Chapter 14 The Truth Frank Carried
The library fell into complete silence.
Outside, waves crashed against the cliffs below Arthur Holloway's estate, but inside, no one spoke.
Emma held Catherine's letter with trembling hands.
Daniel slowly took it from her and continued reading.
The elegant handwriting remained steady until the very last paragraph.
"Frank promised he would keep my child safe."
"If one day she asks who she is..."
"Tell her she was loved before she was born."
There was no name.
No birth date.
Nothing that identified the child.
Only one final sentence.
"Arthur will understand."
Daniel lowered the letter.
Arthur had tears in his eyes.
"I searched for my sister for almost forty years."
His voice cracked.
"And all this time..."
"...Frank knew."
Emma paced across the room.
"No."
She shook her head.
"This doesn't make sense."
"My father raised two daughters."
"Me and Lily."
Arthur nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"So where was Catherine's daughter?"
Nobody answered.
Because there was only one possibility.
One so obvious that no one wanted to say it aloud.
Emma finally whispered,
"It couldn't be..."
Daniel looked at her.
She looked back.
Then both turned toward Arthur.
Arthur quietly asked,
"When were you born?"
Emma frowned.
"October."
"And Lily?"
"Eight years later."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"The timeline fits."
Emma felt the blood drain from her face.
"No."
Arthur continued gently.
"Frank met your mother nearly a year after Catherine disappeared."
Emma's breathing became uneven.
"My mother..."
"...was pregnant when she married Dad?"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No."
Emma stared at him.
"Then..."
Arthur answered with heartbreaking softness.
"Frank married your mother..."
"...after she agreed to raise another woman's baby as her own."
Emma couldn't breathe.
Her knees weakened.
Daniel caught her before she fell.
She didn't pull away this time.
Not because everything was forgiven.
Because, in that moment, she needed something solid to hold onto.
"No..."
she whispered.
"My mother never told me."
Arthur looked toward the ocean.
"Because she promised Frank she never would."
Mason broke the silence.
"There's one way to know."
Emma looked at him.
"A DNA test."
Arthur nodded.
"So simple now."
He smiled sadly.
"It would've taken years in Frank's time."
Before anyone could say another word—
Detective Collins called.
Daniel answered immediately.
"Collins?"
Her voice was urgent.
"You need to come to St. Andrew's."
Daniel's expression changed instantly.
"What happened?"
"It's Margaret."
Emma's heart stopped.
"Is she alive?"
A long pause.
"Yes."
"But..."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"But what?"
"She remembered something."
Twenty minutes later...
Everyone gathered in Margaret's hospital room.
She looked exhausted.
But her eyes were clear.
"I've been trying to remember for months."
She smiled weakly at Emma.
"The medication clouded everything."
"But after yesterday..."
"...it came back."
Emma sat beside her.
"What did you remember?"
Margaret reached for Emma's hand.
"Frank told me the truth..."
"...the night before Catherine disappeared."
Emma held her breath.
Margaret spoke slowly.
"Catherine gave birth..."
"...to a healthy baby girl."
Arthur quietly closed his eyes.
"Where?"
"A small clinic outside Portland."
Emma whispered,
"What happened next?"
Margaret looked directly at her.
"Frank brought the baby home."
Silence.
"He and your mother..."
"...registered her as their own."
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"So..."
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
Emma barely managed to ask,
"Which one of us?"
Margaret smiled sadly.
"I don't know."
Arthur frowned.
"What?"
Margaret nodded.
"Frank never told me."
"He said..."
"...if anyone ever forced me to answer..."
"...I honestly wouldn't be able to."
Daniel looked at Emma.
"So even Margaret never knew."
She slowly nodded.
"My father protected both of us."
Just then...
A young forensic technician hurried into the room carrying a sealed evidence envelope.
"Detective."
Collins looked up.
"What is it?"
"The DNA results."
Everyone froze.
Emma frowned.
"What DNA?"
Collins answered,
"We compared genetic material from Catherine's preserved medical records..."
She looked toward Emma.
"...with yours."
Silence.
The technician handed her the report.
Collins read the first page.
Then the second.
Her expression softened.
Emma stood.
"Tell me."
Collins looked into her eyes.
"The test confirms..."
Another pause.
"...you are not Catherine's biological daughter."
Emma blinked.
She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until that moment.
If not her...
There was only one person left.
"Lily."
Arthur slowly sat down.
"My niece..."
He whispered.
"...is Lily."
No one noticed the hospital television in the corner.
It had been quietly broadcasting local news.
Suddenly the volume increased automatically.
Breaking News
A reporter stood outside the county courthouse.
"Authorities have announced that sealed ownership records connected to the former Holloway Technologies partnership will be opened this afternoon."
Victor Sloane appeared on the screen, walking up the courthouse steps.
Reporters surrounded him.
One shouted,
"Mr. Sloane!"
"Who legally owns the missing twenty-five percent of Holloway Technologies?"
Victor stopped walking.
He looked directly into the cameras.
Then answered calmly.
"I believe..."
"...its rightful owner is finally ready to come home."
Emma looked at Arthur.
Arthur looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at Collins.
Everyone understood the same thing at once.
The courthouse wasn't just opening financial records.
It was about to reveal Lily's legal inheritance.
An inheritance now worth nearly six hundred million dollars.
And somewhere...
The people who had kidnapped Lily already knew it.
Across the city...
Inside a moving black SUV...
Lily watched the courthouse appear in the distance through the window.
Her hands were free.
No one had tied her up.
Arthur's men had released her hours earlier.
But another group had taken her before she could reach the police.
The man sitting beside her smiled.
"You've been very patient."
Lily looked at him coldly.
"Who are you?"
He handed her a business card.
She read the name.
Then felt her heart stop.
Victor Sloane.
He smiled politely.
May you like
"Hello, Lily."
"...I've been waiting your entire life to meet you."
