Chapter 12: The Son Nobody Was Allowed to Find
The storage unit seemed to shrink around us.
A son.
Daniel had another child.
Not Sophie.
Not me.
Someone else.
Someone who had apparently vanished without being adopted.
I turned toward Eleanor.
"Did you know?""
She shook her head.
"No.""
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
"Daniel mentioned a boy once.""
I grabbed his arm.
"When?""
"Several months before his accident. He told me he'd found evidence of a child connected to Arthur's company.""
"Did he know the child's name?""
Thomas hesitated.
"Michael.""
The name settled between us.
Michael.
I had never heard it before.
Margaret immediately called Laura.
She put the phone on speaker.
"Laura, we're looking at the hospital records. Can you explain the boy?""
Laura's voice sounded strained.
"The original ledger lists two births under Patricia's name. A girl in January 2006 and a boy in May 2008.""
My stomach tightened.
"Patricia had another child?""
"Yes. But the second record is different. It says the baby was transferred to a private medical facility.""
"Which one?""
"Westbrook Children's Clinic.""
Thomas shook his head.
"That clinic closed years ago.""
Laura continued.
"I found the transfer authorization. Arthur signed it.""
Margaret wrote something down.
"Was the boy's biological father listed?""
"Yes.""
There was a pause.
Then Laura said:
"Daniel Bennett.""
I closed my eyes.
Another child.
Another secret.
Another person whose life had been controlled by my grandfather.
"Where did the boy go?"" I asked.
Laura hesitated.
"I don't know. But the ledger includes a second name.""
"What name?""
"Michael Reed.""
Thomas suddenly stood.
His walking stick fell against the floor.
"That's impossible.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
Thomas stared at the phone.
"Michael Reed was the name of Daniel's assistant.""
I frowned.
"His assistant?""
Thomas nodded.
"He worked with Daniel for years. He was a young man when I first met him. Daniel took him under his wing.""
Margaret looked up.
"How old was he?""
"About twenty-seven.""
I felt a chill.
"Could he be Patricia's son?""
Thomas slowly shook his head.
"Michael Reed was born in 1981.""
The dates didn't match.
Then Laura spoke.
"There's another entry. The child's birth date is May 2008, but the transfer document was signed in 2009. The name Michael Reed appears as the receiving guardian.""
Thomas sat down heavily.
I looked at him.
"Do you know where he is?""
Thomas nodded slowly.
"I know where he was.""
"Where?""
"At Daniel's company.""
We spent the next hour searching through old company records.
Thomas remembered that Michael had been given a position in the accounting department after Daniel hired him.
He had worked there until the accident.
Then he disappeared.
No resignation letter.
No forwarding address.
No final paycheck.
Just gone.
Margaret searched the company archives.
At first, she found nothing.
Then she opened an old employee file.
A photograph appeared.
A young man with dark hair and a narrow face.
I stared.
He looked familiar.
Not because I'd met him.
Because his eyes resembled mine.
"Is that Michael?""
Thomas nodded.
"That's him.""
I leaned closer.
"How old was he in this picture?""
"About twenty-five.""
"Then he can't be Patricia's child.""
Thomas frowned.
"Unless the documents are referring to someone else.""
Margaret opened the attached records.
There was a personnel note.
Michael Reed reassigned following internal investigation. All records transferred to private archive under direction of Arthur Bennett.
Below it was a handwritten address.
A small apartment building in Boston.
Edward immediately called his investigator.
Within forty minutes, we had a possible current address.
I looked at Eleanor.
"Do you think he knows about us?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know, sweetheart.""
Then she reached for my hand.
"But if he's Daniel's son, he deserves to know.""
We arrived at the apartment building shortly after six.
It was an old brick property near a busy street.
Edward knocked on the third-floor apartment.
No answer.
He knocked again.
A man's voice came from inside.
"Who is it?""
"Edward Hayes. We're looking for Michael Reed.""
Silence.
Then the door opened a few inches.
A man in his early forties appeared.
He had dark hair, tired eyes, and a scar near his left eyebrow.
He looked at Edward.
Then at Eleanor.
His face changed.
"You're alive.""
Eleanor nodded.
"Yes.""
The man stepped back.
"Come in.""
The apartment was small but tidy.
A stack of legal documents covered the dining table.
There were photographs on the wall.
One showed Daniel standing beside a young man.
The same man who had opened the door.
I stared.
"Who are you?""
He looked at me.
"Michael Reed.""
"I'm Emily.""
He nodded slowly.
"I know.""
My heart skipped.
"You know me?""
He walked to a drawer and pulled out a photograph.
It showed a baby wrapped in a white blanket.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Our son. May 2008.
Daniel's handwriting.
Michael placed it on the table.
"Daniel gave me this before he died.""
I looked at the photograph.
Then at Michael.
"Are you saying...""
He nodded.
"I'm his son.""
Eleanor covered her mouth.
I stared at the man.
"How?""
Michael sat down.
"Patricia gave birth to me in 2008. She didn't want me, and Arthur didn't want another child becoming a problem. Daniel arranged for me to be raised by a trusted family friend.""
I swallowed.
"Why did you disappear from the company?""
"Because I found the original financial records after Daniel died.""
"What records?""
Michael opened a folder.
"Arthur was using the company to move money through properties. Richard helped him. Patricia signed the documents. When I threatened to expose them, Arthur told me he'd make sure I disappeared too.""
He pulled out several bank statements.
"Daniel had discovered everything before his accident.""
I looked at the papers.
There were transfers.
Fake invoices.
Shell companies.
And payments to an account belonging to Richard.
Michael pointed to one transaction.
"See this?""
The amount was $850,000.
The payment date was October 13, 2006.
The day before Daniel's accident.
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who received it?""
Michael turned the page.
The recipient was a private transportation company.
A company owned by Arthur Bennett.
Then he placed another document on the table.
It was a vehicle maintenance report.
My father's car.
A replacement brake line had been installed two days before the accident.
The mechanic's signature was at the bottom.
Richard Bennett.
I couldn't breathe.
"Richard worked on my father's car?""
Michael nodded.
"That's why I kept these records.""
Edward immediately photographed the documents.
But Michael wasn't finished.
He opened a final folder and removed a small envelope.
"Daniel left something else for you.""
He handed it to me.
I recognized the handwriting.
Emily.
Inside was a letter.
My little girl,
If you ever meet Michael, tell him I never stopped loving him. Tell him I wanted to bring him home, just as I wanted to bring you home.
My eyes filled.
I looked at Michael.
He was crying too.
"He used to call me son," Michael whispered.
"Even though he couldn't tell anyone who I was.""
I reached across the table.
He took my hand.
For the first time, I had a brother.
A brother who had been hidden just as I had.
But then Michael stood and walked toward a cabinet.
He removed a small digital recorder.
"There's something you need to hear.""
He pressed play.
Arthur's voice filled the room.
"Richard, the girl is becoming a problem.""
Richard answered.
"Which one?""
"Emily.""
A pause.
"Then make sure she never gets access to the trust.""
Richard laughed.
"That's why I married her.""
My blood turned cold.
Arthur continued.
"And the other child?""
"Sophie?""
"No. The boy.""
Richard's voice lowered.
"Michael knows too much.""
Then Arthur said something that made Michael turn pale.
"Then perhaps it's time we finish what we started with Daniel.""
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Michael looked at me.
"I made this recording six months ago.""
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you go to the police?""
"Because I didn't have enough evidence to prove Arthur was involved in Daniel's death.""
Edward nodded.
"Now you do.""
Michael shook his head.
"There's one more thing.""
He opened his laptop.
A live security camera feed appeared.
It showed the entrance to his apartment building.
A black SUV was parked outside.
A man stood beside it.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Scarred right hand.
Arthur.
Michael whispered, "He found me.""
Then the apartment lights went out.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
And someone began pounding on the front door.
"MICHAEL REED!""
Arthur's voice echoed through the apartment.
"OPEN THE DOOR!""
Michael looked at me.
Then he whispered:
"There's a second exit. But before we leave, you need to know who really raised Richard.""
The door shook under another blow.
Michael grabbed a photograph from the desk.
It showed a young Arthur standing beside a woman holding a newborn.
The woman wasn't Patricia.
It was Eleanor.
May you like
And written on the back, in Daniel's handwriting, were the words:
The child Arthur stole before any of us were born.
