Chapter 6: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Richard Callaway looked exactly like the kind of man who believed the world belonged to him.
His silver hair was perfectly combed.
His dark suit was immaculate.
He carried a wooden cane with a gold handle, but he didn't appear to need it.
He looked at Nathaniel first.
“My grandson.””
Nathaniel stepped forward.
“Stay away from me.””
Richard smiled.
“Such an unpleasant greeting after all these years.””
“You stole my childhood.””
“I gave you a future.””
“You stole my sister.””
Richard's eyes moved toward me.
“Ah. Rose.””
I felt Eleanor's hand tighten around my wrist.
Richard looked at her.
“You should have stayed quiet.””
Eleanor stepped between us.
“You've taken enough.””
He laughed.
“Have I?””
Then he pointed his cane toward the safe.
“Daniel, give me the documents.””
Daniel Price walked forward.
Nathaniel stared at his former assistant.
“Eleven years.””
Daniel avoided his eyes.
“I was doing my job.””
“Your job was to work for me.””
“My job was to protect the Callaway family.””
Nathaniel laughed bitterly.
“You sent a photograph of my mother to a kidnapper.””
Daniel's expression didn't change.
“Your grandfather has a different understanding of family loyalty.””
Richard extended his hand.
“The folder.””
Daniel handed it over.
Richard opened it and removed a single photograph.
He looked at it for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
“Grace was always sentimental.””
I moved toward him.
“Where is she?””
Richard looked at me.
“Safe.””
“That's not an answer.””
“She's alive. For now.””
Nathaniel lunged.
Marcus caught his arm.
“Sir!””
Richard didn't flinch.
“Still impulsive, Nathaniel. Just like your father.””
“Don't talk about Daniel.””
Richard's smile faded.
“Daniel was a weak man.””
“He was my father.””
“No. He was a mistake.””
I felt anger rise in my chest.
“You burned his house.””
Richard looked at me.
“I corrected a problem.””
Eleanor made a choking sound.
“You monster.””
Richard turned toward her.
“Don't pretend you were innocent, Eleanor. You signed the documents. You accepted the money. You raised the boy.””
“I never accepted your money!””
“You accepted the house. The staff. The security. The name.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“I accepted those things because I thought I could protect Nathaniel.””
Richard smiled.
“And now look what you've done. You've brought the girl back.””
He looked at me again.
“You should have stayed where you were.””
I raised my chin.
“You should have stayed dead.””
For the first time, Richard's expression hardened.
Then he laughed.
“Grace raised you well.””
He pulled a folded document from his jacket.
“This is the reason we're all here.””
Nathaniel stared at it.
“What is that?””
“The original succession agreement.””
Richard placed it on the altar.
“Your grandfather's estate was never meant to be divided between two children. It was meant to remain under one controlling heir.””
Nathaniel stepped closer.
“You're not the heir.””
Richard ignored him.
“The will was structured to give the family trust to the first recognized child of Grace Callaway. Nathaniel was registered as that child.””
I frowned.
“And what about me?””
Richard looked at me.
“You were never supposed to be recognized.””
“Why?””
“Because your birth threatened everything.””
He opened the document.
“The original records showed that Grace gave birth to twins. But there was a complication.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“Richard, don't.””
He continued.
“One of the children was not Daniel's.””
The room went silent.
Nathaniel stared at him.
“What?””
Richard turned toward me.
“Your mother had an affair.””
I felt as though someone had punched me.
“No.””
“Grace was involved with another man before she married Daniel. She became pregnant, and the dates were inconvenient.””
Nathaniel shook his head.
“That's a lie.””
Richard shrugged.
“Perhaps. But the original DNA records tell a different story.””
He reached into the folder and removed a laboratory report.
I stared at the page.
It contained two names.
Nathaniel Callaway.
Rose Carter.
Below them were the words:
*BIOLOGICAL MATERNITY: CONFIRMED.*
But the section identifying the father had been partially covered.
Richard smiled.
“Your mother wanted you to believe that Daniel was your father. He wasn't.””
I looked at Eleanor.
She was crying.
“Who was he?”” I asked.
Richard answered before she could.
“Me.””
The word echoed through the chapel.
Nathaniel stepped backward.
“No.””
Richard nodded.
“Grace was my daughter. And you, Rose, are my granddaughter.””
My mind struggled to process the words.
“You're saying my biological father was my mother's own father?””
Richard's expression didn't change.
“That's what the report says.””
Eleanor screamed.
“LIAR!””
She grabbed the document.
Richard slapped her hand away.
“Enough!””
The paper fell to the floor.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Is it true?””
She shook her head.
“Rose, listen to me. Your mother never had an affair with Richard.””
“Then why does the report say—”
“Because Richard changed it!””
Richard laughed.
“Do you have proof?””
Eleanor stared at him.
“Yes.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
She reached into the velvet box from the safe and removed a tiny silver pendant.
Inside was a photograph of Grace holding two newborn babies.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Daniel's children. Both of them. My whole world.
Eleanor held it up.
“Daniel ordered a private DNA test before the fire. He knew Richard would try to destroy the records.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Give me that.””
“No.””
Daniel Price moved toward Eleanor.
Marcus immediately blocked him.
Richard's voice became cold.
“Do you have any idea what you've done?””
Eleanor looked directly at him.
“I've finally told the truth.””
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Richard reached into his jacket.
Marcus shouted.
“DON'T!””
A gunshot exploded through the chapel.
I felt Nathaniel shove me to the floor.
The stained-glass window shattered.
Eleanor screamed.
When I lifted my head, Marcus was on the ground, blood spreading across his shoulder.
Daniel Price was running toward the side entrance.
Richard had disappeared behind the altar.
Nathaniel grabbed my arm.
“Rose, get up!””
We rushed toward Marcus.
He was conscious but struggling to breathe.
“Go,” he whispered.
“I'm not leaving you.””
“Your mother…”
He pointed toward the small emergency exit.
“Richard has a second vehicle. He's taking her somewhere else.””
Nathaniel grabbed the police radio.
“Officer down! Suspect armed! We need backup at the chapel!””
A siren sounded outside.
Then another gunshot rang from the estate.
I looked toward the broken window.
Richard was crossing the garden.
He was heading toward a black SUV.
And in the passenger seat was a woman.
My mother.
“Mom!””
I ran toward the door.
Nathaniel caught my arm.
“Rose, wait!””
I pulled free.
“She can see me!””
Across the garden, Grace turned her head.
Our eyes met through the vehicle's window.
She pressed her palm against the glass.
Then Richard leaned toward her.
The SUV accelerated.
I ran after it, but it disappeared through the iron gates.
A police officer grabbed my shoulder.
“Miss, stop!””
I fought against his grip.
“THAT'S MY MOTHER!””
Nathaniel reached me.
He wrapped his arms around me as my legs gave way.
For seventeen years, I had mourned a woman who was still alive.
Now I had finally seen her.
And watched her disappear again.
My phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
I opened it with shaking hands.
There was a photograph of a document.
A hospital consent form dated November 14, 1997.
At the bottom was a signature.
Daniel Sterling.
Beside it was another signature.
Richard Callaway.
And above both names was a line that made my blood turn cold.
*PATIENT: GRACE CALLAWAY.*
*PROCEDURE: EMERGENCY SEPARATION OF INFANT FROM BIOLOGICAL MOTHER.*
Underneath, someone had typed a final note.
The second child is not to be returned to the mother under any circumstances.
I stared at the words.
Then another message appeared.
*UNKNOWN NUMBER: YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHY YOUR MOTHER WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP YOU, ROSE. ASK NATHANIEL WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER BABY.*
I looked up.
Nathaniel was standing beside the ambulance.
His face had gone completely white.
Because he had read the message too.
And he was staring at me as though he had just remembered something from his childhood.
Something he had spent twenty-nine years trying to forget.
“Rose,” he whispered.
“What?””
He swallowed.
“When I was six years old, my grandfather brought a little girl to the mansion.””
My heart began pounding.
“What little girl?””
Nathaniel's eyes filled with tears.
“He told me she was my sister.””
I stared at him.
“But I'm your sister.””
He shook his head.
“That wasn't you.””
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“She disappeared the same night your mother supposedly died.””
