Chapter 7 - The Two Daughters Who Never Knew Each Other
Claire stared at Sophie.
The young woman stood beneath the hallway lights, wearing a pale sweater and a hospital identification bracelet.
She looked too much like Claire for anyone to dismiss the resemblance.
But Claire refused to believe what she had just heard.
“My father doesn't have another daughter.”
Sophie lowered her eyes.
“That's what they told me.”
Roman stepped between them.
“Who told you?”
Sophie glanced toward the nurses' station.
“Dr. Price.”
Roman felt his jaw tighten.
Claire moved closer.
“What exactly did he say?”
Sophie looked at her.
“He said my father was Patrick Sullivan. He said Patrick couldn't take care of me because I was sick.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't understand. My dad raised me by himself after my mom died. He worked two jobs. He made my school lunches. He came to every parent-teacher conference.”
Her voice cracked.
“He would never abandon his daughter.”
Sophie began to cry.
“I didn't say he wanted to.”
The words stopped Claire.
For a moment, the hallway was silent.
Then Roman spoke.
“Where is Patrick?”
Sophie pointed toward the far wing.
“Room fourteen.”
Roman turned to Aaron.
“Stay with them.”
But Claire grabbed his sleeve.
“I'm coming.”
Roman hesitated.
Then nodded.
They found Patrick Sullivan sitting beside a window overlooking a small garden.
He was thinner than Claire remembered.
His left arm rested motionless in his lap.
But when he saw his daughter, his eyes widened.
“Claire.”
His voice was weak.
She crossed the room in three steps.
“Daddy.”
She wrapped her good arm around him.
Patrick began to cry.
Roman turned away.
He had seen powerful men beg for mercy.
He had seen people pretend to feel remorse.
But there was nothing false in the way Patrick Sullivan held his daughter.
“I thought I'd lost you,” Claire whispered.
Patrick shook his head.
“Never.”
She pulled back.
“Why did they bring you here?”
Patrick looked toward the doorway.
His expression changed when he saw Roman.
“Castellano.”
Roman approached slowly.
“Mr. Sullivan. We need to talk.”
Patrick studied him.
“You look like your father.”
Roman felt the familiar sting.
“That's what everyone tells me.”
Patrick shook his head.
“Not a compliment.”
Claire looked between them.
“Dad, what's going on?”
Patrick closed his eyes.
“I was hoping you'd never have to know.”
Roman placed the silver bracelet on the bedside table.
Patrick stared at it.
Then his hands began to shake.
“Where did you get that?”
“Daniel.”
Patrick whispered something Roman couldn't hear.
“What?”
“Eleanor.”
Roman leaned closer.
“You knew her?”
Patrick nodded.
“She was a good woman.”
“Was she my mother?”
Patrick looked at him.
“No.”
Roman felt the answer strike like a physical blow.
He had expected it.
Still, hearing it hurt.
Patrick reached for the bracelet.
“She loved you as if you were hers. But she wasn't the woman who gave birth to you.”
Roman swallowed.
“Who was?”
Patrick's eyes filled.
“Anna Mercer.”
Roman sat down.
He had been searching for a name.
Now he had one.
And somehow it made the emptiness worse.
“Where is she?”
Patrick looked away.
“I don't know.”
Roman felt anger rising.
“You worked for my father. You helped hide his records. Don't tell me you know nothing.”
Patrick's face tightened.
Claire stepped forward.
“Roman.”
He stopped.
Patrick looked at his daughter.
“He's right.”
Claire stared.
“Dad?”
“I worked at St. Agnes. I kept the books. I knew money was moving through charitable accounts that should have been paying for sick children.”
“Why didn't you report it?”
“I tried.”
Patrick's voice cracked.
“Victor had friends in places I couldn't reach. People who signed papers without asking questions.”
Roman listened.
Patrick continued.
“Anna found evidence that he was stealing from the hospitals. She wanted to leave him and take Roman with her.”
Roman leaned forward.
“What happened?”
“Victor threatened to destroy her reputation. He said nobody would give custody to a woman accused of stealing medical funds.”
Roman clenched his fists.
“Did he frame her?”
Patrick nodded.
“Eleanor helped Anna disappear until they could clear her name.”
“Then why didn't she come back?”
Patrick covered his face.
“Because I failed her.”
Claire took his good hand.
“Dad, tell us.”
Patrick looked at Roman.
“Victor forced me to certify a transfer of funds that made Anna look guilty. I thought I was protecting my wife and my newborn daughter.”
Claire froze.
“Me?”
Patrick's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Roman looked at Sophie.
Then at Claire.
The truth was beginning to take shape.
Patrick had been trapped between powerful men and his family.
But one question remained.
“If Claire was your daughter, who was Sophie?”
Patrick stared at the floor.
“I didn't know about her until years later.”
Claire looked confused.
“What does that mean?”
Patrick swallowed.
“Your mother had another child.”
Claire's mouth fell open.
“A sister?”
Patrick nodded.
“Before she married me. She was told the baby had died shortly after birth.”
Sophie stepped into the room.
Her face was pale.
“That's what they told her?”
Patrick looked at the young woman.
And began to cry.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Sophie moved closer.
“Did you know about me?”
“Not at first.”
“Then when?”
Patrick struggled for breath.
“Seven years ago. I found a record that showed the baby had survived.”
Claire stared at him.
“Seven years?”
Patrick nodded.
“You found out you had another daughter seven years ago and never told me?”
“I was trying to find her.”
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
Claire stepped back.
Her face was filled with a grief Roman recognized.
The grief of discovering that someone you trusted had made choices about your life without asking you.
Sophie looked at Patrick.
“Did you try to get me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you?”
Patrick looked toward the door.
“Because the people controlling the medical trust told me they would withdraw your treatment if I challenged your guardianship.”
Sophie went pale.
Roman suddenly understood Natalie's fear.
Both families had been controlled through the same threat.
Medical care.
Money.
The lives of people they loved.
Aaron appeared at the doorway.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Roman stood.
“What?”
“Calvin Price is here. He came through the rear entrance.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Keep him from leaving.”
Aaron hesitated.
“He isn't trying to leave.”
“What does he want?”
Aaron looked toward Patrick.
“He says he wants to make a statement. But only after speaking with Roman.”
Roman walked into the corridor.
Dr. Price stood beside the administrator.
He looked older than Roman remembered.
Tired.
His hands trembled.
Roman approached.
“Why did you transfer Patrick Sullivan?”
Price looked past him.
“Because he was going to tell you everything.”
Roman stepped closer.
“And you wanted to stop him?”
Price shook his head.
“No.”
Roman stared.
“Then why?”
“Because somebody else wanted him dead.”
Roman felt a cold sensation beneath his ribs.
“Who?”
Price removed a folded photograph from his jacket.
It showed Daniel standing beside a woman at a train station.
The photograph was dated six months earlier.
Two days after Daniel's reported death.
Roman stared at it.
Then Price spoke.
“Your brother wasn't the only person who was supposed to die in that boating accident.”
Roman looked up.
May you like
Price's voice became barely audible.
“You were.”
