Chapter 5: The First DNA Test
The following morning, I sat across from Vanessa in a small coffee shop three miles from our house.
I hadn't slept.
Neither had she.
Her eyes were swollen, and she kept turning her engagement ring around her finger.
I had removed mine.
It sat in my jacket pocket.
“You said you would explain everything,” I began.
Vanessa wrapped both hands around her coffee.
“I will.””
“Start with the paternity test.””
She looked toward the window.
“Ethan and Claire had a relationship before you married Claire.””
“I know that.””
“They weren't just dating, Marcus. They were planning to get married.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
Vanessa nodded.
“My brother was deeply in love with her. He thought she was going to leave you for him.””
I felt a bitter laugh rising in my throat.
“That's impossible. Claire and I were married before Maya was born.””
“Exactly.””
“Then explain the test.””
Vanessa took a breath.
“Ethan believed Maya was his daughter because Claire had been seeing both of you around the same time.””
I leaned forward.
“Are you telling me Claire cheated on me?””
Vanessa looked down.
“I'm telling you there was a period when she wasn't certain who Maya's biological father was.””
The words made the room feel smaller.
I remembered Claire's pregnancy.
The doctor's appointments.
The tiny pink blanket we had chosen together.
The night Maya was born, when I had held her for the first time and promised to protect her forever.
Had Claire been wondering whether that baby belonged to me?
“Did you know about the first test?”” I asked.
Vanessa nodded.
“Ethan arranged it when Maya was six weeks old.””
“And?””
“It showed that he was the biological father.””
I stared at her.
“Then why did Claire's documents contain a different result?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Because there was another test.””
“When?””
“Several months later.””
“Who arranged it?””
“Claire.””
I waited.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“She contacted a different laboratory. She tested you, Ethan, and Maya.””
I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
“What did it show?””
Vanessa looked directly at me.
“You were Maya's biological father.””
For several seconds, I couldn't process the sentence.
“What?””
“The first test was manipulated.””
“By whom?””
“Ethan.””
I stood so quickly my chair scraped against the floor.
“You expect me to believe your brother falsified a paternity test?””
Vanessa flinched.
“He wanted Claire to leave you.””
“And you knew?””
“I found out later.””
“Later when?””
She wiped her cheek.
“After Claire confronted him.””
I sat down again.
“Why did you keep this secret?””
Vanessa stared at her engagement ring.
“Because Ethan threatened to expose Claire's private messages. He said he would destroy her reputation and make sure you never trusted her again.””
I shook my head.
“My wife was dying. What kind of person threatens a dying woman?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
Then she said something I wasn't expecting.
“He wasn't the only one who threatened her.””
I looked up.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa reached into her purse and removed a folded sheet of paper.
She slid it across the table.
It was a bank transfer confirmation.
The amount was $240,000.
The recipient was Reed Family Holdings.
The sender was Claire Reynolds.
I looked at her.
“Why would Claire send your family that much money?””
“Because she was trying to keep Ethan quiet.””
I felt sick.
“Did you arrange this?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Claire asked me to handle it.””
“Why?””
“Because Ethan had started contacting you. She was afraid he would tell you about their past and destroy your marriage.””
I pushed the paper away.
“So Claire paid him?””
“She believed it would end the situation.””
“And then?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Ethan demanded more.””
I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, the entire financial trail looked different.
The money transferred from Maya's trust.
The forged signatures.
The company accounts.
“Did you take the money from Maya's inheritance to pay him?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Vanessa.””
“Yes.””
The admission came out as a whisper.
I stared at her.
“You stole from a little girl to protect your brother?””
“I borrowed it.””
“You transferred eighty-five thousand dollars into your family's company.””
“I was going to replace it.””
“When?””
“After the wedding.””
I stood again.
“There is no wedding.””
Vanessa reached for my hand.
“Marcus, please.””
I stepped away.
“You had eighteen months to tell me the truth.””
“I was afraid you'd leave.””
“You should have been afraid of what would happen when I found out.””
She began crying.
“I loved you.””
“No. You loved what you thought this family could give you.””
Her expression hardened.
“You don't know what Claire was like at the end. She was suspicious of everyone. She accused me of things I never did.””
“Then why did you forge her signature?””
Vanessa went silent.
I pulled out my phone.
“I have the documents. I have the recording. And I have the bank statements.””
She looked toward the door.
“Marcus, don't do this.””
“I'm already doing it.””
Then she leaned forward and spoke so quietly I almost missed it.
“There's something else in the black box.””
I stopped.
“What?””
“Claire left a second letter.””
“I found one.””
“Not that one. A letter addressed to Maya.””
My throat tightened.
“What does it say?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know. But Claire told me that if Maya ever learned the truth about Ethan, I had to give it to her.””
I stared at Vanessa.
“You've had that letter?””
She nodded.
“Where?””
“Ethan has it.””
I felt the anger return.
“Why?””
“Because he stole it from Claire's hospital room.””
I took a step closer.
“Why would he steal a letter addressed to her daughter?””
Vanessa looked terrified again.
“Because Claire wrote down what really happened the night Maya was born.””
I grabbed my jacket.
“Where is Ethan?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“He's not going to give it to you.””
“Then I'll make sure he does.””
She caught my sleeve.
“Marcus, listen. Ethan believes the letter proves something else.””
“What?””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“He believes Claire planned to tell Maya that he was her father, regardless of what the second DNA test showed.””
I pulled my sleeve free.
“That makes no sense.””
Vanessa lowered her head.
“There's a reason he came to your house last night.””
I stared at her.
“What reason?””
She looked directly into my eyes.
“He thinks Maya is the only person who can unlock the money Claire left behind.””
I drove home immediately.
Daniel was waiting in the study.
I told him everything.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he looked at the bank statements.
“Marcus, there's something I should tell you.””
I was beginning to hate that sentence.
“What now?””
“Claire didn't just establish a trust for Maya.””
He opened his laptop and showed me a scanned document.
It was a separate legal agreement.
A sealed inheritance provision.
The document stated that Maya would receive an additional property and a substantial investment portfolio when she turned eighteen.
But there was one condition.
She had to receive a letter from her mother.
I read the final paragraph.
The beneficiary's identity and the full terms of this provision must remain confidential until the beneficiary reaches the age of eighteen or a court determines that disclosure is necessary for her protection.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why would Claire make something like this?””
He shook his head.
“I'm not sure.””
Then he pointed to the signature.
There were two witnesses.
Daniel Reynolds.
And Vanessa Reed.
I stared at the page.
My brother had signed it.
My fiancée had signed it.
But the date was different from the date of the trust.
It was signed only four days before Claire died.
“What is this really about?”” I asked.
Daniel closed the laptop.
“I think Claire was preparing for something.””
My phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Maya walking into her school building that morning.
She was carrying her pink backpack.
The message underneath read:
*Beautiful daughter. She looks just like Claire. Tell her I want to see her again.*
I called the police.
May you like
But before they answered, another message arrived.
*You have twenty-four hours to bring me the original trust documents. Or I'll tell Maya what her mother did.*
