Chapter 21 — The Child They Wanted

Lena stared at Adrian.

“I don't understand.”

Adrian kept his eyes on the phone.

“If they're looking for you, then the message about the baby was meant to confuse us.”

Daniel stepped closer.

“Maybe not.”

Lena turned toward him.

“What do you mean?”

Daniel looked at the photograph in Adrian's hand.

“Your mother spent years making sure nobody knew where you came from. If someone is still searching for that child, they may have believed Lena was the one.”

“But why?”

“Because they didn't know the truth.”

Adrian looked at Daniel.

“Then who was the baby?”

Daniel shook his head.

“I don't know.”

Lena felt frustration rising again.

“Everyone keeps saying they don't know.”

She grabbed the photograph.

“But somebody does.”

Her eyes moved over the faded image.

Her mother was holding a newborn.

Michael stood beside her.

And behind them was Adrian's father.

Three adults.

One baby.

A secret that had survived for twenty-four years.

“There has to be something else,” Lena said.

Adrian nodded.

“My father's study.”

Daniel looked at him.

“The estate?”

“Yes.”

“It's been sealed for years.”

“Then we'll break the seal.”

Lena looked at Adrian.

“You think the answer is there?”

“I think my father kept everything he believed he could use.”

“And if the photograph came from his files?”

“Then there may be another copy.”

Daniel shook his head.

“You can't go back there.”

Adrian's expression hardened.

“Why?”

“Because whoever took your mother knows that place.”

Lena frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Daniel hesitated.

“I found something else in your mother's house.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small key.

It was old, silver, and oddly shaped.

Lena took it.

“What does this open?”

“I don't know.”

Adrian examined it.

“There's a number.”

Engraved near the handle was 317.

Lena's mind raced.

“Maybe it's a locker.”

“Or a safe,” Adrian said.

Daniel looked at them both.

“Your mother used to mention a storage facility near the old railway station.”

Adrian immediately reached for his phone.

“I'll find the address.”

“Wait,” Lena said.

She stared at the key.

“Why would my mother hide something there?”

“Because she didn't trust anyone in the family,” Daniel answered.

Lena looked at him.

“Not even you?”

Daniel's face tightened.

“Especially not me.”

That answer hurt.

Before Lena could ask why, Adrian's phone rang.

He answered.

“Blackwood.”

He listened.

His expression changed.

“What happened?”

A pause.

“Don't touch anything. I'm on my way.”

He ended the call.

“What is it?” Lena asked.

“My father's study was broken into.”

Daniel went pale.

“When?”

“Tonight.”

Lena's stomach dropped.

“Someone knew we were going there.”

Adrian looked at her.

“Or someone has been waiting for us to figure it out.”

They left the cabin and drove toward the city.

Neither of them spoke much.

Lena watched the passing lights through the window.

She couldn't stop thinking about the messages.

The baby wasn't her.

Yet someone was still searching for her.

Why?

And why had her mother chosen to save her?

When they reached the Blackwood estate, police vehicles surrounded the property.

Adrian stepped out first.

Lena followed.

The front door stood open.

Inside, everything was in disarray.

Drawers had been pulled out.

Documents covered the floor.

The portrait above the fireplace had been removed from the wall.

Adrian walked straight toward his father's study.

The door was locked.

He tried the handle.

Nothing.

“Move.”

He stepped back and kicked the door.

It swung open.

Lena followed him inside.

The room looked like someone had torn it apart searching for something.

Adrian walked toward the desk.

“What were they looking for?”

Daniel pointed toward the bookshelf.

“Not the files.”

Lena looked.

Every shelf had been disturbed except one.

The lowest shelf.

Adrian crouched and pulled out a book.

Behind it was a small metal compartment.

Empty.

Lena's heart sank.

“They took it.”

Adrian ran his fingers along the inside.

“Not everything.”

“What?”

He pulled out a tiny piece of paper caught behind the compartment.

There was only a name written on it.

MARGARET VALE.

Lena frowned.

“Who is Margaret Vale?”

Daniel stared at the name.

“I know her.”

Adrian looked at him.

“Who is she?”

Daniel's face had lost all color.

“She was your mother's nurse.”

Adrian went completely still.

“My mother had a private nurse?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't I know?”

“Because she disappeared after your mother's death.”

Lena looked at the paper.

“Where is she now?”

Daniel shook his head.

“No one knows.”

Adrian's phone suddenly buzzed.

A message appeared.

YOU'RE GETTING CLOSER.

Another followed.

ASK MARGARET WHO HELD THE BABY THAT NIGHT.

Lena's breath caught.

Then a final message appeared.

SHE'S NOT MISSING. SHE'S BEEN HIDING FROM YOU.

Adrian slowly lifted his eyes.

“Then we find her.”

Lena nodded.

But before they could move, Daniel's phone rang.

He answered.

His face changed almost immediately.

“Where?”

He listened.

Then looked at Lena.

“Your mother is alive.”

Lena's heart jumped.

“Where is she?”

Daniel lowered the phone.

“They found her.”

Lena stepped toward him.

“Where?”

Daniel swallowed.

“At Margaret Vale's house.”

Adrian's expression darkened.

“Then we know where we're going.”

But Lena couldn't shake the feeling that they had just walked into another trap.