Chapter 11: She Thought She Ruled This Mansion—Until the Door Swung Open and Her Worst Nightmare Stepped Inside
Chapter 11: The Girl Who Never Knew
Silence lingered inside the hidden library.
No one spoke.
The recording had ended.
Yet William Blackwood's final words echoed through the chamber like a ghost.
"The fifth key... is your eldest daughter."
Sebastian remained frozen before the dark screen.
His father had never lied.
Not once.
If William had said there was another daughter...
Then there was.
Olivia slowly lowered herself into a nearby chair.
Her face had gone pale.
"I remember..."
Everyone turned toward her.
She pressed trembling fingers against her temple.
"It was the night Emily was born."
Ryan Mercer knelt beside her.
"What do you remember?"
Olivia closed her eyes.
"The labor lasted almost twenty hours."
"There were complications."
"I lost consciousness."
She swallowed hard.
"When I woke up..."
She looked at Sebastian.
"...they told me I had given birth to one little girl."
Sebastian frowned.
"They told me the same thing."
Mrs. Harper whispered,
"So someone lied to both of you."
Olivia nodded.
"I always thought something felt wrong."
Emily stepped closer.
"What do you mean?"
Tears welled in Olivia's eyes.
"I kept dreaming that I heard another baby crying."
The room fell silent.
"I asked the nurses."
"They said I was confused because of the anesthesia."
Sebastian's expression darkened.
"I asked why I wasn't allowed to see you for several hours."
"What did they say?" Ryan asked.
"They claimed Emily needed emergency treatment."
Emily looked shocked.
"I've never had any medical problems."
"Exactly," Sebastian replied.
The missing hours.
The unanswered questions.
They finally mattered.
Ryan took out his notebook.
"Where was Emily born?"
Sebastian answered immediately.
"St. Catherine Medical Center."
Ryan looked up.
"In Zurich."
Olivia nodded.
"It closed three years later."
Ryan frowned.
"Closed?"
"Officially because of financial problems."
Sebastian shook his head.
"No."
"They were cleaning up."
Before anyone could continue—
The steel door behind them suddenly locked itself.
A loud metallic clang echoed through the chamber.
Oliver spun around.
"What was that?"
The electronic voice returned.
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED
Ryan drew his pistol.
"Who's there?"
The computer ignored him.
WELCOME... DR. ELIAS ROWAN
Every monitor in the hidden library flickered to life.
A man in his late sixties appeared on the screens.
White hair.
Sharp blue eyes.
A neatly pressed gray suit.
He looked exhausted.
Not dangerous.
Regretful.
"My name is Dr. Elias Rowan."
He looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this, then they have already found you."
Ryan frowned.
"This isn't live."
"No."
Olivia stared at the screen.
"I know him."
Everyone looked at her.
"He delivered Emily."
Dr. Rowan continued.
"I owe your family the truth."
He took a long breath.
"Seventeen years ago, Olivia Blackwood gave birth to twin daughters."
Emily gasped.
Twins.
Sebastian slowly sat down.
He suddenly felt unable to stand.
Dr. Rowan's voice cracked.
"Both girls were healthy."
"But only one left the hospital with her parents."
Oliver whispered,
"No..."
The doctor lowered his head.
"The other infant..."
"...was taken."
Olivia burst into tears.
Sebastian wrapped an arm around her.
"Who took her?"
As if answering the question, Dr. Rowan looked straight into the camera.
"The Woman in White."
Ryan felt a chill run through him.
"We still don't know her name."
"You never will," the recording answered.
"She has erased it from history."
The doctor reached for a faded file.
"I refused to cooperate."
"I tried to alert the authorities."
He smiled sadly.
"They made it look like I had fabricated everything."
Mrs. Harper covered her mouth.
"So all these years..."
The doctor nodded.
"I have lived under another identity."
He looked directly at Sebastian.
"I am sorry."
"I failed your family."
The image flickered.
For a second, heavy digital interference distorted the screen.
Then another face briefly appeared.
The Woman in White.
She was younger.
Standing beside William Blackwood.
Sebastian's heart stopped.
"What..."
The image disappeared as quickly as it came.
Ryan replayed the frame.
Again.
Again.
There was no mistake.
William Blackwood...
...and the Woman in White...
...had known each other.
Sebastian couldn't believe it.
"My father..."
Olivia stared in disbelief.
"He worked with her?"
"No," Ryan said quietly.
"Or against her."
Dr. Rowan resumed speaking.
"William Blackwood discovered the truth too late."
"He spent the last years of his life hiding evidence."
"He knew one day Sebastian would return."
The doctor reached toward the camera.
"If you want to find your eldest daughter..."
"...go to Switzerland."
He held up an old photograph.
A mountain village.
A stone church.
A lake.
On the back, one sentence was written.
Saint Aldwyn Academy
The recording ended.
The room fell silent once more.
Ryan immediately took out his phone.
"I'm calling Interpol."
"No."
Everyone turned toward Sebastian.
Ryan frowned.
"Why not?"
Sebastian looked at the photograph.
"If the Woman in White has people inside governments..."
"...she'll know before we even land."
Olivia nodded.
"He's right."
Emily looked from one parent to the other.
"So we go alone?"
Sebastian smiled faintly.
"No."
He looked at Ryan.
"I know someone."
"Who?"
Sebastian's expression became unreadable.
"The only person my father ever trusted."
Before Ryan could ask another question—
The library lights flickered.
Then every screen turned on again.
Unlike before...
This time it was live.
The Woman in White smiled calmly from the center monitor.
"Good afternoon, Sebastian."
Everyone froze.
She could see them.
She looked directly into the camera.
"I wondered how long it would take you to reach the library."
Ryan immediately searched for the camera.
"There!"
He aimed his pistol.
"Don't."
The Woman in White smiled.
"You'll only damage your own equipment."
She folded her hands.
"I've watched every step you've taken since you left the chapel."
Oliver stepped in front of Emily instinctively.
"What do you want?"
She looked at him with unexpected warmth.
"You've grown exactly as I hoped."
Olivia's voice shook with anger.
"You stole my child."
The Woman in White did not deny it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She was silent for a long moment.
When she finally answered...
Her voice carried neither pride nor cruelty.
Only certainty.
"Because if I hadn't..."
"...she would have died."
The chamber fell silent.
No one knew whether to believe her.
Then she said something that changed everything.
"The child you are searching for has never been your prisoner."
A pause.
"She has been your protector."
The screen switched to a live image.
A seventeen-year-old girl stood on a snow-covered balcony overlooking the Swiss Alps.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
She looked remarkably like Olivia.
Around her neck hung the other half of Oliver's silver locket.
The girl stared into the distance, completely unaware she was being watched.
The Woman in White smiled softly.
"Allow me to introduce..."
"...your daughter."
The screen went black.
Sebastian's reflection stared back at him.
For the second time in his life...
He had just met his child.
May you like
And she had no idea he existed.
To Be Continued...
