CHAPTER 7 THE SECRET WRITTEN BEFORE SHE WAS BORN
THROWN AWAY LIKE GARBAGE
The ambulance screamed through downtown Chicago while rain hammered against the windshield.
Daniel never let go of Ava's hand.
She lay on the stretcher, breathing through another contraction as monitors tracked both her heartbeat and the baby's.
"Stay with me," Daniel whispered.
"I'm trying."
"You don't have to try."
Ava forced a weak smile.
"I think I do."
Dr. Patel met them outside the emergency entrance.
She took one look at Ava's chart before turning to the trauma team.
"Operating Room Two. NICU on standby."
Daniel's stomach tightened.
"Is the baby coming?"
"We're doing everything possible to stop the labor."
"And if you can't?"
"We deliver."
The doors swung closed, leaving Daniel alone in the corridor.
His suit was soaked with rain.
His hands still carried traces of dust from the underground tunnel.
His mother was being treated two floors above.
Victor Hale was under armed guard.
His father—who had supposedly died eight years earlier—was giving a statement to federal investigators.
None of it mattered.
Only Ava mattered.
Marcus arrived twenty minutes later.
"They've transferred Victor to federal custody."
Daniel nodded without looking up.
"Evelyn survived surgery."
Another nod.
Marcus sat beside him.
"There was something else."
Daniel finally looked over.
"The FBI searched Victor's warehouse."
"And?"
"They found thirty-six boxes."
"Company records?"
"Some."
"What else?"
Marcus slid a sealed evidence bag across the chair between them.
Inside was a faded photograph.
Daniel immediately recognized Ava.
She looked about four years old.
Standing beside her was Samuel Bennett.
Behind them...
Charles Blackwood.
Daniel frowned.
"No."
Marcus said quietly,
"The forensic team confirmed it."
Daniel stared at the picture.
"It can't be."
"The photograph is original."
Daniel's pulse accelerated.
His father had known Ava as a child.
Years before Daniel ever met her.
Years before the museum fundraiser.
Years before Evelyn supposedly investigated Samuel Bennett.
He flipped the photograph over.
A single sentence had been written in black ink.
Protect Bluebird.
His father had signed it.
Charles.
Three hours later...
Dr. Patel walked into the waiting room.
Daniel stood instantly.
"How is she?"
"Ava is stable."
"And our son?"
"The contractions have stopped."
Daniel released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"We managed to delay labor."
"When can I see her?"
"In a few minutes."
She hesitated.
"There is something else."
Daniel's heart sank again.
"What?"
"Ava asked us to perform additional blood work."
"Why?"
"She wanted confirmation after something Victor said."
Daniel remembered Victor's final words.
Ask Charles why Ava was chosen before she was born.
"What did the tests show?"
Dr. Patel looked uncomfortable.
"They're not finished."
"But?"
"We discovered something unexpected."
"What?"
"Ava's medical records were altered years ago."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Her blood type listed in several childhood records doesn't match today's results."
"Clerical error?"
"Possibly."
"But you don't think so."
"No."
Daniel felt the same cold feeling returning.
Someone had changed Ava's records.
Years ago.
Long before she met him.
Charles Blackwood waited inside an FBI interview room.
For eight years, Daniel had imagined what it would feel like to see his father again.
He had imagined anger.
Relief.
Questions.
He had never imagined distrust.
Charles stood as Daniel entered.
"I heard Ava is stable."
Daniel remained standing.
"You knew her."
Charles nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Once."
"You expect me to believe this was one meeting?"
Charles looked down.
"I hoped I'd never have to explain."
Daniel placed the photograph on the table.
"You will."
Charles stared at it for a long moment.
"I took that picture."
"Why?"
"Samuel invited me."
Daniel said nothing.
Charles continued.
"He saved my life."
Daniel blinked.
"What?"
"The poisoning had already begun."
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"So you asked Samuel for help?"
Charles nodded.
"He trusted almost no one."
"But he trusted Samuel."
"Because Samuel refused to lie."
Daniel folded his arms.
"So why is Ava there?"
Charles smiled faintly.
"She wouldn't stop asking me questions."
Daniel looked at the little girl smiling into the camera.
"What kind of questions?"
"'Why are grown-ups always sad?'"
Charles laughed quietly.
"She asked if I wanted to color with her."
Daniel remained silent.
"I hadn't laughed in months."
Charles looked directly at him.
"She reminded me of you."
Daniel's expression softened only slightly.
"You still haven't answered Victor."
Charles closed his eyes.
"Samuel told me something that day."
"What?"
"If anything happened to him..."
Charles hesitated.
"...he asked me to watch over Ava."
Daniel stared.
"So that's why."
Charles nodded.
"I promised."
"But then you disappeared."
"I thought Victor would kill anyone connected to me."
"You abandoned that promise."
Charles's shoulders lowered.
"Yes."
Meanwhile...
Ava woke inside her hospital room.
The first thing she noticed was silence.
The second...
Rachel sitting beside her bed.
Neither woman spoke for several seconds.
Finally Ava broke the silence.
"Are you leaving again?"
Rachel's eyes filled immediately.
"No."
"You've said that before."
"I know."
Ava looked toward the ceiling.
"When I was twelve..."
Rachel listened.
"...I waited three hours after my school play."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"You never came."
"I know."
"You promised."
"I know."
"I told everyone my mom was stuck in traffic."
Rachel covered her face.
"The truth?"
Ava continued.
"You'd forgotten."
Rachel began crying.
"I remembered halfway there."
"You turned around?"
"No."
Ava finally looked at her.
"I was ashamed."
Rachel whispered,
"I couldn't face you."
Ava let the silence answer.
After almost a minute...
Rachel stood.
"You don't have to forgive me."
"I don't."
Rachel nodded.
"I'll spend the rest of my life earning the chance."
She quietly left the room.
Ava watched the door close.
Then tears finally came.
Not because of Victor.
Not because of Evelyn.
Because she realized she had been grieving her mother...
...while her mother was still alive.
Late that evening...
Marcus entered Daniel's office carrying another evidence folder.
"We decrypted one of Victor's hard drives."
Daniel looked up.
"What did you find?"
Marcus placed a family tree on the desk.
Names connected by red lines.
Photographs.
Dates.
Samuel Bennett.
Rachel Bennett.
Ava Bennett.
Charles Blackwood.
Daniel Blackwood.
One final name sat at the top.
Unknown Female.
Birth records sealed.
Below it...
One handwritten sentence.
Project Bluebird.
Daniel stared.
His chest tightened.
Marcus spoke quietly.
"There's another page."
Daniel turned it over.
His world stopped.
According to Victor's files...
Samuel Bennett hadn't been protecting Ava because she was his daughter.
He had been protecting her...
...because someone else wanted her first.
And under "Biological Father"...
the file did not say Samuel Bennett.
It was blacked out.
Only two words remained visible.
May you like
BLACKWOOD BLOOD.
