Chapter 21 - The Girl Who Was Given Emily's Name
The little girl Sophia had rescued from Willowbrook Manor might not be the daughter she had given birth to eight years ago.
That possibility frightened her more than anything Victor Vale had threatened.
She stood in Room 106 of Blackwood House, staring at the message on her phone.
THE GIRL YOU FOUND AT WILLOWBROOK IS NOT THE GIRL WHO LEFT SAINT CATHERINE'S WITH TOBY.
Across the room, Eleanor Whitmore was crying.
Sophia slowly turned toward her.
"Who is Emily?"
Her mother lowered her eyes.
"She's a child who needed protection."
Sophia felt a cold wave of anger.
"That isn't what I asked."
"Sophie—"
"Is Emily my daughter?"
Eleanor's lips trembled.
"I don't know."
The answer struck Sophia like a blow.
For hours, she had believed the mystery was finally beginning to unravel. Toby was alive. Emily was safe. Samuel might be Caroline's lost son. The identities of Julian and Daniel were finally being examined.
But now someone was suggesting that the little girl Sophia had held against her chest, the child who had begged her not to leave, might have been given a stolen identity.
Sophia pressed a hand against the table.
"Did you know this when you let me take her from Willowbrook?"
Eleanor said nothing.
"Mother!"
"I knew there were discrepancies in the records."
"What discrepancies?"
Eleanor looked toward Margaret.
The retired detective stood beside the desk, her expression grave.
"Tell her," Margaret said.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Eight years ago, Charles Voss maintained separate records for the children transferred from Saint Catherine's. The girl registered as Emily Whitmore was moved to Willowbrook, but another female infant appeared in the transport records under a restricted identifier."
"Baby C," Sophia whispered.
Eleanor nodded.
Sophia looked down at the photograph of Lily.
The girl standing near the bus station had dark hair, serious eyes, and a red ribbon tied around her wrist.
She looked older than Emily.
Yet something about her face stirred a painful familiarity.
"Where is Lily now?" Sophia demanded.
Eleanor shook her head.
"I haven't seen her in years."
"Then why did you say you thought she was safe?"
"Because Charles told me she had been placed with a family."
Sophia let out a bitter laugh.
"Charles told you."
Eleanor lowered her head.
"Yes."
"And you believed him?"
"I wanted to."
Sophia closed her eyes.
She was so tired of those words.
Everyone had wanted to believe something.
Julian wanted to believe Beatrice.
Margaret wanted to believe Charles.
Eleanor wanted to believe Richard.
And every time someone chose a convenient explanation over the truth, another child suffered.
Sophia stared at her mother.
"Not anymore."
Eleanor looked up.
Sophia's voice became firm.
"We find Lily. We verify who Emily is. And nobody gets to change another child's name to solve an adult's problem."
At the Manhattan police station, Toby was drawing a picture when Daniel received Sophia's call.
The boy immediately looked up.
"Is that Mommy?"
Daniel nodded.
Toby dropped his pencil and hurried toward him.
"Can I talk?"
"In a moment."
Daniel answered.
"Sophia?"
"Is Toby still safe?"
"Yes. He's right here."
Sophia closed her eyes with relief.
"Good. Daniel, I need you to ask him something."
"What?"
"Does he remember a girl named Lily?"
Daniel frowned.
"Lily?"
Toby went completely still.
Daniel noticed immediately.
He lowered the phone.
"Toby, sweetheart, do you know someone named Lily?"
The boy's face changed.
His eyes filled with fear.
"Who told you about Lily?"
Daniel exchanged a troubled glance with the officer beside him.
"Sophia is trying to find her."
Toby shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because Lily said nobody was supposed to know."
Daniel crouched beside him.
"Know what?"
The boy looked toward the door.
Then whispered, "That she remembered the hospital."
Daniel felt his pulse quicken.
"What hospital?"
"The place where the babies were."
Daniel looked at the phone.
"Sophia, are you hearing this?"
Her voice came through immediately.
"Yes."
Toby pressed his hands together.
"Lily used to tell stories about the yellow room."
Sophia felt cold.
"What yellow room?"
Toby thought carefully.
"She said there were three beds."
"Three babies?"
He nodded.
"She said two babies cried, but one didn't."
Sophia covered her mouth.
"Did she say who they were?"
Toby shook his head.
"But she said the lady with the silver bracelet took one away."
Sophia slowly turned toward Eleanor.
Her mother stood motionless.
The bracelet.
Three sapphires.
The same bracelet Eleanor had worn in photographs.
The same bracelet that later appeared on Caroline's wrist.
And the same bracelet linked to the woman who visited Lily.
"Mother," Sophia whispered, "did you take a baby from Saint Catherine's that night?"
Eleanor began shaking.
"No."
Sophia stared at her.
"Are you sure?"
"I wasn't at the hospital when you delivered."
Margaret stepped forward.
"Then who had your bracelet?"
Eleanor looked toward Helena.
The elderly woman remained silent.
Finally, Eleanor whispered, "Vivienne."
Sophia froze.
"Your sister?"
Eleanor nodded.
"She borrowed it before disappearing."
Sophia's blood turned cold.
Vivienne.
The woman who had appeared at the police station with forged guardianship claims.
The woman Toby recognized from Willowbrook's mirrored room.
The woman connected to Victor's operation.
Sophia looked toward the phone.
"Daniel, is Vivienne still at the station?"
His answer came immediately.
"No."
Sophia's heart sank.
"What?"
"She left after the officers refused to release Toby."
"When?"
"About an hour ago."
Sophia felt cold.
Margaret moved closer.
"Daniel, tell the officers we have new evidence connecting Vivienne to the identity transfers. They need to locate her."
"I'll tell them."
Then Toby suddenly grabbed the phone.
"Mommy?"
Sophia's voice softened instantly.
"Toby."
The boy began crying.
"Lily isn't bad."
Sophia's heart tightened.
"I know, sweetheart."
"She helped me when the teachers were angry."
"What did she do?"
"She gave me her blanket."
Sophia closed her eyes.
Another child who had almost nothing.
Another child who had learned to protect others because no adult would protect her.
Toby continued.
"She said she was going to find the real Emily."
Sophia stopped breathing.
"What?"
The boy's voice became very small.
"She said the girl at Willowbrook had the wrong name."
Margaret immediately contacted the investigators handling the Saint Catherine's records.
Within minutes, she obtained access to another archived file.
This one contained original neonatal identification photographs.
Sophia stood beside her, unable to stop trembling.
The first photograph showed Toby.
The second showed a female newborn wearing a white identification band.
The third showed another female infant wearing pale green.
Margaret examined the labels.
"Baby A: male."
"Toby," Sophia whispered.
"Baby B: female."
"Emily."
Margaret hesitated.
Then continued.
"Baby C: female. Restricted identity."
Sophia leaned closer.
The two girls looked similar.
Both had dark hair.
Both had delicate features.
But the images were too small and indistinct to establish whether either matched the Emily she had rescued.
Sophia looked toward Margaret.
"Could they have switched the bracelets?"
"Yes. The records show identifiers, not necessarily verified identities."
Sophia closed her eyes.
Then another document appeared.
A transfer log.
Baby B had been sent to a private residential facility.
Baby C had been transferred under a separate protection order.
Sophia frowned.
"Where?"
Margaret enlarged the destination field.
ROSEHAVEN.
Sophia's heart began pounding.
The same facility where Caroline had been raised.
The same place Lily later lived.
Margaret continued examining the records.
Then she stopped.
"There's something else."
Sophia leaned closer.
"What?"
"The female infant transferred to Rosehaven was assigned a new identity."
Sophia's breath caught.
"What identity?"
Margaret turned the screen.
LILY MERCER.
A silence fell.
Sophia stared at the name.
Mercer.
Alexander Mercer.
The physician who claimed to be her biological father.
The man who had called her moments before being attacked.
"Margaret," Sophia whispered, "why would Lily have Alexander's surname?"
Margaret shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then Caroline stepped forward.
She had been listening quietly.
"Because Alexander was supposed to take her."
Everyone turned.
Sophia stared.
"What?"
Caroline's expression became troubled.
"I remember Charles mentioning a placement agreement involving Alexander Mercer."
Sophia felt cold.
"What placement?"
"He said a female infant needed to be removed from the Whitmore succession records."
Sophia's pulse quickened.
"Why?"
Caroline looked down.
"Because someone had discovered a problem with her parentage."
Sophia stared at Lily's photograph.
Then at Eleanor.
"Mother, who was Lily's biological mother?"
Eleanor remained silent.
Sophia stepped closer.
"Tell me."
Finally, Eleanor whispered, "I don't know."
Sophia felt exhausted.
She had expected another lie.
Another confident declaration.
Instead, her mother admitted uncertainty.
For once, it was something Sophia could believe.
Inside a small roadside motel outside Albany, Lily Mercer sat on the edge of a bed, clutching a worn canvas bag.
She was eight years old.
Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders.
A thin red ribbon was tied around her wrist.
Beside her sat an elderly man with a bandage above his eyebrow.
Alexander Mercer.
He had escaped Charles Voss only because a neighbor heard the disturbance and called for help.
But Alexander had refused to return to the secluded house.
He had gone to the one person he feared Charles would find next.
Lily.
The little girl watched him anxiously.
"Are we going to have to run again?"
Alexander looked at her.
"I hope not."
She lowered her eyes.
"That's what you said last time."
He sighed.
"I know."
Lily opened her bag.
Inside were several photographs, a notebook, and an old hospital identification bracelet.
She removed the bracelet.
"Do you think she'll believe me?"
Alexander looked toward the window.
"Sophia?"
Lily nodded.
"I don't know."
The girl studied the bracelet.
"People never believe children."
Alexander felt a painful tightening in his chest.
"Sometimes adults are afraid of what children remember."
Lily looked up.
"Are you afraid?"
"Yes."
"Of Charles?"
Alexander hesitated.
"Yes."
Lily lowered her eyes.
"Then why are we going to tell Sophia?"
Alexander reached for her hand.
"Because you've been carrying a secret that should never have been yours."
The girl stared at him.
Then whispered, "Will she hate me?"
"Why would she?"
"Because I have Emily's name."
Alexander went still.
Lily continued.
"Charles said I wasn't supposed to use it."
Alexander closed his eyes.
He had known pieces of the truth for years.
But Lily remembered far more than anyone realized.
She remembered Rosehaven.
She remembered the mirrored rooms.
She remembered adults forcing children to repeat names that weren't theirs.
And she remembered meeting a little girl who looked almost exactly like her.
The girl everyone called Emily.
Lily had never understood why Charles insisted they stay apart.
Until she found the old transfer records.
Alexander squeezed her hand.
"Sophia won't blame you for what Charles did."
Lily looked uncertain.
"Promise?"
Alexander hesitated.
Then answered carefully.
"I can't promise how she'll feel. But I can promise that we'll tell her the truth."
At Blackwood House, Sophia received a new message.
This time, the sender identified himself.
Alexander Mercer.
I am alive. Lily is with me. We are coming to the authorities. Please do not allow Charles to reach either girl.
Sophia felt relief.
She immediately called the number.
Alexander answered.
"Sophia?"
Her throat tightened.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere safe for the moment."
"Is Lily with you?"
"Yes."
Sophia looked toward Margaret.
"We have investigators here. They can arrange for you to come in safely."
Alexander hesitated.
"Charles has people watching the roads."
Margaret took the phone.
"Mr. Mercer, this is Margaret Hale. We can coordinate through law enforcement. Don't travel to Blackwood House without an escort."
Alexander exhaled.
"Understood."
Sophia took the phone back.
"Alexander, I need to know something."
"Ask."
"Was Lily born in my delivery room?"
A long silence followed.
Then Alexander answered.
"She was present there."
Sophia closed her eyes.
"Was she my baby?"
"I don't know for certain."
Sophia felt the answer strike her.
"Then why were three infants there?"
Alexander's voice became strained.
"Charles brought the third child into the suite after your twins were delivered."
Sophia froze.
"Why?"
"He needed to alter the neonatal transfer records."
"What for?"
"To create a second female identity that could later be used in the succession agreement."
Sophia stared at the floor.
"So Lily wasn't necessarily mine."
"No."
"And Emily?"
Alexander hesitated.
"That is what Lily can help explain."
Sophia's pulse quickened.
"Why?"
"Because Lily remembers what happened at Rosehaven after the girls were brought there."
Sophia felt cold.
"Both girls were at Rosehaven?"
"Yes."
A terrible silence followed.
Alexander continued.
"One was later transferred to Willowbrook."
Sophia stopped breathing.
"The Emily I found?"
"Possibly."
"And the other?"
"Remained under the name Lily Mercer."
Sophia looked toward Margaret.
Then whispered, "Which one was my daughter?"
Alexander's voice became quiet.
"That's what Charles spent eight years trying to prevent anyone from proving."
Nearly an hour later, investigators escorted Alexander and Lily to a secure interview area at Blackwood House.
Sophia waited outside.
Her hands were trembling.
Margaret stood beside her.
"Remember," the retired detective said quietly, "the children may have been given conflicting stories. We need to hear Lily without putting pressure on her."
Sophia nodded.
She had learned enough to understand that memories could be shaped by fear.
Especially childhood memories.
Then the door opened.
Alexander entered first.
He looked exhausted.
His forehead was bandaged.
Sophia stared at him.
The man who claimed to be her biological father stood only a few feet away.
For a moment, she felt nothing.
No sudden recognition.
No instinctive connection.
Just uncertainty.
Alexander seemed to understand.
"Hello, Sophia."
She nodded.
"Hello."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time."
Sophia swallowed.
"We still need to establish the truth about our relationship."
Alexander nodded.
"Of course."
Then Lily appeared behind him.
Sophia's breath caught.
The little girl was small for her age.
Her dark hair was tied loosely behind her head.
She wore a faded blue jacket and held a canvas bag against her chest.
Her eyes were hazel.
Sophia felt something painful stir inside her.
Lily looked at her.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then the girl whispered, "You're Sophia."
Sophia knelt.
"Yes."
Lily studied her face.
"You look like the picture."
Sophia smiled sadly.
"Which picture?"
"The one Charles kept."
Sophia's expression changed.
"What picture?"
Lily reached into her bag.
She removed an old Polaroid.
Sophia recognized it immediately.
It showed her lying in a hospital bed.
Holding a newborn wrapped in pale yellow.
Toby.
The same photograph Martha had given him.
Sophia stared.
"Where did you get that?"
Lily looked toward Alexander.
Then answered.
"Charles had two copies."
Sophia felt cold.
Lily continued.
"He told me one belonged to the boy and one belonged to the girl."
Sophia's heartbeat accelerated.
"Which girl?"
Lily looked down.
"Me."
A silence followed.
Sophia slowly reached for Lily's hand.
The child allowed her to hold it.
"Lily, do you know Emily?"
The girl nodded.
"Yes."
"Is she your sister?"
Lily hesitated.
"I don't know."
Sophia swallowed.
"What do you remember?"
Lily looked toward Margaret.
Then toward Alexander.
The adults remained silent.
Finally, Lily spoke.
"When I was little, they made us switch rooms."
Sophia felt cold.
"Who?"
"Me and Emily."
"Why?"
"Because the lady said they were testing which one of us would remember the mother."
Sophia stared.
"What mother?"
Lily pointed toward her.
"You."
Sophia covered her mouth.
The child continued.
"They showed us your picture. They asked what we felt."
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
"What did you say?"
Lily lowered her eyes.
"I said I wanted you to come get me."
Sophia began crying silently.
"And Emily?"
"She said she wanted you too."
Sophia felt her heart breaking.
Two little girls.
Both raised without their mother.
Both shown photographs of a woman they were told belonged to someone else.
Lily continued.
"Then Charles got angry."
"Why?"
"Because we both answered the same."
Sophia looked toward Margaret.
The detective's expression had darkened.
Lily whispered, "After that, they changed our names."
Sophia froze.
"What?"
Lily nodded.
"They gave Emily my name."
Sophia stopped breathing.
"And what did they call you?"
The girl stared at her.
For several seconds, she didn't speak.
Then she whispered:
"Emily."
The room went silent.
Sophia felt the floor disappear beneath her.
Two girls.
Two names.
Repeated exchanges.
A program designed to make identity impossible to establish through memories alone.
Sophia looked at Lily.
"Which one of you was born Emily?"
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know anymore."
Sophia pulled her into a gentle embrace.
The little girl began crying.
For years, she had carried the burden of proving who she was.
Now Sophia understood that asking her to solve the mystery alone would only repeat the cruelty Charles inflicted.
She held Lily until her breathing slowed.
Then looked toward Margaret.
"We need the original genetic samples."
Margaret nodded.
"And properly verified chain-of-custody records."
Sophia looked toward Alexander.
"Do you know where Charles kept them?"
Alexander hesitated.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Saint Catherine's old east wing."
Sophia felt cold.
The same location Evelyn had mentioned at the hospice.
The same building Julian's company had purchased.
The same place where her children were born.
Alexander continued.
"Charles maintained a hidden laboratory beneath the maternity ward."
Margaret immediately contacted the investigators.
Sophia looked at Lily.
The child wiped her cheeks.
"Do I have to go back there?"
Sophia shook her head.
"No, sweetheart."
Lily studied her.
"Even if I'm not your daughter?"
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
"Even then."
The little girl began crying again.
This time, Sophia held her without asking another question.
That evening, investigators entered the abandoned east wing of Saint Catherine's Maternity Hospital.
Behind a sealed storage room, they discovered a concealed laboratory.
Inside were refrigerated biological samples, archived medical files, and several encrypted computers.
The evidence technicians began cataloging everything.
Then one investigator found a locked cabinet marked:
PROJECT MIRROR — ORIGINAL NEONATAL IDENTITIES
Inside were three sealed folders.
TOBIAS STERLING.
EMILY WHITMORE.
LILY MERCER.
Each contained photographs, medical records, and genetic reference numbers.
But the most important document was a handwritten note from Charles Voss.
It read:
Following the unsuccessful maternal recognition trials, Subjects B and C were reassigned.
The original identity must remain concealed until final succession authorization.
Beneath the note was a signature.
Not Charles Voss.
Not Beatrice.
Not Eleanor.
VICTORIA VALE.
At Blackwood House, Sophia received a photograph of the document.
She stared at the signature.
Victoria.
The woman who had helped Toby find her.
The woman who claimed to be secretly collecting evidence against Victor.
The woman who said she wanted to expose Charles.
Sophia immediately called her.
The line connected.
"Victoria."
A long silence followed.
Then the woman answered.
"You found the cabinet."
Sophia's blood ran cold.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"You knew the girls' identities had been switched."
"Yes."
Sophia felt tears gathering.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Victoria's voice trembled.
"Because I was trying to find the original samples before Charles destroyed them."
"And now?"
A pause.
Then Victoria whispered, "Now it's too late."
Sophia froze.
"What do you mean?"
Victoria began crying.
"Charles reached Saint Catherine's before the investigators."
Sophia's heart pounded.
"But they found the samples."
"Not all of them."
Sophia felt cold.
"Which ones are missing?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then answered.
"The original samples from both girls."
Sophia stared toward Lily, who was sitting beside Alexander.
"Then how do we establish who they are?"
Victoria's voice broke.
"There are duplicate records."
"Where?"
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
"With Charles."
Sophia's pulse thundered.
"And where is he?"
Victoria began breathing heavily.
"Sophia, listen carefully."
A door slammed somewhere behind her.
She gasped.
"Victoria?"
The woman's voice became urgent.
"Charles is coming for the girls."
Sophia froze.
"What?"
"He knows you've found Lily. He knows Emily is safe."
"Then we'll protect them."
Victoria's voice broke.
"You don't understand."
Sophia gripped the phone.
"Then explain!"
Victoria whispered the final words before the call disconnected.
"Charles isn't coming to take one girl, Sophia. He's coming to make sure neither can ever prove who she is."
Sophia stared at the silent screen.
Across the room, Lily looked up.
"Is something wrong?"
Sophia forced herself to remain calm.
"No, sweetheart."
But her phone vibrated again.
A new message appeared.
This time, it was a live image from the hospital where Emily was staying.
The little girl's room.
Her bed.
Her stuffed rabbit.
And an empty chair beside the window.
Sophia's heart stopped.
Then the camera moved.
Emily was standing near the doorway.
Beside her stood a man wearing a white medical coat.
Charles Voss.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then smiled.
A message appeared beneath the image.
COME ALONE, SOPHIA. OR THIS TIME, YOUR DAUGHTER REALLY WILL DISAPPEAR.