Chapter 6: The Night My Family Fell Apart
I drove to the factory with Evelyn beside me.
Neither of us spoke during the first ten minutes.
Rain began hitting the windshield as we approached the industrial district.
The building looked exactly as I remembered it.
The same brick walls.
The same loading bays.
The same faded sign above the entrance.
But the front gate was hanging open.
Two police officers stood near the security booth.
I parked and stepped out.
One officer approached.
"Are you Mr. Reed?""
"Yes.""
"I'm Detective Harris. We received a report of forced entry.""
"Who called?""
"Your former security manager.""
I looked at the building.
"Was anything stolen?""
"Not that we've confirmed.""
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Did they damage the office?""
The detective looked at her.
"Are you family?""
"I'm a family friend.""
He nodded.
"There's some damage inside. We haven't finished documenting it.""
I walked through the entrance.
The smell of machine oil and dust brought back memories of childhood.
My father used to let me sit in his office after school. He would explain blueprints while drinking black coffee.
I remembered the sound of his pencil tapping against the desk.
The way he would smile when I understood something.
Now the office door was broken.
A wooden chair lay overturned.
The filing cabinets had been emptied.
Papers covered the floor.
I stepped carefully around the debris.
Then I saw it.
My father's old desk.
The top drawer had been ripped open.
Inside was a small photograph of my mother.
I picked it up.
Her smiling face looked back at me.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten note.
*The truth is beneath the place where we planted the first tree.*
I stared at the words.
Evelyn came closer.
"What is it?""
I handed her the note.
She covered her mouth.
"The garden.""
"What garden?""
"The one behind the original workshop. Your mother planted a maple tree there when the factory opened.""
I remembered it.
A small tree near the old loading entrance.
My father had always called it their first investment.
I turned toward Detective Harris.
"Can we inspect the garden?""
He nodded.
"As long as you don't disturb anything that might be evidence.""
We walked around the building.
The maple tree stood near the back fence, its branches bending in the wind.
Beneath it was a small stone marker.
My father's initials were carved into one side.
My mother's were on the other.
I knelt.
The soil around the base looked disturbed.
"Someone has already been here," I said.
Evelyn crouched beside me.
"Then they found it.""
I carefully brushed away the loose dirt.
Beneath a flat stone was a small metal container.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside were several folded documents wrapped in plastic.
The first was an original patent agreement.
The second was a handwritten statement from my father.
The third was a photograph.
I stared at it.
My mother was standing beside Robert Mitchell.
They were outside a hospital.
And she was holding a newborn baby.
Evelyn took the photograph.
Her face drained of color.
"Oh, no.""
"What?""
She looked at the baby.
Then at me.
"That's not possible.""
I reached for the photograph.
On the back, my father's handwriting identified the people.
*Eleanor Reed. Robert Mitchell. Baby Adrian. October 1998.*
I checked the date.
Adrian was not a stranger to my family.
He had been there from the beginning.
But why?
I opened my father's statement.
Ethan,
There is something about Adrian Mitchell you must understand.
Robert once tried to make me believe Adrian was his only child. But I discovered that the boy's birth was connected to a secret involving your mother.
I never had the courage to tell you the truth.
If this document has been found, then the people who wanted it destroyed have finally returned.
I stopped reading.
The last line was written in darker ink.
Adrian's birth certificate was altered.
My phone rang.
Mr. Bennett.
I answered.
"Tell me you've found something," he said.
"I found the original patent agreement.""
"Excellent. Bring it directly to my office.""
"There's something else.""
I told him about the photograph and the statement.
He went silent.
"Where are you?""
"At the factory.""
"Don't move. I'm sending someone to collect the documents.""
"Why?""
"Because the birth certificate issue changes everything.""
Before I could ask another question, the line went dead.
I turned toward Evelyn.
She was staring at the photograph.
"Mrs. Carter, what do you know about Adrian's birth?""
Her lips trembled.
"I don't know everything.""
"But you know something.""
She looked at me.
"Your mother was pregnant when she married your father.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"She was already expecting a child.""
I stared at her.
"Me?""
Evelyn shook her head.
"No.""
The wind seemed to disappear.
"What are you saying?""
She looked down.
"Your mother gave birth to a baby boy before you were born. The baby was placed with another family.""
I stepped backward.
"Why?""
"Because there were complications. Your mother was very young, and Robert Mitchell had threatened to destroy her family if she revealed the truth.""
I felt sick.
"Was the baby Adrian?""
Evelyn nodded slowly.
I looked at the photograph again.
The baby in my mother's arms.
Robert standing beside her.
My mother had held Adrian as a newborn.
And my father had known.
For twenty-eight years, I had believed my family history was simple.
My parents.
Their marriage.
Their company.
Their son.
But now I was discovering that my father had kept an entire life hidden from me.
"Why did my father raise me without telling me?""
Evelyn reached for my arm.
"Because he loved you.""
"That doesn't explain anything.""
"Your mother couldn't have another child after the accident. Your father believed telling you about Adrian would bring Robert back into your lives.""
I stared at the ground.
Then I noticed something else in the metal container.
A folded hospital record.
The name of the mother was Eleanor Reed.
The name of the father was Robert Mitchell.
And the child's original name was written in the margin.
Adrian Reed.
I read it aloud.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Your father never wanted Adrian to know.""
I felt a strange mixture of anger and disbelief.
Adrian wasn't simply the son of my father's enemy.
He was connected to my mother.
He was connected to my father.
And if the document was genuine, he might have a legal claim that explained the entire acquisition.
My phone vibrated again.
An email from an unknown sender.
The subject line read:
*THE ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE — READ BEFORE YOU TRUST EVELYN CARTER.*
I opened the attachment.
A scanned document appeared.
At first, it looked identical to the hospital record in my hand.
Then I noticed the date.
The baby had been born eleven months earlier than the date written on my father's photograph.
I checked the hospital number.
It was different.
And at the bottom of the document was a second name.
*Mother: Eleanor Reed.*
*Father: Thomas Carter.*
I slowly raised my eyes toward Evelyn.
She was already crying.
"Mrs. Carter," I whispered, "why does this document say your husband was my father's son's father?""
She took a step toward me.
"Ethan, there's something your father never told you.""
"What?""
She looked toward the factory entrance.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"Adrian Mitchell isn't the only child your mother gave away.""
A car engine started outside the gate.
I turned.
A black Mercedes was pulling away.
Adrian was behind the wheel.
And in the passenger seat sat Naomi.
She was holding a folder.
The same folder that had been missing from my father's office.
I ran toward the entrance.
But before I reached the gate, my phone rang.
An unfamiliar male voice spoke.
"Mr. Reed, this is Detective Harris. We just received confirmation from the hospital archive.""
I stopped.
"What confirmation?""
"The birth record you found is not authentic.""
My heart sank.
"Then what is?""
He paused.
"Your father's original medical records identify a different biological father for you.""
I looked back at Evelyn.
She was standing beneath the maple tree, holding the photograph of my mother.
May you like
Then Detective Harris delivered the final blow.
"Mr. Reed, according to the original records, Thomas Carter may be your biological father.""
