Chapter 8: My Mother Was Standing Behind the Hospital Doors
I ran.
I didn't wait for my father.
I didn't wait for Eleanor.
I didn't even think.
I ran through the corridor toward the lobby, my shoes striking the polished floor.
A woman stood near the entrance.
She wore a dark blue coat and held a small handbag.
Her hair was streaked with silver.
Her face was thinner than in the photographs.
But those eyes.
I knew those eyes.
She turned when she heard my footsteps.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then she whispered:
“Nia?””
I stopped.
My throat closed.
“Mom?””
She covered her mouth.
“Oh, sweetheart.””
I ran into her arms.
She dropped her handbag and caught me.
Her body trembled as she held me against her chest.
I had imagined this moment a thousand times.
In some dreams, I was little again.
In others, I was standing at the door of our old house, waiting for her to come home.
But never once had I imagined that I would be seventeen years old when it happened.
“You're real,” I sobbed.
She kissed my forehead.
“I'm real, baby.””
“You're alive.””
“Yes.””
“You're really alive.””
She held my face between her hands.
“I have missed you every single day.””
I wanted to ask a thousand questions.
Why hadn't she called?
Why hadn't she written?
Why had she allowed me to believe she was dead?
But I couldn't speak.
I just held her.
Then my father appeared in the doorway.
My mother looked up.
Their eyes met.
For several seconds, the entire lobby seemed to disappear.
“David,” she whispered.
He took one step toward her.
Then another.
He reached for her hand.
She touched his face.
“You came back.””
He shook his head.
“I thought I had lost you.””
She began crying.
“So did I.””
He pulled her into his arms.
I stepped back.
For the first time in ten years, my parents were standing together.
Alive.
Breathing.
Holding each other.
But the reunion lasted only a few seconds.
My mother suddenly pulled away.
“Where is Richard?””
My father frowned.
“We came here to find you.””
She looked at him urgently.
“Then you shouldn't have come.””
“What?””
“He knows you're here.””
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Mrs. Carter, we need to get you somewhere safe.””
My mother looked at her.
“Who are you?””
“Eleanor Price. I worked with Daniel Reeves.””
My mother's expression softened.
“Daniel…”
She closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry. I heard about his death.””
Eleanor nodded.
“He left evidence for us.””
My mother looked at me.
“Did you find the Phoenix Collection?””
I nodded.
“We found the vault.””
Her face changed.
“And the key?””
I held up the silver key.
My mother stared at it.
Then she looked at my father.
“Did you open the final cabinet?””
“Not yet.””
“Good.””
She took my hand.
“Then we still have time.””
My father frowned.
“Time for what?””
My mother glanced toward the hospital entrance.
“To stop Richard.””
We returned to Dr. Bennett's office.
He locked the door and closed the blinds.
My mother sat beside me.
For several minutes, she simply held my hand.
Then she began telling us what had happened.
The night of the accident, she had been on her way to meet a journalist.
She had obtained documents proving that Richard was stealing designs and transferring company money through several overseas accounts.
She intended to expose him.
But Richard found out.
“He called me before I reached the meeting,” she explained.
“He said he had something important to tell me about David.””
My father leaned forward.
“What did he say?””
“He told me that you had been involved in a serious accident.””
My father shook his head.
“I was already unconscious.””
“I know that now.””
She continued.
“Richard offered to take me to the hospital. But halfway there, the driver changed direction. I realized something was wrong.””
“What happened?”” I asked.
My mother looked down.
“The car crashed.””
I squeezed her hand.
“I suffered several injuries. When I woke up, I was in this hospital. Richard told me David was dead.””
My father closed his eyes.
“He told me you were dead too.””
My mother nodded.
“He said Nia had been placed with Vanessa and that I would never be allowed to see her again if I tried to escape.””
My stomach tightened.
“He threatened me?””
“Yes.””
My mother looked at me.
“He said he had people watching the house. He said if I contacted you, you would be taken away.””
I felt sick.
“Why didn't you believe him?””
“I did, sweetheart. I had no reason to think otherwise.””
She paused.
“Then I discovered that he had arranged for my identity to be changed. My medical records were altered. I was listed as a deceased patient.””
My father stared at her.
“How did you get out?””
“A nurse helped me. Her name was Margaret. She believed something was wrong with my case.””
My mother explained that she had escaped the hospital with the nurse's help.
But Richard had people searching for her.
She spent years moving between safe locations.
Eventually, she learned that my father might have survived.
She tried to contact Daniel Reeves.
But before she could reach him, Richard found her again.
“He took the notebook,” she said.
Eleanor leaned forward.
“Did he get the original?””
“No. I had already hidden it.””
“Where?””
My mother looked at the silver key in my hand.
“Inside the final cabinet.””
My father stood.
“Then we need to return to the archives.””
My mother nodded.
“But there's something else.””
She looked at me.
“Do you remember Vanessa's daughter?””
“Brianna?””
My mother nodded.
“Has she always behaved like that?””
I hesitated.
“She thinks everything belongs to her.””
My mother exchanged a look with my father.
Then she asked a question that made no sense.
“Did Brianna know about the original Phoenix design?””
“I don't think so.””
My mother looked toward Eleanor.
“Then Richard may have made another mistake.””
Eleanor frowned.
“What mistake?””
My mother took a small folded paper from her handbag.
It was a photocopy of a company document.
At the bottom were three signatures.
Richard Carter.
Vanessa Carter.
And Brianna Carter.
I stared at the last name.
“Why did Brianna sign this?””
My mother looked at me.
“Because she was listed as the beneficiary of a secret transfer agreement.””
My father took the document.
“What transfer?””
“The ownership of the Carter archives. Richard planned to transfer everything to Brianna once the company was legally declared ownerless.””
My stomach turned.
“That's why she wanted to win the competition.””
My mother nodded.
“Your stepsister wasn't just jealous of your talent, Nia. She was being prepared to take your place.””
I remembered Brianna destroying my trophy.
Her satisfaction when the dress tore.
Her words.
You shouldn't have won.
Suddenly, I understood why my victory had frightened her.
My success had threatened something much bigger than her pride.
My father looked at the document.
“Why would Brianna agree to this?””
My mother lowered her eyes.
“Because Richard promised her the entire fashion house.””
I thought about Brianna's expensive clothes, private tutors, and endless praise.
She had been raised to believe she was the rightful heir.
But I had never known that someone had been planning to remove me from the family business entirely.
My mother touched my cheek.
“There's one more thing, sweetheart.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“The original Phoenix design contains a hidden ownership certificate. Your name is on it.””
My father frowned.
“But the company trust already establishes her inheritance.””
“Not this certificate.””
My mother shook her head.
“This one proves that the original designs, the archive, and the intellectual property rights belong to Nia independently of the company.””
Eleanor looked stunned.
“If that document is authentic, Vanessa and Richard have been selling property they never legally owned.””
My mother nodded.
“And every agreement they signed using those designs can be challenged.””
My father looked at me.
“You understand what this means?””
I nodded slowly.
“They can't take the designs from me.””
“Exactly.””
For the first time, I felt something other than fear.
I felt power.
Not the kind Vanessa had used to control people.
The kind that came from finally knowing the truth.
We left the hospital through a rear entrance.
My mother walked beside me, holding my hand.
My father stayed close.
Eleanor arranged transportation back to the archives.
But as we approached the parking area, my mother's phone vibrated.
She checked the screen.
Her face went white.
“What is it?”” my father asked.
She turned the phone toward us.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Brianna.
She was sitting in the back of a black vehicle.
Her hands were tied.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
*BRING THE PHOENIX KEY TO THE OLD ATELIER. COME ALONE.*
I stared at the picture.
“Brianna…”
My father immediately took the phone.
“Richard has her.””
My mother looked at him.
“Then we need to call the police.””
A second message arrived.
*NO POLICE. NO LAWYERS. NO SECOND CHANCES.*
Then another photograph appeared.
This time, it showed the inside of a familiar building.
The old Carter mansion.
And on the wall behind Brianna was a large portrait of my father.
Someone had drawn a red cross over his face.
My mother gripped my arm.
“Nia, don't go.””
I looked at the photograph of Brianna.
I remembered her destroying my gown.
I remembered every cruel word.
But she was still seventeen.
And I knew what it felt like to be trapped in a house where nobody listened.
“She's my stepsister,” I whispered.
My father shook his head.
“She chose to hurt you.””
“She didn't choose this.””
My mother held my face.
“Sweetheart, Richard is dangerous.””
I looked at the silver key.
Then at my parents.
May you like
“We're going to get her.””
And for the first time in my life, I wasn't going to let someone else decide who deserved to be saved.
