Chapter 2: The Name Beneath Ellie’s
I wasn’t going to warn him again.
Grant reached for Ellie, but I stepped back.
“Don’t touch my daughter.”
“She’s my daughter too,” he snapped.
“And soon a judge will decide where she belongs.”
The blonde woman squeezed his arm.
“Grant, stop talking.”
That was when Ellie woke and whispered, “Mommy, why is Daddy angry?”
I held her closer as two hotel security officers approached.
Grant’s confidence returned.
“My wife is confused,” he told them.
“I’m taking my child home.”
Then the satellite phone vibrated.
A confidential file filled the screen.
Beneath **BLUEBIRD BENEFICIARY: ELLIE MERCER** was another line:
**CONTINGENT GUARDIAN: VANESSA COLE.**
I slowly looked at the woman beside my husband.
“Vanessa?”
Her face lost all color.
Grant grabbed her wrist.
“You said that page was gone.”
The lobby fell silent.
I turned the screen toward him.
“Why is your mistress named as my daughter’s guardian?”
Before Grant could answer, the hotel manager hurried toward me holding a sealed envelope.
“Mrs.
Mercer,” he said, “your late father left instructions.
This was to be delivered only if Grant ever tried to take Ellie.”
Grant lunged for it—but the manager pulled it away.
Then Vanessa whispered five words that made my hands shake.
“Mara, Ellie isn’t the first.”
May you like
Who was the first—and what had Grant hidden from Mara?
Click the link below to read the full story.
