Chapter 12: The Father Who Had Two Faces
Marcus stared at the photograph.
Richard Blackwood stood beside Thomas Reed and Daniel outside the abandoned estate.
The date printed beneath the image was October 18.
Three weeks earlier.
Marcus shook his head.
“No. Dad was in rehabilitation. He couldn't even stand.””
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“He was there.””
I turned toward him.
“You said Daniel was keeping him imprisoned.””
“He was.””
“Then why were they standing together?””
Thomas hesitated.
“Because Richard wasn't always a prisoner.””
Marcus grabbed his collar.
“Explain!””
Thomas raised his hands.
“Please. Let me explain.””
The police officer separated them.
Thomas took a shaky breath.
“Your father had periods of clarity. Sometimes he could walk with assistance. Daniel would bring him here to discuss the company.””
Marcus looked sick.
“You told me he was helpless.””
“He was being manipulated.””
“By whom?””
Thomas looked at the photograph.
“By Daniel. And by someone else.””
I felt a chill.
“Who?””
Thomas hesitated.
Then he pointed toward the bottom of the folder.
There was a second photograph.
It showed a woman entering the estate.
She wore a cream-colored coat and carried a leather handbag.
Her face was partially turned away.
But I recognized the handbag.
It belonged to Eleanor.
Marcus stared.
“My mother?””
Thomas nodded.
“She visited this property regularly.””
I shook my head.
“Why would Eleanor meet Daniel here?””
Thomas looked at me.
“Because she believed Richard was helping her recover the children.””
Marcus stepped backward.
“That's not possible.””
Thomas continued.
“She knew about the adoption. She knew about Ethan. But she believed Daniel was going to return him once his medical treatment was complete.””
I remembered Eleanor's tears at the hotel.
Her desperate attempts to protect Noah and Lily.
Had she been lying?
Marcus took out his phone and called her.
She answered after the first ring.
“Marcus?””
“Mother, where are you?””
“At the hotel. With the children.””
“Did you visit the old estate three weeks ago?””
Silence.
“Mother?””
Eleanor began crying.
“Yes.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Why?””
“I was trying to get Ethan back.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because Daniel threatened to take all three children if I interfered.””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“You should have trusted me.””
“I was afraid.””
He ended the call.
I looked at him.
“Marcus, we need to hear everything before deciding what happened.””
He nodded.
Then he turned toward Thomas.
“Where is the original ledger?””
Thomas pointed to the cabinet.
“Behind the medical files.””
An officer pulled out a thick black book.
The cover was worn.
My initials were written on the first page.
D.C.
I opened it.
The handwriting was mine.
I remembered sitting at my desk, copying transactions while Marcus was asleep.
Page after page contained company transfers, secret accounts, and suspicious payments.
Then I reached the final section.
A list of names.
Daniel Blackwood.
Vanessa Monroe.
Thomas Reed.
And Eleanor Blackwood.
I stopped breathing.
Marcus looked over my shoulder.
“Mother?””
The final entry was dated five years earlier.
Beside Eleanor's name was a transfer of $2.4 million.
The description read:
*CHILD CUSTODY AND MEDICAL TRANSFER — THREE INFANTS.*
I stared at the page.
“She received money.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No. There has to be an explanation.””
Thomas spoke quietly.
“She accepted the money.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“For what?””
“To keep the children away from Daniel.””
I looked at him.
“That makes no sense.””
Thomas nodded.
“I know. But the money was never spent. It was placed into a trust account.””
Marcus examined the transaction.
The account belonged to a charitable foundation established by Eleanor.
Thomas continued.
“She intended to use the money to fund a legal investigation. But Daniel discovered it and threatened to expose her.””
I closed the ledger.
“Why didn't she tell us?””
“Because she signed the original transfer documents. She believed that if Marcus found out, he would never forgive her.””
Marcus looked devastated.
For years, his mother had carried a secret that could destroy their family.
But there was still one question.
“Who was the fourth name?”” I asked.
Thomas looked confused.
“What fourth name?””
I pointed to a handwritten note beneath the account.
It contained a single sentence.
All three children are safe. The real danger remains inside the family.
Marcus read it twice.
Then he noticed a small symbol beside the sentence.
A black diamond.
His face turned white.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He looked at me.
“That's my father's personal signature.””
Richard had written it.
Thomas shook his head.
“No. Richard didn't write that.””
Marcus turned sharply.
“What?””
“I saw him sign documents. That's not his handwriting.””
“Then whose is it?””
Thomas stared at the page.
“Daniel's.””
A police officer approached.
“Mr. Blackwood, there's another development.””
Marcus turned.
“What now?””
“We've examined the financial records. There are several transfers from the family trust into an account controlled by someone outside the Blackwood family.””
“Who?””
The officer handed him a printed statement.
Marcus read the name.
Then looked at me.
I recognized it too.
It was the name of my former hospital administrator.
The man who had signed my false death certificate.
The man who had arranged my transfer.
The man who had supposedly retired five years earlier.
Marcus whispered, “Dr. Samuel Whitmore.””
Thomas nodded.
“He wasn't just the hospital administrator.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What else was he?””
Thomas looked directly at me.
“He was the person who performed the emergency surgery on Ethan.””
Marcus stared.
“Why would he be involved?””
Thomas swallowed.
“Because he knew something about Ethan's birth that none of us knew.””
“What?””
Thomas reached into his coat and pulled out a sealed medical envelope.
It was marked with the hospital's original seal.
Inside was a genetic report.
Marcus opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
“No.””
I took the document.
The results showed that Ethan's biological mother was me.
But the father listed on the report wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't Daniel either.
The report named a third man.
A man whose identity had been concealed through a legal name change.
I looked at the final line.
My hands began shaking.
“Marcus…”
He read the name over my shoulder.
Then he slowly backed away.
Because the man listed as Ethan's biological father was Richard Blackwood.
Marcus's own father.
And suddenly, the three children's separation was no longer just a story about greed.
It was a secret that could destroy every remaining member of the Blackwood family.
*Then my phone rang.*
The caller ID showed an unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's trembling voice whispered:
“Danielle, don't believe that DNA report. Richard isn't Ethan's father.””
I froze.
“Who is this?””
The woman took a shaky breath.
“I'm the nurse who delivered your triplets.””
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Then she said:
“And I have proof that someone switched the babies before you woke up.””
