Chapter 13 - THE LAST NAME ON THE LIST
Daniel stared at the document.
The words on the page didn’t make sense.
Not at first.
His brain refused to accept them.
The paper contained a list.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Connections.
At the bottom was a signature.
A name Daniel knew.
A name that made his entire body go cold.
Thomas Carter.
His father.
But that wasn’t the part that shocked him.
It was the final line.
The person who continued his father’s operation after his death.
Daniel slowly looked up.
“Robert was not the person who started this.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
Daniel’s voice became quiet.
“Then who was?”
Sarah looked at him.
“Your father.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“He’s been dead for years.”
“I know.”
“Then how?”
Sarah took a deep breath.
“Because Thomas Carter planned everything before he died.”
The morning air felt colder.
Daniel looked toward the mansion.
The place where he had raised Lily.
The place where every secret had been buried.
“My father knew he was dying.”
Sarah nodded.
“He knew people would search for his records after his death.”
“So he created a backup plan.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at the document again.
“And Robert?”
“Robert was only the person carrying it out.”
Daniel felt anger building inside him.
All his life, he had admired his father.
He remembered him as a powerful businessman.
A man who taught him discipline.
A man who told him family was everything.
But now he realized something.
His father didn’t protect the family.
He controlled it.
“What does Lily have to do with this?”
Sarah looked at Lily.
The little girl was sitting beside Rachel, holding her stuffed rabbit.
“She was the one thing your father couldn’t control.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
Sarah walked closer.
“Your father used fake adoption records to hide children connected to his illegal operations.”
Daniel’s hands tightened.
“He erased their identities.”
“Yes.”
“And Lily?”
Sarah’s eyes filled with sadness.
“Lily’s birth mother discovered what he was doing.”
Daniel looked shocked.
“Her mother?”
Sarah nodded.
“She tried to expose him.”
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
Silence.
Daniel understood.
His father had been hiding children who could expose him.
And Lily was the last piece of evidence.
“She remembered the place.”
Sarah nodded.
“She remembered the room where she was kept.”
Daniel looked toward the hidden passage.
“The room behind the wall.”
“Yes.”
Sarah touched his arm.
“That’s why your father wanted her gone.”
Daniel looked at Lily.
His daughter.
The little girl who had been afraid to speak.
The little girl everyone underestimated.
A child who had carried the truth for years.
Then Daniel noticed something.
“Wait.”
He looked at Sarah.
“If my father was involved…”
His voice became slower.
“Why did you disappear?”
Sarah looked away.
The pain returned to her face.
“Because I found out someone inside your family helped him.”
Daniel froze.
“Who?”
Sarah hesitated.
Then she answered.
“Someone you loved.”
Daniel felt his heart sink.
“Who?”
Sarah looked toward the mansion.
“The person who raised you.”
Daniel went silent.
“My mother?”
Sarah nodded.
Daniel stepped back.
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“My mother died before my father.”
Sarah looked at him.
“That’s what everyone believed.”
The world seemed to stop.
Daniel whispered:
“What are you saying?”
Sarah pulled out another file.
Inside was a photograph.
An old photograph.
A woman standing beside Thomas Carter.
A woman Daniel recognized.
His mother.
But behind the photo was a handwritten message.
She knew everything.
Daniel stared.
Then his phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A voice spoke.
“You found the last file.”
Daniel froze.
“Who is this?”
The voice laughed softly.
“The person your father trusted after everyone else was gone.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“Where are you?”
The voice whispered:
“Come to the old Carter warehouse.”
A pause.
“Bring Lily.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
The call ended.
Sarah looked at him.
“What happened?”
Daniel lowered the phone.
“He knows where we are.”
Sarah’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the road.
And whispered:
May you like
“The person who has been watching us from the beginning.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
