Chapter 12: The Signature That Could Send Me to Prison
Matthew stepped away from me.
"Tell me that's fake.""
I looked at the transfer order.
My name wasn't written anywhere.
But the fingerprint evidence was supposedly mine.
I turned toward Dr. Whitmore.
"Did you take my fingerprints?""
He shook his head.
"Never.""
"Then how could they be on this document?""
The doctor examined the paper.
His face changed.
"This isn't the original.""
I frowned.
"What?""
He held the document toward the light.
"Look at the lower corner. There's a watermark. This paper was manufactured recently.""
Matthew grabbed it.
"So someone created a fake transfer order?""
"Yes.""
Claire looked toward the stairs.
"Olivia.""
I called Daniel.
He answered immediately.
"Marcus, listen to me. You need to disappear.""
"I'm not running.""
"You don't understand. The police have a warrant.""
"For what?""
"Conspiracy, identity fraud, and falsification of medical records.""
I looked at Matthew.
"Who accused me?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Richard.""
I closed my eyes.
"My father?""
"He claims you arranged the transfer to hide Matthew's identity.""
I couldn't believe it.
"Why would he say that?""
"Because Olivia gave him a choice. Protect her or lose everything.""
I gripped the phone.
"Where is Dad?""
"Detention facility. He's waiting for questioning.""
"Get me a meeting.""
"Marcus, that's a terrible idea.""
"Do it.""
I ended the call.
Matthew paced the basement.
"My entire life has been a lie.""
I approached him.
"I know.""
"No, you don't. You grew up with a father, a home, a company. I grew up with people who weren't even my family.""
"I didn't know you existed.""
"That's exactly the problem!""
He slammed his fist against the wall.
"I spent years wondering why nobody wanted me. Meanwhile, you were living the life I should have had.""
I stood silently.
He was right to be angry.
But he was directing his anger at the wrong person.
Claire approached him.
"Matthew, your mother never stopped looking for you.""
He turned.
"Don't call her my mother.""
Claire flinched.
"She was the only one who—"
"Stop!""
Ethan began crying.
Matthew immediately lowered his voice.
He looked at the baby in my arms.
Then he turned away.
I understood that he needed time.
We left the lake house before sunset.
Dr. Whitmore agreed to provide the original medical records to the authorities.
Claire stayed behind with Ethan.
My mother—Elena—was still missing.
And Olivia was still somewhere out there.
At 8:30 p.m., I entered the detention facility.
A guard escorted me to a small interview room.
My father sat behind a glass partition.
He looked ten years older than he had that morning.
"Marcus.""
I picked up the telephone.
"Why did you accuse me?""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Because Olivia threatened your life.""
"So you decided to destroy it yourself?""
"I was trying to buy time.""
"By telling the police I arranged the disappearance of my own brother?""
He lowered his head.
"I thought they would keep you in custody. I thought that would stop Olivia from reaching you.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You really have no idea how to protect your family.""
He didn't respond.
I placed the fake transfer order against the glass.
"Have you seen this?""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
"Is it real?""
"No.""
"Then why did you tell the police it was mine?""
Dad looked directly at me.
"Because the real order exists.""
I froze.
"What?""
He leaned closer.
"Twenty-nine years ago, I signed a document authorizing Matthew's transfer. But I never authorized his disappearance.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Why did you sign it?""
"Your grandfather threatened to separate all three children permanently if I refused.""
I stared at him.
"All three?""
Dad nodded.
"Olivia had been born shortly before you and Matthew. Elena was still recovering. Your grandfather wanted to control everything.""
"And you agreed?""
"I thought I could bring Matthew back later.""
"But you never did.""
Dad began crying.
"No.""
For the first time, I saw the full weight of what he had done.
He had allowed a child to grow up without knowing his parents.
He had allowed another child to believe her mother was dead.
And he had allowed me to build my entire identity on a lie.
I put the telephone down.
Then Dad said something that made me pick it up again.
"Marcus, there's a reason Olivia hates you so much.""
I stared at him.
"Because of the inheritance?""
"No.""
He shook his head.
"Because your grandfather changed his will the night before he died.""
I leaned forward.
"What did he change?""
"He left the controlling shares to the first child who could prove all three siblings were reunited.""
I frowned.
"All three?""
"Yes. The condition was written to prevent one child from destroying the others.""
I looked at him.
"Then why didn't you tell us?""
"Because the will was stolen.""
"By whom?""
Dad hesitated.
Then he whispered:
"By Eleanor.""
I stared.
"The woman who raised me?""
He nodded.
"She took the original will after your grandfather died. She knew the three of you were connected. She believed that if the truth came out, she would lose the family she had built.""
I stood.
"So she helped Olivia?""
"Yes.""
I felt sick.
The woman I had mourned.
The woman I had hugged at the lake house.
The woman I had believed was my mother.
She had been part of the deception from the beginning.
"Where is she now?""
Dad looked toward the guard.
"She isn't dead.""
I closed my eyes.
"Of course she isn't.""
"Marcus, there's something else. Eleanor has the original will.""
"Where?""
"With the person she trusts most.""
I stared at him.
"Who?""
Dad's lips trembled.
"Your wife.""
I stopped breathing.
"Nia?""
He nodded.
"She has been working with Eleanor for years.""
I felt the room spin.
"Why would Nia know Eleanor?""
"Because Nia wasn't randomly chosen by Olivia.""
Dad leaned closer.
"She was introduced to you by Eleanor.""
I remembered our first meeting.
A charity event.
Nia had spilled a glass of wine on my shirt.
She had apologized, laughed, and offered to help clean it.
A week later, we met again.
I had believed it was coincidence.
Dad continued.
"Your marriage was arranged to give them access to your inheritance.""
I couldn't speak.
"They wanted you emotionally dependent on Nia. They wanted a child attached to your name. They wanted Olivia to control the company through the guardianship agreement.""
I gripped the telephone.
"Does Nia know about the original will?""
"Yes.""
"Where is it?""
Dad looked directly into my eyes.
"Inside your house.""
I left the detention facility and drove straight home.
The house was dark.
The staircase stood exactly as it had on the night Nia staged her fall.
I walked into the bedroom.
The closet door was open.
The fake pregnancy belly was still lying on the floor.
I stepped over it and began searching.
Behind the wardrobe, I found a small safe.
I had never seen it before.
The combination was my wedding anniversary.
Inside was a leather folder.
The original will.
I opened it.
The first page listed all three children.
Marcus.
Matthew.
Olivia.
The second page contained a condition.
The third page contained a handwritten note.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Nia's.
*If Marcus discovers the truth, tell him Olivia was never the real threat.*
Beneath it was a photograph.
Nia stood beside a woman wearing a red coat.
The same woman from Daniel's photograph.
But this time, I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
The woman was wearing my father's wedding ring.
I turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
Six months before my wedding.
And four words written beneath it:
*THE BRIDE KNOWS EVERYTHING.*
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
It contained a video.
I pressed play.
Nia appeared on screen, sitting in a hospital room.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Marcus, if you're watching this, then you've found the will.""
She took a breath.
"I need you to know that the baby wasn't Olivia's.""
I froze.
Nia continued.
"Ethan wasn't conceived using Victor's material either.""
She began crying.
"The original DNA report was real. But the biological father wasn't who you think.""
Then she leaned closer to the camera.
"Marcus, Ethan is your son.""
I stopped breathing.
Nia whispered her final words.
"And I'm not the woman you married.""
The video ended.
Before I could replay it, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
Three times.
A woman's voice came from the hallway.
"Marcus? Open the door.""
I recognized that voice.
It was Elena.
My biological mother.
But the message on my phone showed that she was supposedly missing.
I approached the door slowly.
"Mom?""
The handle began turning.
Then she whispered:
"Don't let Matthew inside. He's not your brother.""
I stepped backward.
And from the other side of the door, I heard Matthew's voice.
May you like
"Marcus, whatever she tells you, don't believe her. I found the original birth records.""
A second later, the lights went out.
