Chapter 10: The Son Vanessa Tried to Erase
For a moment, nobody moved.
Rebecca Cole stood in the doorway, tears running down her cheeks.
Marcus was staring at Leo.
My father had one hand pressed against the dressing table, as if he needed something solid to keep himself standing.
And I couldn't stop looking at the hospital bracelet in Rebecca's hand.
"You're looking at him.""
Those four words kept repeating in my head.
I pulled Leo closer.
"Explain what you just said.""
Rebecca nodded, wiping her face.
"Please let me tell you everything. I've carried this secret for six years.""
Marcus stepped forward.
"Are you saying Leo is my brother?""
Rebecca looked at him.
"Yes.""
Marcus shook his head.
"That's impossible. My father only had one son.""
"Your father had two.""
"Why would nobody tell me?""
"Because Vanessa made sure nobody could.""
I looked at Rebecca.
"Start from the beginning.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Edward Whitmore and I were together for almost two years. He told me his marriage was over, that he and Vanessa were living separate lives. I believed him.""
Marcus looked disgusted.
"That's not possible. My parents were married.""
"They were married legally. That doesn't mean they were happy.""
Rebecca continued.
"When I discovered I was pregnant, Edward promised to support the baby. He even visited me during the pregnancy. He told me he wanted his son to have everything he had never been able to give his first child.""
Marcus frowned.
"First child?""
Rebecca looked at him.
"Your older half-brother.""
I felt Leo shift against me.
"Why didn't Edward acknowledge him?""
"Because Vanessa threatened to leave him and take control of the company if he publicly recognized another child.""
Marcus shook his head.
"My mother wouldn't—"
Rebecca interrupted.
"She offered me money to disappear before the baby was born. I refused.""
She opened her handbag and removed a small photograph.
It showed a younger Edward holding a pregnant Rebecca's hand.
On the back was a handwritten message.
I promise our son will never have to hide.
Rebecca placed it on the dressing table.
"Edward died before he could keep that promise.""
Marcus went pale.
"What?""
"He had a heart attack three weeks after the babies were born. Vanessa told everyone he had died during a business trip.""
My father stared at her.
"That's not what the official report says.""
"Because the family didn't want anyone investigating what happened before his death.""
Rebecca continued.
"Edward had been preparing a legal acknowledgment of his son. He had also arranged for the child to receive a portion of the original family trust.""
I looked at the hospital bracelets.
"That's why Vanessa tried to remove him.""
Rebecca nodded.
"She believed that if Edward's second son disappeared from the records, Marcus would remain the only recognized heir.""
Marcus backed away.
"Where was I during all this?""
"At home. Vanessa told you that your father was ill and didn't want visitors.""
He covered his mouth.
I looked at Rebecca.
"Then what happened at the hospital?""
Rebecca's expression crumpled.
"I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Your son was born a little earlier that night. Both babies were placed in the same nursery.""
She pointed toward Leo.
"Vanessa had arranged for a private medical administrator to remove my baby and place him with a family overseas.""
My stomach turned.
"And Leo?""
"Your son was never supposed to be involved. But the nurse discovered the transfer order and refused to release either baby.""
Rebecca looked down.
"During the confusion, Vanessa realized the hospital had recorded both children under their correct names. She couldn't simply make one disappear without creating evidence.""
"So she kept the babies where they were?""
"Not exactly.""
Rebecca took another breath.
"She arranged for Leo's identification records to be challenged. If the hospital couldn't establish which baby belonged to which mother, she believed both children could be removed from the original records and re-registered under new identities.""
I stared at her.
"That's why she called him the wrong child.""
"Yes.""
Marcus looked horrified.
"But Leo went home with Nia.""
Rebecca nodded.
"Because the nurse refused to cooperate. She personally verified your son's bracelet and refused to let anyone take him.""
I felt my knees weaken.
"Then where did your baby go?""
Rebecca looked at Marcus.
"To a private guardian. A family that had been paid to raise him without asking questions.""
Marcus stared at Leo.
"And you knew?""
"I discovered the truth several months later. I tried to get my son back, but Vanessa threatened me. She said she'd have me arrested for attempting to sell a child.""
"Why didn't you come forward?""
Rebecca looked at the floor.
"Because I was afraid. And because I didn't know where he was.""
I thought about the last six years.
Leo's first steps.
His first words.
His first day at school.
The nights he'd climbed into my bed after a nightmare.
None of those memories changed.
He was still my son.
But another family had apparently spent years treating his existence as a corporate problem.
I turned toward Rebecca.
"How do you know Leo is Edward's son?""
She opened her handbag again and removed a laboratory report.
"Because I had a private DNA test performed three months ago.""
I looked at the document.
The result confirmed a biological parent-child relationship between Rebecca Cole and Leo Hayes.
Marcus took the report.
His hands were shaking.
"Why didn't you contact me?""
Rebecca's eyes filled again.
"I tried. Vanessa intercepted every letter.""
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
"She's been lying to me my entire life.""
Then Rebecca said something that made everything even worse.
"There's another reason I came here today.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
She pulled out a second document.
It was a court filing.
A petition for the immediate recognition of Leo as Edward Whitmore's biological heir.
But beneath it was a handwritten note.
If the boy is found, eliminate all remaining claims before the next board meeting.
I stared at the words.
"Who wrote this?""
Rebecca didn't answer.
She simply turned the page.
The signature at the bottom belonged to someone I never expected.
*Marcus Whitmore.*
Marcus looked at the paper.
Then he staggered backward.
"I didn't sign this.""
Rebecca whispered, "I know.""
She pointed to the date.
It was six months earlier.
May you like
Marcus stared at his own signature.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the man I had planned to marry had been protecting my son—or whether someone had been using his name to destroy him.
