She Found Her Grandmother’s Diary in the Attic — Then Discovered Her Name Among 15 Missing Children
CHAPTER 8
Maya spent the night unable to sleep.
If she was the sixteenth child, why had her name appeared on the list?
Why had Evelyn hidden the truth?
And why did Lily seem afraid of her?
The answer came from a final envelope.
Daniel found it hidden inside the diary’s cover.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Maya Bennett.
Mother:
Evelyn Bennett.
Father:
Unknown.
Maya stared.
Her grandmother had officially listed herself as her mother.
But that was impossible.
Evelyn had been fifty-eight when Maya was born.
Daniel discovered another document.
A medical report.
Maya’s blood type did not match either of her supposed parents.
Then the final page of Evelyn’s diary explained everything.
Maya was not Evelyn’s biological granddaughter.
She had been adopted.
But the child Maya had replaced had died.
Evelyn had taken another infant.
A child born during the Briarwood project.
Maya was that child.
The granddaughter story had been created to protect her.
Maya’s entire childhood had been built on a lie.
But there was something else.
The diary contained a warning:
If they ever find Maya, they will not kill her.
They will bring her back.
Daniel looked at her.
“Bring you back where?”
Maya didn’t answer.
Her phone rang.
A man’s voice spoke.
“We know where you are.”
She froze.
“Who is this?”
“You have something that belongs to us.”
“What?”
“The diary.”
The call ended.
Then every light in the house went out.
