Chapter 13: The Voice From the Past
Samantha didn’t move.
She couldn’t.
The phone remained pressed against her ear even though the call had already ended.
The ocean waves crashed against the cliffs below.
The wind moved through her hair.
But she heard none of it.
Because one impossible thought filled her mind.
Her mother had called her.
Eleanor Hayes.
The woman everyone said died twenty years ago.
The woman whose memory had been buried beneath decades of lies.
Alexander slowly stepped closer.
“Samantha.””
She looked at him.
Her eyes were full of confusion.
“It was her.””
Alexander’s expression changed.
“Are you sure?””
“I know my mother’s voice.””
The certainty in her words made him silent.
Thomas arrived moments later after Alexander called him.
The second Samantha told him what happened, the color disappeared from his face.
“No.””
Samantha looked at him.
“You don’t believe me?””
Thomas shook his head.
“That’s not possible.””
“Why?””
He looked terrified.
“Because Eleanor is dead.””
Samantha stared at him.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
The words were quiet.
“But everyone has lied to me before.””
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could argue.
The truth had been hidden from her for twenty years.
That night, Alexander brought Samantha to a private room in the Hayes family estate.
Not the Collins mansion.
Not a place controlled by Victoria.
A place where Samantha could finally breathe.
On the table were old family records.
Photos.
Documents.
Everything connected to the Hayes family.
Alexander placed a folder in front of her.
“This was found in my grandfather’s private archive.””
Samantha opened it.
Inside were medical records.
Hospital documents.
A name.
Eleanor Hayes.
But the date wasn’t twenty years ago.
It was recent.
Samantha looked up.
“Why is there a hospital record from last year?””
Alexander’s face was serious.
“Because someone has been keeping her alive.””
The room became silent.
Thomas stepped forward.
“Who?””
Alexander pointed at the signature.
Everyone looked.
And Samantha froze.
The doctor’s name was familiar.
Dr. Henry Collins.
Victoria’s father.
The man Thomas had mentioned.
The man connected to the beginning of everything.
Samantha slowly whispered:
“Victoria’s father.””
Alexander nodded.
“Exactly.””
A terrible realization appeared.
“Victoria knew.””
Nobody spoke.
Because they all understood.
Victoria didn’t just hide the past.
She had been controlling it.
For twenty years.
The next morning, Samantha, Alexander, and Thomas traveled to the abandoned medical facility listed in the records.
The building sat outside the city.
Hidden.
Forgotten.
Exactly the kind of place someone would choose if they wanted secrets to disappear.
The hallway smelled like dust and old medicine.
Every step echoed.
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
“I never knew this place existed.””
Alexander replied:
“That was the point.””
They reached the final room.
The door was locked.
Alexander forced it open.
Inside was a small private room.
A bed.
Medical equipment.
A stack of documents.
And on the wall…
photographs.
Samantha stopped breathing.
They were photographs of her.
Growing up.
At school.
Walking outside.
Standing near the mansion.
Someone had been watching her entire life.
She touched one picture.
“This was taken when I was twelve.””
Thomas looked devastated.
“She was watching you.””
Samantha turned.
“Who?””
Before anyone answered, a weak voice came from the corner.
“Samantha.””
Everyone froze.
A woman sat in the shadow.
Older.
Pale.
But alive.
Samantha’s knees almost gave out.
The woman slowly stood.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“My baby.””
Samantha stared.
Twenty years of questions.
Twenty years of pain.
And now the answer stood in front of her.
“Mom?””
Eleanor covered her mouth.
Hearing that word broke her.
She walked forward slowly.
“I thought I would never hear you call me that.””
Samantha didn’t move.
She wanted to run to her.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted answers.
Instead, she whispered:
“Why?””
Eleanor cried.
“Because I was trapped.””
“Trapped?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Your grandfather’s business partner arranged everything.””
She looked at Thomas.
“He made everyone believe I died.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“But why?””
Eleanor looked at Samantha.
“Because I knew the truth.””
“What truth?””
Eleanor reached into a drawer.
She pulled out a small recording device.
“The truth about Victoria.””
Samantha stared.
“We already know.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice became serious.
“You know what Victoria did.””
She looked at Alexander.
“But you don’t know why.””
The room went silent.
Eleanor pressed play.
A recording filled the room.
A man’s voice appeared.
Dr. Henry Collins.
“Once Eleanor disappears, the inheritance becomes vulnerable.””
Victoria’s younger voice answered:
“And Samantha?””
The man replied:
“She is the problem.””
Samantha froze.
Victoria’s voice continued.
“She’s just a child.””
A cold silence followed.
Then the man said:
“Children grow.””
The recording ended.
Samantha felt sick.
They didn’t just want money.
They wanted her gone.
Eleanor held her hand.
“I tried to escape.””
Samantha looked at her.
“But I couldn’t.””
Eleanor nodded.
“They controlled every movement I made.””
“Then how did you survive?””
Eleanor looked toward Thomas.
“Because he never stopped searching.””
Thomas lowered his eyes.
Samantha looked at him.
For the first time, she saw the truth.
Her father had failed her.
But he had never stopped loving her.
Then Eleanor said something that changed everything.
“There is still one person who knows the entire plan.””
Alexander frowned.
“Who?””
Eleanor looked at Samantha.
“Someone you trusted.””
Samantha felt cold.
“Who?””
May you like
Eleanor whispered:
“Olivia.””
