Chapter 3 - The Second Daughter.
The photograph filled the laptop screen.
Emma stared at a face that seemed to have been stolen from her own reflection.
The girl in the picture was thinner, her hair was shorter, and a faint scar crossed her right eyebrow.
But the eyes were Emma's eyes.
The shape of the chin was the same.
Even the slight inward turn of the left foot was identical.
Vanessa stopped pretending to be angry.
She became quiet.
That frightened Emma more.
The officer leaned toward the screen.
"Where was this taken?"
The doctor pointed to a corner of the image.
A brass plaque on the wall read HAWTHORNE CHILDREN'S RESIDENCE.
Emma had never heard of it.
Vanessa had.
Her eyes moved toward the door.
The officer noticed.
"Don't."
Vanessa smiled at him with a strange, exhausted calm.
"You have no idea what you're protecting."
Emma's voice trembled despite her effort to control it.
"Is she my sister?"
Vanessa looked at her.
For the first time since entering the room, something almost human passed across her face.
Then it vanished.
"You should have left that card inside the toy."
Emma's stomach twisted.
The officer took Vanessa's phone and placed it on the counter after she tried to unlock it beneath the edge of her jacket.
"You can speak to your attorney after we secure the evidence."
The laptop chimed.
Another file opened automatically.
Daniel's face appeared again, closer this time.
His left cheek was bruised.
"Emma, if you're watching this, I am sorry."
Emma's throat closed.
She reached toward the screen without touching it.
"Papa."
Daniel swallowed on the recording.
"Emily was taken from the hospital the night you were born."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Your grandfather spent years trying to find her."
Emma could barely hear over the blood pounding in her ears.
"He believed someone inside the family arranged it because two daughters changed the trust."
The officer glanced at Vanessa.
Daniel continued.
"Arthur's estate does not pass to a guardian."
"It passes equally to every surviving biological grandchild when the youngest turns eighteen."
The doctor exhaled slowly.
Emma understood only part of it.
Vanessa understood all of it.
Her hands began to shake.
Daniel lifted two documents toward the hidden camera.
"If Emily is alive, Vanessa cannot control the full trust through Emma."
A sudden alarm sounded in the corridor.
The overhead lights flickered once.
The doctor turned toward the door.
"That's not a medical code."
Then the entire pediatric wing went dark.
Emma heard Vanessa move before she saw her.
A hard shove sent the rolling tray crashing into the officer.
The laptop slid sideways across the bed.
Emma grabbed the bunny and the computer at the same time.
Emergency lights flashed red along the floor.
Vanessa sprinted into the corridor.
The officer followed.
The doctor shouted for security.
Emma stared at the laptop.
The battery icon showed three percent.
A message appeared over Daniel's frozen face.
ONE FILE REMAINS LOCKED.
PASSWORD HINT: WHERE THE SISTERS FIRST MET.
Then the hospital's backup lights came on.
The doctor returned to the doorway.
His face was white.
"The officer's down."
May you like
Emma froze.
A second later, someone inside the room pulled the privacy curtain closed behind her.
