로그인The Price of a Mother's LifeEmma POVCOME ALONE IF YOU WANT HER BACK.I stared at the message until the words blurred.My mother was alive.Somewhere in Riverside, Richard Carter was holding her.And he wanted me."Absolutely not."Dylan's voice cut through the silence.I turned toward him."You don't even know what I'm thinking.""I know you're considering going.""She's my mother, Dylan.""And Richard knows you'll do anything to reach her."I looked at the photograph again.My mother's tired face.Her frightened eyes.For years, I had believed she abandoned me.Now that I knew the truth, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her again."What if he hurts her?"Dylan took my hands."Then we find another way."I shook my head."We've been finding another way for weeks. Every answer leads to another secret."Nathan stepped forward."Emma, Richard isn't asking you to come alone because he wants to talk."I looked at him."Then what does he want?""The original certificate."Charles Whit
The Name That Shouldn't ExistEmma POVRICHARD CARTER.I stared at the name beneath the word Father.For a moment, everything around me disappeared.Richard Carter.Dylan's uncle.The man who had helped destroy my family.The man holding my mother somewhere against her will."No."My voice sounded distant."That can't be right."Nathan looked at me."Emma, this is what the record says.""Then the record is wrong."Dylan stood beside me, completely motionless.I turned toward him."Dylan, say something."He looked at the screen.Then at me."Richard isn't your father."I wanted to believe him.But the certainty in his voice frightened me."How do you know?"He hesitated.And that hesitation hurt.Charles Whitmore finally spoke."Because the document wasn't created to establish parentage."Everyone turned.Nathan frowned."What?"Charles approached the screen."It was created to establish legal ownership."My stomach tightened."Ownership of what?"Charles looked directly at me."Your i
The Betrayal That Changed EverythingEmma POV"He was the one who told Victor where Daniel was hiding."I stared at my mother.For a moment, I couldn't understand what she had said.Adrian had spent the last hour convincing us he wanted to find my brother.Now my mother was accusing him of betraying Daniel."Mom, are you sure?"Her eyes filled with tears."I wish I wasn't."The speaker crackled.Adrian laughed softly."Elizabeth, seventeen years and you're still telling that story?"My mother's expression hardened."Because it's the truth.""Your version of it.""Daniel trusted you!"Silence.I looked toward the speaker.For the first time, Adrian didn't respond immediately.My mother leaned closer to the camera."Emma, Daniel escaped the facility with Adrian's help. We arranged to meet outside Riverside."She swallowed."But Victor arrived before I did."My chest tightened."How?"She closed her eyes."Someone told him where Daniel would be."Adrian finally spoke."You have no proof.
The Identity Behind the NameEmma POV"He's not your brother."My mother's words echoed through the room.I stared at the screen, waiting for her to explain.But the recording had ended."No."I turned toward Nathan."Play it again."He hesitated."Emma—""Please."He restarted the recording.My mother's face appeared.Her frightened eyes.Her trembling voice.The same warning.The same terrible revelation.And then silence.I looked at Charles."You told us Daniel existed.""He did.""You told us he escaped.""Yes.""Then what does she mean?"Charles looked at the screen."I don't know."I laughed bitterly."Of course you don't."Dylan stepped beside me."Someone is using Daniel's identity."Nathan nodded."That would explain the messages."I shook my head."But whoever contacted us knew things only my family should know."Charles finally spoke."Knowing someone's secrets doesn't make you family."The words struck harder than I expected.For most of my life, I had called the Bennetts
The Child They TookEmma POV"What did you do to me?"Charles Whitmore stared at me.For the first time, he seemed unable to find the right words.I stepped closer."Answer me.""Emma, your mother made a decision—""What decision?"He looked toward Dylan.As though my husband could somehow rescue him from the conversation.Dylan's expression hardened."Don't look at me. Answer her."Charles sighed."Elizabeth returned to Riverside because she discovered the council had identified you as a potential subject."My stomach tightened."Subject?""You were only a baby."I stared at him."And that made me valuable?""No. Your family history made you valuable."Nathan looked up from the computer."Because of Daniel?"Charles nodded."The council wanted to determine whether Daniel's abilities were hereditary."I stepped backward.The room suddenly felt smaller.All my life, I had wondered why the Bennetts adopted me.Why they treated me differently.Why my childhood seemed filled with medical
The Truth About Our MotherEmma POV"What happened to my mother?"Charles Whitmore didn't answer.I stepped closer."Charles, I'm asking you a question."His eyes remained fixed on the screen.The message from Daniel was still there.DON'T TRUST CHARLES. HE KNOWS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO OUR MOTHER.For weeks, I had believed my parents were victims of Project Zero.Now I was discovering that my mother had helped create it.And somehow, the man standing before me knew more about her than he was willing to admit."Emma," Charles said carefully, "there are things you don't understand."I laughed bitterly."Then explain them.""It's complicated.""No."My voice rose."You don't get to hide behind that word anymore."Dylan stepped beside me."She's asked you a question."Charles looked at him."Your wife should be careful about believing messages from strangers.""He's my brother!""Someone claiming to be your brother."I froze."What?"Charles pointed at the screen."An account name isn't
Emma POV I woke up several hours later to the sound of raised voices downstairs. Dylan's voice was angry and sharp. And another voice, male, equally angry.I got out of bed and crept to the top of the stairs, staying in the shadows where I couldn't be seen.Dylan was in the foyer, and standing wit
Emma POVI'd never seen Dylan look at me like that before. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd looked at me with hatred plenty of times, with disgust and contempt and barely concealed loathing. But this was different. This was rage mixed with something else, something darker that made my blood run
Emma POVA strong hand caught my arms, steadying me before I could fall."Careful there."I looked up, and my heart stopped.It was Dylan's younger brother, Marcus Carter. I'd only met him once, briefly, at the wedding. He'd been away on business ever since, somewhere overseas. I didn't even know h







