Chapter 8: The Daughter Who Was Erased
I didn't go home immediately.
I sat in the bank's private office for almost twenty minutes, staring at the photograph of my father and the mysterious medication bottle.
Lauren sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke.
Eventually, she reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
She lowered her eyes.
"I know you don't trust me.""
"That's putting it mildly.""
"I deserve that.""
I looked at her.
"Why did Mom call you the first daughter?""
Lauren shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Don't lie to me.""
"I'm not.""
I studied her face.
For the first time, I noticed how frightened she looked.
Not guilty.
Not embarrassed.
Frightened.
"Lauren, is there something about your birth that you don't know?""
She stared at the floor.
Then she whispered:
"Mom told me I was adopted.""
I froze.
"What?""
"Not when I was little. When I was twenty-three.""
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Why?""
"She said there had been complications when she was younger. She said my biological mother had died, and Dad had adopted me as a baby.""
I stared at her.
"Did you believe her?""
"At the time, yes.""
"Did Dad know?""
Lauren nodded.
"He told me he loved me like his own daughter.""
I felt a strange ache in my chest.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't want you to look at me differently.""
I sat back.
We had shared a bedroom as children.
We had fought over clothes, birthday cakes, and television shows.
I'd helped her with homework.
She'd borrowed my shoes without asking.
I'd always believed we were sisters in the simplest possible way.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether the truth had been hidden from both of us.
I looked at the photograph again.
"Mom said there was something she should have told me before I was born.""
Lauren nodded.
"Then we should hear it.""
I called my mother.
She answered immediately.
"Are you coming?""
"Yes.""
"Alone?""
I looked at Lauren.
"No.""
My mother sighed.
"Claire, please.""
"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Lauren.""
There was a long pause.
Then she whispered:
"All right.""
When we arrived at my childhood home, the front door was already open.
My mother stood in the hallway.
She was wearing a cream-colored cardigan and the pearl earrings my father had given her for their twentieth anniversary.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
Older.
But there was something in her expression that made me uneasy.
She looked like someone who had rehearsed a confession many times and still hadn't decided which version to tell.
"Come in," she said.
I walked past her.
The living room smelled of lavender and old furniture polish.
Everything was exactly where it had been when I was a child.
The family photographs.
The piano.
The little wooden clock my father had repaired himself.
My mother closed the door.
"Sit down.""
I remained standing.
"Who is Lauren's biological mother?""
My mother looked at Lauren.
Then at me.
"Me.""
Lauren went completely still.
I frowned.
"That doesn't make sense.""
My mother swallowed.
"Lauren was born before I married your father.""
I looked at my sister.
She was staring at our mother.
"Why did you tell me I was adopted?""
My mother sat down.
"Because I was ashamed.""
Lauren's voice trembled.
"Of me?""
"No.""
"Then why?""
My mother wiped her eyes.
"Because I was nineteen. I was unmarried. My parents threatened to disown me. I had no money and no way to raise a child.""
I felt sick.
"What happened?""
My mother looked at Lauren.
"Your biological father was a man named Thomas.""
Lauren shook her head.
"I thought Dad was my father.""
"Robert raised you. He loved you. But he wasn't your biological father.""
Lauren sat down slowly.
"Did he know?""
My mother nodded.
"From the beginning.""
I looked at her.
"Then why did he adopt Lauren?""
"Because he loved me, and he loved her.""
My mother began crying.
"He told me that a child should never have to pay for the mistakes of adults.""
I looked at the family photograph above the fireplace.
My father was holding Lauren as a toddler.
He was smiling.
She was laughing.
I remembered that picture.
I'd always thought it was proof that he adored his youngest daughter.
Now I understood that it was proof of something much more complicated.
"Why did Dad say Lauren was supposed to inherit the company?"" I asked.
My mother took a deep breath.
"Because he considered her his first daughter. He wanted her to have the opportunity to lead the business.""
Lauren stared at her.
"Then why did he change the trust?""
"Because he discovered the theft.""
My mother looked down.
"He was devastated. He believed Lauren was being manipulated by people who wanted to use her connection to the company.""
"Daniel?"" I asked.
She nodded.
"But there was something else.""
I stepped closer.
"What?""
My mother looked at me.
"Thomas.""
I frowned.
"Lauren's biological father?""
"Yes.""
"Where is he?""
My mother shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Is he alive?""
"I believe so.""
Lauren stood abruptly.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
My mother covered her face.
"Because I thought I was protecting you.""
Lauren laughed bitterly.
"Everyone in this family seems to think lying is a form of protection.""
My mother looked at her.
"Your biological father was involved in your father's business. He was the reason Robert created the trust in the first place.""
I frowned.
"What?""
My mother stood and walked toward a cabinet.
She opened a drawer and removed an old photograph.
It showed two men standing outside a construction site.
One was my father.
The other was younger, dark-haired, and smiling.
On the back was written:
Robert and Thomas — First Development Partnership.
I stared at the photograph.
"Thomas worked with Dad?""
My mother nodded.
"They started the company together.""
"Then what happened?""
"Thomas disappeared after the business suffered a major financial loss.""
I looked at Lauren.
"Was that before she was born?""
"Yes.""
My mother continued.
"Your father eventually discovered that Thomas had taken a substantial amount of money. He believed Thomas had left the country.""
Lauren sat down again.
"Did Dad ever try to find him?""
"Many times.""
"Then why didn't he tell me?""
My mother looked at her.
"Because he didn't want you to grow up believing you were connected to someone who had abandoned you.""
I stared at the photograph.
Something wasn't adding up.
"Mom, why did Dad write that he was afraid of you?""
My mother's face changed.
She walked toward the sofa and sat down.
"Because he became suspicious of everyone.""
"That doesn't answer my question.""
She looked at me.
"Your father was taking medication for his heart condition. The doctor changed his prescription shortly before his death.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Lauren said you switched the medication.""
My mother closed her eyes.
"I did.""
The room went silent.
Lauren stood.
"Why?""
My mother looked at her.
"Because your father had stopped taking the medication the doctor prescribed.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"He was taking something else. Something he bought privately.""
"Why?""
"He said the prescribed medication made him dizzy. He refused to tell his doctor.""
I shook my head.
"Then why did you switch the bottles?""
"Because I wanted him to take the medication he was supposed to take.""
Lauren stepped closer.
"You told me he was already taking it.""
"I was trying to keep him safe.""
"Then why did you lie?""
My mother began crying.
"Because I didn't want anyone to know how badly things had deteriorated.""
I looked at her.
"Did you know what was in the bottle you gave him?""
She shook her head.
"No. I thought it was his regular prescription.""
I stared at the photograph.
"Then why did you call Daniel before the ambulance?""
My mother's crying stopped.
She looked at me.
And for the first time, she seemed genuinely surprised.
"How do you know that?""
"Daniel told me.""
My mother slowly shook her head.
"Because he was the one who had given your father the other medication.""
I felt the room tilt.
"What?""
My mother looked toward the window.
"Daniel told Robert he had found a private specialist who could help him. He brought him medication that wasn't prescribed by his regular doctor.""
I looked at Lauren.
She was pale.
My mother continued.
"When your father collapsed, I called Daniel because he was the person who had introduced the specialist. I thought he would know what to do.""
I couldn't speak.
"Why didn't you tell the police?""
"Because Daniel told me the medication wasn't dangerous. He said it was an experimental treatment and that your father had agreed to take it.""
I stared at her.
"And you believed him?""
"I was terrified.""
I stepped backward.
"You let me believe Dad died from a heart attack.""
My mother covered her mouth.
"I didn't know.""
"Then why did you keep it secret for six years?""
She started sobbing.
"Because Daniel threatened me.""
Lauren turned sharply.
"What?""
My mother looked at her.
"He said if I told anyone about the medication, he would reveal the financial transfers and make sure I went to prison.""
I felt my blood turn cold.
Daniel had been controlling all of us.
My sister.
My mother.
Me.
But something still didn't make sense.
I looked at my mother.
"Why would Daniel give Dad medication?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Then she opened another drawer and pulled out a small envelope.
"I found this in Robert's study after he died. I was going to destroy it, but I couldn't.""
She handed it to me.
Inside was a folded letter.
It was addressed to my father.
The signature at the bottom belonged to a name I recognized from the old photograph.
Thomas.
I read the first paragraph.
Robert, you were right to suspect Daniel. But you're wrong about the money. Margaret has been moving it, but she's not the one who benefits.
I looked up.
My mother was crying.
Lauren was staring at the letter.
I continued.
The person behind the arrangement has been watching your family for years. If you want to save your daughters, you must look beyond the marriage.
I stopped.
Then I read the final line.
Daniel is only the messenger. The real owner of Bennett Family Holdings is the person you trust most.
My fingers went numb.
I looked at my mother.
"Who owns Bennett Family Holdings?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know.""
But her expression told me she was lying.
I turned the letter over.
There was an address.
And beneath it, a name.
Thomas Bennett.
Lauren's biological father.
Before I could say anything, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
Stop investigating Daniel. He is not the man you should be afraid of.
A second message arrived immediately.
Ask your mother what happened to the original trust.
Then a photograph appeared.
It showed my mother standing outside a hospital room.
Beside her was a man wearing a dark coat.
The photograph had been taken six years earlier.
The date of my father's death.
I zoomed in.
The man wasn't Daniel.
It was Thomas.
And in the hospital bed behind them, I could see a hand resting beneath a white blanket.
My father's wedding ring was visible.
I looked at my mother.
"Why was Thomas at the hospital?""
She started shaking.
May you like
Then she whispered:
"Because your father wasn't the only person who died that night.""
