Chapter 4: A Daughter Stolen
Rain hammered against the tall windows of the Ashford estate as midnight settled over the mansion. The celebration flowers still lined the ballroom, but they now looked like decorations at a funeral instead of a wedding.
Vivian sat alone in her late husband's study, staring at the faded newspaper clipping.
Twenty-seven years.
She had replayed that night thousands of times, searching for the one mistake that had cost her daughter everything.
"I remember something."
Emma's quiet voice broke the silence.
Vivian looked up as Emma stepped into the room, now wrapped in a cream-colored shawl instead of her torn wedding gown.
"I don't know if it matters."
"Tell me."
Emma took a slow breath.
"When I was about six years old, I had recurring nightmares."
Vivian listened without interrupting.
"There was always smoke. Someone was carrying me through a dark hallway. I remember coughing... and hearing a woman cry."
Emma closed her eyes.
"She kept saying, 'Forgive me. I have no choice.'"
Vivian's fingers tightened around the armrest.
"What else?"
"There was a music box."
Emma frowned as she searched her memory.
"It played the same lullaby every time."
Vivian stood so quickly that her chair scraped across the hardwood floor.
"Lily's music box."
She rushed to a cabinet and unlocked its bottom drawer.
Inside lay a charred porcelain ballerina attached to an old brass music box, blackened by fire but carefully preserved.
Vivian wound the key.
A delicate melody filled the room.
Emma's face lost all color.
Her eyes widened.
"I know that song."
The words barely escaped her lips before tears spilled down her cheeks.
"I've heard it before."
Without realizing it, she began humming along.
Every note.
Perfectly.
Vivian covered her mouth, overcome with emotion.
Only one person had ever sung that lullaby to baby Lily—Vivian herself.
Daniel, who had been standing quietly in the doorway, felt chills race down his spine.
"This can't be a coincidence," he whispered.
Before anyone could respond, Dr. Mason entered the room, holding a tablet.
"I've finished the preliminary DNA comparison."
Everyone stood.
His expression was unreadable.
"The results answer one question..."
He looked directly at Vivian.
"Emma is not your biological daughter."
The room went completely still.
Emma felt the floor disappear beneath her.
But before Daniel could speak, Dr. Mason raised a hand.
"However..."
"There is something far more disturbing."
He turned the tablet toward them.
"The DNA revealed a relationship none of us expected."
Daniel's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"What relationship?"
Dr. Mason swallowed.
"Emma shares 25 percent of her DNA... with you."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Dr. Mason answered quietly.
"It means you're close blood relatives..."
"...but not brother and sister."
A silence heavier than grief settled over the room.
If Emma wasn't Vivian's missing daughter...
May you like
Then who was?
And why did the Ashford family's most treasured heirloom end up around Emma's neck?
