Chapter 9: The Father Who Knew Nothing
I couldn't move.
The café seemed to disappear around me.
All I could see was Richard standing beside the table, holding a birth certificate with my name on it.
My father.
The word felt foreign.
For twenty-four years, I had believed I was an orphan.
Then I had learned that Elizabeth Carter was my mother.
Now I was being told that the man who had spent weeks trying to protect me was actually my biological father.
“Is it true?”” I asked.
Richard looked at me.
“I don't know.””
“Look at me and tell me.””
His eyes filled.
“I swear I never knew.””
Michael pushed the documents toward him.
“Your name is on every record.””
Richard shook his head.
“Those records could have been altered.””
“Then why did your father transfer money to Alexander Reed?””
“I don't know!””
His voice cracked.
For the first time, I saw him lose control.
Daniel moved between them.
“Stop shouting. We need to find out what's real.””
I looked at Richard.
“Did you love my mother?””
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
“Were you together?””
Richard nodded.
“Elizabeth and I were in love before she married Alexander.””
Michael looked confused.
“What?””
Richard turned toward him.
“Alexander was never her husband.””
I looked at the photograph of the three children.
“Then why was he in the family pictures?””
Richard took a deep breath.
“Because Alexander was Elizabeth's doctor. He was also the man who helped her hide the pregnancies.””
Michael's expression hardened.
“That's not what my adoption papers say.””
“Your adoption papers were arranged by Thomas.””
Richard turned toward me.
“Elizabeth and I had a relationship that our father refused to accept. He wanted her to marry someone from another wealthy family. When she became pregnant with you, he threatened to disown her.””
I swallowed.
“What happened next?””
“She disappeared for several months. When she returned, she was pregnant again.””
“With Daniel?””
Richard nodded.
“And Michael?””
“Michael was born before you and Daniel. But Elizabeth never told me he was my son.””
Michael stared at him.
“Why not?””
Richard looked down.
“Because she believed I had betrayed her.””
The words hung in the air.
“What did you do?”” I asked.
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“My father showed me documents claiming Elizabeth had been selling confidential company information. He told me she was working with Alexander to steal the family fortune.””
“Did you believe him?””
Richard looked at me.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“So you abandoned her?””
“I was twenty-six. I thought she had chosen Alexander over me. I didn't know she was pregnant again.””
I looked away.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
“Did you know she died?””
Richard nodded.
“I went to the hospital. Thomas told me she had died during childbirth. He showed me a death certificate.””
“Did you see her body?””
Richard didn't answer.
I understood.
He hadn't.
He had accepted what his brother told him.
He had allowed twenty-four years to pass without questioning it.
I looked at him.
“You didn't even try to find out what happened to your children.””
Richard's eyes filled.
“I thought they were dead.””
“But you had money. Power. Connections. You could have searched.””
“I know.””
His voice broke.
“I know, and I will regret that every day for the rest of my life.””
I wanted to hate him.
Part of me did.
But another part remembered the way he had knelt beside my wheelchair at the engagement party and asked whether I was all right.
He had looked at me like someone worth protecting.
I wasn't ready to forgive him.
But I couldn't ignore the possibility that he had been manipulated too.
Michael gathered the documents.
“We need a DNA test.””
Richard nodded immediately.
“Agreed.””
“Not through your family doctor,” Michael added.
“We'll use an independent laboratory.””
Daniel looked at his phone.
“I know someone.””
Before he could make the call, Richard's security director entered the café.
“Sir, we have a problem.””
Richard turned.
“What now?””
“Brianna has gone to the Carter estate.””
“She's supposed to be there. Why is that a problem?””
The director hesitated.
“She brought a lawyer.””
Richard frowned.
“For what?””
The director handed him a document.
“She's filed an emergency petition claiming that the Carter family trust should be transferred to her unborn child.””
Michael laughed bitterly.
“She's not pregnant.””
“I know,” Richard replied.
The director continued.
“She also claims that you have been concealing the existence of an illegitimate daughter to prevent the family from challenging your inheritance rights.””
I looked at the paper.
My name appeared again.
But this time, it was followed by a legal accusation.
*UNDECLARED HEIR — POTENTIAL FRAUDULENT CLAIMANT.*
Brianna wasn't just trying to marry into the family.
She was trying to make sure I never received anything.
Richard's expression became cold.
“Let's go.””
The Carter estate was brightly lit when we arrived.
Brianna stood in the main drawing room wearing a white silk dress.
Her hand rested over her stomach.
Beside her stood a tall lawyer carrying a leather briefcase.
Ethan sat on the sofa.
He looked exhausted.
Brianna smiled when she saw me.
“Well, look who's back.””
Richard walked straight toward her.
“Get out of my house.””
She laughed.
“Your house? That's interesting. According to the documents, this property belongs to the Carter family trust.””
Richard handed the lawyer the birth certificate.
“Then perhaps you should read this.””
The lawyer examined it.
His expression changed.
Brianna leaned over his shoulder.
“What is it?””
He whispered something to her.
Her smile disappeared.
She looked at me.
“No.””
I raised my chin.
“What?””
“You can't be Elizabeth's daughter.””
“Why?””
“Because Elizabeth had two children. Everyone knows that.””
Michael stepped forward.
“Three.””
Brianna looked at him.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely frightened.
Daniel placed the two hospital bracelets on the table.
“Would you like to explain why you have been using stolen medical records to pretend you're carrying a Carter heir?””
Brianna's face went white.
Ethan stood.
“Brianna, I told you this would happen.””
She spun toward him.
“You told me you had taken care of everything!””
The room went silent.
Richard slowly turned.
“Taken care of what?””
Ethan looked at the floor.
Brianna realized her mistake.
She immediately began crying.
“That's not what I meant.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then explain the payments.””
He placed the bank statements on the table.
Brianna looked at them.
Then she looked at Ethan.
He shook his head.
“Don't.””
But she was already losing control.
“You promised me the baby would secure the inheritance!””
Richard's voice was dangerously quiet.
“What baby?””
Brianna clutched her stomach.
“I'm pregnant!””
Daniel took out his phone.
“Then perhaps you'd like to explain why the clinic has no record of your pregnancy.””
Brianna stopped crying.
Her face became expressionless.
Then she did something none of us expected.
She turned toward me and smiled.
“You think proving I'm not pregnant will save you?””
I stared at her.
She reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
“Because the real problem isn't my baby.””
She dropped the envelope onto the table.
Inside was a DNA report.
My name appeared at the top.
Richard's name appeared beneath it.
And the result read:
*PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 0.00%.*
Richard stared at the paper.
Daniel grabbed it.
“Where did you get this?””
Brianna smiled.
“From a laboratory that doesn't lie.””
I felt the room spinning.
Richard looked at me.
“I didn't do this test.””
Brianna shrugged.
“Maybe you should ask your daughter why she pretended to be yours.””
I looked at the report again.
The sample collection date was three weeks earlier.
The exact day Richard had first invited me to the Carter estate.
My stomach tightened.
Someone had collected my DNA without my knowledge.
And someone had deliberately made sure the results would destroy the only family I had left.
Then the lawyer quietly closed his briefcase.
“Mr. Williams,” he said, “there is another issue.””
Richard turned.
The lawyer placed a second document on the table.
It was an original medical record from St. Mary's.
The heading read:
*PATERNITY CONFIRMATION — ELIZABETH CARTER'S CHILDREN.*
Three names appeared beneath it.
Michael Reed.
Daniel Carter.
And my name.
But beside my name, the biological father's identity had been handwritten.
It wasn't Richard.
It wasn't Alexander.
It was a name I had never heard before.
*THOMAS CARTER.*
Brianna looked directly at me.
“Now do you understand why your uncle wanted you dead?””
Richard's face turned ashen.
Daniel stared at the document.
And from the doorway, a familiar voice spoke.
May you like
“Because the girl in that wheelchair is the rightful owner of everything I spent twenty-four years trying to steal.””
Thomas Carter had finally arrived.
