All Chapters of The Bride in the Blackwood File : Chapter 51 - Chapter 57

Ava couldn't move.The words kept repeating in her mind.She's his.But not with Ava.She looked at the baby in her arms.Then at Ethan.He looked just as shocked."No," Ethan said quietly.Daniel didn't move."You heard me."Ethan shook his head."That's impossible."Adrian laughed from across the room."Is it?"Ava turned toward him."Stop laughing."Adrian's smile faded."Then ask him."Ava looked at Ethan."Is there something you're not telling me?""I don't know anything about that child.""Daniel says she's yours.""I know what he said.""Then explain it."Ethan looked helpless."I can't."Ava's eyes filled with tears.She looked down at the baby.The little girl was awake now, staring at her with wide eyes.Ava gently touched her cheek."Then why does she feel like mine?"No one answered.Daniel finally spoke."Because you carried her."Ava's head snapped up."What?"Daniel looked at Ethan."Six years ago, Ava gave birth to a baby."Ethan's expression changed."Alex."Daniel no

Margaret's hand went limp. For several seconds, Ava couldn't move. She stared at the woman who had spent years hiding the truth, who had manipulated lives and guarded secrets, and who had finally died trying to reveal something that could destroy them all. "Margaret?" Chloe whispered. She dropped to her knees beside her mother, shaking her shoulder desperately. "Mom, wake up! You can't leave me like this. Not now!" There was no response. Ava tightened her hold on the baby girl. The child had stopped crying and was staring up at her with wide, innocent eyes, completely unaware of the blood surrounding her. Your daughter. Margaret's final words kept repeating in Ava's mind. But what had she meant? The baby was supposed to be Margaret's daughter. Yet the medical records connected the child to Ava's bloodline, and Margaret had insisted that the truth was hidden somewhere Ava's mother had placed it. Inside her. Ava swallowed hard. "Damien," she whispered, "what if

"You were never supposed to survive."Elena's words hung in the air.Chloe stood frozen beside the desk, her face drained of color. Ava stared at her mother, struggling to reconcile the woman before her with the mother she had spent years believing was dead."Mom?" Ava whispered.Elena finally turned toward her.For a moment, the hardness in her eyes disappeared. She looked at Ava with a tenderness that made Ava's chest ache."My darling."Ava rushed forward, nearly stumbling as she threw her arms around her mother. She had imagined this moment countless times, but nothing had prepared her for the reality of feeling Elena's arms around her again."You were alive," Ava sobbed. "You were alive all this time, and you let me believe you were dead."Elena closed her eyes."I'm sorry.""Sorry?" Ava pulled away, tears streaming down her face. "Do you know what I went through? I grew

"She's been living in your house for eighteen years, and you've all been calling her by the wrong name."Evelyn's words struck Ava like a slap.For a moment, Ava could only stare at her aunt. The baby stirred in her arms, but she barely noticed."Who are you talking about?" she demanded.Evelyn smiled. "You heard me.""Stop playing games!""Then stop asking questions you already know the answers to."Ava's mind raced through every face she had known while growing up. Every relative who had visited their home. Every person who had comforted her after her father's supposed death. Every woman who had treated her like family.Then one face surfaced.Ava's breath caught."No," she whispered.Chloe slowly lifted her head from the cabinet. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and her hands trembled."Ava?"Ava ignored her.She looked at Evelyn, terrified of the