Chapter 13 - The Secret in the PhotographThe photograph showed Olivia's sister sitting inside a hospital room.
She was pregnant.
Very pregnant.
And beside her stood Daniel Mercer.
But there was something else in the photograph.
A third person.
A man standing partially behind the curtain.
His face was visible enough to identify him.
Olivia stared.
“I know him.”
Caleb looked at her.
“Who?”
She pointed.
“That man worked at the hospital.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
She remembered him from the day her sister died.
He had been wearing a dark suit.
She had assumed he was a doctor.
But he wasn't.
Caleb sent the photograph to his investigators.
Within hours, they identified him.
His name was Victor Lang.
Former hospital administrator.
Former board member of a private adoption agency.
And former business partner of Daniel Mercer.
Olivia felt sick.
“Adoption agency?”
Caleb nodded.
“They specialized in infant placements.”
“My sister would never give away her babies.”
“I know.”
The investigator looked uncomfortable.
“There is more.”
He placed another document on the table.
Six years ago, Victor Lang's agency had attempted to obtain temporary custody of the triplets.
Olivia stared at the paperwork.
“Why?”
The official reason was financial instability.
Their mother was deceased.
Their father was absent.
The agency had argued that Olivia was financially incapable of raising three infants.
Caleb's expression hardened.
“But Olivia became their guardian.”
“Yes.”
“Who stopped the agency?”
The investigator looked at the document.
“An anonymous donor.”
Olivia whispered.
“Who?”
The answer was missing.
The donation had been made through a private trust.
Caleb stared at the paperwork.
“Could it have been my sister?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Nobody knew.
That night, Olivia finally told the children about their aunt.
She showed them an old photograph.
Leo touched it.
“Mommy's sister?”
“Yes.”
Maya smiled.
“She looks like you.”
Olivia hugged them.
“She loved you before you were born.”
Noah asked, “Did she know Dad?”
Olivia looked at Caleb.
“Yes.”
The children smiled.
The moment was warm.
Then the doorbell rang.
Security answered.
A package had been left outside.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Olivia opened it.
There was a letter.
And an old hospital bracelet.
The name on it was her sister's.
The date was the day before she died.
The letter contained only one sentence.
Your sister trusted the wrong person, but she trusted one person completely.
Beneath the sentence was an address.
Caleb recognized it.
“It belongs to Daniel Mercer.”
They drove there the next morning.
The house had been abandoned for years.
Inside, dust covered everything.
But one room had clearly been used recently.
There was a chair.
A table.
A fresh cup of coffee.
And photographs of Olivia's family.
Caleb immediately called security.
Someone had been there.
Recently.
Then Olivia saw something on the desk.
A children's drawing.
Three stick figures holding hands.
Underneath was written:
Leo. Maya. Noah.
Olivia's stomach tightened.
“They know their names.”
Caleb pulled her behind him.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Security moved into position.
A man appeared at the top of the staircase.
He was older.
Tired.
Unarmed.
And when Olivia saw his face, she stopped breathing.
“Daniel?”
The man looked at her.
May you like
Tears filled his eyes.
“I've been trying to find you for six years.”
