Chapter 13 - THE FINAL RECORDINGI inserted the memory card into Grandma's tablet.
A video appeared.
A hospital room.
Seven years earlier.
A nurse stood beside two bassinets.
Then a younger Vanessa appeared.
She was holding a newborn baby.
Lily.
She whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
Then the screen changed.
A man entered the room.
He looked directly into the camera.
Victor's father.
He said:
“If this recording survives, my son will come for the inheritance.”
The video continued.
“I know what my family has done.”
He placed a document beside the baby.
“And I know the only person I can trust is Eleanor Caldwell.”
Grandma covered her mouth.
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“I promised your husband I would protect Lily.”
Daniel looked down.
“But you failed.”
Grandma's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Then the video ended.
One final sentence appeared on the screen.
THE CHILD MUST NEVER KNOW WHO HER FATHER REALLY WAS.
I looked at Lily.
She was seven years old.
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She didn't understand any of it.
And somehow, that was the part that hurt the most.
