Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN HIDING IN THE CHILDHOOD BEDROOM
Detective Hale climbed first.
Leo followed despite being told to stay downstairs.
Sofia remained with Emma and Rebecca.
The second floor hallway was dark.
One bedroom door stood open.
Sofia’s childhood room.
Hale moved toward it.
“Police. Show me your hands.”
No answer.
Leo pushed the door wider.
A woman sat on the floor beside the old bed.
Wedding dress torn.
Hair wet.
Bare feet covered in blood.
Victoria.
She looked up.
“Close the door.”
Hale aimed his weapon.
“Hands.”
Victoria raised them.
“I didn’t come here to hurt anyone.”
Leo laughed bitterly.
“You pushed my sister off a cliff.”
“I know.”
“You kidnapped a newborn.”
“I know.”
“You abandoned her.”
Victoria’s face twisted.
“No.”
Emma had said she did.
Leo stepped closer.
“I watched your confession.”
“I left the baby because Robert told me to.”
Sofia appeared behind him.
“What?”
Hale turned.
“I told you to stay downstairs.”
Sofia ignored him.
Victoria stared at her.
“I never intended to kill your baby.”
Sofia looked ready to tear the room apart.
“You took her from my motel.”
“Yes.”
“You put her beside garbage.”
“I put her where Robert told me.”
“Why?”
“Because he was supposed to take her.”
Sofia stopped.
Victoria continued.
“He promised the baby would disappear safely.”
Leo frowned.
“Safely?”
“He said there was a family in Canada.”
Sofia stepped forward.
“You thought kidnapping my daughter and sending her to another country was safe?”
Victoria’s voice rose.
“I was trying to keep her alive!”
Sofia slapped her.
The sound cracked through the room.
Hale immediately stepped between them.
Victoria touched her cheek.
Then laughed.
“I deserved that.”
Sofia’s hands shook.
“Why did you push my car?”
Victoria’s face changed.
“Because Robert told me you had the original trust documents.”
Everyone went still.
Sofia whispered:
“He ordered it?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He wanted me to scare you.”
“By running me off a cliff?”
“I wasn’t supposed to hit you that hard.”
Leo stared.
“You rammed her car.”
“Yes.”
“You watched it go over the edge.”
“Yes.”
“And drove away.”
Victoria began crying.
“I panicked.”
Sofia’s voice became ice.
“You didn’t panic when you found me alive.”
“No.”
“You hunted me.”
“Because Robert told me the trust could destroy all of us.”
“Why?”
Victoria looked toward Rebecca.
“Because the money isn’t theirs.”
Rebecca frowned.
“What?”
“The Bennett fortune.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“It was built with stolen money.”
Leo stared.
“From who?”
“Samuel Greene found out years ago.”
“Your uncle.”
“Yes.”
“He helped Robert fake his death because Robert promised to return what the family stole.”
Rebecca looked stunned.
“What are you talking about?”
Victoria continued.
“Robert discovered your grandfather, Edward Bennett, had stolen land rights from dozens of families forty years ago.”
Sofia frowned.
“What does that have to do with my baby?”
“The trust contained ownership of those properties.”
“If Sofia’s child was born, control moved into a protected generation-skipping trust.”
Leo understood.
“Meaning the assets became harder to recover.”
Victoria nodded.
“Robert wanted to stop the transfer.”
Sofia stared.
“So my own father wanted my daughter erased from the trust.”
“Yes.”
“But not killed.”
“Not according to him.”
Sofia laughed without humor.
“What a comforting distinction.”
Detective Hale stepped closer.
“Why did Robert meet you seven weeks before the crash?”
“To offer me a deal.”
“What deal?”
Victoria looked at Leo.
“If I kept Sofia away from the family until after the wedding, Robert would give me enough money to disappear.”
Leo looked sick.
“You were going to marry me and disappear?”
“No.”
Victoria’s voice broke.
“That changed.”
“What changed?”
“I fell in love with you.”
Leo stared at her.
“You tried to kill my sister.”
“I know.”
“You stole her baby.”
“I know.”
“That isn’t love.”
Victoria looked down.
“No.”
It wasn’t.
Hale handcuffed her again.
Before leading her out, Sofia asked:
“How did you escape the hospital?”
Victoria stopped.
“A man came for me.”
“Robert?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Victoria’s face went pale.
“I thought it was Robert at first.”
“What does that mean?”
“He looked like him.”
Leo frowned.
“Who?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Samuel Greene.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Samuel is dead.”
Victoria looked at her.
“No.”
“He’s the man who helped me escape tonight.”
Hale’s expression hardened.
“When did Samuel supposedly die?”
Rebecca answered:
“Eight years ago.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“Then your family has another empty grave.”
As Hale began leading her away, she turned toward Sofia.
“And there’s one more thing.”
Sofia said nothing.
Victoria looked toward Emma downstairs.
“Robert never told me there were two children.”
Sofia frowned.
“You knew Emma existed.”
“Not Emma.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I mean two babies.”
The room went silent.
Sofia stopped breathing.
“What did you just say?”
May you like
Victoria stared at her.
“When I entered your motel room, there were two hospital bassinets.”
