Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
For nine years, I had believed my father was buried beneath a cold stone marker in a cemetery two hours away.
I had stood there.
I had cried there.
I had placed flowers there.
I had whispered goodbye to a man I hated and missed at the same time.
Now my phone was in my hand, showing me a picture of that same man standing outside my son’s school.
Alive.
Watching Noah.
My fingers went numb.
“No.””
The word came out as a breath.
Pascal moved toward me.
“Alexa.””
I stepped back.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
The fear on his face was no longer hidden.
Not fear of me.
Fear of what was coming next.
I looked at the picture again.
My father.
Thomas Morgan.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably him.
The same sharp eyes.
The same scar above his eyebrow from the accident when I was twelve.
The same expression that always made me feel like he knew something everyone else didn’t.
Except he was supposed to be dead.
“Who sent this?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Claire.
“Was it you?””
She shook her head immediately.
“No.””
“Pascal?””
“No.””
My eyes returned to the phone.
The message had only four words.
*He knows about Noah.*
My stomach twisted.
I looked upstairs.
At my son’s bedroom.
My son.
My entire world.
“What does he want?””
Pascal ran a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
“You knew my father was alive.””
His silence was instant.
Too instant.
I stared at him.
“You did.””
Pascal looked away.
That was enough.
My chest tightened.
“How long?””
“Alexa…”
“How long have you known?””
He exhaled slowly.
“Two years.””
The room became completely silent.
Two years.
Two years of birthdays.
Two years of family dinners.
Two years of watching me believe I had lost my father forever.
“You knew my father was alive for two years?””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing?””
“I was trying to find proof.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Proof of what?””
“That he was dangerous.””
I stared at him.
“You keep saying that word.””
“What word?””
“Dangerous.””
I stepped closer.
“But you never tell me why.””
Pascal looked at Claire.
She lowered her eyes.
And that hurt.
Because suddenly I realized everyone had been carrying pieces of my life except me.
Everyone knew.
Everyone decided.
Everyone protected me.
Everyone lied.
“I want the truth.””
My voice shook.
“I don’t want another explanation. I don’t want another person telling me they were protecting me.””
Nobody spoke.
So I continued.
“I want the truth, right now.””
Pascal looked exhausted.
Then he walked to the table and picked up the old envelope.
“The truth is your father never accepted that Ethan was Noah’s father.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Thomas always thought Ethan wasn’t good enough for you.””
“That doesn’t explain changing records.””
“No.””
Pascal looked at the document.
“It doesn’t.””
He opened it.
“Your father wanted control.””
I felt a chill.
“He wanted custody?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Pascal hesitated.
Then said:
“Because Noah wasn’t just your child.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Claire stepped forward.
“Your father believed Noah belonged to a family legacy.””
I almost laughed.
“My father was obsessed with control. He wasn’t some king protecting a bloodline.””
“No,” Claire said softly.
“He wasn’t.””
Her expression changed.
“He was protecting something else.””
I looked between them.
“What?””
Nobody answered.
I hated that.
I hated how every answer created three more questions.
Then my phone rang again.
Same unknown number.
Everyone froze.
I answered.
“Hello?””
This time, the voice was clearer.
Closer.
“Alexa.””
My grip tightened.
“Dad?””
Saying that word felt impossible.
The voice on the other end laughed quietly.
“You sound surprised.””
“You’re alive.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
A pause.
“Because I needed you to know the truth before Pascal tells you his version.””
My eyes moved to my husband.
“What truth?””
“About Noah.””
I swallowed.
“What about Noah?””
My father’s voice became colder.
“Ethan Cole is not the man you think he is.””
My heart sank.
“No.””
“You always were too trusting.””
“Don’t talk about him. Tell me what you did.””
Silence.
Then:
“I saved you.””
The same words.
Again.
Always the same words.
“I’m tired of hearing that.””
“You don’t understand what Ethan was planning.””
“What was he planning?””
My father didn’t answer.
Instead, he said:
“Ask Pascal why he never told you about the DNA test.””
My body went still.
I looked at Pascal.
He immediately looked away.
My blood turned cold.
“What DNA test?””
No answer.
“Dad?””
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Nobody moved.
Then I whispered:
“What DNA test?””
Pascal closed his eyes.
“Alexa.””
“What DNA test?””
His silence became unbearable.
I grabbed the papers from the table.
“Tell me.””
He reached for them.
I pulled away.
“No.””
My voice broke.
“I am done being the last person to know my own life.””
Claire looked at Pascal.
“Tell her.””
He didn’t respond.
“Pascal.””
Finally, he sat down.
The confident man who always had answers suddenly looked like someone who had run out of places to hide.
“Before Noah was born, Ethan asked for a DNA test.””
I stared.
“Why?””
“Because your father pressured him.””
“That makes no sense.””
“He told Ethan there was a possibility Noah wasn’t his.””
My heart hurt.
“No.””
Pascal nodded.
“He was wrong.””
“How do you know?””
He looked at me.
“Because I saw the results.””
The room spun.
“You saw them?””
“Yes.””
“And?””
Pascal swallowed.
“The test confirmed Ethan was Noah’s biological father.””
I closed my eyes.
For a moment, relief came.
Then confusion.
“Then why hide it?””
Pascal looked down.
“Because there was another result.””
“What result?””
He didn’t answer.
“Pascal.””
His voice became barely audible.
“The person who ordered the test wasn’t only testing Ethan.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He tested you too.””
I felt my heart stop.
“What are you talking about?””
“The sample wasn’t just Noah and Ethan.””
My hands began shaking.
“There was another sample.””
“Whose?””
Pascal looked at me.
And I already knew.
But I needed him to say it.
“Yours.””
The room went silent.
“My DNA?””
He nodded.
“Your father suspected something.””
“What?””
Pascal’s eyes filled with regret.
“He suspected Noah wasn’t connected to you the way everyone believed.””
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.””
“Alexa…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“No. I carried him. I gave birth to him.””
Nobody spoke.
Because they knew.
They knew something I didn’t.
The fear in Claire’s eyes confirmed it.
I looked at Pascal.
“What did the test say?””
He didn’t answer.
“Tell me.””
His voice broke.
“The test showed Noah is your son.””
I exhaled.
Relief.
Then he continued.
“But…”
The word destroyed the relief instantly.
“But what?””
Pascal looked at the staircase.
At Noah’s room.
Then back at me.
“The test showed Ethan isn’t the only biological parent who was questioned.””
I felt frozen.
“What does that mean?””
Pascal opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, a loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
My heart stopped.
“Noah.””
I ran.
The bedroom door was open.
The window was wide.
The curtains moved in the cold night air.
And on Noah’s pillow was a folded piece of paper.
I picked it up with shaking hands.
Three words were written across it.
*He knows everything.*
Then beneath it was a name.
May you like
A name that made my blood turn cold.
*Thomas Morgan.*
