you need is inside.””
David took it.
“What is it?””
“The original medical records. The foundation's financial ledger. And the name of the person who has been protecting Richard from the law.””
David looked at the case.
“Who?””
Robert's eyes moved toward the front entrance.
“The person you would least expect.””
A loud crash echoed through the hallway.
Robert pushed David toward the hidden passage.
“Go!””
David and Rachel helped Marcus through the narrow corridor.
Before the door closed, David looked back.
His father stood alone in the study, holding the digital recorder.
For a brief second, their eyes met.
Then Robert disappeared behind the bookshelf.
The passage led to an underground garage.
A black sedan was parked inside.
Marcus unlocked it with a remote key.
Rachel helped him into the back seat while David climbed behind the wheel.
They drove through a narrow tunnel and emerged onto a quiet residential street.
David didn't stop until they reached the apartment where Sophie and the girls were waiting.
He entered carrying the black case.
Rachel rushed toward the bedroom.
“Harper? Maya? Lily?””
Three little voices answered.
“Mommy!””
The girls ran toward her.
Rachel dropped to her knees and hugged them.
David stood in the doorway, watching.
He had just escaped a gunman.
He had discovered his father was alive.
He had learned his mother might have been murdered.
And somewhere, a fourth child might be waiting.
But the sight of his daughters reminded him why he couldn't stop.
Sophie approached him.
“What happened?””
David placed the case on the table.
“My father.””
Sophie stared.
“You saw Robert?””
“He's alive.””
She covered her mouth.
“Does Richard know?””
“He knows we're here.””
Marcus sat down, pale from blood loss.
“Someone needs to call a doctor.””
Sophie grabbed her phone.
“I know someone.””
David opened the black case.
Inside were several folders, a small encrypted drive, and a handwritten list.
He examined the list.
It contained names of doctors, security personnel, financial officers, and government officials.
At the top was Richard Ashford.
At the bottom was a name David didn't recognize.
Judge Samuel Whitmore.
Sophie leaned closer.
“That's the judge who handled Rachel's estate.””
David looked at her.
“What?””
“He approved the transfer of the children's trust.””
David stared at the name.
“Is he involved?””
Sophie nodded slowly.
“He was the one who declared Maya and Lily legally missing.””
David opened another folder.
Inside was a copy of a court order.
It authorized the transfer of two minor children into the Ashford Foundation's medical guardianship program.
The document carried the judge's signature.
But the date was wrong.
It had been signed two days before Rachel gave birth.
David stared at the paper.
“They arranged this before the girls were even born.””
Rachel approached.
She had heard enough to understand.
“Richard knew I was pregnant.””
David nodded.
“He planned everything.””
Sophie picked up the encrypted drive.
“There's a label.””
David read it.
THE MITCHELL FAMILY AGREEMENT.
He inserted the drive into his laptop.
A password prompt appeared.
He tried his birthday.
Wrong.
He tried Rachel's birthday.
Wrong.
He tried Harper's birthday.
Wrong.
Marcus looked up.
“Try your mother's.””
David entered the date of Margaret Mitchell's death.
The screen opened.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Financial records.
Medical reports.
Audio recordings.
And a folder marked:
*PROJECT FOUR.*
David clicked it.
A video opened.
Richard Ashford appeared on the screen, sitting behind a desk.
He looked younger.
The recording was dated seven years earlier.
“Robert, I need your approval. The child will be the final piece of the arrangement.””
Robert's voice came from off-camera.
“Why him?””
“Because the boy carries the genetic marker.””
“What marker?””
Richard smiled.
“The one Margaret discovered.””
David stared.
The video continued.
Robert asked, “And David?””
Richard leaned back.
“David doesn't need to know he has a brother.””
The recording ended.
David sat motionless.
Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder.
“What does it mean?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Sophie opened another file.
It contained a scanned medical report.
Patient: Unknown Male Infant.
Mother: Margaret Mitchell.
Father: Robert Mitchell.
Birth date: Seven years before David was born.
David frowned.
“That would make him my older brother.””
Rachel nodded.
The report continued.
The child had been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that caused unusual blood protein expression.
The same condition was referenced in several Ashford research documents.
David scrolled down.
There was a photograph.
A young boy stood beside Richard Ashford in a garden.
He looked about eight years old.
On his wrist was a silver bird bracelet.
David stared at the image.
He had seen that bracelet before.
On his mother's jewelry box.
It had been missing after her death.
He turned toward Robert's old photograph on the table.
His father had been holding the same bracelet.
David looked at Rachel.
“My mother had another child before me.””
Rachel nodded.
“And Richard took him.””
David scrolled further.
A document appeared showing the child's current legal identity.
Ethan Vale.
Age: Thirty-nine.
Occupation: Chief Medical Officer, Ashford Medical Research Institute.
David felt his stomach drop.
“Adrian Vale?””
Rachel stared at the screen.
“That's impossible.””
Sophie read the document again.
“Adrian Vale is your brother.””
David sat back.
The man who had signed Rachel's death certificate.
The man who had helped separate his daughters.
The man who had lied to him for six years.
Was his own older brother.
A doctor arrived to treat Marcus.
He confirmed that the bullet had grazed the shoulder and that Marcus would recover with proper care.
Afterward, David stepped onto the apartment balcony.
The city lights flickered in the distance.
He needed air.
He needed silence.
He needed to understand how his family had become entangled with a man who seemed to control every part of their lives.
Rachel joined him.
“Are you okay?””
David laughed quietly.
“My brother tried to steal my daughters.””
Rachel stood beside him.
“He may not have known the truth about you.””
“He knew what he was doing.””
“David…”
“He signed your death certificate, Rachel.””
She looked down.
“I know.””
“He stood in front of me and told me you were gone.””
Rachel took his hand.
“Your father made sure we never knew the whole story.””
David looked at her.
“What if Adrian was manipulated, too?””
Rachel hesitated.
“Then he has a chance to prove it.””
David looked through the glass doors.
Harper was sitting on the carpet, arranging toy blocks.
Maya was helping her.
Lily slept in a small portable crib.
He watched them for a moment.
Then his phone vibrated.
An incoming call.
Adrian Vale.
David answered.
“What do you want?””
Adrian's voice sounded exhausted.
“David, listen carefully. Richard knows you've seen the files.””
“I'm sure he does.””
“You need to leave Chicago immediately.””
“Why?””
“Because he's coming for the girls.””
David looked toward the bedroom.
“Let him try.””
Adrian sighed.
“You still don't understand. Richard isn't planning to take them back to the foundation.””
“Then where?””
“Somewhere no one will ever find them.””
David tightened his grip on the phone.
“Why are you calling me?””
There was a long pause.
Then Adrian said something David never expected.
“Because I know who your mother really was.””
David went silent.
“What?””
“Margaret Mitchell wasn't simply your mother. She was the person who discovered the genetic research program before Richard did.””
David frowned.
“She discovered it?””
“She created the original research protocols. She believed they could help children with inherited blood disorders.””
“Then why did Richard take control?””
“Because he realized the research could be worth billions.””
David looked at Rachel.
She was listening now.
Adrian continued.
“Your mother tried to stop him. She wanted to shut everything down.””
“And you?””
“I was a child.””
“You were older than me.””
“I was eight years old, David. Richard took me after the accident. He told me my parents were dead.””
David closed his eyes.
“Did you believe him?””
“For a long time.””
“Then why did you help him?””
Adrian's voice cracked.
“Because by the time I learned the truth, he had already made sure I couldn't leave.””
David looked toward the girls.
“What does he want with them?””
Adrian hesitated.
Then he said:
“Harper, Maya, and Lily have inherited the same genetic marker as your mother. Together, their medical profiles could unlock the research Richard has spent decades trying to complete.””
David felt sick.
“They're children.””
“I know.””
“Then help me stop him.””
“I can.””
“How?””
Adrian's voice dropped.
“Meet me tomorrow morning. Alone.””
David stared at the city.
“Where?””
“St. Catherine's Hospital. The old maternity wing.””
David frowned.
“Why there?””
“Because there's something hidden in the room where Rachel gave birth.””
Rachel stepped closer.
“What is it?””
Adrian heard her voice.
“Rachel?””
“Yes.””
There was a long silence.
Then Adrian whispered:
“I'm sorry.””
Rachel's eyes filled.
“For what?””
“For what happened to your third daughter.””
David's blood ran cold.
“What are you talking about?””
Adrian answered quietly.
“Lily wasn't the third child they took that night.””
The call disconnected.
David looked at Rachel.
She was trembling.
Inside the apartment, Harper suddenly screamed.
“Daddy!””
David rushed through the balcony doors.
The front entrance stood open.
The apartment was empty.
Sophie was gone.
And so were the girls.
On the floor lay three silver bird necklaces.
Beside them was a note.
Bring the original ledger to St. Catherine's tomorrow. Come alone, or you'll never see your daughters again.
David picked up the note.
Then he noticed the handwriting.
May you like
It belonged to his father.
Robert Mitchell.
