Chapter 7: The Third Child Nobody Was Allowed to Mention
Nobody moved.
The document lay on the marble table between us.
I stared at Grant's signature.
It was unmistakable.
The same slanted handwriting I had seen on birthday cards, bank statements, and the divorce papers he'd slapped onto the table the previous afternoon.
My husband had signed a document connected to a third child.
A child Daniel had apparently fathered.
A child nobody had ever mentioned.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Explain.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Before Daniel married you, he was involved in a legal battle with his father's estate. There were people trying to take control of Mercer Holdings. Daniel discovered that several financial records had been altered.””
“What does that have to do with another child?””
Evelyn glanced toward Marjorie.
“Everything.””
Marjorie reached for the document.
Evelyn pulled it away.
“Don't even think about it.””
“You have no idea what you're holding,” Marjorie snapped.
“I know exactly what I'm holding. I spent nine years trying to find it.””
Grant stepped forward.
“Evelyn, you need to leave.””
She laughed bitterly.
“You're still giving orders? After everything you've done?””
Grant pointed toward the front door.
“This is private property.””
Evelyn looked at me.
“Actually, Dana, that's another lie.””
She tapped the document.
“Daniel transferred the majority ownership of this mansion into a family property trust before he died. The girls are the beneficiaries.””
I stared at her.
“Both girls?””
“Both girls.””
Marjorie gave a contemptuous laugh.
“You expect me to believe two children own this house?””
“No,” Evelyn replied.
“I expect you to read the legal documents before making another foolish statement.””
Isabella stood halfway down the staircase.
Her eyes moved between the adults.
“Grandma?””
Marjorie immediately changed her expression.
“Darling, go upstairs.””
“Why is everyone fighting?””
“It's grown-up business.””
Isabella looked at Tessa.
“Are you really my sister?””
Tessa nodded.
“I think so.””
“Do you have the same birthday?””
“Yes.””
“Do you like chocolate cake?””
Tessa blinked.
Then she gave a small, uncertain smile.
“It's my favorite.””
Isabella's face softened.
“Mine too.””
For one brief moment, the two girls looked like ordinary sisters meeting for the first time.
Then Grant stepped between them.
“That's enough.””
He took Isabella by the shoulders.
“Go upstairs.””
She pulled away.
“Stop telling me to go upstairs!””
Grant looked stunned.
It was the first time I had heard Isabella raise her voice.
She stared at him.
“You always say I shouldn't ask questions. You say I'm lucky Grandma took me in. But why does everyone know something about me except me?””
Grant's jaw tightened.
“Because some things are better left alone.””
Isabella began crying.
“Are you my father?””
Grant didn't answer.
I stepped forward.
“No, sweetheart.””
She looked at me.
“Then who is?””
I swallowed.
“Your biological father was Daniel Mercer. The same man who is Tessa's father.””
Isabella covered her mouth.
“Then why did you leave me?””
I wanted to reach for her, but she stepped away.
“I didn't leave you,” I whispered.
“Someone took you from me.””
Marjorie suddenly screamed.
“Enough! You are poisoning her against the people who raised her!””
Evelyn turned.
“You raised her on lies.””
Marjorie slapped the table.
“I gave that girl everything!””
“Except her identity,” Evelyn replied.
Grant grabbed the document from Evelyn's hand.
He tore it in half.
The sound was sharp.
Isabella gasped.
But Evelyn only smiled.
“That's a copy.””
Grant stared at her.
She reached into her handbag and produced another folder.
“The original is already with the court.””
His expression changed.
I looked at Evelyn.
“What was the third child's name?””
She hesitated.
“Daniel's son.””
My breath caught.
“A boy?””
“Yes.””
I looked at Grant's signature again.
“Where is he?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“We don't know.””
“Was he born before the twins?””
“No. Three months afterward.””
I felt dizzy.
Three months after the twins?
Daniel had been dead for nearly a year by then.
“How could that be possible?””
Evelyn looked at me carefully.
“Because the birth record was filed under a different name. The child was registered as the son of a woman who worked for Marjorie.””
My eyes moved toward the older woman.
Marjorie looked away.
“Who was the mother?”” I asked.
Evelyn opened another page.
A name appeared.
*Rachel Collins.*
Margaret's daughter.
The attorney.
I felt the room shift.
“Margaret knew?””
“Margaret was the one who helped arrange the protection,” Evelyn said.
“Rachel was pregnant when Daniel died. She claimed Daniel was the father, but the family refused to acknowledge the child.””
Grant laughed harshly.
“Because Daniel wasn't the father.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then why did you sign the birth record?””
Grant said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“Grant, who is that boy?””
He looked at me.
For a second, I saw something in his eyes that I had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Guilt.
Then he said:
“He's my son.””
The room went silent.
Marjorie closed her eyes.
Isabella stared at Grant.
Tessa looked at me.
Caleb and Mason had entered quietly and were standing behind us.
I could barely breathe.
“Your son?””
Grant nodded.
“Rachel and I were together before I married you.””
My mouth went dry.
“You had a child with another woman?””
“It's complicated.””
I laughed.
“You have used that word for every terrible thing you've done.””
Grant looked toward the staircase.
“Rachel couldn't raise him. My mother arranged everything.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Your mother arranged the disappearance of a child whose inheritance could expose your fraud.””
Grant turned sharply.
“Shut up!””
Isabella flinched.
Tessa moved beside her.
“You don't get to shout at us,” Tessa said.
Grant looked at the two girls.
And for the first time, he seemed to realize that the children he had spent years manipulating were no longer afraid of him.
I picked up the remaining documents.
“Where is your son, Grant?””
He stared at me.
Then he answered quietly.
“His name is Noah.””
“Where is he?””
Grant looked at Marjorie.
She slowly shook her head.
But Grant finally said the words that changed everything.
“Noah is living with a family in Boston.””
Evelyn's eyes widened.
“That family has been raising him as their own?””
Grant nodded.
“And they have no idea who he really is.””
I looked at the birth record.
Then at the photograph of the twins.
Three children.
Three lives.
Three identities stolen by the same family.
And suddenly, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
It contained a photograph of a teenage boy standing outside a school.
Underneath it were seven words.
*I know who my real parents are.*
May you like
A second message followed.
*And I know what Grant did to Daniel.*
