Catherine Sterling did not deny knowing Luna was Rachel Mercer\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
That hurt more than Luna expected.<\/p>\n
They met in Eleanor\u2019s home because Luna refused to have the conversation at the penthouse.<\/p>\n
Adam sat near her.<\/p>\n
Rebecca joined.<\/p>\n
Derek came reluctantly after Luna insisted.<\/p>\n
Catherine entered last.<\/p>\n
One look at Rebecca beside Luna told her the DNA results.<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine set down her bag.<\/p>\n
No one offered her a chair.<\/p>\n
She took one anyway.<\/p>\n
Derek looked between his mother and Luna.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew she was adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor part of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed Luna was mine when Victor brought her home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Luna stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had lost a pregnancy several months earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt Luna go still beside him.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was ill afterward. Depressed. Victor traveled constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward Eleanor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor nodded.<\/p>\n
Catherine\u2019s voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day he brought home an infant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cLuna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me the child belonged to a distant employee who had died. He said the mother could not care for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor arranged the adoption privately. He told me it was legal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never questioned where a baby suddenly came from?\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had just lost one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer shut him up.<\/p>\n
Not because it excused anything.<\/p>\n
Because pain had made the decision understandable.<\/p>\n
Catherine looked toward Luna.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved you immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s expression did not move.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also left.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came quietly.<\/p>\n
Catherine\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by the time I learned the truth, staying near Victor had become unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna crossed her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you learn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour sixteenth birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel had said the same.<\/p>\n
Catherine explained.<\/p>\n
An anonymous envelope arrived.<\/p>\n
Inside were copies of Luna\u2019s original birth records and a photograph of Rachel holding two newborn girls.<\/p>\n
A note read:<\/p>\n
Ask Victor what he took from Michael Reeves.<\/p>\n
Catherine confronted Victor.<\/p>\n
He admitted the adoption.<\/p>\n
Not the kidnapping.<\/p>\n
Not fully.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me Rachel was unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca made an angry sound.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Michael\u2019s death had broken her. That she could not care for twins. That she had agreed to give one child up and later changed her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna asked, \u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek swore quietly.<\/p>\n
Catherine ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel told me you had been taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you still said nothing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid you would leave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The selfishness of it hung naked in the room.<\/p>\n
Catherine did not soften it.<\/p>\n
Did not call it protection.<\/p>\n
Did not hide behind Victor.<\/p>\n
She simply said it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid you would stop being my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked away.<\/p>\n
Adam saw her jaw tighten.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also believed Victor would destroy Rachel and take Rebecca if we challenged him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca said, \u201cMy mother believed the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo both of you surrendered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s anger weakened into exhaustion.<\/p>\n
Derek stood and walked toward the fireplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
He laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realize this evening is not primarily about me. That may be healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one smiled.<\/p>\n
He turned to Catherine.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Father steal me too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I actually yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. One administrative certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine looked wounded.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Luna was not my biological sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you raised us as siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever intend to tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek turned toward Luna.<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
Twenty-eight years of competition.<\/p>\n
Jealousy.<\/p>\n
Manipulation.<\/p>\n
Their father had used blood, inheritance, and identity like pieces on a board.<\/p>\n
Derek sat slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did he take Luna?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
Derek looked toward Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael had two daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy steal one?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
They all turned.<\/p>\n
Eleanor looked pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have understood sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s voice became cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Victor held one of Michael\u2019s heirs inside his own family, Rachel could never challenge him without risking the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt sick.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cHuman collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Eleanor said.<\/p>\n
Catherine covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Derek stared at Luna.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then he made her inherit Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor nodded.<\/p>\n
The cruelty deepened.<\/p>\n
Victor had taken Michael\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
Raised her as his own.<\/p>\n
Then arranged for much of the company stolen from Michael to pass to her through the trust.<\/p>\n
Adam understood the warped logic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought he was correcting it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy lying to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine whispered, \u201cHe may have believed giving Luna control eventually returned Michael\u2019s company to Michael\u2019s bloodline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made restitution without admitting guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek laughed in disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis does not redeem him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
Nobody disagreed.<\/p>\n
Derek paced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the marriage clause\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if that was part of it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFather knew you weren\u2019t biologically Sterling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted you to keep control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he also distrusted relationships. He thought people without family attachments became reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine looked toward the floor.<\/p>\n
Derek said, \u201cThe marriage condition may have been his way of forcing you to build a family before inheriting Michael\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is monstrous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam felt her hand find his.<\/p>\n
Not deliberately.<\/p>\n
Instinctively.<\/p>\n
Derek noticed.<\/p>\n
For once, he said nothing.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because Graham steered you toward Daniel\u2019s son, Victor\u2019s plan ended with Michael\u2019s daughter married to the son of the man who kept the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis family needs fewer dead strategists.\u201d<\/p>\n
That broke the tension enough for Rebecca to laugh.<\/p>\n
Even Luna smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
Then Catherine said something that erased it.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor did not know Graham would choose Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
Adam frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGraham was not part of Victor\u2019s original plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham had claimed otherwise.<\/p>\n
Catherine continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor established Meridian. Daniel was protector. But Graham became administrative trustee only after Victor died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho appointed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father appointed Graham?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine looked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps Daniel wanted someone who could investigate the Sterlings from outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Graham corrupted everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam thought of Daniel\u2019s final envelope.<\/p>\n
The photograph outside the hospital.<\/p>\n
Graham is not working for Derek.<\/p>\n
Daniel had known Graham.<\/p>\n
Perhaps trusted him once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n
Naomi, who had been reviewing security files remotely, called at that exact moment.<\/p>\n
Adam answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial records from Graham\u2019s firm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam put her on speaker.<\/p>\n
Naomi continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cLarge payments began eighteen months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Bellweather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNorthstar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA private account in Switzerland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeneficial owner was concealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naomi paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI traced it through a compliance archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna felt Adam tense.<\/p>\n
\u201cName.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naomi answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine went white.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cThe security contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man linked to Michael\u2019s sabotaged car.<\/p>\n
Adam stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Naomi said, \u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor sat.<\/p>\n
Everyone had assumed the crimes belonged to dead men.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Michael.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
But Samuel Pike had never been confirmed dead.<\/p>\n
He would now be in his seventies.<\/p>\n
Luna asked, \u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam thought of Graham\u2019s shift.<\/p>\n
He may have begun as Daniel\u2019s investigator.<\/p>\n
Then Pike found him.<\/p>\n
Paid him.<\/p>\n
Turned him.<\/p>\n
Derek said, \u201cWhy would Pike care about Sterling now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knows what happened to my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if Victor used him, he may know more than the tape proves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine whispered, \u201cHe could testify.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked toward the old records.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he is willing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s phone rang again.<\/p>\n
Graham.<\/p>\n
Adam almost declined.<\/p>\n
Then answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham sounded frightened.<\/p>\n
Not calculating.<\/p>\n
Frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPike knows you found the adoption records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe monitors the old Sterling archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham heard her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if the truth becomes complete, Victor is not the only person exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said, \u201cWhere is Pike?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took his money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo find him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Graham said, \u201cI think he already found you.\u201d<\/p>\n
A crash came from outside.<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
The windows at the rear of Eleanor\u2019s house flashed white.<\/p>\n
Then the lights went out.<\/p>\n
Catherine screamed.<\/p>\n
Naomi\u2019s voice burst through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet away from the windows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam grabbed Luna.<\/p>\n
Derek pulled Catherine behind the stone fireplace.<\/p>\n
Rebecca dropped beside the sofa.<\/p>\n
Another flash.<\/p>\n
This one followed by the unmistakable roar of an explosion from the detached archive building behind the house.<\/p>\n
Flames rose into the night.<\/p>\n
Eleanor stared through the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam understood.<\/p>\n
Pike was not trying to kill them.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
He was burning evidence.<\/p>\n
Luna looked at the flames.<\/p>\n
Then at Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows we\u2019re close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam tightened his grip on her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He watched the archive building burn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows we\u2019re closer than he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine Sterling did not deny knowing Luna was Rachel Mercer\u2019s daughter. That hurt more than Luna expected. They met in Eleanor\u2019s home because Luna refused to have the conversation at … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6617,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions\/6617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}