Chapter 7
Richard read the name again.
Daniel Hale.
His first thought was that the report had been forged.
His second was worse.
Daniel had known Anna was pregnant.
He had hidden her message.
He had admitted only enough truth to make the rest of his story believable.
Evelyn watched Richard carefully.
“I warned you not to trust appearances.”
“This is fake.”
“The test was conducted shortly after Emily’s birth.”
“Why would Anna test Daniel?”
“Because she knew the truth.”
Richard grabbed the document.
“The laboratory belongs to Hale Medical.”
“It did not at the time.”
Thomas spoke quietly.
“It was an independent clinic in Boston.”
Richard looked at him.
“You knew about this?”
“I saw the result years ago.”
“Then why did you say you only suspected Emily existed?”
Thomas lowered his eyes.
Evelyn gave a cold smile.
“Everyone has lied to you, Richard. Anna included.”
Richard called Daniel.
No answer.
He called again.
The phone went directly to voicemail.
Fear rose inside him.
Daniel was with Emily.
Richard turned to Marcus.
“Call the suite.”
Marcus contacted the security team.
No one answered.
He tried another guard.
Still nothing.
Richard ran from the boardroom.
Evelyn called after him.
“The vote begins in ten minutes.”
“Vote without me.”
“If you leave, you forfeit your position.”
Richard kept moving.
Marcus called hotel security as they entered the elevator.
Finally, someone answered.
The guard sounded disoriented.
“Sir, we had a medical emergency.”
“What happened?”
“Smoke entered the hallway. We evacuated the floor.”
“Where are Emily and Rosa?”
“We thought they were with Mr. Daniel Hale.”
Richard looked at Marcus.
“Find Daniel’s car.”
The elevator seemed to take forever.
When the doors opened, Richard ran through the lobby.
His phone rang.
It was the independent doctor.
“The DNA results are ready.”
“Tell me.”
She hesitated.
“Richard Hale cannot be excluded as Emily Brooks’s biological father.”
His knees almost gave way.
“What is the probability?”
“99.99 percent.”
“Send the report to Marcus Reed and every member of the Hale board.”
“Mr. Hale, there’s something unusual.”
“What?”
“The girl’s sample contained traces of an anticoagulant.”
Richard stopped.
“Is she in danger?”
“Not from the small amount we detected. But she may have been given medication recently.”
At the hotel suite, they found Rosa unconscious in the bedroom.
Paramedics were already treating her.
A damp cloth lay on the floor beside the door.
“She inhaled something,” one paramedic said. “She’s breathing, but we need to take her in.”
“Where is Emily?”
Rosa’s eyes opened slightly.
“Daniel…”
Richard knelt beside her.
“Did he take her?”
She struggled to speak.
“He came with juice. Emily drank it. She became sleepy.”
Richard’s stomach twisted.
“Where did he go?”
“Train station.”
“Why?”
“He said… her father was waiting.”
Richard stood.
Marcus had already located Daniel’s car.
It was traveling east toward Grand Central Station.
Police units moved to intercept it.
Richard and Marcus followed.
The real DNA report reached the board while they drove.
Richard’s phone filled with messages.
He ignored them all.
Then Daniel called.
Richard answered through the car speakers.
“Where is she?”
Daniel sounded terrified.
“I didn’t know the juice was drugged.”
“Who gave it to you?”
“Mother’s assistant brought it. She said it came from the kitchen.”
“Where is Emily?”
“In my car.”
“Is she awake?”
“Barely.”
“Pull over.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Mother said the report proved Emily was mine.”
“The report is fake. The independent test confirms she is my daughter.”
Daniel went silent.
“Daniel, pull over.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“I believed the old report.”
“You believed you were her father?”
“I thought maybe Anna had lied to both of us.”
Richard felt sick.
“Were you involved with her?”
“No!”
Daniel’s answer came instantly.
“I loved her, but she never loved me. Not that way.”
Richard remembered how Daniel had always watched Anna when they were younger.
Quietly.
Painfully.
“You told Mother when Anna contacted you because you were jealous.”
“I told myself I was protecting you.”
“You wanted her gone.”
“I was twenty-four and stupid.”
“You left a child without her father for eight years.”
Daniel began crying.
“I know.”
“Then stop the car.”
“I can’t bring her back.”
“Why?”
“I’m not alone.”
A man’s voice sounded behind him.
“End the call.”
Richard recognized Thomas.
“Uncle Thomas is with you?”
Thomas took the phone.
“The real result changes nothing.”
“It changes everything.”
“It makes the scandal worse. Your mother will be charged. Grant will testify. The merger is finished.”
“You burned Anna’s apartment.”
“I recovered evidence that belonged to the company.”
“You drugged Emily.”
“I needed Daniel to move her without a scene.”
“She is nine years old.”
“And because she is nine, she can be placed somewhere safe until this is resolved.”
“You mean hidden.”
“I mean protected.”
“From whom?”
“From the world you are about to unleash on her.”
Richard looked at Marcus.
Marcus pointed toward the GPS display.
They were closing the distance.
“Where are you taking her?” Richard asked.
“A private facility.”
“You’re kidnapping her.”
“I’m preventing a public disaster.”
Emily’s weak voice came through the phone.
“Richard?”
“I’m here.”
“I feel sleepy.”
“I know. Stay awake for me.”
Thomas said, “Do not speak to her.”
Emily ignored him.
“Did the test come back?”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s car appeared three blocks ahead.
Richard could see police vehicles approaching from the opposite direction.
“What did it say?” Emily asked.
Richard’s voice broke.
“It said I’m your father.”
Silence.
Then he heard a small sob.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Daniel suddenly shouted.
“Thomas, stop!”
Tires screamed.
The car swerved through an intersection.
A delivery truck blasted its horn.
Marcus gripped the dashboard.
Thomas’s voice became frantic.
“Move!”
“You’re going to get us killed,” Daniel yelled.
Richard heard Emily crying.
“Daniel, slow down!”
“I’m trying!”
The car turned into the station’s underground entrance.
Richard’s vehicle followed.
Police blocked the exit behind them.
Daniel stopped near a service platform.
Thomas jumped out and pulled Emily from the back seat.
She could barely stand.
He dragged her toward a waiting train.
Daniel climbed out of the driver’s seat.
“Let her go!”
Thomas shoved him to the ground.
Richard reached them seconds later.
“Thomas!”
His uncle held Emily against his chest.
There was no gun.
Only desperation.
“You have no idea what you’re destroying,” Thomas said.
Richard moved slowly.
“I’m looking at what you’re destroying.”
“Your father built an empire.”
“My father tried to confess.”
“He panicked.”
“He found his conscience.”
“And look what it cost him.”
Emily lifted her head.
“Please let me go.”
Thomas’s arms tightened.
Richard saw anger flash across her face.
Emily drove her heel down onto his foot.
Thomas cried out.
She twisted free and ran.
Richard caught her before she fell.
She wrapped both arms around his neck.
“You came back.”
“I came back.”
Police surrounded Thomas.
Daniel stood nearby, pale and shaking.
Richard looked at him.
“You brought her here.”
“I thought Mother was sending us somewhere safe.”
“You believed another lie because it was easier than facing the truth.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily looked at him.
“Did you know my mom?”
Daniel began to cry again.
“Yes.”
“Did she ask you for help?”
“Yes.”
“And you told them?”
“Yes.”
Emily hid her face against Richard’s shoulder.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Emily, I was wrong.”
Richard blocked him.
“Not now.”
Thomas was handcuffed.
As officers led him away, he looked at Richard.
“Your mother has Anna’s journal.”
Richard held Emily tighter.
“What’s in it?”
“Something Anna never wanted you to know.”
At the hospital, doctors confirmed Emily would recover.
Rosa woke an hour later.
When she learned the DNA result, she covered her mouth and cried.
Richard sat beside Emily’s bed.
She had refused to release his hand.
“Does this mean I have to change my name?” she asked.
“Only if you ever want to.”
“Mom’s last name was Brooks.”
“Then Brooks is a good name.”
“Will I live with you?”
Richard glanced at Rosa.
“That decision belongs to you, Rosa, and a judge.”
Emily’s face fell.
“You don’t want me?”
“I want you more than I can explain.”
“Then why can’t I come with you?”
“Because loving you doesn’t give me the right to take you away from the aunt who raised you.”
Rosa stepped closer.
“Anna wanted her to know her father.”
“That doesn’t mean she wanted you removed from Emily’s life.”
Emily looked between them.
“Can’t we all stay?”
Rosa and Richard exchanged a surprised glance.
Before either could answer, Evelyn entered the hospital room.
Two attorneys accompanied her.
Richard stood.
“How did you get past security?”
“I am still Emily’s grandmother.”
“You are also under investigation.”
“No charges have been filed against me.”
Evelyn placed Anna’s journal on the bed.
Emily reached for it.
Evelyn stopped her.
“This belongs to Richard.”
“It belonged to my mom.”
“And it contains the truth about her illness.”
Richard stared at Evelyn.
“What are you talking about?”
“Anna did not die from natural causes.”
Rosa went pale.
“That’s a lie.”
Evelyn opened the journal to its final entry.
Anna’s handwriting had become weak and uneven.
Grant came again today. He says the medicine will help, but I feel worse each time I take it.
Emily looked at Richard.
“Mr. Grant brought Mom’s medicine.”
Evelyn closed the journal.
“You think this story is about money and hidden letters.”
May you like
Her voice dropped.
“It is about murder.”
