CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN NATHAN HID
CHAPTER 8 — THE WOMAN NATHAN HID
The gunshot echoed through Blackthorn Manor.
Evelyn ran down the stairs.
“Celeste!”
No answer.
“Dad!”
Another gunshot came from the west corridor.
Marcus appeared through the smoke.
“Evelyn, get back!”
“Where's Celeste?”
“She's alive.”
“Where is she?”
“Kitchen.”
Evelyn ignored him and ran.
She found Celeste crouched behind the marble island, one hand pressed against her shoulder.
Blood stained the sleeve of her dress.
Evelyn dropped beside her.
“You're hurt.”
“It's a scratch.”
“A bullet doesn't make a scratch.”
Celeste looked toward the hallway.
“He wasn't trying to kill me.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What?”
“He could have.”
Marcus arrived behind them.
“He was shooting to scare us.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked toward the open service door.
“He was gone before I reached him.”
Evelyn's heart pounded.
“Adrian?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the phone in Evelyn's hand.
“Who called you?”
“My sister.”
“Which one?”
“The third.”
Marcus stared at her.
“What did she say?”
“She said Mom is alive.”
Celeste's face changed.
“And?”
“She said Mom isn't free.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked like a man who had just heard a sentence he had spent seventeen years trying to avoid.
Evelyn stood.
“You knew.”
Marcus looked at her.
“I suspected.”
“You always suspect.”
“Evelyn—”
“You knew my mother survived.”
“No.”
“You knew she might be alive.”
Marcus remained silent.
“That is not the same thing.”
“It is when you've spent seventeen years telling me she was dead.”
Marcus looked away.
Evelyn's voice trembled.
“I want the truth.”
“So do I.”
“Then we're going to find it.”
She turned toward the door.
Marcus grabbed her wrist.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Amelia.”
His grip tightened.
“You don't know where she is.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Nathan does.”
Three hours later, Evelyn sat alone in the back of Marcus's armored vehicle.
The city passed outside in streaks of gray.
Celeste sat opposite her, pale but conscious.
Marcus was in the front seat, speaking quietly with his security team.
Evelyn kept staring at the photograph.
Amelia.
The woman she had spent her life believing was dead.
Her sister.
The woman Nathan had hidden.
A question wouldn't leave her mind.
Why?
Why had Nathan kept Amelia alive?
Why had he hidden her?
Why had he lied about her existence?
And why had Amelia warned her not to trust Marcus?
Evelyn opened the file they had taken from Blackthorn.
There was one page she hadn't examined.
A financial statement.
At the top:
PRIVATE DISBURSEMENTS — N. ASHFORD
She scanned the transactions.
Rent.
Medical expenses.
Food.
Security.
Cash withdrawals.
All paid to one woman.
A. VALE
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
There were payments going back eleven years.
Eleven years.
Nathan had been paying for Amelia long before he had married Evelyn.
Celeste leaned closer.
“He knew her.”
“Apparently.”
“Before he met you?”
“Yes.”
“Then he didn't discover Amelia after your marriage.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at the dates.
The first payment was made when Evelyn was twenty-one.
Nathan had been twenty-four.
He hadn't even entered Evelyn's life yet.
Celeste whispered:
“He was assigned to you after he found her.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“What if finding me wasn't the first part of his assignment?”
Celeste's face tightened.
“What was?”
“Finding Amelia.”
The vehicle stopped outside an old apartment building in Queens.
Marcus turned around.
“This address came from Nathan's private account.”
Evelyn looked up.
“Who owns the apartment?”
“A shell company.”
“Of course.”
Marcus opened the door.
“Stay behind me.”
Evelyn stepped out.
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
“Evelyn.”
“I've been behind you my entire life.”
She looked toward the building.
“Not anymore.”
They entered.
The elevator was broken.
They climbed four flights.
Marcus stopped outside apartment 4B.
There was no name on the door.
No mailbox.
No visible security camera.
He knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
“Amelia?”
Silence.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Amelia, it's Evelyn.”
A sound came from inside.
A chair moving.
Then a woman's voice.
“Go away.”
Evelyn froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it through the phone.
“It's me.”
Silence.
“I know who you are.”
The lock clicked.
The door opened two inches.
A woman stood behind it.
Evelyn stared.
The face from the photograph was standing in front of her.
Alive.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
Amelia.
Neither sister moved.
Amelia looked at Evelyn.
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
For several seconds, the only sound was their breathing.
Then Amelia whispered:
“You really came.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“You're really alive.”
Amelia gave a broken smile.
“Unfortunately.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Can I come in?”
Amelia looked behind her.
At Marcus.
Then Celeste.
“No.”
Evelyn's expression fell.
“Why?”
“Because he told me never to let him inside.”
“Who?”
Amelia looked directly at Marcus.
“Your father.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“Amelia.”
She stepped backward.
“You don't get to call me that.”
“What should I call you?”
“The name they gave me.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What name?”
Amelia looked at her.
“Anna.”
Inside the apartment, Evelyn sat across from her sister.
The place was almost empty.
One table.
Two chairs.
A bed.
A small refrigerator.
Several boxes.
No photographs.
No decorations.
No evidence that anyone had lived there for eleven years.
Evelyn looked around.
“This is where you've been?”
Amelia nodded.
“For years?”
“Yes.”
“Who paid for it?”
Amelia looked at her.
“You know.”
“Nathan.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn's voice hardened.
“Why?”
Amelia looked down.
“Because he couldn't afford to let me disappear.”
“Disappear from whom?”
“Everyone.”
“Victor?”
“Victor.”
“Adrian?”
“Adrian.”
“Marcus?”
Amelia didn't answer.
Evelyn leaned forward.
“Why were you afraid of my father?”
Amelia looked toward the window.
“Because your father thought he saved me.”
“What does that mean?”
“He didn't.”
Marcus stood near the door.
“Amelia, that's enough.”
She turned toward him.
“You want me to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn doesn't need to hear this.”
Amelia laughed.
“That's exactly what you've always said.”
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
“What did you do?”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Amelia answered for him.
“He chose Evelyn.”
Evelyn went still.
“What?”
“The night of the fire.”
Amelia looked at her.
“Your father found both of us.”
Evelyn stared.
“You and me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why were we separated?”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“Because someone told him he could only save one.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Evelyn looked at him.
“Is that true?”
He didn't answer.
“Dad.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“I was told the house was collapsing.”
“That's not what I asked.”
“I heard one child crying.”
“Only one?”
“Yes.”
“And you took me.”
Marcus's voice broke.
“I thought Amelia was dead.”
Amelia whispered:
“You thought wrong.”
Silence.
Evelyn slowly turned toward her.
“Who saved you?”
“Adrian.”
Marcus looked up.
Amelia continued.
“He carried me out.”
Evelyn remembered the photograph.
The little girl in Adrian's arms.
Smoke behind them.
“Then why did he give you to Nathan?”
“He didn't.”
Evelyn frowned.
“Then who?”
Amelia hesitated.
“My mother.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
“Mom?”
Amelia nodded.
“She was alive.”
“When?”
“The entire time.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“No.”
Amelia looked at him.
“Yes.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Isabelle never found you.”
“She did.”
“How?”
“She came to me.”
“When?”
“Eleven years ago.”
Evelyn stared.
Eleven years.
That meant Isabelle had been alive for years after everyone believed she was gone.
“What happened?”
Amelia swallowed.
“Mom found me in a safe house.”
“Who was with you?”
“Adrian.”
Evelyn's pulse quickened.
“What did she say?”
“She told me to run.”
“From Adrian?”
“No.”
Amelia looked at Evelyn.
“From Nathan.”
Evelyn froze.
“But Nathan was only twenty-seven.”
“He wasn't alone.”
“Who was behind him?”
“Victor.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“Victor was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did Mom tell you to run?”
“Because she knew Victor had found us.”
“What happened to her?”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“She stayed behind.”
“Why?”
“To give me time.”
“Did she survive?”
Amelia looked down.
“I don't know.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“You just told me she was alive.”
“She was alive then.”
“And now?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus left the apartment.
He couldn't listen anymore.
Evelyn watched him go.
Then she turned back to Amelia.
“You said Nathan kept you hidden.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Amelia was silent.
“Tell me.”
“He wasn't protecting me.”
Evelyn's stomach tightened.
“What was he doing?”
“He was protecting himself.”
“From what?”
Amelia walked to one of the boxes.
She opened it.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Evelyn reached for them.
The first showed Isabelle.
Alive.
The second showed Victor.
The third showed Adrian.
Then Nathan.
Evelyn looked at the dates.
Nathan was standing beside Victor in almost every photograph.
But in one photograph, Nathan was alone with Isabelle.
Evelyn's hands trembled.
“When was this taken?”
“Eleven years ago.”
“Where?”
“An underground clinic.”
“Why were they together?”
Amelia shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Evelyn turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE SECOND ACCOUNT.
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
“What account?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did Nathan keep this?”
“Because he needed it.”
“For what?”
“To find your mother.”
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
Then something clicked.
“The archive.”
Amelia nodded.
“Mom had something Nathan wanted.”
“The pendant.”
“No.”
Evelyn frowned.
“The final archive.”
Amelia looked at her.
“You opened it?”
“Yes.”
“What did you see?”
“Files.”
“Anything about Mom?”
“Her final recording.”
Amelia's face changed.
“What did she say?”
“That Adrian betrayed her.”
Amelia looked down.
“She was right.”
Evelyn studied her.
“What else?”
Amelia whispered:
“She said one of us had to disappear.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Because Victor believed the archive was connected to one of the girls.”
“Which girl?”
Amelia looked at Evelyn.
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother hid the key inside something only you could activate.”
“The sapphire.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn touched the pendant.
Amelia stared at it.
“Nathan spent years trying to get that.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Amelia shook her head.
“You don't.”
She walked closer.
“He didn't want the money.”
Evelyn frowned.
“Then what did he want?”
“The names.”
“What names?”
“Every person Victor paid.”
Evelyn stared.
“Politicians.”
“Yes.”
“Judges.”
“Yes.”
“Police.”
“Yes.”
“Bankers.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone?”
Amelia nodded.
“Everyone.”
Evelyn suddenly understood.
The archive wasn't just evidence.
It was a weapon.
Whoever controlled it could destroy Victor's entire network.
And possibly expose people far beyond the Ashford family.
Evelyn looked at Nathan's financial records.
“But if Nathan wanted the archive, why keep you alive?”
Amelia's expression became cold.
“Because I had something he couldn't get from the pendant.”
“What?”
“The location of the original ledger.”
Evelyn leaned forward.
“Where is it?”
Amelia looked at her.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“No.”
“Then why would Nathan keep you alive?”
“Because he believes I do.”
The front door suddenly opened.
Evelyn stood.
Marcus rushed inside.
“Get down!”
A bullet shattered the window.
Amelia screamed.
Marcus pulled both women to the floor.
Another shot.
Then silence.
Marcus crawled toward the window.
“No shooter.”
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
“Was that Nathan?”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
“Adrian?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Amelia's face had gone white.
“Victor.”
Marcus looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because he always fires twice.”
Another gunshot struck the wall.
Amelia flinched.
“Three times when he's angry.”
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
“We're leaving.”
They moved toward the back exit.
But before they reached it, Amelia stopped.
“Wait.”
“What?”
She looked at Evelyn.
“I know where your mother is.”
Evelyn froze.
“Where?”
Amelia pointed toward the basement.
“Under us.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
“She told me if anything happened to her, I had to find the old Vale property.”
Evelyn frowned.
“The house burned down.”
“Not everything.”
Amelia opened another box.
Inside was an old map.
A red circle had been drawn beneath Blackthorn Manor.
Evelyn stared.
“Blackthorn.”
Amelia nodded.
“There's another room.”
“We already found one.”
“This one is older.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Mom showed it to me.”
Marcus's face changed.
“When?”
“Before she disappeared.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“What is inside?”
Amelia looked at her.
“The original ledger.”
“And?”
Amelia's eyes filled with fear.
“The place where Mom was kept.”
Silence.
Marcus whispered:
“Kept by whom?”
Amelia looked toward him.
“Your best friend.”
Marcus went still.
“Adrian.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked at the map.
A hidden chamber beneath Blackthorn.
A ledger.
Her mother.
Adrian.
Everything was beginning to connect.
Then Amelia grabbed Evelyn's arm.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Nathan knew I was here.”
Evelyn froze.
“What?”
“He wanted you to find me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Amelia shook her head.
“He didn't hide me from you.”
She looked directly into Evelyn's eyes.
“He hid me for you.”
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Amelia whispered:
“Nathan needed you to believe he had another woman.”
Evelyn stared.
“The money.”
“The apartment.”
“The photographs.”
“All of it was designed to make you think he was having an affair.”
“But why?”
“To make you hate him.”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“He wanted me to investigate.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew you would eventually find me.”
Evelyn stepped backward.
“So our marriage…”
“Was a trap.”
“I know.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice became softer.
“Your marriage was a trap.”
She looked at the pendant around Evelyn's neck.
“But Nathan was trapped too.”
Evelyn stared.
“By whom?”
Amelia looked toward the dark window.
“Victor.”
Then she whispered:
“And Victor wasn't the person giving Nathan orders.”
Marcus raised his gun.
“Who was?”
Amelia looked at him.
“The person who started the fire.”
Everyone went silent.
Evelyn's heart pounded.
“Adrian.”
Amelia nodded.
“But there's something you still don't understand.”
“What?”
Amelia took one final photograph from the box.
It showed Isabelle standing beside Adrian.
Between them were three little girls.
Evelyn.
Amelia.
And the third daughter.
But this time, Evelyn noticed something different.
The third girl was holding a small object.
A sapphire pendant.
Not Evelyn's.
Another one.
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
“That's impossible.”
Amelia whispered:
“That's why Nathan was looking for her.”
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
“There were two pendants?”
Amelia nodded.
“One for each archive.”
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
“Where is the other one?”
Amelia looked toward the door.
“That's what your mother disappeared to protect.”
A phone began ringing.
Everyone froze.
It was Evelyn's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Nathan's voice came through.
“Now you understand.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“You used me to find Amelia.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where she was the entire time.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted me to find her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Nathan was silent for a moment.
Then he said:
“Because she's the only person alive who knows where your mother hid the second archive.”
Evelyn's grip tightened around the phone.
“You're not getting it.”
Nathan laughed softly.
“I already have the first.”
“You don't have me.”
“I don't need you.”
His voice changed.
“I need her.”
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
Nathan continued:
“And now that you've found her…”
A pause.
“…Victor knows exactly where both of you are.”
The call ended.
Amelia's face went white.
Evelyn slowly lowered the phone.
Outside, several black vehicles appeared at the end of the street.
Marcus looked through the window.
“There are too many.”
Celeste whispered:
“Who are they?”
Marcus raised his gun.
“Everyone.”
Evelyn looked at Amelia.
Her sister was shaking.
Evelyn reached for her hand.
“You're not going anywhere.”
Amelia looked at her.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“They'll kill you.”
“Let them try.”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time in eleven years, someone had said those words to her.
Not run.
Not hide.
Not survive.
Stay.
Evelyn squeezed her hand.
“We're sisters.”
Amelia stared at her.
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did I.”
Evelyn looked toward the approaching vehicles.
“But apparently…”
She picked up the old map.
“…we're both very difficult to kill.”
A sudden explosion shook the building.
The lights went out.
Amelia screamed.
Marcus raised his weapon.
Evelyn pulled the sapphire pendant from beneath her collar.
It began to glow faintly in the darkness.
And from somewhere beneath the apartment floor came a mechanical clicking sound.
Evelyn looked down.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside was a small black box.
On its lid was a single word.
ISABELLE.
Evelyn slowly reached for it.
Then the box opened by itself.
Inside was a photograph.
Her mother.
Alive.
And beside her stood the woman Evelyn had been searching for all night.
Margaret Morgan.
But neither of them was looking at the camera.
They were looking at someone standing just outside the frame.
Someone wearing the black stone ring.
On the back of the photograph, Isabelle had written:
NATHAN WAS NEVER MY ENEMY.
Evelyn's breathing stopped.
Below that sentence was another.
HE WAS THE BOY I SENT TO SAVE MY DAUGHTERS.
Evelyn stared at the words.
Then looked at Amelia.
Nathan had lied.
Marcus had lied.
Everyone had lied.
But the biggest lie of all had just been exposed.
Nathan hadn't entered Evelyn's life to destroy her.
Someone had sent him there.
Someone who had known exactly what was coming.
Someone who had planned for the day Evelyn would finally discover the truth.
May you like
And that someone was her mother.
TO BE CONTINUED
