Chapter 4 - THE DAUGHTER NOBODY EXPECTED
Chloe didn't scream immediately.
First, she laughed.
A short, confused laugh.
Then she looked at my mother.
"What did you say?"
My mother covered her mouth.
"No."
Chloe stepped closer.
"What did you just say?"
I stood frozen.
My entire childhood flashed through my mind.
The favoritism.
The excuses.
The way my mother protected Chloe.
The way Chloe's mistakes were always forgiven.
Maybe it wasn't because Chloe was the younger daughter.
Maybe there had been another reason all along.
My mother began crying.
"Chloe—"
"Answer me!"
Every person in the ballroom heard her.
My sister's voice broke.
"Was Dad my father?"
My mother couldn't speak.
That was enough.
Chloe's face collapsed.
I had never seen her look small before.
Chloe was always loud.
Confident.
Reckless.
She moved through life believing someone would always catch her.
But suddenly she looked like a little girl.
"Who is my father?"
My mother whispered, "It doesn't matter."
Chloe laughed again.
This time there was no humor in it.
"It doesn't matter?"
She pointed toward me.
"You told me my entire life that Natalie thought she was better than me because Dad loved her more."
My mother looked away.
Chloe stepped closer.
"You told me Natalie got everything because she manipulated him."
"Chloe—"
"Was that a lie too?"
My mother didn't answer.
I finally spoke.
"Who is he?"
My mother looked at me.
Her face crumpled.
And for the first time in my life, I realized she wasn't afraid of losing me.
She was afraid of what I knew.
Robert answered from across the room.
"His name was Daniel Mercer."
Everyone turned.
My mother shut her eyes.
Ethan whispered, "Who's Daniel Mercer?"
I stared at my uncle.
"How do you know?"
Robert smiled.
"Because Daniel Mercer was working with me."
My father hadn't simply been betrayed.
He had been surrounded by betrayal.
Robert continued.
"Your mother had an affair with Mercer."
Chloe began shaking.
"He was your father's closest civilian adviser."
My stomach twisted.
Robert looked at me.
"And when Thomas found out..."
He paused.
My mother whispered, "Please."
"...he changed his will."
I looked down at the papers.
My hands trembled.
"Changed it how?"
Vale answered.
"He created separate protected accounts."
My heart pounded.
"One for you."
I swallowed.
"And Chloe?"
Silence.
"One for Chloe," Vale said.
My mother looked at me.
"But under conditions."
"What conditions?"
Her tears fell faster.
"Thomas didn't want anyone touching the money until you were both old enough."
I laughed bitterly.
"And you followed that?"
"No."
That single word hung in the air.
No excuse.
No manipulation.
Just the truth.
My mother had stolen from us.
Both of us.
But she hadn't only stolen money.
She had stolen years.
She had stolen the truth.
Chloe looked at me.
And something shifted between us.
For the first time, she didn't look at me like her enemy.
She looked at me like another victim.
Then one of the investigators approached Robert.
"Mr. Carter, you're under arrest."
Robert smiled.
"For what?"
"Conspiracy, fraud, obstruction, and crimes related to an ongoing investigation."
Robert laughed.
"You think I'm the only one?"
The investigator said nothing.
Robert looked directly at my mother.
She collapsed into a chair.
And I understood.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
Because my mother's theft was only one branch of something much larger.
Something that had begun before my father died.
Something that had destroyed more families than mine.
And buried inside my father's old files was one name that appeared again and again.
Daniel Mercer.
Chloe's biological father.
My mother's former lover.
And the man Robert claimed had been working with him.
The problem was—
Daniel Mercer had disappeared eighteen years ago.
Officially, he had vanished.
Unofficially, no one knew whether he was dead.
Then Ethan's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
His expression changed.
I knew that look.
Bad news.
Very bad news.
He hung up slowly.
"What happened?" I asked.
Ethan looked at me.
"They found Daniel Mercer."
My mother stopped crying.
Chloe stopped breathing.
I whispered, "Where?"
Ethan looked toward the ballroom windows.
"He's been watching this building for the last two hours."
Every light in the ballroom suddenly went out.
And somewhere outside—
May you like
a gunshot shattered the night.
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