Chapter 2 - Shadows in Maple Valley
Robert drove into Maple Valley late that afternoon, the engine of his dark SUV humming against the quiet rural roads. Following the address Caroline had tracked down, he pulled up to a dilapidated single-story house surrounded by rusting machinery and tall weeds.
He stepped out of the vehicle, his heart hammering against his ribs. Five years of grief, five years of empty quiet, all condensing into this single moment.
He knocked firmly on the wooden door. Moments later, the door creaked open, revealing a frail, disheveled woman with hollow eyes and graying hair. Margaret Vance looked far older than her forty years.
When her eyes met Robert’s, her face drained of what little color it had. She tried to slam the door, but Robert pushed his weight against it, stepping inside the cluttered living room.
"Mr. Blackwood..." she gasped, backing away until her knees hit a worn sofa. "What are you doing here?"
"Five years ago, Margaret," Robert said, his voice dangerously calm, though his hands shook. "Five years ago, my wife died on Highway 101. My daughter was declared dead at the hospital. But you were there that night."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Margaret panicked, looking toward the hallway. "I was just doing my job—"
"You took fifty thousand dollars!" Robert snapped, stepping closer. "Where did the money come from, Margaret? Who paid Dr. Harrison to sign that death certificate?"
Margaret collapsed onto the couch, bursting into tears. The guilt that had consumed her for half a decade finally broke through her defense.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like that!" she sobbed. "I was broke... I was going to lose my house. Dr. Harrison told me the child was unharmed, that a wealthy family in Oregon wanted a baby and would pay anything. He said you were a billionaire, that you could survive the loss, but I needed the money..."
Robert felt the world tilt beneath his feet. "You stole my daughter."
"I took her from the hospital before you arrived!" Margaret wept. "But the family in Oregon backed out at the last second. They got scared of the police investigation. I couldn't bring her back without going to prison! So I kept her... I raised her as my niece. I named her Emma."
Robert stared at the broken woman, a cocktail of furious rage and overwhelming relief crashing through him. Emma was Charlotte. His daughter was alive.
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"Where is Dr. Harrison now?" Robert demanded.
Before Margaret could answer, the front door burst open. A tall man with sharp features and a leather jacket stepped inside, holding a set of keys. It was Dr. Harrison.
