Chapter 6 - THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The birth certificate was real.
But it wasn't mine.
That was what the independent records examiner told us two days later.
The document had been legally filed, but the identifying details had been altered through a sealed adoption proceeding.
My name appeared on it because my mother had requested the change.
The original record was held by a family court.
And it identified another child.
A girl named Elena Calder.
I stared at the report.
"Who is Elena?"
Vincent sat beside me.
His expression was grim.
"My brother's daughter."
I looked up.
"Daniel had a child?"
"He never told me."
"Then why did my mother have her birth certificate?"
The examiner explained that Margaret Brooks had served as the child's temporary guardian during a period of danger.
But the records were incomplete.
The child's current whereabouts were unknown.
My stomach tightened.
"Did my mother raise her?"
"Possibly for a short time."
I thought back to my childhood.
A little girl with dark curls.
A small pink blanket.
Someone crying in the next room.
I'd assumed those memories were dreams.
Now I wasn't so sure.
Vincent leaned forward.
"Is there any indication where Elena was taken?"
The examiner shook his head.
"Not yet."
I looked toward Vincent.
His brother had died.
His niece had vanished.
My mother had been blamed for a murder she hadn't committed.
And Nathan Calder had remained beside him for eleven years.
The thought made me sick.
"Why would Nathan want Elena hidden?"
Vincent's jaw tightened.
"Because Daniel's daughter may have inherited shares in the family trust."
I stared.
"Shares?"
"Daniel owned a portion of the Calder holding company. His estate would have passed to his child."
"And Nathan?"
"Managed those interests after Daniel died."
The room went cold.
"He stole her inheritance."
Vincent didn't answer immediately.
Then said, "That's one possibility. We need proof."
Later that evening, I returned to the estate to collect my belongings.
I'd decided to take leave from the kitchen until the investigation was finished.
Vincent didn't object.
Instead, he walked me toward the staff entrance.
"I owe you an apology," he said.
I looked at him.
"For what?"
"For allowing you to work here without telling you your mother was connected to my brother's death."
I swallowed.
"You didn't know the full truth."
"Neither did you. But you deserved the chance to decide whether you wanted to be here."
I studied him.
For a man accustomed to controlling every room he entered, admitting that felt significant.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He nodded.
Then his phone rang.
His expression changed as he listened.
"What happened?"
A pause.
"Where?"
He ended the call.
I felt dread tighten my chest.
"Vincent?"
He looked at me.
"The investigators found a woman matching Elena's age and identifying records."
My pulse raced.
"Where is she?"
Vincent swallowed.
"Inside the Calder organization."
I stared.
"What?"
He turned toward the kitchen.
"Her name is Sophie Reed."
My breath caught.
Sophie was the quiet twenty-six-year-old pantry assistant who'd worked beside me for nearly two years.
She was kind.
Shy.
May you like
Always afraid of Nathan.
And three hours earlier, she'd vanished from her apartment.
