Chapter 9: The Witness No One Expected
Chapter 9: The Witness No One Expected
The elevator doors closed just as Margaret stepped inside Blackwood Tower.
"St. Mary's Hospital," she ordered her driver through her earpiece. "Now."
Her assistant hurried after her.
"Ma'am, the board meeting starts in thirty minutes."
"Cancel it."
"They're refusing to postpone."
Margaret's eyes turned cold.
"They'll wait."
The elevator descended to the underground garage.
Within seconds, her black sedan sped into morning traffic.
For the first time in years, Margaret wasn't trying to stay ahead of the police.
She was racing against the past.
At Rachel's guesthouse, Emily stared at the old hospital bracelet resting on the table.
Infant Boy – Baby A
Samuel Brooks folded his weathered hands.
"I never imagined I'd have to tell this story."
Emily looked up.
"Why didn't you come forward before?"
Samuel sighed.
"Because Charles asked me not to."
Ethan frowned.
"He knew?"
Samuel nodded.
"Not immediately."
"But about six months after the adoption..."
"He came here."
"He told me he had discovered something terrible."
Emily leaned forward.
"What did he say?"
Samuel's voice grew quiet.
"He said..."
'I love that boy as my own. Biology doesn't matter. But one day, someone may use the truth to destroy him.'
The room fell silent.
"So he kept the secret," Emily whispered.
"To protect Daniel."
Samuel nodded.
"But Charles also told me something else."
"What?"
"He believed Margaret never accepted the child."
Emily's heart sank.
"What do you mean?"
Samuel looked toward the lake.
"She blamed him for reminding her of the baby they lost."
Across town, Daniel sat alone in his office.
The blood type report lay open on his desk.
He had read it dozens of times.
Still, the conclusion never changed.
His phone rang.
It was his family doctor.
"Daniel... I think you should come in."
"Why?"
"I found additional records."
"What kind?"
"A DNA sample."
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"My father's?"
"No."
"Yours."
"I don't remember giving one."
"You didn't."
"It was taken when you were eight after a bicycle accident."
Daniel stood.
"Does it still exist?"
"I believe so."
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Meanwhile, Detective Keller finally received the cemetery surveillance footage.
The mysterious figure who had escaped the mausoleum never showed their face.
But one detail caught Keller's attention.
The person limped slightly with their right leg.
He paused the video.
Then enlarged the image.
A silver ring reflected the security light.
The ring bore an unusual symbol.
A hawk with its wings spread.
Keller immediately recognized it.
He had seen that emblem years earlier.
Inside an FBI briefing file on an underground financial organization known only as...
The Hawthorne Circle.
At St. Mary's Hospital, Margaret marched through the records department.
"I need access to maternity files from twenty-six years ago."
The elderly archivist frowned.
"I'm sorry, those records are sealed."
Margaret placed a business card on the desk.
"I'm Margaret Blackwood."
"I know who you are."
"Then you know I don't wait."
The archivist calmly pushed the card back.
"And I don't break the law."
Margaret leaned closer.
"Someone reopened those files."
"Who?"
"I'm not authorized to tell you."
A familiar voice interrupted.
"I am."
Both women turned.
Detective Keller stepped into the hallway.
"I requested the records."
Margaret forced a polite smile.
"Detective."
"What a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidences anymore," Keller replied.
He held up a court order.
"We're taking custody of every maternity record connected to your family."
Margaret's smile faded.
"You'll find nothing."
"We'll see."
At the medical clinic, Daniel sat across from Dr. Helen Morris.
The physician placed an old evidence envelope on the desk.
"I wasn't supposed to keep this."
Daniel looked confused.
"What is it?"
"A backup copy."
"Of your DNA sample."
He swallowed hard.
"Can we compare it to my father's?"
"Legally, yes."
"And my mother's?"
Dr. Morris hesitated.
"If the court approves."
Daniel nodded firmly.
"Start the process."
As he signed the paperwork, he noticed a faded note attached to his childhood file.
Patient admitted under temporary name: Baby A.
His hand froze.
"Doctor..."
"Why does it say Baby A?"
Dr. Morris's face turned pale.
She hadn't noticed the note.
"I..."
She slowly looked up.
"I don't know."
But the uncertainty in her voice said otherwise.
That evening, Emily, Ethan, and Samuel returned to the lighthouse one last time.
Samuel carried an old wooden chest from beneath his bed.
"I almost forgot."
Charles had left this here years ago."
Emily carefully opened it.
Inside was a tiny blue baby blanket.
A silver rattle.
And an audio cassette labeled:
For Daniel. When he's ready.
Ethan stared at it.
"A recording."
Rachel smiled.
"I still have an old cassette player."
Samuel gently handed the tape to Emily.
"He made me promise."
"If anything happened to him..."
"...only Daniel could hear it."
Emily nodded.
"I'll keep that promise."
As night fell, Margaret returned to Blackwood Manor.
She entered Charles's abandoned study and locked the door.
Then she opened a hidden compartment inside the fireplace.
From it, she removed an old leather-bound photo album.
Most of the photographs had already faded.
One picture slipped onto the floor.
Margaret bent to pick it up.
It showed her holding two newborn babies in a hospital room.
Two.
Not one.
On the back, someone had written in blue ink:
Baby A and Baby B
Margaret's breathing became uneven.
"No..."
She whispered.
"That picture was destroyed."
A soft voice answered from the doorway.
"No."
Margaret spun around.
Richard Hawthorne stood there, his face grim.
"I kept one copy."
Margaret's eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing here?"
Richard slowly closed the study door.
"The same thing I've been trying to do for twenty-six years."
"And what's that?"
He looked directly at the photograph.
"Protect the second child."
Margaret's face turned completely white.
May you like
"The second twin..."
"...is still alive."
