The rural clinic was almost empty when Mara and Daniel arrived.
Only one light burned above the reception desk.
A nurse looked up.
“Can I help you?”
Mara placed the photograph on the counter.
“Samuel Voss.”
The nurse stared at it.
Then looked toward the hallway.
“He's in room seven.”
Daniel touched Mara's arm.
“Wait.”
She looked at him.
“If he's alive, ask him why.”
Mara nodded.
They walked down the corridor.
Room seven was open.
A man sat beside the window.
His hair had turned completely gray.
His shoulders were thinner.
But the moment he turned, Mara knew him.
Her father stood.
“Mara.”
She couldn't move.
Daniel remained behind her.
Samuel's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew you would come.”
Mara's voice was barely audible.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“For twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You chose to.”
Samuel lowered his gaze.
“You're right.”
Mara stepped inside.
“Did you know my mother died?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Victor was responsible?”
Samuel looked at her.
“Not directly.”
“Evelyn confessed.”
His face changed.
“She caused the crash.”
“She did.”
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
Samuel sat down.
“Then she has finally told the truth.”
Daniel asked, “What about Sophie?”
Samuel looked at him.
“She is alive.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why were you watching her?”
“Because I was trying to keep her alive.”
Mara placed the journal on the table.
“My mother wrote that Sophie was not Victor's daughter.”
Samuel nodded.
“She was mine.”
Mara stared at him.
“And Daniel?”
Samuel looked at Daniel.
“Daniel is not Victor's son either.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“Then whose son am I?”
Samuel said nothing.
Mara stepped closer.
“Tell him.”
Samuel looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“You don't know?”
“I know who your mother loved.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“There was another man.”
“Who?”
“Victor's older brother.”
Daniel stared.
“Richard?”
Samuel nodded.
“Richard was the biological father of Daniel.”
The room went silent.
Mara looked at Daniel.
“That means—”
“Daniel was never part of Victor's bloodline,” Samuel said. “But Victor raised him because Richard died before Daniel was born.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Why did nobody tell me?”
“Because Victor wanted you to believe you were his heir.”
“And my mother?”
“Your mother knew.”
“She lied.”
“She was trying to keep you alive.”
Daniel turned away.
Mara understood the weight of that sentence.
Every secret in the family had been justified as protection.
Every lie had created another wound.
A phone vibrated.
Mara looked down.
Unknown number.
One message.
Come to the old chapel. Alone.
She showed Daniel.
He shook his head.
“No.”
Mara looked at Samuel.
“Who sent this?”
Samuel's expression changed.
“Adrian.”
Daniel stood.
“Where is he?”
Samuel looked frightened.
“Don't go.”
“We're going.”
“Daniel.”
Samuel grabbed his arm.
“If Adrian has contacted you, then he knows about the inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
Samuel looked at Mara.
“Your mother changed the will.”
Mara frowned.
“My mother had no inheritance.”
“Not money.”
“What, then?”
“The company.”
Daniel stared.
“She left the company to Sophie.”
“Why?”
“Because she was the only person Victor couldn't legally control.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Then why did Victor think I was his heir?”
“Because your mother let him.”
Mara looked toward the window.
“And the second child?”
Samuel's face tightened.
“There was never supposed to be a second child.”
Mara's stomach dropped.
“What?”
Samuel looked at her.
“Anna wasn't another child.”
“But she said—”
“She was a cover identity.”
Mara realized.
Sophie had lived as Anna.
Anna had been the identity, not the child.
Daniel looked confused.
“Then what did my mother's final sentence mean?”
Samuel answered.
“She saved Sophie.”
He paused.
“And she saved you.”
Mara looked at the journal.
“That doesn't explain why she said Sophie was not the only child she saved.”
Samuel's voice became quiet.
“Because there was another child.”
“Who?”
Samuel looked at Mara.
“You.”
Mara froze.
“My mother saved me?”
“She knew Victor was looking for Sophie. She realized he might use you to find her.”
Mara shook her head.
“I was her daughter.”
“You were also the person who could expose everything.”
Samuel opened a drawer.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Mara's name.
But beneath her name was another line.
Father: Unknown.
She stared.
“What does this mean?”
Samuel said, “Your mother never recorded your father's name because she was protecting him.”
“Who?”
Samuel looked at her.
“Richard Whitmore.”
Daniel stared.
Mara couldn't breathe.
“You're saying I'm Richard's daughter too?”
Samuel nodded.
Daniel stepped backward.
“So Mara is my sister.”
“No,” Samuel said.
“Then what?”
“Half-siblings.”
The room fell silent.
Mara looked at Daniel.
The meaning struck them both at once.
Their marriage.
Their history.
Everything they believed about their relationship.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Samuel spoke quickly.
“Your mother knew neither of you knew.”
Mara's voice trembled.
“She let us marry?”
“She never knew you would meet.”
Daniel turned toward the door.
“We need to leave.”
Mara followed.
They walked into the night.
Neither spoke.
At the car, Daniel stopped.
“Mara.”
She looked at him.
“This can't be true.”
“I know.”
“If we're related—”
“We need proof.”
He nodded.
“Then we find it.”
They drove to the old chapel.
The building stood beyond the cemetery, abandoned except for a single lamp glowing through a cracked window.
Mara entered first.
No one was there.
Then she saw a photograph on the altar.
Her mother.
Beside her stood Richard Whitmore.
And in her mother's arms was a baby.
Mara.
Daniel picked up the photograph.
On the back was written:
The truth must remain hidden until the children are old enough to choose what to do with it.
Mara looked at him.
“That's not enough.”
“No.”
A door slammed behind them.
Adrian stepped from the shadows.
He held no weapon.
He simply looked at them.
“You finally found it.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You've been following us.”
“Yes.”
“Where is Sophie?”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“With the person who has been protecting her.”
Mara asked, “My mother?”
Adrian's expression changed.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Your sister.”
Mara frowned.
“What?”
Adrian took a photograph from his coat.
It showed Sophie.
Beside her stood a woman.
Mara stared.
The woman was older.
Her hair was gray.
But the face was unmistakable.
Helena Voss.
Mara's mother.
Alive.
Mara's knees nearly gave way.
Adrian spoke softly.
“She survived the crash.”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“How?”
“Because Evelyn pulled her from the car.”
Mara's mind raced.
“Then why did everyone say she died?”
“Because Victor needed to believe she was dead.”
“And my mother?”
“She disappeared to keep Sophie hidden.”
Mara stepped closer.
“Where is she?”
Adrian looked toward the chapel doors.
“She is waiting for you.”
A figure appeared outside.
Mara stopped breathing.
Her mother stood beneath the cemetery lights.
Older.
Paler.
But alive.
Helena looked directly at her daughter.
“Mara.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: Mother and Daughter Finally Faced Each Other, and the Last Secret Explained Why Every Lie Had Been Built Around One Impossible Promise
She Left the Wedding With Blood on Her Lip, but the Stain on Her Dress Was the Least Dangerous Thing Behind Her
Part 7 of 16
