PART 9 — The Sister Nobody Knew Existed
PART 9 — The Sister Nobody Knew Existed
The screen went black.
But nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because the words were still hanging in the air.
You had a twin.
A sister.
My mind rejected it.
Immediately.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
I would know.
Wouldn’t I?
My mother would have told me.
My father would have told me.
Someone would have told me.
But then…
I remembered.
The secrets.
The missing pieces.
The documents.
The warnings.
My entire life had been built around things people refused to tell me.
So why not this?
I looked at Julian.
His face was pale.
“You knew.”
It wasn’t a question.
His eyes moved away.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
“Julian.”
He swallowed.
“Audrey…”
“You knew?”
His silence was painful.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Answer her.”
Julian looked at me.
“Yes.”
The word hit harder than I expected.
I felt betrayed all over again.
“How long?”
His voice was quiet.
“Since before we married.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“So every time you looked at me…”
A pause.
“You knew there was another child.”
He closed his eyes.
“I didn’t know how to tell you.”
My anger rose.
“You didn’t know?”
I stepped closer.
“You knew enough to marry me.”
“You knew enough to take my trust.”
“You knew enough to betray me.”
His face fell.
“You’re right.”
That answer stopped me.
Because I expected another excuse.
Another lie.
But there was nothing.
Just guilt.
“How did you find out?”
Julian looked at the documents.
“My grandfather’s files.”
He pointed.
“The Mercer family kept records.”
“What kind of records?”
He hesitated.
“About the Vance bloodline.”
My stomach turned.
“Bloodline?”
He nodded.
“Your mother discovered the original research.”
“What research?”
Julian looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
“The reason the twins matter.”
The room became silent.
“The reason Eleanor wants them.”
I stared.
“Explain.”
Julian took a breath.
“Your family wasn’t just wealthy.”
A pause.
“They were studied.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Years ago, there was a private program.”
My mind flashed back to my mother’s letter.
The hidden documents.
The warnings.
“What program?”
Julian answered:
“Genetic research.”
I felt cold.
“You’re saying…”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Your mother discovered that certain traits were being tracked through generations.”
I looked toward the nursery.
At my sons.
“No.”
My voice became small.
“No.”
Julian stepped closer.
“Your children are not experiments.”
A pause.
“But someone believes they are valuable.”
I looked at Marcus.
“Find Eleanor.”
He nodded.
Already moving.
Then I looked back at Julian.
“Who is the sister?”
His face changed.
Like he had been afraid of this question.
“I don’t know.”
I stared.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
He pulled out another document.
“This is all I found.”
I took it.
The paper was old.
A birth record.
My name.
My mother’s name.
And next to it…
A second entry.
Female.
No name.
Only one word:
TRANSFERRED.
My hands shook.
“What does transferred mean?”
Julian’s voice lowered.
“I don’t know.”
I looked at him.
“You know more than you’re saying.”
He didn’t answer.
And that scared me.
Because Julian had always been weak.
But now…
He looked afraid.
Not of me.
Of something else.
Then Marcus returned.
His face was serious.
“Ms. Vance.”
I turned.
“What?”
“We found Eleanor.”
Everyone froze.
“Where?”
Marcus looked at me.
“At the old Vance estate.”
My mother’s house.
The place I hadn’t visited since childhood.
My heart tightened.
“Why there?”
He hesitated.
“Because someone sent us a message.”
“What message?”
He handed me his phone.
A video.
I pressed play.
The screen showed an old room.
A room I remembered.
My childhood bedroom.
Except now…
Someone had been there.
A woman sat in the chair.
Her back facing the camera.
Eleanor stood beside her.
My blood ran cold.
Because Eleanor wasn’t smiling.
She looked nervous.
Afraid.
The woman in the chair spoke.
And the second I heard her voice…
I froze.
Because it sounded like mine.
“Hello, Audrey.”
The woman slowly turned.
Same eyes.
Same face shape.
Same features.
Older.
But unmistakably connected.
My breath disappeared.
The woman smiled.
“I’ve waited my whole life to meet you.”
My hands covered my mouth.
No.
It couldn’t be.
Eleanor looked at the camera.
“You wanted the truth.”
A pause.
“Now you have it.”
The woman beside her stood.
“My name is Ava.”
My heart raced.
“Ava Vance.”
The name.
My mother’s hidden child.
My sister.
She looked directly into the camera.
And said:
“Eleanor told me everything.”
A pause.
“About how your mother chose you.”
The words cut deep.
My sister continued:
“She told me you got the family.”
“You got the company.”
“You got the love.”
Her eyes darkened.
“And I got nothing.”
I stepped back.
“No…”
Julian whispered:
“Audrey…”
But I couldn’t hear him.
Because my entire life had just changed again.
Ava smiled.
Not kindly.
Not warmly.
Like someone who had spent years carrying pain.
“I don’t want your money.”
A pause.
“I don’t want your company.”
She looked directly at me.
“I want what you took from me.”
My voice shook.
“What?”
The video ended.
But before the screen went black…
She said one final sentence.
“The truth.”
Nobody moved.
Then Marcus received another alert.
His face changed.
“What is it?”
He looked at me.
“The twins.”
My heart stopped.
“What about them?”
He swallowed.
“They’re gone.”
The room disappeared.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Security footage shows someone entered the nursery.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Who?”
Marcus looked at the screen.
The final image appeared.
A woman carrying my sons.
The camera captured her face.
Ava.
My sister.
The child my mother hid.
The woman who believed I stole her life.
Had taken my children.
May you like
And now…
I had to find her.
