Chapter 63 — The Child He Never Told Her About

 

Evelyn stood motionless in the middle of the abandoned mansion.

Richard Anderson's final words continued echoing inside her head.

Ask your husband what happened to the child who was born before your wedding.

She slowly turned toward Daniel.

He was standing beside the desk, his face pale and his hands clenched.

"Daniel," she whispered. "Is it true?"

He didn't answer immediately.

"Please," she continued. "Don't make me ask you again."

Daniel closed his eyes.

"Evelyn, there's something I need to explain."

Her heart sank.

"So it's true."

He approached her, but she stepped away.

"Don't come closer. Just tell me who the child is."

Daniel swallowed.

"His name was Michael."

Evelyn stared at him.

"Was?"

Daniel nodded slowly.

"He was my son."

The words struck her harder than she expected.

"Your son?"

"Yes."

"How old was he?"

"He was born before we got married."

Evelyn felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"Who was his mother?"

Daniel looked down.

"Rebecca."

For a moment, Evelyn couldn't breathe.

Rebecca Shaw.

The woman who had repeatedly appeared in their marriage.

The woman who knew secrets about Daniel.

The woman who had recently confessed everything.

"Rebecca had your child?"

Daniel nodded.

"Yes."

Evelyn laughed bitterly, wiping away her tears.

"How many more secrets are there, Daniel?"

"I wanted to tell you."

"When? After another ten years?"

He shook his head.

"Michael died when he was only a few months old."

Evelyn went silent.

"What happened to him?"

Daniel looked toward the window.

"He was born with a serious medical condition. Rebecca and I weren't together anymore when he was born. I only learnedabout him several weeks later."

"Did you love him?"

Daniel's eyes filled with pain.

"He was my son, Evelyn. Of course I loved him."

She looked away.

"And Rebecca?"

"She was devastated. I tried to help her, but everything between us had already fallen apart."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Daniel took a shaky breath.

"Because I was afraid you'd think I still had feelings for her."

Evelyn stared at him.

"You allowed me to live with another woman constantly appearing in our lives without telling me that she was the motherof your child."

Daniel lowered his head.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

Her voice broke.

"You don't know how humiliating it feels to discover that everyone around me knew something I didn't."

Daniel reached for her hand.

"Evelyn, I'm sorry."

She pulled away.

"I'm not asking you to apologize. I'm asking you to stop treating me like someone who doesn't deserve the truth."

On their way home, neither of them spoke.

Daniel kept glancing at Evelyn, hoping she would say something.

But she remained silent, staring through the car window.

When they finally arrived at the mansion, Evelyn immediately went upstairs.

Daniel followed her.

"Evelyn, please."

She entered the bedroom and began removing her jewelry.

"Can we talk tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow might be too late."

He stopped.

"What do you mean?"

She faced him.

"I need time to understand who I married."

Daniel's expression changed.

"You're not leaving me, are you?"

Evelyn looked at her wedding ring.

"I don't know anymore."

He stepped closer.

"I know I've made mistakes. But I never stopped caring about you."

She gave a sad smile.

"Sometimes caring isn't enough, Daniel."

He couldn't respond.

Evelyn placed her wedding ring on the bedside table.

Daniel stared at it as if something inside him had just broken.

"Please don't do this."

"I'm not making a decision about our marriage tonight. I'm just asking you to give me space."

He nodded reluctantly.

"I'll sleep in the other room."

When he reached the door, Evelyn spoke again.

"Daniel?"

He turned.

"Did you ever intend to marry Rebecca?"

He hesitated.

"Yes. At one point, I thought I would."

Evelyn closed her eyes.

"Thank you for finally telling me the truth."

Daniel left without another word.

The next morning, Alexander arrived with an update about Rebecca.

"Her apartment was empty when we searched it," he explained. "But we found something."

He placed a small recording device on the table.

"Someone left this inside her bedroom."

Daniel immediately pressed the play button.

Rebecca's voice filled the room.

If something happens to me, please make sure Evelyn receives the truth.

There was a pause.

Michael wasn't the only child connected to the Anderson family.

Daniel frowned.

"What does she mean?"

The recording continued.

There was another baby. A little girl. She was taken from the hospital shortly after Michael died.

Evelyn, who had just entered the living room, froze.

"A little girl?"

Alexander nodded.

"Keep listening."

Rebecca's voice became weaker.

I was told she didn't survive. But I later discovered that the death certificate was falsified. Someone arranged for the babyto disappear.

The recording ended.

Nobody spoke.

Daniel looked at Evelyn.

"Do you think she's talking about another child?"

Evelyn slowly approached the table.

"Who was the baby's mother?"

Alexander replayed the recording, but there was no additional information.

Then Evelyn noticed something written on the back of the device.

A hospital name.

St. Catherine Medical Center.

And a date.

The date was the same day her mother disappeared.

At the hospital, an old nurse named Margaret agreed to meet them.

She had worked there for more than thirty years and was among the few employees who remained from that period.

When Evelyn showed her the photograph of her mother, Margaret immediately recognized her.

"Where did you get this?"

"She was my mother," Evelyn answered.

Margaret looked surprised.

"Then you should know what happened."

Evelyn moved closer.

"Please tell me."

The nurse took a deep breath.

"Your mother came here twelve years ago. She was carrying a baby girl."

Evelyn's heart started racing.

"Was the baby mine?"

"No. You were already several years old."

Daniel exchanged a glance with Alexander.

"Whose baby was it?" he asked.

Margaret looked at him.

"Your father's."

Daniel froze.

"My father's?"

The nurse nodded.

"Richard Anderson arranged everything. The baby was supposed to be transferred to another hospital, but the recordswere changed."

Evelyn covered her mouth.

"Was the baby alive?"

Margaret nodded.

"Yes. She was perfectly healthy."

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. A woman came to collect her."

"Who?"

Margaret hesitated.

Then she whispered a name.

"Rebecca Shaw."

Daniel immediately stepped back.

"Rebecca?"

Margaret nodded.

"She was very young at the time. She told us she was taking the baby to a relative."

Evelyn looked at Daniel.

"Does that mean Rebecca raised your father's child?"

Before anyone could answer, Margaret opened an old cabinet and removed a yellowed document.

"This is the only copy I managed to keep."

Daniel examined it.

It was a hospital birth record.

The mother's name had been erased.

But the father's name remained.

Richard Anderson.

Below it was the baby's name.

Sophia Anderson.

Evelyn stared at the document.

"Does Daniel have a sister?"

Margaret shook her head.

"According to the official records, no."

Meanwhile, Rebecca woke up in a dark room.

Her wrists were tied, and her head hurt.

She slowly opened her eyes.

A man stood near the doorway.

"You're awake."

Rebecca recognized him immediately.

"Why are you doing this?"

The man smiled.

"Because you made a mistake."

"I only wanted Evelyn to know the truth."

"That's exactly the problem."

Rebecca struggled against the ropes.

"Where is Sophia?"

The man's smile disappeared.

"Don't say that name."

"She's innocent! She deserves to know who she is!"

He approached her.

"You've already done enough damage."

Rebecca looked directly at him.

"Richard will never control her forever."

The man laughed.

"Richard isn't the only one you should be afraid of."

He placed a glass of water on the table.

"There's someone else who has been watching Evelyn for years."

Rebecca's face turned pale.

"Who?"

The man leaned closer.

"Her own mother."

Rebecca stared at him in disbelief.

"That's impossible."

"Is it?"

He walked out and locked the door.

Rebecca began crying.

There was one more secret she hadn't told Evelyn.

And if she didn't escape soon, Evelyn might never discover the truth about her family.

Back at the hospital, Daniel received a call from Alexander.

"Sir, I found something about Sophia."

"What?"

"According to the old records, she was transferred to a private residence after leaving the hospital."

"Where?"

Alexander hesitated.

"Your father's second property."

Daniel frowned.

"My father only had one estate."

"Apparently, he owned another one under a different name."

Evelyn grabbed the phone.

"Where is it?"

Alexander gave them an address.

It was outside the city, near an old countryside village.

Daniel immediately instructed his driver to prepare the car.

But before they could leave, Evelyn noticed something strange about the birth certificate.

There was a handwritten note at the bottom.

She turned it over.

A sentence had been written in faded ink.

The child must never be reunited with her biological mother.

Evelyn's stomach tightened.

"Daniel, look at this."

He read the message.

"Why would someone write that?"

Margaret looked increasingly uncomfortable.

"Because your mother refused to give up the baby."

Evelyn turned toward her.

"What?"

"She came back several times. She begged us to tell her where the child had been taken. She believed the baby belongedwith her."

Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.

"Then my mother was trying to save her?"

Margaret nodded.

"She never abandoned you, dear. She was trying to protect both of you."

Evelyn could barely stand.

All those years, she had hated her mother for leaving.

Now she was discovering that her mother might have sacrificed everything to protect her family.

Daniel gently supported her.

"We'll find her."

Evelyn wiped her tears.

"And Sophia."

He nodded.

"Both of them."

That evening, they arrived at the countryside property.

The house looked abandoned from the outside.

Its windows were covered with dust, and weeds had grown around the entrance.

Daniel used an old key provided by Alexander.

The door opened with a loud creak.

Inside, everything was strangely preserved.

There were children's toys, photographs, and old furniture.

Evelyn walked toward a small bedroom.

On the wall were several pictures of a little girl.

One photograph showed her standing beside a woman whose face had been partially covered.

Evelyn picked it up.

She recognized the woman immediately.

Her mother.

But the little girl beside her wasn't Sophia.

It was Rebecca.

Daniel looked at another photograph.

Richard was standing behind them.

And beside him was a young woman holding a baby.

Daniel's hands began trembling.

"That's Rebecca."

Evelyn examined the picture.

"Then who is the baby?"

Daniel turned the photograph over.

A handwritten name appeared.

Sophia — Our daughter.

Daniel stared at the words.

"Our daughter?"

Evelyn looked at him.

"Daniel, what does that mean?"

Before he could answer, a phone began ringing somewhere inside the house.

They followed the sound to a small cabinet.

Inside was an old mobile phone.

Daniel answered.

"Hello?"

A familiar voice spoke.

"Daniel?"

His eyes widened.

"Rebecca!"

"Listen to me carefully. I don't have much time."

"Where are you?"

"Forget about me. You need to find Sophia before Richard does."

Daniel looked at Evelyn.

"Why? What does he want?"

Rebecca began crying.

"Because Sophia isn't just Richard's daughter."

There was a pause.

Then she whispered the words that changed everything.

"She's your daughter too, Daniel."

The call suddenly disconnected.

Evelyn slowly turned toward her husband.

Daniel stood frozen, unable to speak.

And somewhere outside the abandoned house, a black vehicle stopped.

Someone had followed them.