Chapter 5 - TWO DAUGHTERS
Margaret laughed.
A strange, broken sound.
“No.”
Ruth closed her eyes.
“You were heavily sedated.”
“No.”
“The first baby came at 11:42.”
“No.”
“The second at 11:49.”
Margaret backed away.
“I would remember.”
“You hemorrhaged.”
“I would remember!”
Emily stared at Ruth.
“So there were two girls?”
“Yes.”
Margaret pressed both hands against her mouth.
Twin daughters.
Twenty-two years.
Two daughters.
Thomas had let her believe one child existed.
Then let her believe that child died.
“Where is the other one?” Margaret asked.
Ruth started crying harder.
“I don’t know.”
Margaret grabbed her shoulders.
“Where is she?”
“I said I don’t know!”
“You stole Emily!”
“I saved Emily!”
The words echoed through the abandoned corridor.
Emily flinched.
“Saved me from what?”
Ruth looked toward the stairwell.
“From my family.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What did Thomas want with the babies?”
Ruth hesitated.
Then Margaret knew.
Money.
With the Ashfords, it was always money.
Thomas’s father, Charles Ashford, had built a fortune in construction, shipping, insurance, and private hospitals.
Including St. Catherine’s.
Ruth wiped her face.
“Your father left a separate trust.”
Margaret frowned.
“My father?”
“Your father knew Thomas was using you.”
Margaret felt sick.
Ruth continued.
“He changed his will before he died. Any biological child of yours would inherit controlling shares in Westbridge Holdings at twenty-five.”
Emily blinked.
“I don’t even know what that is.”
Margaret did.
Westbridge owned billions in property and investments.
“My father hated Thomas.”
“He had reason to.”
Margaret stared at her.
“What did Thomas do?”
Ruth looked at Emily.
“He made sure Margaret believed both babies were dead.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“But why separate us?”
Ruth’s voice dropped.
“Because Charles Ashford had a plan.”
Daniel stiffened.
“Thomas’s father?”
Ruth nodded.
“He wanted one child hidden.”
Margaret struggled to follow.
“One hidden where?”
“With someone he trusted.”
“And the other?”
Ruth looked down.
“He wanted the other legally declared dead.”
Emily’s eyes hardened.
“Which one was I?”
Ruth didn’t answer.
Emily stepped closer.
“Which one was I?”
“You were supposed to die.”
Emily stared at her.
Ruth’s voice broke.
“On paper.”
The lights suddenly came on.
Every fluorescent tube in the corridor flickered alive.
Daniel spun around.
“That’s impossible. The building has no power.”
A speaker crackled overhead.
Thomas’s voice filled the hall.
“You always did talk too much, Ruth.”
Margaret looked up.
“Thomas!”
“Hello, Maggie.”
She hated the nickname now.
“Come out.”
“I’m close.”
Emily shouted, “Where is my sister?”
Silence.
Then Thomas laughed softly.
“You’ve already met her.”
Emily’s face went still.
“What?”
A door slammed at the far end of the corridor.
Footsteps.
Someone approached.
A young woman stepped into the light.
Same age as Emily.
Same dark hair.
Same blue eyes.
May you like
And on the back of her right hand—
was another heart-shaped birthmark.
