Chapter 6 - The Sixth Petal
Rose and Margaret were half-sisters.
Same mother.
Different fathers.
That explained why Rose carried variation Margaret did not.
But Emma was Margaret’s daughter.
Lily inherited genetics through Emma.
How could Lily share a specific variation from Rose’s paternal side?
Maybe coincidence.
A dermatologist confirmed congenital marks were not fingerprints.
Visual similarity did not establish ancestry.
That mattered.
Eleanor had treated resemblance like proof.
It wasn't.
So birthmark alone proved nothing.
Emma demanded DNA before allowing speculation.
Good.
Eleanor resisted.
“Daniel already tested.”
Emma stared.
“What?”
After Lily was born, Daniel quietly sent his own DNA and Lily’s sample to legitimate kinship laboratory.
Why?
Because he saw sixth spot.
He had also obtained Rose’s old biological sample? From medical archive? That's ethically messy. Better Daniel had DNA profile from Rose’s voluntarily deposited family medical sample in sealed Ellis file, accessed with Margaret permission? Margaret allowed comparison.
Result?
Not paternity.
Daniel was Lily’s biological father.
99.99%.
So no secret father.
That mystery needed close early enough but central mark meaning still open.
Emma exhaled.
Then what did Daniel test?
Whether Lily had detectable kinship to Rose beyond Emma’s expected Ellis maternal relationship.
Result was inconclusive due limited markers.
He did not learn secret paternity.
He learned only mark could be coincidental.
Yet continued search because Margaret reacted strangely.
Then Emma asked:
“Who was Rose’s father?”
Eleanor said:
“Jonathan Vale.”
Name unfamiliar.
A physician who worked with Harbor Family Services in 1980s.
He and Emma’s maternal grandmother, Catherine Ellis, had brief relationship after separation from Margaret’s father.
Rose resulted.
Jonathan later moved away.
No scandal.
No Bennett blood.
No secret inheritance.
Then why did Eleanor know Jonathan’s birthmark?
She didn't.
She knew from Rose medical file.
“Who else had sixth spot?”
Jonathan’s mother, according family history.
Again not direct observation.
So Eleanor’s fear at door was based on memory, not proof.
Then why call “Rose” immediately?
Because Lily covered in sauce pushed hair aside exactly like Rose used to when working kitchen at Briar Glen? Emotional association plus mark.
That made sense but seemed too small for central secret.
There had to be reason Daniel hid investigation.
Emma searched his files.
She found a sealed envelope addressed:
EMMA — ONLY IF ROSE CONTACTS YOU.
Inside:
If Mom ever recognizes Lily’s mark, she’ll think Rose came back. She’s wrong about the mark, but she’s right that Rose matters.
Emma read twice.
Then:
Margaret finally told me why Rose disappeared. It had nothing to do with Charles Vane.
Emma’s pulse quickened.
Another page was missing.
Torn cleanly from envelope.
Someone had removed Daniel’s explanation.
Who had access after Daniel died?
Emma.
Noah.
Lily.
And Eleanor.
But also Grace, family housekeeper.
Emma called Grace.
Grace admitted Eleanor entered Daniel’s study alone night after funeral.
Eleanor had taken something.
Emma drove straight back.
“You stole Daniel’s letter.”
Eleanor did not deny.
“Give it to me.”
“I burned it.”
Emma stared.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel believed Rose disappeared to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
May you like
Eleanor’s answer changed everything.
“From finding out why your adoption file was altered in 2004.”
