Chapter 1 - The Ghost in the Room
The hospital room remained perfectly silent after my mother spoke those chilling words.
The man who had saved my life stared at her with wide eyes.
My father looked back and forth between them.
His confusion was rapidly shifting into a dark and volatile anger.
"What do you mean he is supposed to be dead?" my father demanded.
My mother could not stop staring at Daniel.
Tears began to stream down her pale cheeks.
"Fourteen years ago, the police told me you died in a warehouse fire," she whispered.
Daniel took a slow step toward her.
"I had to disappear to keep you safe," he replied softly.
My father stepped between them, his face turning bright red.
"Who the hell is this man, Sarah?" he yelled.
My mother flinched at the volume of his voice.
She looked at me, lying in the hospital bed, and then looked at my father.
"His name is Daniel Mercer," she said, her voice trembling.
My father scoffed and crossed his arms.
"And why does a dead man matter to my family?" he asked.
Daniel turned his gaze toward my father.
His eyes were cold and completely fearless.
"Because Claire is not your daughter," Daniel said calmly.
I felt my heart stop beating for a second.
My father froze, the anger draining from his face only to be replaced by pure shock.
"She is my daughter," Daniel continued.
The monitors attached to my chest began to beep rapidly.
I had spent my entire life feeling like an outsider in my own home.
My father had always favored my brother, treating me like an unwanted burden.
Now, the terrifying truth was finally out in the open.
Before my father could react, the hospital room door violently swung open.
My seventeen-year-old brother, Ethan, stumbled into the room.
He was sweating profusely and clutching his stomach.
"Ethan!" my mother screamed.
He looked at us with wild, bloodshot eyes.
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"Dad, you promised it would not hurt this bad," Ethan gasped.
Then my brother collapsed onto the cold tile floor, foaming at the mouth.
