Chapter 7: The Woman Who Had Been Dead to Me for Thirteen Years
My phone kept ringing.
Claire Bennett.
Thirteen years.
That was how long it had been since I had heard my first wife's voice.
Thirteen years since I had stood outside a hospital room while a doctor told me our two-year-old daughter, Emily, had died following an emergency medical procedure.
Thirteen years since Claire had looked me in the eyes and said she couldn't bear to see me again.
And now, somehow, she was calling me from a number I didn't recognize.
I stared at the screen.
Grace was sitting beside me, wrapped in an emergency blanket. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks, and her eyes kept drifting toward the approaching coast guard vessel.
"Are you going to answer it?"" she whispered.
I couldn't move.
She touched my arm.
"Maybe it's about Emily.""
I pressed the green button.
"Claire?""
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman's trembling voice answered.
"Daniel?""
I closed my eyes.
"Where are you?""
"Listen to me. You have to get Lily off that boat.""
My blood turned cold.
"She's safe. She's with the captain.""
"No, Daniel. You don't understand. Marcus isn't the only person involved.""
I looked toward the bridge.
"What are you talking about?""
"He's been working with someone for years. Someone who has access to the hospital records, the adoption records, everything.""
I swallowed.
"Claire, I need you to tell me what happened to Emily.""
A sharp breath came through the phone.
"She's alive.""
The words hit me harder than the gunshots.
I gripped the railing.
"Where is she?""
"At home.""
"Whose home?""
"Mine.""
I couldn't speak.
Claire continued.
"Daniel, I know what you're thinking. I know you believe I let you mourn her for thirteen years. But I didn't have a choice.""
I stared at the photograph Grace had found.
"Then explain it.""
"Not over the phone.""
"Claire!""
"Marcus has people listening. He knows you're looking for the truth. He knows Grace has escaped.""
I looked at Grace.
She had gone pale.
"How do you know about Grace?""
"Because she came to see me last week.""
My heart skipped.
"What?""
"She came with documents. She wanted to know why her birth certificate listed a different hospital from the one where she was supposedly born.""
I looked at Grace.
She slowly shook her head.
"I never told anyone," she whispered.
Claire continued.
"She found me through the adoption agency. I told her everything I knew.""
"Everything?""
"Not everything. I didn't know what happened to Lily.""
I looked toward the bridge again.
"Claire, what does Lily have to do with any of this?""
The line went quiet.
Then Claire said something that made my knees weaken.
"Because Lily isn't Vanessa's only child.""
I closed my eyes.
"Claire, stop speaking in riddles.""
"Daniel, the baby Vanessa gave birth to was not the baby you brought home.""
I felt the phone slipping in my hand.
"What?""
"Marcus arranged the hospital transfer. He switched medical records. He used a private neonatal facility that wasn't properly licensed.""
I looked at Grace.
Her eyes were wide.
"Who was the baby?"" I whispered.
"Your daughter.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Emily?""
"No. Lily.""
I stared at the ocean.
Claire continued.
"Emily was born three years earlier. She was taken from me when she was two. Lily was born later and placed in your home through a completely different arrangement. Marcus used the confusion surrounding the hospital records to hide what happened to both girls.""
I shook my head.
"That's impossible. Lily is Vanessa's biological daughter.""
"Yes," Claire whispered.
"But the girl you have been raising isn't the baby Vanessa was told she gave birth to.""
My world seemed to fracture.
I looked at Grace.
"Then who is Lily?""
Claire answered.
"She's the child of a woman named Rebecca Lawson.""
The surname struck me.
Lawson.
Peter Lawson.
The doctor who had spoken to us from the motorboat.
I remembered the photograph on Grace's phone.
I remembered the adoption papers.
And suddenly, the pieces began falling into place.
"Why would Marcus do this?""
"Money," Claire said.
"And revenge.""
"Revenge for what?""
Claire took a shaky breath.
"Thirteen years ago, you refused to invest in his medical supply company. He lost everything. He blamed you. He said he would take away the one thing you loved most.""
I stared at the phone.
"Emily?""
"Yes.""
I closed my eyes.
Claire continued.
"He arranged the hospital transfer and made me believe Emily had died. When I discovered the truth, he threatened to make sure I never saw her again.""
"Why didn't you come to me?""
"Because Marcus had evidence that you had authorized an illegal payment to the hospital.""
I froze.
"What payment?""
"He forged your signature. He made it look like you had paid to have Emily transferred into an illegal adoption arrangement.""
I felt sick.
"That's not possible.""
"I know. But he had documents, bank records, and witnesses who were willing to lie.""
I looked toward Richard.
He was standing several feet away, listening.
"Claire, why are you calling now?""
"Because Marcus made a mistake.""
"What mistake?""
"He contacted me yesterday. He told me he had found Emily and wanted me to sign a statement confirming that you had voluntarily given her up.""
I gripped the railing.
"Why would you sign that?""
"I wouldn't.""
"And then?""
"He threatened me.""
I heard her crying.
"He said if I refused, he would make sure the last remaining child you loved disappeared.""
I looked toward the cabin.
Lily.
The five minutes.
The severed safety line.
The little girl hanging over thirty miles of open ocean.
I finally understood the purpose of the attack.
It wasn't simply to scare me into signing a business transfer.
It was a warning.
Marcus wanted me to believe that he could take my children whenever he wanted.
"Claire, where are you right now?""
"At my house. But Daniel, listen carefully. I found something in Emily's old medical file.""
"What?""
"A photograph.""
"Of Emily?""
"No. Of the person who signed the transfer order.""
My pulse quickened.
"Who?""
Claire hesitated.
Then she whispered:
"Vanessa Carter.""
I looked up.
Vanessa was standing inside the bridge doorway.
Her face was white.
She had heard enough.
I lowered the phone.
"Claire, stay where you are. Don't speak to anyone. I'm coming.""
"Daniel, wait!""
"What?""
"There's one more thing.""
I pressed the phone against my ear.
"Tell me.""
"Emily knows who you are.""
I stopped breathing.
"How?""
"Marcus contacted her last month. He told her that you had abandoned her.""
My stomach twisted.
"That's a lie.""
"I know. But she believed him.""
"Where is she?""
Claire began crying.
"She's coming to the marina.""
I looked toward the coast guard lights.
"Why?""
"Because Marcus told her he would reunite her with you today.""
I turned toward Grace.
"Do you know where Emily is?""
Grace nodded.
Then she pointed at the motorboat.
"She was supposed to be here.""
A movement near the rear of the boat caught my attention.
There was another person inside.
A young woman.
She had been hiding beneath the covered seating area.
She slowly stood up.
Her eyes met mine.
And I knew.
I knew before anyone said her name.
The shape of her face.
The small scar above her eyebrow.
The same dimple I had seen in my childhood photographs of myself.
Emily.
My first daughter was standing thirty feet away.
And she was holding a photograph of me.
But she wasn't smiling.
She was crying.
"Why didn't you come looking for me, Dad?""
I tried to answer.
Nothing came out.
Then Marcus appeared behind her.
He placed one hand on her shoulder.
And whispered something into her ear.
Emily's expression changed.
She looked at me with hatred.
"Don't come any closer," she said.
May you like
Marcus smiled.
"Now, Daniel, perhaps we can finally discuss that signature.""
