Chapter 11 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
Sarah was alive in it.
Young.
Smiling.
Holding a newborn baby.
Lily.
I knew her face even though she had been only a few days old.
But there was something else.
Sarah wasn't alone.
Daniel Reeves stood beside her.
And behind them was a hospital sign.
ST. MARY'S WOMEN'S CENTER.
I turned the photograph over again.
Six words.
LILY WAS NOT BORN BY ACCIDENT.
"Vanessa."
She looked at me.
"Tell me the truth."
She wiped her tears.
"I've been trying to."
"No. You've been trying to control what we know."
She looked at Lily.
"I'm sorry."
Mark stepped forward.
"What does that photograph mean?"
Vanessa said nothing.
"Vanessa."
"I don't know everything."
"Then tell us what you know."
She took a breath.
"Lily wasn't supposed to be born."
Mark stared at her.
"What?"
"Sarah was told she couldn't safely carry another pregnancy."
I looked at the photograph.
"Another?"
Vanessa nodded.
"Sarah had a medical complication before Lily."
Mark looked confused.
"She never told me."
"She didn't want you to worry."
I frowned.
"But Lily was born."
"Yes."
"What does that have to do with Daniel?"
Vanessa's face hardened.
"Everything."
She sat down.
"Sarah discovered something about the insurance network while she was pregnant."
"What?"
"Children were being used."
I felt sick.
"Used for what?"
"Identity fraud."
Mark shook his head.
"No."
Vanessa looked at him.
"Birth records. Insurance records. Trust funds. Medical identities."
I stared at Lily.
"You mean..."
"People were creating false identities for children."
"Why?"
"Money."
Michael interrupted.
"Not just money."
Everyone turned.
Michael looked at Lily.
"Protection."
"From what?"
He hesitated.
"People like Daniel."
I didn't understand.
"Why would a child need protection from an insurance fraud network?"
Michael looked at Vanessa.
"Because Lily was the evidence."
Mark stepped toward him.
"What evidence?"
Michael swallowed.
"Sarah discovered that Daniel wasn't creating fake identities."
He looked at Lily.
"He was replacing real ones."
Silence.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Michael answered:
"It means Lily's identity was supposed to disappear."
Mark's face went pale.
"Why?"
"Because someone wanted her gone."
"Who?"
Michael looked at me.
"Edward."
I felt a cold rush through my body.
"Why would Edward want Lily dead?"
Michael shook his head.
"He didn't."
"Then what?"
"He wanted Lily to disappear."
"Why?"
"Because Lily is the legal heir to something."
"What?"
Michael didn't answer.
Vanessa did.
"Sarah's inheritance."
I frowned.
"Sarah didn't have an inheritance."
Vanessa looked at me.
"Not from her mother."
"Then from whom?"
She whispered:
"Robert."
My father's name.
Again.
I felt as though every secret in my family had been buried beneath that one name.
"What did my father leave Sarah?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Not money."
"Then what?"
"A company."
I stared at her.
"My father owned a company."
"One you never knew existed."
Mark looked at me.
"Dad..."
Vanessa continued.
"It was placed into a trust before Sarah was born."
"Who controlled it?"
"Sarah."
"Until?"
"Until Lily turned eighteen."
I looked at my granddaughter.
She was nine.
Nine years old.
Which meant there were nine years left.
Unless someone was trying to get to the trust early.
I suddenly understood.
The crystal horse.
The insurance policies.
Sarah's investigation.
The surveillance.
Lily.
This wasn't about a three-thousand-dollar sculpture.
It had never been.
Someone wanted access to Lily.
And whatever belonged to her.
That afternoon, Mark received a phone call.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A distorted voice spoke.
"Bring the drive."
Mark looked at me.
"What drive?"
"The one your wife hid."
Mark's face changed.
"What do you want?"
"You have until midnight."
"Where?"
"Old Bennett warehouse."
The call ended.
Mark stared at the phone.
I asked:
"Did he say who he was?"
Mark shook his head.
But Michael already knew.
"Daniel."
Vanessa stood.
"No."
Michael looked at her.
"What?"
"Daniel wouldn't call."
"Why?"
"Because he's already inside."
Everyone froze.
Then we heard a noise from the hallway.
May you like
A soft metallic click.
Like a gun being loaded.
