Chapter 8 - The Mother Nobody Mentioned
The woman’s name was Celeste.
Vincent knew her.
Eleanor hated her.
Julian had never heard of her.
And Amara had apparently built her entire life on a lie.
Lang explained nothing.
He ended the call.
Amara turned on Vincent.
“Start talking.”
Vincent looked sick.
“Celeste was my sister-in-law.”
“Meaning?”
“My brother’s wife.”
“You had a brother?”
“Yes.”
“Another dead person?”
Vincent flinched.
“His name was Adrian.”
“And?”
“He died before you were born.”
Amara laughed once.
“I’m getting very tired of dead Vales.”
Vincent looked down.
“Celeste was pregnant when Adrian died.”
Amara understood.
“You’re saying I’m Adrian’s daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then why is your name on my birth certificate?”
“Because the trust passed through the oldest surviving child in Adrian’s line.”
Ruiz frowned.
“So Vincent claimed Amara as his own?”
Vincent nodded.
“To protect her inheritance.”
Amara’s anger sharpened.
“You people passed babies around like legal documents.”
“Nobody intended—”
“Stop saying that.”
Silence.
Then Amara asked:
“And Julian?”
“Eleanor’s son. Mine.”
“So we’re cousins.”
“Yes.”
Everything shifted again.
Julian wasn’t her twin.
Eleanor wasn’t her mother.
The birth certificate was engineered.
But one question remained.
“Why did Eleanor think I died?”
Vincent’s face changed.
“She didn’t.”
Amara stared.
“You just told me—”
“I told you what I believed.”
“What changed?”
Vincent looked at the message from Lang.
“The woman holding Celeste in that room.”
“Eleanor?”
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“If Celeste is alive, then Eleanor knew your real mother survived.”
Amara shook her head.
“Why does that matter?”
Vincent answered quietly:
“Because Eleanor was the last person seen with Celeste the night you disappeared.”
Ruiz leaned forward.
“You think Eleanor took Amara?”
Vincent didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Amara’s phone buzzed again.
This time the message came from Eleanor.
Only six words:
I DIDN’T TAKE YOU. YOUR FATHER DID.
Amara read it twice.
Then looked at Vincent.
His face had gone completely white.
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
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