Chapter 5: The Signature
I didn't open the document.
Not immediately.
I wanted to know why the principal was afraid of a piece of paper.
Dr. Reynolds stood in front of me, blocking the hallway.
His usual calm expression was gone.
“Ethan,” he said quietly, “you need to trust me.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because you don't understand what you're seeing.””
“That seems to be everyone's favorite sentence today.””
Marcus stepped beside me.
“Let him read it.””
Dr. Reynolds shook his head.
“Marcus, this isn't your decision.””
“It stopped being your decision eighteen years ago.””
My mother suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Ethan, please come with me.””
I looked down at her hand.
Her fingers were shaking.
“I've spent my whole life believing you,” I said.
She released me.
“I know.””
“I need you to tell me one thing.””
She looked at me.
“Am I a Carter?””
Sarah's face crumpled.
“Yes.””
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
“Yes,” she repeated.
“You are my son.””
“That wasn't my question.””
She couldn't speak.
Vanessa looked away.
Marcus stared at the floor.
And Dr. Reynolds closed his eyes.
That was when I understood.
The question wasn't whether I was Sarah's son.
It was whether I was the son of the man whose name was on my birth certificate.
I opened the photograph.
The hospital document showed a birth record.
My birth date.
My weight.
My mother's name.
And underneath it, a section that had been blacked out.
The father's name.
My thumb froze over the screen.
“Why is that covered?””
Vanessa answered.
“Because the original record was altered.””
My heart pounded.
“By who?””
She pointed at the signature.
“Your principal.””
Dr. Reynolds shook his head.
“I didn't alter it.””
Marcus laughed.
“You signed it.””
“I signed an emergency placement form.””
“After telling everyone the child had no father.””
“I was told Marcus was dangerous.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“You knew that was false.””
“I knew what I was told.””
I looked at my mother.
“Who told you?””
Dr. Reynolds didn't answer.
Vanessa did.
“Denise.””
Her mother's name again.
I stared at her.
“Your mother told the hospital I had no father?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“Because she was trying to protect someone.””
“Who?””
She looked at Sarah.
My mother whispered, “No.””
Vanessa said, “Your father.””
I turned toward Marcus.
He looked as shocked as I was.
“You?””
“No.””
Marcus shook his head.
“She’s lying.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Am I?””
“You said the test wasn't his.””
“It isn't.””
“Then what is it?””
Vanessa reached for the phone.
I moved it behind my back.
She stopped.
“Ethan, listen to me.””
“No.””
“Your entire life has been built around a lie.””
“Whose lie?””
“Your mother's.””
Sarah recoiled.
Marcus stepped toward Vanessa.
“Don't you put this on her.””
Vanessa faced him.
“You know what happened.””
“I know what happened to me.””
“And what happened to him?””
Marcus went silent.
I looked at him.
“You said my father told you to leave.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Your father did.””
“Then who was he?””
Marcus looked at my mother.
Sarah whispered, “Ethan…”
“Who?””
Marcus finally said it.
“Charles Carter.””
The name meant nothing.
Then I remembered.
A framed photograph in our hallway.
A man in a dark suit.
My mother had always told me he was my grandfather.
Charles Carter.
My father's father.
But Marcus's expression told me there was more.
“What happened to Charles?””
Marcus looked away.
“He died three months before you were born.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Then how could he tell you to leave?””
Silence.
I looked at Sarah.
She was crying.
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“I never said he told me in person.””
I stared at him.
“You said your father told you to leave.””
“I said what he wanted me to believe.””
The corridor seemed to narrow around us.
“You've been lying too.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I was scared.””
“Of what?””
He hesitated.
“Of the man who actually controlled your family.””
Before I could ask who, a teacher appeared at the end of the hallway.
“Ethan, they're waiting for you.””
I barely heard her.
My eyes were fixed on Marcus.
“Who controlled my family?””
Marcus opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
His phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID.
His face drained of color.
“Don't answer it,” Vanessa said.
Marcus did anyway.
He put it to his ear.
“Hello?””
A voice came through the speaker.
I couldn't make out the words.
Marcus's expression changed.
He slowly turned toward me.
Then he whispered:
“He knows you're here.””
“Who?””
Marcus lowered the phone.
Before he could answer, every light in the auditorium went out.
A scream rose from the crowd.
Then the emergency lights flickered red.
May you like
And somewhere backstage, a man's voice shouted:
“Find Ethan Carter.””
