Chapter 2
No one in the mansion moved.
The only sound was the ticking of the enormous grandfather clock in the foyer.
Daniel stared at his grandmother as though she had become a stranger.
His voice was barely audible.
"What..."
"...did you just say?"
Eleanor couldn't meet his eyes.
Instead, she looked at the shattered porcelain scattered across the marble floor.
"I've lived with this secret every day for twenty-six years."
"And I don't deserve your forgiveness."
Clara felt her knees weaken.
"So..."
"I'm not your granddaughter?"
Eleanor looked up immediately.
"No."
"You are someone's daughter."
"You were always someone's daughter."
"You simply weren't born into this family."
Clara's tears began falling again.
"Then..."
"...who am I?"
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"I don't know."
A wave of whispers spread through the crowd.
"She switched babies?"
"How is that possible?"
"Why would anyone do something like that?"
Daniel finally raised his voice.
"WHY?"
His shout echoed through the mansion.
Guests flinched.
"I've spent my entire life searching for my sister!"
"My parents died believing she'd been stolen!"
"You let us grieve..."
"...for twenty-six years!"
Eleanor sobbed.
"I know."
She slowly stood, leaning on her cane.
"There was another baby born that night."
"The daughter of a seventeen-year-old housemaid."
The guests exchanged stunned glances.
Eleanor continued.
"She gave birth only twenty minutes after your mother."
"The babies were born in neighboring rooms."
Daniel frowned.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Eleanor whispered,
"Everything."
She looked toward the enormous Ashford family portrait hanging above the staircase.
"Your grandfather..."
"...made a terrible mistake."
Nobody breathed.
"He had an affair."
The room erupted with gasps.
"The young housemaid became pregnant."
Clara covered her mouth.
Daniel shook his head.
"No..."
"No..."
Eleanor nodded through tears.
"Your grandfather ordered everyone to keep it secret."
"If the scandal became public..."
"The Ashford name would be destroyed."
"But then..."
"The impossible happened."
She struggled to continue.
"Your mother went into labor the very same night."
"Two babies."
"Two little girls."
"One born into wealth."
"One born into scandal."
Her voice broke.
"And I made the worst decision of my life."
Daniel felt sick.
"You..."
"...switched them."
Eleanor nodded.
"I told myself I was protecting the family."
"I convinced myself the poor child would have a better life."
"I believed everyone would eventually heal."
She looked at Clara.
"I was wrong."
Clara's entire body trembled.
"So..."
"I grew up believing I was unwanted..."
"When my real mother..."
"...never abandoned me?"
Eleanor burst into tears.
"She searched for you."
"For years."
"She begged hospitals."
"She hired investigators."
"She never stopped."
Clara collapsed into a nearby chair.
"My mother..."
"...was looking for me?"
Before Eleanor could answer...
A deep voice interrupted from the back of the room.
"No."
Every head turned.
An elderly man stepped forward.
He wore a black suit and carried a weathered leather briefcase.
Daniel frowned.
"Mr. Whitmore?"
The family attorney nodded slowly.
"I hoped this day would never come."
Eleanor looked horrified.
"You..."
"You knew?"
Whitmore sighed.
"For twenty-six years."
The guests stared in disbelief.
Whitmore carefully opened his briefcase.
Inside was a thick sealed envelope.
Across the front were written four words.
OPEN ONLY IF SHE CONFESSES
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
"What is that?"
Whitmore looked directly at Eleanor.
"A letter."
"From your late grandfather."
Eleanor's face lost all color.
"No..."
Whitmore broke the seal.
"I was instructed to read this aloud if the truth was ever revealed."
The mansion became silent once again.
Whitmore unfolded the yellowed pages.
Then read the first sentence.
'If Eleanor has finally confessed...'
'...then she has told only half of the truth.'
A stunned silence filled the room.
Daniel looked from the attorney to his grandmother.
"What..."
"...does that mean?"
Whitmore slowly lowered the letter.
His voice grew even quieter.
"Because..."
"...the baby everyone believed was switched..."
"...wasn't the only child who disappeared that night."
Eleanor suddenly screamed.
"NO!"
She lunged toward the attorney, trying to snatch the letter from his hands.
But she was too late.
Whitmore continued reading.
'The baby they buried...'
He stopped, visibly shaken.
Then looked up at the horrified crowd.
May you like
'...was never dead.'
The room exploded into chaos.
