Chapter 11: The Child Nobody Was Supposed to Find
The envelope contained more than Evelyn's warning.
There was a photograph, a hospital bracelet, and a document bearing the seal of a New York fertility clinic.
The photograph showed a newborn baby.
A little boy.
He had dark hair and a small birthmark on his shoulder.
I turned the picture over.
No name.
Only a date.
And a handwritten note:
*Third transfer. Successful. Recipient: confidential.*
Daniel examined the hospital bracelet.
"There's a patient identification number.""
He photographed it.
"That should help us locate the original record.""
Victoria sat on the sofa, staring at the floor.
Sophia had gone upstairs with her nanny.
"Why would Evelyn give you this?"" I asked.
Victoria rubbed her hands together.
"She said it was an insurance policy.""
"Against whom?""
"Your father.""
I frowned.
Victoria continued.
"She told me Robert had created a genetic research program that could make the Whitmore family extremely powerful. She said the children born from those embryos would eventually inherit control of the company.""
I looked at the photograph.
"And the third child?""
Victoria shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Grant had been standing near the window.
"Mother told me there were only two successful transfers.""
Victoria turned toward him.
"She lied to you, too.""
He looked down.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
A federal investigator entered the room.
"Ms. Hayes, we've received preliminary confirmation from the New York clinic.""
Daniel stood.
"What did you find?""
The investigator opened a folder.
"The third embryo was transferred to a woman named Natalie Cross.""
I frowned.
"Who is she?""
"She was employed by Whitmore Capital as a personal assistant to Edward Whitmore.""
Grant looked stunned.
"Natalie?""
The investigator nodded.
"She disappeared from company records twelve years ago. Her last known address was in New York.""
Victoria looked at the baby photograph.
"Did she have the child?""
The investigator paused.
"Yes.""
"Where is the child now?""
"That's what we're trying to establish.""
I felt a familiar fear rising.
Another child.
Another secret.
Another life taken from me before I even knew it existed.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He answered and listened.
His expression changed.
"What hospital?""
He looked at me.
"Claire, we found Natalie.""
We arrived at a small medical center in Queens two hours later.
Natalie Cross was forty-two.
She had been admitted following complications from a recent surgery.
When we entered her room, she looked toward the investigators.
Then her eyes landed on me.
She immediately began crying.
"You're Claire.""
I approached the bed.
"Yes.""
She looked at the photograph Daniel carried.
Then she turned her face toward the window.
"I knew this day would come.""
I pulled a chair beside her.
"Do you have my child?""
Natalie closed her eyes.
"I have his birth certificate.""
My heart sank.
"Where is he?""
"With his father.""
I looked at her.
"Who?""
She swallowed.
"Edward Whitmore.""
Grant stepped forward.
"That's impossible. My father is dead.""
Natalie looked at him.
"Your adoptive father had another family.""
The room went silent.
"Edward took the boy after I gave birth," she continued.
"He told me the child needed to be raised away from the Hayes family.""
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you fight?""
She began crying harder.
"Because he threatened to have me arrested. He said the baby would be better off with him.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Where did he take the child?""
Natalie looked at me.
"To a boarding school in Switzerland.""
Grant gripped the back of a chair.
"Edward had a son there?""
Natalie nodded.
"He called him Nicholas.""
I felt dizzy.
"How old is he?""
"Twelve.""
The same age as Sophia.
The same age as the child I had spent years believing I could never have.
I reached for Natalie's hand.
"Does he know who his biological mother is?""
She shook her head.
"He thinks Edward adopted him after his mother died.""
My chest tightened.
"And does he know about me?""
"No.""
I looked at Daniel.
"We're going to Switzerland.""
The investigator shook his head.
"Ms. Hayes, we need to proceed through the proper legal channels.""
"I understand. But I'm not waiting another twelve years.""
Natalie reached beneath her pillow and removed a small photograph.
It showed a boy standing beside a tall man.
Edward Whitmore.
The boy had the same gray eyes as my father.
But there was something else.
A tiny scar above his left eyebrow.
I remembered seeing that scar before.
In a photograph of Grant as a child.
I looked at him.
"Does Nicholas look like you?""
Grant nodded slowly.
"Yes.""
Natalie whispered, "Because he's your son.""
Grant went completely still.
I looked at him.
"What?""
Natalie turned toward him.
"Edward used your genetic sample without your knowledge. The embryo was created using Claire's egg and your sperm.""
Grant stumbled backward.
"No.""
Natalie nodded.
"Your father arranged it before you married Claire.""
I felt my stomach twist.
Nicholas wasn't just my biological child.
He was Grant's, too.
And Edward had raised him as his own.
The investigator closed the folder.
"We'll need to verify the medical records and establish the chain of custody.""
Daniel nodded.
"We'll cooperate.""
Before leaving, I turned back to Natalie.
"Can I ask you something?""
She looked at me.
"Did you know who I was when you carried my child?""
Natalie shook her head.
"No. I was told the embryo belonged to a wealthy couple who couldn't have children. I didn't know the identities until Edward gave me the documents after the birth.""
"Why did you keep them?""
"Because I knew someday someone would come looking.""
She handed me a second envelope.
"There's something else inside.""
I opened it.
A copy of Edward's private will.
Most of the pages concerned the Whitmore estate.
But one clause was underlined.
*The minor beneficiary, Nicholas Edward Whitmore, shall inherit the controlling shares of Whitmore Capital upon reaching his eighteenth birthday, provided his biological lineage remains undisclosed.*
I read it twice.
"Why would Edward leave the company to Nicholas?""
Natalie looked at me.
"Because he knew Nicholas carried the Hayes genetic marker.""
Daniel took the document.
"That means Edward intended to use the boy's identity to claim the Hayes research.""
Grant looked sick.
"He stole my son.""
I turned toward him.
"And he stole mine.""
For once, Grant didn't defend himself.
He simply looked at the photograph.
That evening, we returned to the hotel.
Daniel had arranged for the investigators to contact the Swiss authorities.
My father called from California.
I told him about Nicholas.
He was silent for a long time.
Then he said, "Edward wanted a perfect heir. He believed he could manufacture one.""
I looked at the city lights.
"Did you know about the third embryo?""
"No.""
"Did you know Grant was the biological father?""
"No. Evelyn must have used the genetic sample from the clinic.""
I closed my eyes.
"How many more secrets are there?""
My father sighed.
"One.""
I sat upright.
"What?""
"Claire, there is a reason Evelyn chose you instead of another woman to carry the Hayes inheritance.""
I frowned.
"Because I'm your daughter.""
"Because you're the only person who can legally activate the original trust.""
I looked at the documents on the table.
"Why?""
"Your mother and I established a condition when you were born. The trust could only be activated by you, after you reached adulthood, and only if all three of your children were identified.""
I went cold.
"All three?""
"Yes.""
I looked at the photographs.
Alexander.
Sophia.
Nicholas.
My father continued.
"Edward believed that if he could control all three children, he could force the transfer of the trust.""
I swallowed.
"And if I find them?""
"The trust becomes irrevocable in your name.""
I stared at the wall.
For twelve years, Evelyn had treated me like a failed wife.
But she had known exactly who I was.
She had known what my body carried.
She had known what my children represented.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Alexander sleeping in a hospital bed.
Below it was a message.
*You have found two of your children. Congratulations.*
Another message followed.
*But the third one is already on his way to America.*
I looked at Daniel.
He read the screen.
Then he said quietly:
"Claire, Nicholas has left Switzerland.""
I stared at the photograph.
"Where is he going?""
Daniel turned the phone toward me.
A flight itinerary appeared.
Destination: Boston.
Passenger: Nicholas Edward Whitmore.
Arrival: Tomorrow morning.
May you like
And the person listed as his accompanying guardian was someone I never expected to see again.
*Madison Blake.*
