Chương 4
"Emily."
She stopped.
But she did not turn around.
"I know you hate me."
Emily slowly faced him.
"Hate would be easier."
Richard looked at her sadly.
"What I feel is worse."
The old man lowered his eyes.
"I know I cannot undo what I did."
"No, you can't."
"But I can tell you why."
Emily stared at him.
"Why did you take her?"
Richard looked at Lily.
"Because someone was coming for her."
Emily’s expression hardened.
"Who?"
Richard remained silent.
"Who?"
This time her voice was louder.
Alexander stepped forward.
"Emily, please."
She looked at him.
"No."
Her eyes filled with anger.
"Not anymore."
She faced Richard again.
"You don't get to decide what I can handle."
Richard finally spoke.
"Your daughter was connected to something bigger than our family."
Emily looked confused.
"That makes no sense."
Richard reached into his coat and pulled out a small envelope.
He held it out.
Emily did not take it.
"What is that?"
"Proof."
"Of what?"
Richard looked at Lily.
"Of why someone wanted her gone."
Emily slowly accepted the envelope.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph taken five years earlier.
Emily recognized the hospital immediately.
But the person standing beside Lily’s hospital bed was not Richard.
It was someone else.
Someone Emily knew.
Someone she trusted.
Her face went pale.
"No."
Alexander noticed her reaction.
"Who is it?"
Emily could barely speak.
"It can't be."
She stared at the photograph.
The person in the image was holding newborn Lily.
And written on the back of the photograph were six words.
She was never meant to survive.
Emily felt her heartbeat become louder.
She looked at Richard.
"What did you do?"
Richard shook his head.
"I was trying to stop what had already started."
"Who is this person?"
Richard looked toward the road.
His expression changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
"Someone who has been watching your family for years."
A car engine suddenly approached from outside the gates.
Everyone turned.
A black vehicle stopped near the entrance.
The driver’s door opened slowly.
A woman stepped out.
Emily immediately recognized her.
Her breath disappeared.
It was the woman she believed had helped her survive the worst night of her life.
The woman who had comforted her when Lily was declared gone.
The woman who had held her hand in the hospital hallway.
Her former closest friend, Victoria Hayes.
Victoria looked toward Emily and Lily.
Her expression showed no surprise.
She already knew.
"Hello, Emily."
The garden became silent.
Emily held Lily’s hand tighter.
"Why are you here?"
Victoria walked closer.
"I came because you finally found out."
Emily felt a cold wave pass through her.
"Found out what?"
Victoria stopped a few feet away.
"That Lily was never the only secret."
The words hung in the air.
Alexander stepped between them.
"Victoria, leave."
She looked at him with a small, bitter smile.
"You still think you are protecting her."
Richard’s face changed.
"How did you find us?"
Victoria ignored him.
She looked directly at Emily.
"Because I was there when they took your daughter."
Emily felt her entire body freeze.
"Why?"
Victoria looked down.
For a moment, guilt appeared in her eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"Because I thought I was saving my own family."
Emily stared at her.
"What family?"
Victoria reached into her purse and pulled out another photograph.
She held it toward Emily.
The image showed a hospital room.
A newborn baby.
And a name written on a small identification bracelet.
Emily looked closer.
Her heart stopped.
The bracelet had the same symbol as her necklace.
The same symbol hidden for five years.
The same symbol that connected a secret no one had told her.
Victoria whispered.
"Lily was not the only child they took that night."
The words left Emily unable to move.
For several seconds, she could only stare at Victoria, trying to understand the impossible meaning behind that sentence.
Lily was standing beside her, holding her hand tightly.
Emily looked down at her daughter, then back at the photograph in Victoria’s hand.
"Another child?"
Her voice barely escaped.
Victoria nodded slowly.
"That night was never about an accident."
The garden felt smaller with every word.
The trees, the flowers, the quiet morning air all seemed distant compared to the truth unfolding in front of Emily.
"What happened that night?" Emily asked.
Victoria looked at Richard.
Then she looked at Alexander.
"You should tell her."
No one spoke.
Emily’s patience disappeared.
"Enough."
Her voice carried across the garden.
"Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle."
She stepped forward.
"I lost five years with my daughter because people thought they knew better than me."
Her eyes moved from one person to another.
"Nobody leaves this place until I know everything."
Richard looked down.
Alexander closed his eyes.
And finally, Victoria began to speak.
"Five years ago, there was a medical investigation involving several families."
Emily frowned.
"What kind of investigation?"
Victoria hesitated.
"A child protection case."
Emily looked confused.
"Lily was only a baby."
"Yes," Victoria said.
"But someone wanted access to information connected to her birth."
Emily felt a chill.
"My daughter?"
Victoria nodded.
"Your family."
Emily touched the silver necklace around her neck.
"The symbol."
Victoria looked at it.
"That symbol belongs to the Carter family."
Emily froze.
"My family?"
She had always believed the necklace was only a sentimental piece passed down from her grandmother.
Something meaningful.
Something old.
But never something dangerous.
Richard stepped forward.
"Your family history is not what you were told."
Emily turned toward him.
"Explain."
Richard took a deep breath.
"Your grandfather built a foundation that protected children from powerful people who wanted to exploit them."
Emily stared.
"What does that have to do with Lily?"
"Everything."
The word was heavy.
Richard continued.
"Before you were born, your family discovered a network of people who used their influence to hide crimes."
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Emily felt her stomach tighten.
"Are you saying someone wanted Lily because of that?"
