Maya read the message again.
Fourth child.
The words seemed absurd.
She looked at her mother.
“What does that mean?”
Denise shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Maya turned to her father.
“You do.”
“No.”
“You knew Lily's name was in the ledger.”
“I knew there was an entry.”
“You knew about another child.”
“I knew your grandfather kept records.”
“Stop.”
Her voice cracked across the room.
Everyone went silent.
Maya held up her phone.
“Someone says there was a fourth child.”
Her father stared at the screen.
His expression told her the answer before he spoke.
“There was.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“Who?”
Her father looked at Maya.
“You.”
Maya frowned.
“I was one of the children.”
“No.”
“I mean before you were born.”
Maya couldn't understand.
“There were four.”
“Four what?”
“Four protected beneficiaries.”
Rachel whispered, “Who were the others?”
Her father hesitated.
“Clara's son.”
Maya remembered the old article.
Clara had a child.
She had forgotten the detail until now.
“Clara had a son?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Before the fire.”
Maya felt cold.
“What was his name?”
“Jonas.”
Rachel shook her head.
“That's not the fourth.”
Maya looked at her.
Rachel had gone pale.
“Then who?”
Rachel slowly opened her purse.
She removed an old folded document.
“I found this in Mom's things.”
Denise stared at it.
“No.”
Maya took it.
The document was a birth certificate.
The child's name was Ella Bennett.
Mother: Denise Bennett.
Father: Unknown.
Maya looked up.
“Mom?”
Denise covered her face.
Rachel whispered, “You had another child.”
Denise began crying.
Maya felt as if the room had shifted.
“Where is she?”
Denise couldn't answer.
“Mom, where is she?”
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“When?”
“Before you were born.”
Maya stared at the certificate.
The date was three years before her birth.
She looked toward her father.
“You knew.”
He nodded.
“How?”
“Your grandfather told me.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because we thought she was dead.”
Maya couldn't breathe.
Rachel sat down.
“Who was Ella?”
Denise looked at Maya.
“Your sister.”
The word seemed impossible.
Maya had grown up believing she and Rachel were the only daughters.
Another child had existed.
A baby.
A sister.
A person whose existence had been erased.
“Why was she connected to the trust?”
Denise wiped her face.
“Your grandfather believed the children of the family could become targets.”
“Because of the money.”
“Yes.”
“Where did she go?”
“I don't know.”
“Who took her?”
Denise looked at Robert's empty chair.
“We suspected him.”
Maya's mind raced.
Robert.
The ledger.
The fire.
Clara.
The missing child.
Lily's name.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
Her phone rang.
The number was unknown.
Maya answered.
“Hello?”
Clara spoke.
“You found the certificate.”
Maya stared at her mother.
“How do you know?”
“Because I gave it to Denise.”
“Where is Ella?”
Clara was silent.
“Tell me.”
“She isn't dead.”
Maya's knees weakened.
“Where is she?”
“I can't tell you yet.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who has been watching you is looking for her too.”
Maya looked at her father.
“Who?”
Clara breathed slowly.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
“Why does Lily have a beneficiary entry?”
Maya's voice trembled.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You've seen the date.”
Maya remembered.
The entry had been made decades before Lily's birth.
Clara continued.
“Your grandfather didn't write Lily's name.”
Maya froze.
“Then who did?”
“The person who added it was still alive.”
“Who?”
Clara hung up.
Maya stared at the phone.
Her father spoke quietly.
“We need to leave.”
Maya turned.
“No.”
“Maya.”
“You knew about Ella.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Lily's name was added later.”
“Yes.”
“Who added it?”
He looked at Denise.
She shook her head.
“Maya, don't.”
Maya looked at her mother.
“Tell me.”
Denise closed her eyes.
“I didn't.”
“Dad?”
He didn't answer.
Rachel stepped forward.
“Then Robert did.”
Her father shook his head.
“No.”
“Who else?”
Maya's phone buzzed.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Lily asleep in Maya's bedroom.
Maya stared at it.
The picture had been taken from inside the room.
The timestamp was three minutes earlier.
She looked toward the stairs.
Her daughter was upstairs.
Someone was in the house.
Maya ran.
Her father followed.
Rachel came behind them.
They reached the bedroom.
The bed was empty.
Lily was gone.
Maya screamed her daughter's name.
The window stood open.
Rain blew across the floor.
On the pillow lay a folded sheet of paper.
Maya grabbed it.
There was one sentence.
*Bring the original ledger to the old workshop, or you'll never see Lily again.**
Rachel looked at the photograph.
Her hands shook.
“Who took her?”
Maya stared at the open window.
Her father stepped into the room.
Then he saw something beneath the pillow.
A second note.
He picked it up.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed it to Maya.
She unfolded it.
Three words were written in black ink.
*ASK YOUR MOTHER.**
Maya slowly turned toward Denise.
Her mother was standing at the bedroom door.
She was crying.
And in her hand was a photograph of a woman Maya had never seen before.
On the back, written in the same handwriting as the ledger, were the words:
*ELLA IS ALIVE.**
Click here to continue reading: PART 13: Denise’s Photograph Revealed the Sister Maya Never Knew, While Lily’s Disappearance Forced the Family Into an Impossible Choice
The Dinner Was Supposed to Mend Our Family Until My Daughter’s Cry Changed Everything
Part 12 of 20
