Chapter 24 — The Name They Stole

I stared at the envelope in Margaret’s hand.

The name written across it didn’t belong to me. At least, not the name I had lived with for twenty-four years.

My fingers felt numb.

“What does it say?” Adrian asked.

Margaret looked at me before answering.

“Evelyn Carter.”

My heart stopped.

Daniel’s face changed.

He knew that name.

“Daniel?” I whispered.

He looked away.

“You’ve heard it before.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Your mother mentioned it once.”

“Once?”

“She told me never to ask questions about the night you were born.”

I stepped back.

“So you knew?”

“I knew there were things she was hiding. I didn't know you had another name.”

Adrian took the envelope from Margaret.

“Why would Lena have been registered as Evelyn Carter?”

Margaret shook her head.

“She wasn't. Evelyn Carter was the name given to the other baby.”

My stomach tightened.

“The other girl?”

Margaret nodded.

“The baby who disappeared.”

A cold wind passed through the trees.

Adrian opened the envelope.

Inside was a photograph.

Two newborn babies lay side by side in a hospital nursery.

One had a small silver bracelet around her wrist.

The other had nothing.

On the back of the photograph were two names.

Evelyn Carter.

Unknown Blackwood Child.

I stared at the picture.

“They're twins?”

“No,” Margaret said. “Not biologically.”

That somehow made it worse.

“Then why were they switched?”

Margaret glanced at Adrian.

“Because your mother agreed to protect one of them.”

“Protect her from what?”

“Your father.”

Adrian's expression hardened.

“What did my father want with a baby?”

Margaret hesitated.

“The Blackwood trust.”

He stepped closer.

“Tell me everything.”

“I can't.”

“You almost died tonight because of this.”

“I know.”

“Then stop protecting the people who caused it.”

Margaret's eyes filled with tears.

“I’m not protecting them.”

She looked at me.

“I’m protecting you.”

Before I could answer, headlights appeared between the trees.

Three vehicles.

Moving slowly.

Adrian immediately pulled me behind him.

“Get down.”

Daniel grabbed Margaret and lowered her beside a fallen tree.

The vehicles stopped on the road.

Doors opened.

Men stepped out.

I couldn't see their faces, but one of them held something in his hand.

A gun.

Adrian reached into his jacket.

I grabbed his wrist.

“Don't.”

His eyes met mine.

“If they come closer—”

“We don't know who they are.”

“We know enough.”

One of the men shouted.

“Margaret Vale!”

Nobody moved.

The man raised his gun.

“Give us the bracelet.”

Margaret's hand tightened around it.

Adrian whispered, “When I tell you to run, run.”

“No.”

“Lena.”

“I’m not leaving you again.”

His expression softened for half a second.

Then he leaned closer.

“You never left me.”

My chest tightened.

A gunshot suddenly tore through the night.

The bullet struck the tree above our heads.

“Run!”

Adrian grabbed my hand.

We sprinted through the woods.

Branches slapped against my face. My shoes slipped over wet leaves, but Adrian never let go.

Behind us, footsteps followed.

Then another gunshot.

We reached a narrow slope and nearly fell.

Adrian caught me around the waist.

For one breath, we stood pressed against each other.

His arms were locked around me.

My hands were against his chest.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded.

Neither of us moved.

His eyes dropped to my lips.

My heartbeat became painfully loud.

Then Daniel shouted from somewhere behind us.

“Lena!”

We pulled apart.

Adrian looked toward the voice.

“Go.”

We ran again.

We found Daniel near an old abandoned shed.

Margaret was already there.

But she wasn't alone.

A woman stood beside her.

Older.

Gray-haired.

Terrified.

She looked at me and began to cry.

“Lena.”

I froze.

“How do you know my name?”

The woman covered her mouth.

“Because I was there when you were born.”

Adrian stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

She looked at him.

Then at me.

“My name is Clara Carter.”

Daniel went pale.

“Clara?”

The woman nodded.

“I was your mother's sister.”

I stared at her.

“You have a family member you never knew about,” Adrian said quietly.

Clara shook her head.

“No.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“She had two sisters.”

She looked directly at me.

“And the other one is the woman you've been searching for.”

My breath caught.

“The other girl?”

Clara nodded.

“She’s alive.”

Before I could ask where she was, Clara reached into her coat and handed me a folded piece of paper.

I opened it.

There was only one sentence.

SHE HAS BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR YEARS.

My hands began to shake.

Then my phone vibrated.

Unknown number.

One message appeared.

LOOK BEHIND YOU, LENA.

I slowly turned.

Across the road, beneath the shadow of the trees, a woman stood watching us.

She looked exactly like me.