CHAPTER 5 — The Truth Buried for Twenty-Eight Years
CHAPTER 5 — The Truth Buried for Twenty-Eight Years
The airport around us seemed to disappear.
I could hear nothing except the pounding of my own heartbeat.
I looked from the faded photograph... to Arthur Frost.
Then back again.
"No," I whispered.
"This is impossible."
Arthur remained silent.
Desmond took the photograph from my trembling hands.
His face drained of color.
The resemblance was undeniable.
The woman in the picture looked exactly like me.
Same blue-gray eyes.
Same dark curls.
Even the tiny birthmark beneath the left ear.
"Maya..." Desmond said carefully.
"Did your parents ever tell you that you were adopted?"
I shook my head immediately.
"My mother died when I was twelve."
"My father always said she gave birth to me during a storm in North Carolina."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"He lied."
My knees nearly gave out.
"What?"
Arthur motioned toward one of his bodyguards.
The man opened a leather briefcase and removed several yellowed documents.
Birth records.
Hospital reports.
Police files.
One document immediately caught my eye.
INFANT FEMALE — MISSING
Date: October 18, 1998.
Location: Charlotte Memorial Hospital.
Parents:
Elizabeth Frost
Father: Unknown
I stared at the name.
Elizabeth Frost.
The woman in the photograph.
Arthur's daughter.
"My daughter was twenty-two," Arthur said quietly.
"She refused an arranged marriage."
"She fell in love with an ordinary man."
"When she became pregnant, she disappeared before the family could stop her."
He swallowed hard.
"Three days after giving birth, someone kidnapped the baby."
"The police never found her."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"We buried an empty coffin."
Tears filled my vision.
"No..."
"My father..."
Arthur interrupted softly.
"The man who raised you loved you."
"I don't doubt that."
"But according to the DNA records I ordered last month..."
"...he wasn't your biological father."
I felt the ground sway beneath me.
Everything I believed about my life...
was collapsing.
Suddenly one of Arthur's security guards spoke into his earpiece.
His expression changed instantly.
"Sir."
"We have a problem."
"What happened?"
"The private jet scheduled to leave fifteen minutes ago..."
"...never existed."
Arthur frowned.
"What?"
"The registration number is fake."
Every muscle in Arthur's body stiffened.
"Move the children."
"Now."
Outside the airport...
a white delivery van exploded.
BOOM!
The blast shattered windows across the terminal.
Passengers screamed.
Smoke filled the entrance.
The triplets cried in terror.
Desmond scooped Oliver into his arms while I grabbed the girls.
Arthur's security formed a protective circle around us.
"This wasn't meant to kill anyone," Arthur muttered.
"It was a distraction."
His head snapped toward the arrivals exit.
Three black SUVs were speeding directly toward the terminal.
The same vehicles Desmond had seen underground.
"They're here."
Gunfire erupted.
Airport police dove for cover.
Arthur shouted one command.
"Protect the children!"
The attackers ignored everyone else.
They wanted only one target.
My triplets.
One masked man broke through the chaos and lunged toward Emma.
I screamed.
Before I could reach her—
Desmond threw himself between them.
The attacker fired.
A deafening crack echoed through the terminal.
Desmond staggered backward.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
"No!"
I caught him before he hit the floor.
He gritted his teeth.
"I'm okay..."
But he wasn't.
The gunman reached for Emma again.
Suddenly—
BANG!
Another shot rang out.
The attacker collapsed instantly.
Everyone turned.
Standing twenty feet away was a silver-haired woman holding a handgun with steady hands.
She lowered the weapon.
Then looked directly at Arthur.
"You always were too slow, old man."
Arthur froze.
His voice barely escaped.
May you like
"...Victoria?"
The woman smiled.
"Hello, Father."
