Chapter 6: The Secret Buried Before We Were Born
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The sentence remained hanging in the room like smoke.
*The person who betrayed me is the one who knew the truth and tried to hide it.*
Not the child.
Not the person whose blood was different.
The person who knew.
My eyes moved from Daniel to Emily.
Then back to Daniel.
Because suddenly, every memory had a second meaning.
Every conversation.
Every argument.
Every strange moment my father had shared with us.
“Thomas,” I said quietly, “who knew?””
The lawyer looked at the letter.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“Your father never wrote the name.””
Emily stared at him.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does if he wanted us to discover it ourselves.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
He stepped away from the table.
“No, this is exactly what Dad did. He created a puzzle and expected everyone else to solve it.””
His voice was getting louder.
“He knew we would turn against each other.””
“Daniel,” I said.
“No, Lily. Think about it.””
He pointed at the papers.
“He dies. We find a suspicious prescription. Then a secret woman appears.
Then a DNA test. Now we’re supposed to accuse each other.””
His eyes moved across the room.
“This is exactly what he wanted.””
Emily frowned.
“You think Dad wanted us fighting?””
“I think Dad knew we would.””
Thomas looked at him carefully.
“Daniel, why are you so determined to believe your father caused this?””
Daniel stopped.
For a moment, I saw something behind his anger.
Pain.
“You didn’t know him like we did.””
Thomas answered quietly.
“I knew him better than you think.””
“No.””
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“You knew Richard Hale.””
He pointed at himself.
“We knew Dad.””
Nobody responded.
Because there was a difference.
A person could be admired by the world and still be impossible to understand at home.
My father had built skyscrapers.
But he couldn’t always repair the cracks inside his own family.
I looked at the DNA report again.
Two children.
One secret.
A lifetime of lies.
“Who knew about the test?”” Emily asked.
Thomas looked at her.
“Only Richard and me.””
Daniel immediately turned.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told us?””
“I was legally obligated to keep your father’s information private.””
Daniel laughed.
“Convenient.””
Thomas ignored the accusation.
“However, someone else knew.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
Thomas reached into the folder.
He removed another document.
“This.””
He placed it on the table.
It was an email.
From the hospital.
My father’s genetic test had been requested by someone else.
Not Richard.
Not Thomas.
Someone had contacted the medical center before the test was completed.
Emily leaned closer.
“Who?””
Thomas looked at the sender information.
Then his expression changed.
“An employee of Hale Construction.””
Daniel immediately took the paper.
“Who?””
The name was printed clearly.
I watched his face as he read it.
And I knew something was wrong.
Because Daniel recognized the name.
“Daniel?””
He didn’t answer.
“Who is it?””
Slowly, he put the paper down.
“It’s Marcus.””
Emily frowned.
“Marcus who?””
“Marcus Bell.””
The room went silent.
I knew that name.
Everyone in our family did.
Marcus had worked with my father for over twenty years.
He was not family.
But he was close enough to be invited to holidays.
Close enough to know our lives.
Close enough to know our father’s habits.
“He knew about the test?”” I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“Then why do you look scared?””
Daniel looked at the paper.
“Because Marcus was Dad’s right hand.””
Thomas nodded.
“Exactly.””
Emily stared at him.
“You think Marcus knew?””
“I think your father believed someone inside the company knew.””
Daniel picked up the prescription bottle again.
“This still doesn’t explain the medication.””
“No,” Thomas said.
“It doesn’t.””
Daniel looked frustrated.
“Then we have nothing.””
I looked at the bottle.
Something bothered me.
A small detail.
Something everyone had ignored.
“Wait.””
They all looked at me.
“The prescription date.””
Thomas turned.
“What about it?””
I took the bottle.
“It was filled the night Dad died.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
“But Dad’s doctor wouldn’t prescribe something without seeing him.””
Thomas looked thoughtful.
“Correct.””
“So who picked it up?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Daniel.
“You said you were here that night.””
“Yes.””
“Were you with Dad?””
His face tightened.
“No.””
“Then who was?””
Daniel looked away.
That was the answer.
Nobody knew.
Thomas immediately grabbed his phone.
“I’ll contact the pharmacy.””
Daniel stopped him.
“Why?””
“To find out who collected the medication.””
The room went quiet.
Because we all understood.
The person who picked up the prescription had been close to my father.
Close enough to know what he needed.
Close enough to deliver it.
And maybe…
Close enough to harm him.
A few minutes later, Thomas ended the call.
His face was unreadable.
“Well?””
Emily asked.
Thomas didn’t answer immediately.
“The pharmacy confirmed the medication was collected.””
“By who?””
He looked at Daniel.
“Your brother.””
The room exploded.
Emily stepped back.
“What?””
Daniel looked stunned.
“No.””
Thomas held up his hand.
“The pharmacy records show Daniel Hale signed for the prescription.””
Daniel shook his head.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
“Yes!””
He turned toward me.
“Lily, I didn’t kill Dad.””
I wanted to believe him.
I did.
But facts were becoming heavier than feelings.
“You picked up the medication?””
Daniel looked at the bottle.
“I…”
He stopped.
And that pause destroyed something.
“Daniel?””
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
Emily whispered:
“You did.””
“I picked it up.””
“Why?””
Daniel looked at all of us.
Then quietly said:
“Because Dad asked me to.””
Nobody spoke.
“What?””
“He called me that afternoon.””
“When?”” Thomas asked.
“Before dinner.””
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?””
Daniel looked down.
“Because he told me not to.””
My heart sank.
“What did he say?””
Daniel swallowed.
“He said someone was trying to hurt him.””
The room went silent.
“Then why hide it?”” I asked.
Daniel looked at me.
“Because he said if anyone knew he was suspicious, the person would panic.””
Thomas stepped closer.
“Did he tell you who?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“Did he tell you about the DNA test?””
“No.””
“Did he mention Claire?””
Daniel hesitated.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
“Yes.””
Everyone froze.
“You knew about Claire?””
Daniel looked trapped.
“Dad told me her name.””
“When?””
“Two weeks before he died.””
Emily stared at him.
“And you said nothing?””
“I didn’t know what it meant!””
“You knew our father had a secret woman from his past and said nothing?””
“She wasn’t just some woman.””
The anger in Daniel’s voice surprised us.
“She was someone Dad trusted.””
I stepped closer.
“Daniel, what aren’t you telling us?””
He looked at me.
And for a moment, I thought he would finally tell the truth.
Then his phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Daniel looked at the screen.
His face changed.
Again.
Another impossible caller.
Another ghost from the past.
He answered slowly.
“Hello?””
No one spoke.
Then Daniel’s expression turned pale.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
He looked at us.
Then whispered:
“You’re sure?””
Another pause.
His hand tightened around the phone.
“What happened?””
The color drained from his face.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
“Who was it?”” I asked.
Daniel didn’t answer.
Thomas stepped forward.
“Daniel.””
He looked at us.
“It was Marcus.””
Emily frowned.
“What did he want?””
Daniel swallowed.
“He said he found something.””
“What?””
Daniel looked toward my father’s office.
Something close to fear appeared in his eyes.
“He found the original birth records.””
My stomach dropped.
“Whose birth records?””
Daniel looked at me.
Then at Emily.
Then at himself.
And whispered:
“The ones that prove which one of us was never supposed to be Richard Hale’s child.””
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone turned.
The office door.
The room where my father kept his secrets.
It slammed shut.
May you like
And from behind it…
came the sound of someone breathing.
