Emma almost laughed.
"Danger?"
A strange expression crossed Richard's face.
"Emma, there is something else."
Before he could continue, the lights flickered.
Both of them looked toward the hallway.
Richard's security chief entered quickly.
"Sir."
Richard's expression changed.
"What happened?"
"We've lost contact with the east gate."
"Call the team."
"They're not responding."
Emma's heartbeat accelerated.
The security chief looked at her.
"Mr. Weston, we need to move."
A distant sound echoed through the mansion.
Something breaking.
Then came a sharp crack.
Gunfire.
Emma screamed.
The study window exploded inward.
Richard fell backward.
Security officers rushed forward.
Emma dropped to the floor.
Someone shouted.
"Get down!"
Another shot tore through the room.
Glass covered the carpet.
Emma crawled toward Richard.
Blood was spreading across his shirt.
"Richard!"
He opened his eyes.
"Run."
She couldn't move.
Then a figure appeared in the doorway.
A woman dressed entirely in black.
Her face was hidden behind a mask.
She raised a handgun.
The security team shouted.
The woman fired.
The shot struck the wall inches from Emma.
Then she reached up and removed her mask.
Emma looked at her face.
The world stopped.
She knew that woman.
She had known her all her life.
"Mom?"
The woman stared at her.
Tears filled her eyes.
And then she whispered:
"You were never supposed to come here."
Emma couldn't understand what she was seeing.
Her mother stood in the doorway with a gun in her hand.
The same woman who had packed Emma's lunches.
The same woman who had waited outside school during thunderstorms.
The same woman who had hugged her when she had her first heartbreak.
Her mother.
Linda Carter.
Emma's voice trembled.
"Put the gun down."
Linda's hands shook.
"I can't."
"You shot him."
"I didn't mean to."
Richard groaned from the floor.
Security officers surrounded the room, weapons raised.
Linda looked at them.
"No one move."
Her voice was not the voice Emma knew.
It was colder.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Emma stared at her.
"Why?"
Linda looked directly into her eyes.
"Because he should have stayed away from you."
Richard struggled to sit upright.
"You stole my daughter."
Linda's expression hardened.
"I saved her."
"You erased her."
"I protected her."
"You lied to her for twenty years."
Linda's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
The single word broke Emma's heart more than anything else.
She stepped backward.
"So it was true."
Linda lowered the gun slightly.
"I never wanted you to know."
"Who am I?"
Linda closed her eyes.
"You are Emily."
Emma felt tears running down her face.
"Why did you call me Emma?"
"Because Emily Weston was in danger."
"From whom?"
Linda looked toward Richard.
"From your own family."
Richard's face tightened.
"Don't believe her."
Linda laughed bitterly.
"You still think everything is about money."
"You disappeared with my daughter."
"Because your brother tried to kill her."
The room went silent.
Richard stared at her.
"What?"
Linda continued.
"Twenty years ago, your family was fighting over control of the Weston company. Your father was dying. Your brother believed that if Emily disappeared, you would become unstable and lose your position."
Richard shook his head.
"My brother would never—"
"He did."
Linda described the night Emily disappeared.
She had been working as a caregiver for Margaret Weston.
She knew the family.
She knew about the custody dispute.
She knew that people were watching the little girl.
One evening, Linda discovered a plan to take Emily away.
She panicked.
She believed the child was going to be used as leverage.
So she took Emily first.
She changed her name.
She moved across the country.
And she never returned.
"I was five," Emma whispered.
Linda nodded.
"You were."
"What did you tell me?"
"That your father had died."
Emma's voice broke.
"You told me he died in a car accident."
"I know."
"You told me I was born in another state."
"I know."
"You told me we had no family."
"I know."
Emma covered her face.
Richard watched silently.
Linda lowered the gun.
"I made mistakes."
"Mistakes?"
Emma screamed.
"You stole my life!"
Linda began crying.
"I gave you one."
"No! You gave me a life built on lies!"
A sudden explosion shook the mansion.
Everyone ducked.
The windows rattled.
Security officers rushed toward the hall.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then emergency lights came on.
Red.
Flashing.
Linda looked terrified.
"They found us."
Richard looked at her.
"Who?"
"My brother."
Richard froze.
"My brother died six years ago."
"Not him."
Linda looked at Emma.
"His son."
Richard's face changed.
"Daniel?"
Linda nodded.
"Daniel Weston."
Emma had heard the name.
Daniel Weston was Richard's nephew.
He had been removed from the company years ago after a financial scandal.
Richard had always refused to discuss him.
"Why would he want me?" Emma asked.
Linda answered softly.
"Because you are the legal heir to something he believes should belong to him."
Richard stared at Emma.
"Your grandfather established a private trust."
Emma frowned.
"What trust?"
"A trust in your name."
Linda continued.
"Your grandfather created it shortly before he died. He believed Emily would eventually return."