Chapter 4 - THE CHILD THEY TOOK
I couldn't breathe.
“A twin?”
Catherine nodded.
“Your daughter.”
I stared at her.
“No.”
“You gave birth to twins.”
“No.”
“I was there.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
I backed away.
“I had one baby.”
“You were told you had one.”
Gabriel stepped between us.
“Mother, stop.”
Catherine looked at him.
“She deserves the truth.”
I shook my head.
“Where is my daughter?”
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
“What do you mean you don't know?”
“She was taken.”
“When?”
“After birth.”
“By whom?”
“Your father's employer.”
I stared.
“My father?”
“No.”
“Ethan?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Catherine whispered:
“Your mother.”
My blood went cold.
“My mother?”
“She sold the baby.”
I felt like the room had disappeared.
“No.”
Catherine nodded.
“Your mother believed she was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?”
“She was paid.”
I screamed.
“She sold my daughter?”
Noah woke.
“Mommy?”
I immediately turned toward him.
“I'm here.”
He looked scared.
I forced a smile.
“Go back to sleep.”
He didn't.
“Why are you crying?”
I wiped my face.
“I'm okay.”
Gabriel crouched beside him.
“Your mom is just tired.”
Noah looked at him.
“Are you sad too?”
Gabriel smiled.
“A little.”
Noah reached for his hand.
“Then you can stay.”
Gabriel froze.
I looked away.
Catherine watched us.
Then she said:
“There's more.”
I looked at her.
“Of course there is.”
“The child wasn't sold to strangers.”
“Who?”
Catherine whispered:
“The Roth family.”
I felt sick.
Gabriel turned toward his mother.
“What?”
“She was raised inside this family.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Catherine's voice broke.
“In Europe.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted a perfect heir.”
I stared at Gabriel.
“You're telling me my daughter was raised by your family?”
Gabriel looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
“I believe you.”
He looked at me.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
I don't know why.
Maybe because his face showed genuine horror.
Maybe because, unlike everyone else, Gabriel had never tried to control me.
Or maybe because Noah had already decided he was family.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Gabriel immediately stood.
“Security?”
No answer.
The lights went out.
Noah screamed.
I grabbed him.
Gabriel pulled a weapon from a drawer.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
“Claire.”
I knew it.
Ethan.
The emergency lights flickered on.
He stood at the end of the hallway.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
He looked at Noah.
Then me.
“I'm sorry.”
I couldn't move.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you abandoned us.”
“Yes.”
“You let me raise our son alone.”
“I thought it was the only way.”
“You were wrong.”
“I know.”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed.
Ethan didn't move.
I slapped him again.
He closed his eyes.
“I deserved that.”
“You deserved worse.”
“I know.”
“Where is my daughter?”
His expression broke.
“I found her.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
“She's alive.”
I grabbed his coat.
“Where?”
He whispered:
“Manhattan.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Where exactly?”
Ethan looked at him.
“At the Roth family residence.”
Gabriel's face turned white.
“My house?”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Your father's private estate.”
Gabriel looked at me.
“We're going.”
Ethan nodded.
But before we could move, he said:
“There is one problem.”
“What?”
“The girl doesn't know she's your daughter.”
“Why?”
“Because she believes Catherine Roth is her grandmother.”
I froze.
Then Ethan looked at Gabriel.
“And she believes you are her father.”
May you like
Gabriel stopped breathing.
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