Chapter 8: The Child Everyone Wanted
I read the message again.
Then again.
My eyes stayed fixed on the screen, but my mind refused to understand the words.
*Bring me my granddaughter.*
No explanation.
No apology.
No question.
Just a claim.
A claim from a man who had no right to claim anything from me.
My hand moved protectively over my stomach.
The baby inside me moved slightly, almost as if she could feel my fear.
Marcus noticed.
His entire expression changed.
“Lisa.””
I looked up.
He was staring at my stomach.
Not with curiosity.
Not with surprise.
With fear.
“He knows.””
The words were barely a whisper.
I shook my head.
“No.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“He knows about the baby.””
“No.””
“Lisa—”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t understand.””
Everyone looked at me.
“This is my child.””
The room went quiet.
“My child.””
I looked at Marcus.
“I carried her alone.””
His expression broke.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
Tears filled my eyes.
“You don’t know what it felt like to hear her heartbeat for the first time and have nobody beside me.””
Marcus looked down.
“You don’t know what it felt like when the doctor asked who the father was.””
His jaw tightened.
“You don’t know what it felt like to leave the hospital and realize I was going to do everything alone.””
Every word hurt.
But they needed to be said.
Because the truth was not only about what happened three years ago.
It was about everything that happened after.
Marcus swallowed.
“I’m sorry.””
I closed my eyes.
“I know.””
And somehow, that was worse.
Because I believed his apology.
I believed his regret.
But forgiveness was not the same as forgetting.
Amelia stepped closer.
“Lisa, we need to leave.””
I looked at her.
The woman who had betrayed me.
The woman who had also saved me.
The woman I no longer knew how to see.
“Why should I trust you?””
She looked down.
“You shouldn’t.””
The answer surprised me.
Amelia took a shaky breath.
“I know I don’t deserve your trust.””
For the first time tonight, she didn’t try to explain.
She didn’t say she was protecting me.
She didn’t say she had no choice.
She simply admitted what she had done.
“But I know Daniel,” she continued.
“And if he believes your baby is connected to the evidence, he won’t stop.””
Marcus grabbed the flash drive from her hand.
“Where is he?””
Amelia looked at him.
“Marcus.””
“Where?””
“You can’t fight him alone.””
“I did for three years.””
“And look where that got you.””
The room went silent.
Marcus looked away.
Because she was right.
Running had protected us for a while.
But it had also destroyed us.
I looked at the three of them.
Three people connected by secrets.
Three people who had spent years making decisions about my life.
Then I looked at the door.
“Where are we going?””
Marcus looked at me.
The question seemed to surprise him.
“You’re coming?””
I held his gaze.
“I’m not doing this for you.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
“I’m not doing this because everything is suddenly okay.””
“I know.””
“I’m doing this because nobody is taking my child from me.””
Something changed in his face.
A small moment of hope.
But I saw it.
And I refused to let it control me.
We left the hotel through the underground parking area.
The rain had become heavier.
Amelia walked ahead, checking her phone constantly.
Marcus stayed beside me.
Not touching.
Not too close.
Like he understood that he no longer had that right.
The silence between us was different now.
Not comfortable.
But not full of anger either.
Finally, he spoke.
“There’s something else you should know.””
I looked forward.
“What?””
“When Daniel sent that message, he wasn’t guessing.””
I stopped walking.
“What does that mean?””
Marcus hesitated.
“He has been watching you.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“For how long?””
“I don’t know.””
“Marcus.””
He looked at me.
“Months.””
My heart dropped.
“Months?””
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“No.””
The answer came immediately.
“I swear, Lisa, I didn’t know.””
I studied his face.
For once, I believed him.
Because the fear in his eyes was different.
This wasn’t guilt.
This was panic.
“He knew where I worked.””
“Yes.””
“He knew about the baby.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Nobody answered.
Then Amelia stopped walking.
Her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“What?””
Marcus immediately noticed.
“Who is it?””
Amelia didn’t answer.
She answered the call.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then her face went pale.
“Daniel.””
Marcus moved closer.
Amelia put the phone on speaker.
A calm male voice filled the parking garage.
“Amelia.””
Nobody spoke.
Daniel continued.
“I’m disappointed.””
Amelia’s hand shook.
“You need to stop.””
A quiet laugh came through the phone.
“Stop?””
“Yes.””
“You betrayed me.””
The words shocked everyone.
Amelia looked confused.
“What?””
Daniel continued.
“You were supposed to bring me the evidence.””
“I never agreed to help you.””
Another laugh.
“Really?””
A pause.
“Should we discuss the night your parents died?””
My body froze.
Amelia went completely still.
Marcus noticed.
“What did he mean?””
Daniel ignored him.
“You know exactly what I mean, Amelia.””
My eyes moved to my sister.
“Amelia?””
She couldn’t speak.
Daniel continued.
“You made a mistake trusting Marcus.””
Amelia finally found her voice.
“You’re lying.””
“Am I?””
The call became silent.
Then Daniel said:
“Ask your sister why she was at the hospital the night the baby was born.””
My heart stopped.
The baby.
The hospital.
My memories flashed back.
The day I gave birth.
The empty chair beside my bed.
The message Amelia sent saying she was too sick to come.
I looked at her.
“What is he talking about?””
Amelia’s eyes filled with tears.
“Lisa…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“What happened?””
She couldn’t answer.
Marcus looked between us.
“Amelia.””
Daniel’s voice continued through the phone.
“She knows now.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
The parking garage felt completely silent.
I looked at Amelia.
“Were you there?””
She cried.
“Lisa…”
“Were you at the hospital?””
A long pause.
Then:
“Yes.””
The word destroyed something inside me.
“Why did you lie?””
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
She looked at me.
“Of what I found.””
My heartbeat increased.
“What did you find?””
Amelia wiped her tears.
“The truth about the baby.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What truth?””
Amelia looked at him.
Then at me.
“Your daughter isn’t just connected to Daniel’s evidence.””
I felt sick.
“What are you saying?””
Amelia whispered:
“The night you gave birth…”
She stopped.
Like the words were too painful.
“Someone tried to take her.””
My breath caught.
“What?””
Marcus grabbed the edge of a nearby car for support.
“Who?””
Amelia looked at me.
Her voice barely audible.
“Daniel.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“No.””
My mind rejected it.
Because this was too much.
Too impossible.
“Why?””
Amelia looked at the flash drive in Marcus’s hand.
“Because your father left something hidden.””
She took a breath.
“And the only way Daniel could access it…”
A pause.
“Was through your daughter’s medical records.””
The world went quiet.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered immediately.
A voice spoke.
But this time, it wasn’t Daniel.
It was a woman.
A woman crying.
A woman I recognized.
Marcus looked at me.
His face turned white.
“Lisa…”
I knew before he spoke.
I knew.
Because only one person could make Marcus look that afraid.
The woman on the phone whispered:
“Marcus…”
A pause.
“I’m sorry.””
Then:
“I found the truth about your daughter.””
Marcus gripped the phone tighter.
“Who are you?””
The woman cried.
And then she said:
“The nurse who helped deliver her.””
My blood ran cold.
The nurse continued:
“Your baby was never supposed to leave that hospital.””
A silence.
Then the sentence that changed everything:
May you like
“Because according to the original records…”
“She wasn’t born alone.””
