Chapter 3: The Secret My Mother Took to Her Grave
My father had been dead for twenty years.
At least, that was what my mother had told me.
I stared at his name until the letters blurred.
Richard Carter.
The man who supposedly died in a car accident when I was seven.
The man whose photograph still stood on our mother's bedroom dresser.
The man whose funeral I barely remembered because I had been too young to understand what death meant.
"Claire?""
Alexander's voice sounded distant.
I looked up.
Stephanie was staring at the letter.
"What's going on?""
I folded the paper.
"Nothing.""
"Don't lie.""
I looked directly at her.
"Why does Mom's letter mention Dad?""
The color drained from her face.
Nathan immediately looked at Stephanie.
It was a small movement.
Almost invisible.
But I saw it.
So did Alexander.
Mr. Bennett removed his glasses.
"Perhaps we should continue this discussion privately.""
"No," I said.
My voice surprised even me.
"I want everyone here to hear it.""
I placed the letter on the table.
"Mother wrote that the person helping Stephanie was connected to our father.""
Stephanie shook her head.
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because Dad is dead.""
"That's what I was told.""
"Claire, don't start inventing things.""
I studied her face.
She wasn't confused.
She was terrified.
And that was when I understood that she knew something.
"Stephanie, what aren't you telling me?""
She pushed her chair back.
"I've had enough.""
Nathan caught her arm.
"Sit down.""
She turned toward him.
"Don't touch me.""
For the first time, I saw something crack between them.
Alexander quietly asked Mr. Bennett to make copies of the letter.
The attorney nodded.
"Of course.""
Then he reached into his briefcase and removed another envelope.
"Your mother left this separately.""
I stared at it.
"What's inside?""
"A photograph and a letter. She instructed me to give them to you personally.""
He placed them in front of me.
The photograph was old.
The edges were yellow.
It showed my mother standing outside a small restaurant, holding the hand of a little girl.
Stephanie.
Beside them stood a man.
He was older than the father I remembered, with silver hair and a deep scar above his right eyebrow.
But I recognized him.
Not from childhood.
From the photograph hanging in Mother's bedroom.
My father.
Alive.
I dropped the picture.
Stephanie covered her mouth.
Nathan stared at the table.
Alexander picked up the photograph.
"Claire, are you sure?""
I nodded.
"My father.""
Mr. Bennett spoke quietly.
"Your mother received this photograph approximately five months ago.""
"Five months?"" I repeated.
"Yes.""
I looked at Stephanie.
"Did you know?""
She didn't answer.
"Stephanie!""
She flinched.
"I didn't know he was alive.""
"Then why are you acting like you do?""
Nathan stood abruptly.
"We should leave.""
Alexander looked at him.
"Sit down.""
"I'm not staying for this.""
Mr. Bennett closed the conference room door.
"Mr. Hayes, I strongly advise you to remain. Your name appears in several documents connected to this matter.""
Nathan looked at the attorney.
Then at Stephanie.
Finally, he sat.
I opened the second letter.
Claire,
There are things I should have told you when you were younger.
Your father did not die in the accident.
He left us.
I stopped.
The room seemed to tilt.
My mother continued.
He had debts. Serious debts. He had been using our savings to cover investments he refused to discuss with me. When I discovered the truth, he disappeared.
I told you he was dead because I wanted you to grow up without waiting for a man who had already abandoned you.
My eyes filled with tears.
For many years, I believed he would never return.
Then, five months ago, he contacted me.
He claimed he wanted to see his daughters.
I refused.
Two weeks later, someone began asking questions about the estate.
I looked up.
"Who contacted her?""
Mr. Bennett answered.
"Your father used a lawyer to communicate with her.""
"Do you have his name?""
He nodded.
"Thomas Reed.""
Stephanie suddenly stood.
"Stop!""
Everyone turned.
Her hands were shaking.
"Please stop reading.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
"Because Mom was confused. She was sick. She didn't understand what she was writing.""
I stared at her.
"She understood enough to write my name.""
Stephanie's lips trembled.
Nathan grabbed his jacket.
"I'm leaving.""
Alexander stepped away from the table.
"You can leave after answering one question.""
Nathan froze.
"Which is?""
"Why did your company receive money from my mother?""
Nathan looked toward Stephanie.
She whispered something.
I couldn't hear it.
But I saw his expression change.
Alexander noticed too.
"Interesting," he said.
Nathan turned.
"You don't know anything about our situation.""
"Then explain it.""
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"Your wife doesn't know everything either.""
I felt a chill.
"What does that mean?""
Nathan looked directly at me.
"Ask your sister why she really started dating me.""
Stephanie's face went white.
"Nathan, don't.""
"Why not? We're already exposing secrets.""
I stood.
"What are you talking about?""
Nathan looked at Alexander.
Then back at me.
"Six years ago, when I left you, I told you I had fallen in love with Stephanie.""
I nodded slowly.
"I remember.""
"That wasn't the whole story.""
My heart began pounding.
He continued.
"Stephanie contacted me months before I broke off our engagement.""
I turned toward my sister.
"Why?""
Nathan swallowed.
"She told me your father was alive.""
The room went silent.
I looked at Stephanie.
She was crying now.
Real tears.
Not the theatrical kind she had used to manipulate our parents when we were children.
"Is that true?""
She shook her head.
"I was trying to protect you.""
"From what?""
"From Dad.""
I felt as though someone had pulled the floor out from beneath me.
Nathan continued.
"Stephanie said your father had been looking for you. She told me he had money and wanted to make a deal. She said if I stayed close to her, we could find out what he wanted.""
I looked at him.
"So you left me because of my father?""
"At first.""
"And later?""
Nathan lowered his eyes.
"I fell in love with her.""
Stephanie slapped him.
The sound cracked through the conference room.
"Shut up!""
Nathan grabbed his cheek.
"You wanted the truth!""
"I wanted you to stop talking!""
I backed away from the table.
Six years.
Six years of believing my sister had stolen my fiancé because she wanted something I had.
Perhaps she had.
But there had been another reason.
A reason involving a father who had abandoned us, an inheritance worth millions, and a secret my mother had tried to bury.
Alexander came to stand beside me.
"Claire, we need to be careful.""
I nodded, barely able to breathe.
Then Mr. Bennett cleared his throat.
"There's something else.""
He removed a final document from the folder.
It was a bank authorization dated two months before our mother's death.
The account holder was Richard Carter.
The beneficiary was Stephanie Carter.
And beneath the account details was a note written in our father's handwriting.
Payment upon successful transfer of the Carter estate.
I stared at the page.
"Successful transfer?""
Mr. Bennett nodded.
"Your father appears to have been negotiating a claim against your mother's estate.""
I looked at Stephanie.
She was crying silently now.
"How much?"" I asked.
The attorney hesitated.
"Two million dollars.""
I couldn't speak.
Alexander took the paper.
Then he noticed something at the bottom.
A second beneficiary had been added.
His eyes narrowed.
"Mr. Bennett, when was this amendment made?""
"Approximately three weeks ago.""
Alexander turned the page toward me.
The second beneficiary was Nathan Hayes.
But there was something else.
A handwritten condition appeared beneath his name.
Both daughters must sign.
I looked at my sister.
"Stephanie, what did you promise our father?""
She covered her face.
And then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"Claire, he didn't come back for the money.""
May you like
She looked at me through her tears.
"He came back because one of us isn't really his daughter.""
