Chapter 3: The Woman My Father Tried to Warn Me About
I read the message three times.
Then I looked toward the hallway.
“Mrs. Collins, lock the front door.””
She hesitated.
“Sir?””
“Now.””
She hurried away.
Maya stood beside the desk, holding the photograph of Vanessa and my father.
“Dad, what does that message mean?””
I put my phone down.
“I don't know yet.””
But I knew one thing.
Someone had been watching us.
I called my attorney, Michael Grant.
He answered on the second ring.
“Daniel? It's late. What's happened?””
“I need you at my father's estate. Bring someone you trust. And don't tell Richard.””
There was a pause.
“Is this about the gala?””
“Yes.””
“Then I need to ask you something. Did you open the blue folder?””
I stared at the documents.
“How do you know about the folder?””
Michael exhaled.
“Because your father asked me to prepare it.””
My grip tightened.
“What's in it?””
“Not over the phone.””
“Michael, I found a DNA report showing Richard is the baby's father.””
Silence.
Then he said something I hadn't expected.
“That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because your father ordered a different DNA test.””
I looked down at the report.
“What different test?””
“One involving you, Richard, and a child whose identity your father never disclosed.””
My head began to pound.
“Michael, explain.””
“I will. But listen carefully. Don't confront Vanessa until I arrive.””
The line went dead.
Maya had heard enough to understand that things were worse than we had imagined.
“Dad, what if Uncle Richard really is the baby's father?””
I crouched in front of her.
“Then we'll deal with it.””
“What if he isn't?””
I looked toward the blue folder.
“Then someone wants us to believe he is.””
Twenty minutes later, headlights swept across the windows.
Mrs. Collins returned from the hallway.
“Someone's at the gate.””
I moved toward the front door.
“Who?””
She looked frightened.
“Mr. Richard.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Don't open it.””
A moment later, the doorbell rang.
Then again.
Then a fist struck the wood.
“Daniel! Open this door!””
Richard's voice filled the hallway.
Maya grabbed my sleeve.
“Dad, don't let him in.””
I walked toward the security monitor.
Richard stood outside, rain dripping from his coat. He held a leather briefcase in one hand.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Daniel, I know you're in there. We need to talk.””
I pressed the intercom.
“About what?””
“About the mess Vanessa has created.””
I laughed without humor.
“You mean the mess you created?””
His expression hardened.
“Open the door.””
“No.””
Richard stepped closer to the camera.
“You have no idea what you're dealing with.””
“Then explain it.””
He looked down briefly.
When he raised his eyes again, his voice was quieter.
“Father wasn't the man you think he was.””
I glanced at the photograph on the desk.
“Neither are you.””
Richard sighed.
“Daniel, I have spent years protecting you.””
“By sleeping with my wife?””
His face changed.
For the first time, he looked genuinely angry.
“Watch your mouth.””
“Is the baby yours?””
Richard didn't answer.
I continued.
“Did you arrange the inheritance transfer? Did you forge my signature?””
His eyes narrowed.
“You found the papers.””
“So you admit it?””
“I admit nothing.””
He lifted his briefcase.
“Open the door, and I'll show you the documents that prove Vanessa has been lying to both of us.””
I hesitated.
Then Maya spoke from behind me.
“Dad, don't.””
I turned.
She was holding her phone.
“There's another recording.””
Richard heard her through the intercom.
His expression changed instantly.
“Give me that phone, Maya.””
She stepped back.
“How do you know about it?””
He didn't answer.
Instead, he looked straight into the camera and said:
“Because I know what you recorded.””
The front door shook as he struck it again.
“Daniel! You need to understand something. Vanessa isn't the only person who has been using you.””
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
“What does that mean?””
Richard leaned toward the camera.
“It means the baby isn't the reason she married you.””
He paused.
“Your father is.””
When Michael arrived, Richard had disappeared.
He entered the study carrying a black document case and immediately noticed the open blue folder.
“You found the report,” he said.
I pointed at the DNA test.
“Tell me what this is.””
Michael removed his glasses.
“It's a preliminary report. Your father suspected that Richard and Vanessa were involved. But he didn't trust the laboratory that produced this result.””
“Why?””
“Because the laboratory belonged to a company Richard had invested in.””
I stared at him.
“So the report could be fake?””
“Possibly.””
Michael opened his document case.
He placed another envelope on the desk.
“This is the independent test your father commissioned.””
My heart began pounding.
“Whose DNA was tested?””
“Yours, Richard's, and the baby's.””
I looked at the sealed envelope.
Michael continued.
“Your father wanted to establish paternity before the inheritance was transferred. He believed someone was preparing to use the child's birth to gain control of the family trust.””
I opened the envelope.
The first page contained three names.
Daniel Hale.
Richard Hale.
And the baby, listed as Baby Boy Brooks.
I scanned the results.
Then stopped.
The report did not identify Richard as the father.
It did not identify me either.
Instead, it contained a note requesting additional verification because the child's sample showed an unusual familial relationship.
“What does this mean?”” I asked.
Michael sat down.
“Your father suspected that the child might be connected to a secret he had kept for decades.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Vanessa beside my father.
Fourteen years earlier.
A memory suddenly surfaced.
My father had once told me that there were things about our family that money could never repair.
I had thought he was talking about my mother's death.
Now I wasn't sure.
Michael slid another paper across the desk.
It was an old birth registration.
The mother's name was Vanessa Brooks.
The father's name was left blank.
The date was thirteen years earlier.
I looked at Maya.
Her face had gone pale.
“Dad,” she whispered.
I read the child's name.
Then I looked at the date.
It was the year before I married Vanessa.
And the child was born exactly thirteen years ago.
I turned toward Michael.
“Who is this?””
He took a breath.
“Your father believed Vanessa had a child before she ever entered your life.””
I stared at the document.
“Where is that child now?””
Michael looked toward Maya.
Then he spoke the words that changed everything.
“Daniel, I believe you've been raising him—or her—without knowing the truth.””
My daughter stepped backward.
“What?””
Before Michael could answer, my phone rang.
Vanessa.
I answered.
Her voice was barely recognizable.
“Daniel, listen to me. Richard is coming for Maya.””
I stood.
“Where are you?””
“At the hotel. But that's not important.””
“Then what is?””
She began crying.
“Your father didn't leave you the inheritance you think he did.””
I closed my eyes.
“What are you talking about?””
Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel, the child your father was hiding isn't the baby in my arms.””
A pause.
May you like
Then she said the one thing I never imagined hearing.
“It's Maya.””
