Chapter 13: The Child Vanessa Kept Hidden
I stared at the birth certificate in Agent Morgan's hands.
William Walker.
Vanessa Walker.
And a child born twenty-five years earlier.
My father had another child.
A child nobody had ever mentioned.
I looked at Lily.
"Did you know about this?""
She shook her head slowly.
"No.""
Agent Morgan placed the certificate on the desk.
"The child was registered under the name Daniel Walker. The birth took place in a private hospital outside Atlanta.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Where is he now?""
"That's what we're trying to establish.""
I looked at the photograph of my father beside the damaged car.
"Why would Vanessa hide a child?""
Agent Morgan studied the certificate.
"Perhaps because the child was connected to something she didn't want discovered.""
Lily picked up the document.
"Look at the date.""
I leaned closer.
The child had been born three months before my mother died.
I felt dizzy.
"Was my father having an affair?""
Agent Morgan didn't answer.
But Lily noticed something else.
"There's a second name on the certificate.""
Beneath Daniel's name was a handwritten note.
*Adoptive placement: Morgan Family Trust.*
Lily's face went pale.
"Wait.""
She looked at me.
"That's my adoptive family's name.""
I stared.
"What?""
"My adoptive father was Daniel Morgan.""
The room seemed to shrink.
Lily turned the certificate over.
A hospital stamp was visible.
And beneath it was a handwritten message.
The child must never be told who his biological parents are.
Lily began shaking.
"Are you saying Daniel was my adoptive brother?""
Agent Morgan took the paper.
"Possibly. We need to verify the records.""
I looked at the date again.
Twenty-five years ago.
Lily had been adopted at four.
Daniel had been born three months before our mother's death.
I suddenly remembered the photograph Robert had shown me.
My mother standing beside a little girl.
But perhaps there had been more than one child.
"Where is Daniel now?"" I asked.
Agent Morgan made a phone call.
While she spoke, I walked toward the window.
My entire life had been built around one family.
Now every photograph, every memory, every explanation seemed to contain another hidden story.
My father had lied.
My mother had hidden a daughter.
My grandfather had faked his death.
And Vanessa had apparently raised a child whose existence she had concealed from everyone.
Agent Morgan ended her call.
"We found him.""
I turned.
"Where?""
"He's living in Atlanta. He works as a financial investigator.""
Lily frowned.
"What's his name now?""
Agent Morgan checked her notes.
"Daniel Morgan.""
Lily sat down.
"My brother.""
We met Daniel that evening at a federal building.
He was tall, with dark hair and a narrow scar across his chin.
When he entered the interview room, he looked at Lily first.
Then at me.
"I was told you found a birth certificate.""
I nodded.
"Do you know who your biological parents are?""
Daniel gave a humorless laugh.
"I've spent most of my adult life trying to find out.""
He placed a folder on the table.
"My adoptive father told me my birth mother was young and unable to raise me. He never gave me a name.""
Lily stared at him.
"Your adoptive father was Daniel Morgan?""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
Tears filled her eyes.
"He raised me, too.""
Daniel looked stunned.
"What?""
Lily showed him the old photograph.
It showed her as a little girl standing beside our mother.
Daniel sat down slowly.
"My father kept that photograph in his bedroom.""
I stared at him.
"Did you know about the Walker family?""
"No. But I found something in his belongings after he died.""
He opened his folder.
Inside were photocopies of financial records and a letter.
"My adoptive father was a private investigator before he retired. He told me that he had been asked to protect a child from a wealthy family.""
"Was that you?""
Daniel nodded.
"Apparently.""
He unfolded the letter.
It was written by my father.
Daniel, I know I have no right to ask you to trust me. But you deserve to know that I am your biological father.
My throat tightened.
Daniel kept reading.
I wanted to raise you. I wanted you to grow up beside Ethan and Lily. But Vanessa threatened to expose the financial arrangements I had made with Charles. She told me that if I acknowledged you, she would destroy all three children.
Daniel lowered the letter.
"So Vanessa knew I existed.""
Lily nodded.
"She was your mother.""
He looked away.
"She gave me up and then spent twenty-five years pretending I didn't exist?""
I didn't know what to say.
Then Daniel opened another envelope.
"This is the reason I started investigating the Walker family.""
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Vanessa entering a private clinic.
Beside her was a man in a white coat.
Daniel pointed to the date.
"Three months before my birth, Vanessa was treated for a serious complication. According to the medical records I found, she was told she might never have another child.""
I frowned.
"But she had you.""
"Yes. And she apparently knew my biological father was William.""
He removed another page.
It was an old letter from Vanessa.
William, if you don't leave Margaret, I'll tell everyone about the money. I'll tell them what you did with Charles. And I'll tell your children who their father really is.
I stared.
"She was blackmailing him.""
Daniel nodded.
"She wanted money, the company, and eventually the house.""
Lily looked at him.
"Why did she give you up?""
Daniel's voice became cold.
"Because I was inconvenient.""
He closed the folder.
"There's something else. I found a recording on my adoptive father's computer. It was made the night your mother died.""
My heart started racing.
"Do you have it?""
Daniel nodded.
He connected a small drive to the laptop.
A familiar voice filled the room.
Vanessa.
"Charles, the girl knows about the accounts. We need to stop her.""
A man's voice answered.
"William will handle it.""
Then came another voice.
My father's.
"Nobody is touching Margaret. Do you understand me?""
There was a crash.
Then Vanessa whispered:
"You're making this much harder than it needs to be.""
The recording ended.
Daniel looked at me.
"There's another file. It was recorded thirty minutes later.""
He clicked it.
And this time, my mother's voice came through.
"William, if anything happens to me, remember that Daniel is your son. Protect all three children.""
Then a man's voice answered.
It wasn't my father.
It wasn't Charles.
It was Richard Hayes, my former attorney.
"Don't worry, Margaret. I'll make sure nobody ever finds out.""
I stared at the screen.
The lawyer who had betrayed me had known my mother.
And he had been there on the night she died.
Agent Morgan immediately stood.
"We need to locate Richard Hayes.""
Daniel checked his phone.
Then his expression changed.
"That's going to be difficult.""
"Why?""
He turned the screen toward us.
A breaking-news alert had just appeared.
*FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY RICHARD HAYES FOUND DEAD IN HIS HOME.*
And beneath the headline was a photograph of the house.
The front door was wide open.
May you like
On the porch, written in red paint, were three words.
*THREE CHILDREN. ONE SECRET.*
