Chapter 8: The Mother Who Had Been Watching From Afar
Naomi read the message three times.
The address belonged to an old residential building outside the city.
There was no name.
No explanation.
Only a location and a warning.
Edward took the phone from her hand.
“No.””
Naomi looked at him.
“You don't even know what I was going to say.””
“I know exactly what you're thinking.””
“My mother is there.””
“Or someone wants you to believe she is.””
Naomi shook her head.
“I heard her voice.””
Edward looked toward Margaret.
“Can you trace the number?””
Margaret examined the screen.
“I can ask someone to identify the carrier, but it may take time.””
Naomi turned toward James.
“Can you take me there?””
Edward immediately objected.
“Absolutely not.””
“She's my mother.””
“And someone just tried to run us down with a vehicle.””
Naomi's voice broke.
“I have spent seven years believing I had no family. I'm not waiting another seven years because everyone thinks they know what's best for me.””
Edward looked at her.
His expression softened.
“Naomi, I'm trying to keep you alive.””
She held his gaze.
“Then help me.””
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Finally, he turned toward James.
“Prepare two vehicles. We leave in fifteen minutes.””
Naomi exhaled.
Edward raised one finger.
“You will not go anywhere alone. You will not separate from security. And if anything feels wrong, we leave immediately.””
Naomi nodded.
“Agreed.””
Daniel Reed stepped forward.
“I'm coming.””
Edward shook his head.
“You should stay here.””
Daniel looked at Brianna.
“After everything that happened, I don't intend to leave Naomi alone with these secrets.””
Brianna lowered her eyes.
Naomi glanced at him.
“You don't have to do this.””
Daniel nodded.
“I know.””
Then he added quietly:
“But I want to.””
The drive took nearly forty minutes.
Rain began falling halfway through the journey, turning the streetlights into long golden streaks across the windshield.
Naomi sat beside James in the first vehicle.
Edward followed in the second with Daniel Reed and Margaret.
The address led them to a narrow residential street lined with old brick buildings.
Most of the windows were dark.
A single apartment on the third floor had a light burning behind its curtains.
James checked the building entrance.
“Security camera above the door.””
Naomi looked up.
“Can you see who went inside?””
He examined his phone.
“The camera feed is offline.””
Edward stepped out of the second vehicle.
“That's convenient.””
Daniel Reed looked toward the dark alley beside the building.
“Too convenient.””
Naomi positioned her hands on the wheelchair rims.
“I need to go up.””
James unlocked the building entrance.
Inside, the hallway smelled of damp carpet and old cooking oil. A broken ceiling light flickered above the staircase.
They took the elevator.
It stopped on the third floor with a metallic groan.
Apartment 3B stood at the end of the hallway.
Naomi stared at the door.
Her heartbeat was so loud she could barely hear the rain.
James knocked twice.
No answer.
He knocked again.
“Security. Please open the door.””
A lock clicked.
The door opened several inches.
A woman stood behind it.
She was in her late fifties, with dark hair threaded with silver and a pale blue cardigan draped over her shoulders.
Naomi recognized her immediately.
The eyes.
The dimple.
The expression from the photograph.
The woman covered her mouth.
“Oh, sweetheart.””
Naomi's lips trembled.
“Mom?””
Evelyn Carter opened the door.
Naomi began crying.
Evelyn knelt in front of her wheelchair and reached for her hands.
“My baby.””
Naomi stared at her face.
She wanted to touch her.
To confirm that this wasn't another photograph, another lie, another cruel trick.
“Are you really my mother?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
Naomi lifted one trembling hand and touched her cheek.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Naomi pulled her into an embrace.
It was awkward because of the wheelchair, and Evelyn had to lean carefully around the armrest.
But she held her daughter as tightly as she could.
“I looked for you,” Evelyn whispered.
Naomi sobbed against her shoulder.
“I thought you were dead.””
“I know.””
“Why didn't you come back?””
Evelyn pulled away just enough to look at her.
“Because I was told you were dead too.””
Naomi froze.
“What?””
Evelyn wiped her tears.
“After the hospital fire, someone gave me a death certificate. They told me you hadn't survived.””
Naomi shook her head.
“No. I was alive.””
“I know that now.””
Evelyn looked toward Edward.
“And you brought him.””
Edward stepped forward.
“Evelyn, I'm sorry.””
Her expression hardened.
“Seven years, Edward.””
“I know.””
“You promised Daniel you would protect her.””
“I tried.””
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“You tried? My daughter was in a rehabilitation center while someone used her name to steal her inheritance.””
Edward lowered his eyes.
Naomi looked between them.
“Please. I need answers.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Come inside.””
The apartment was small but clean.
A kettle sat on the kitchen counter. Several medicine bottles stood beside a glass of water.
On the wall hung photographs of Naomi at different ages.
A school photograph.
A birthday picture.
A newspaper clipping from the day Edward announced that he had taken guardianship of Daniel Carter's daughter.
Naomi stared at the photographs.
“You had these?””
Evelyn nodded.
“I kept everything I could find.””
“Why didn't you contact me?””
“I tried once.””
“When?””
“Four years ago. I went to the rehabilitation center, but Victoria's people were watching the entrance. I saw her car outside. I was afraid that if I approached you, they would move you somewhere I couldn't find.””
Naomi looked down.
“So you just watched?””
Evelyn began crying.
“I know how that sounds.””
“It sounds like you abandoned me.””
Evelyn accepted the accusation.
“I understand.””
Naomi turned away.
Daniel Reed moved toward the window.
“Mrs. Carter, who was responsible for the accident?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Victoria.””
“We already know that.””
“No,” Evelyn said.
“You know she helped arrange it. You don't know why.””
She opened a drawer and removed an old photograph.
It showed Daniel Carter standing beside a younger Edward and another man.
The man had a strong resemblance to Daniel Reed.
“That's Richard Whitmore,” Evelyn explained.
“Edward's father.””
Daniel Reed examined it.
“My grandfather.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Richard created a private trust before he died. He placed control of certain assets in the hands of Daniel and me. Victoria wanted access to that money, but she couldn't obtain it while I was alive.””
Naomi looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because I was the only person who could legally authorize the transfer.””
Evelyn placed another document on the table.
“But there was a second condition.””
Edward leaned forward.
“What condition?””
Evelyn looked at Naomi.
“If something happened to both of us, the trust would pass directly to Naomi when she turned twenty-five.””
Naomi stared.
“That's why they needed me to sign the papers.””
“Yes.””
Evelyn nodded.
“They wanted you to surrender your rights before your twenty-fifth birthday.””
Daniel Reed looked confused.
“But why would Victoria need Brianna?””
Evelyn's expression darkened.
“Because Brianna was supposed to marry into the Whitmore family. Victoria believed she could use the marriage to gain control of the estate.””
Naomi looked toward Edward.
“And the baby?””
Evelyn answered.
“Victoria wanted a child with a legitimate claim to the family trust. She believed Daniel Reed's bloodline could help secure the inheritance.””
Daniel Reed's face tightened.
“So my engagement was arranged?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Victoria approached Brianna long before she met you. She knew your family history.””
Daniel stared at the floor.
Then he looked at Naomi.
“I'm sorry.””
Naomi nodded.
Evelyn moved toward a small cabinet.
“There is something else.””
She removed a sealed envelope.
“This was given to me by the person who helped me disappear.””
Naomi looked at the handwriting.
It was Daniel's.
Her father's.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter dated seven years earlier.
Evelyn,
If I cannot reach you, take Naomi somewhere safe. Do not trust Edward until you know the truth about the original accident.
Naomi looked up.
“What does that mean?””
Evelyn sat down.
“Daniel suspected Edward had been involved in the first attempt to steal the trust.””
Edward stood abruptly.
“That is not true.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then explain the payment.””
“What payment?””
She placed another document on the table.
It showed a transfer from Edward's personal account to Marcus Bell.
The date was three days before the accident.
Edward stared at it.
His face became pale.
“I never authorized this.””
Evelyn nodded.
“I believe you.””
Naomi looked at her.
“Then who did?””
Evelyn turned the page.
The transfer had been approved through Edward's electronic signature.
But beneath it was a handwritten authorization.
The signature was unmistakable.
Edward Whitmore.
Daniel Reed stepped backward.
“Mr. Whitmore?””
Edward shook his head.
“Someone used my credentials.””
Naomi stared at the old man.
“Who had access?””
Edward didn't answer.
Then Evelyn spoke.
“Victoria.””
A sudden noise came from the hallway.
James turned toward the door.
“Everyone stay back.””
The apartment lights went out.
Naomi heard the sound of a lock turning.
Then a woman's voice came from the darkness.
“Hello, Evelyn.””
The lights flickered back on.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
Her plum-red dress was gone. She wore a black coat, and her hair was pulled tightly behind her head.
In one hand, she held a small silver pistol.
Her eyes moved toward Naomi.
“I see you've finally met your mother.””
James reached for his weapon.
Victoria raised the pistol.
“Don't.””
Edward stepped forward.
“Victoria, put it down.””
She smiled.
“You really should have stayed out of this, Edward.””
Evelyn moved in front of Naomi.
Victoria laughed.
“Still protecting her after all these years?””
Naomi stared at the woman who had spent seven years pretending to care about the family.
“Why did you do it?””
Victoria's smile disappeared.
“Because your mother stole something that belonged to me.””
“What?””
Victoria looked at Evelyn.
“My child.””
The room fell silent.
Evelyn's face drained of color.
Naomi looked between them.
“Mom?””
Evelyn whispered:
“Victoria is lying.””
Victoria lifted the gun slightly.
“Am I?””
She reached into her coat and produced a folded hospital record.
Then she placed it on the table.
Two newborn babies.
Two different birth certificates.
One shared hospital room.
And a handwritten note that read:
*Infant exchange — authorized by Dr. Samuel Whitmore.*
Naomi stared at the document.
Her entire life suddenly seemed to split in two.
Because the woman who had raised her, the woman who had protected her, and the woman who had tried to destroy her might all have been connected to a secret much older than the accident.
May you like
Victoria leaned toward her.
“Now, Naomi, perhaps it's time you learned whose daughter you really are.””
