Chapter 3: The Man Who Claimed to Be Her Father
I stood at the top of the stairs, staring at the front door.
Daniel knocked again.
"Marcus! I know you're in there.""
Vanessa hurried past me.
"Don't make a scene.""
I grabbed her arm.
"You're not going anywhere.""
She jerked free.
"He's here to help!""
"Help who? You or my daughter?""
The doorbell rang.
Then Daniel's voice came again.
"Open the door, brother. I brought the paperwork.""
I walked downstairs.
Rachel was sitting beside Lily on the living room couch. She immediately stood when she saw my face.
"What happened?""
"Daniel is listed as Lily's biological father on a court order.""
Rachel stared at me.
"That's impossible.""
"That's what I thought.""
Lily looked up.
"Is Uncle Daniel coming to take me?""
I knelt beside her.
"Nobody is taking you anywhere.""
She clutched her stuffed rabbit.
"Promise?""
"I promise.""
I opened the door.
Daniel stood outside wearing a navy suit, holding a leather briefcase.
Beside him was a woman in a gray coat carrying a stack of documents.
He looked at me and smiled.
"Finally.""
I didn't move.
"What do you want?""
Daniel sighed.
"Can we talk like adults?""
"You came to my daughter's school pretending to be her father.""
His smile disappeared.
"I have legal documentation.""
"You have forged documents.""
"Marcus, don't be stupid.""
He stepped inside without permission.
The woman followed.
"I'm Attorney Susan Blake," she introduced herself.
"I'm representing Mr. Williams in a family guardianship matter.""
I looked at her.
"Which Mr. Williams?""
She hesitated.
Daniel answered.
"Me.""
Rachel stepped forward.
"You're not Lily's father.""
Daniel placed his briefcase on the coffee table.
"That's not what the court records say.""
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I opened the folder I'd found upstairs and dropped it in front of him.
"Explain this.""
He glanced at the email.
For one brief moment, his expression changed.
Then he closed the folder.
"Where did you get that?""
"Your girlfriend left it in our bedroom.""
Vanessa appeared behind us.
"Daniel, tell him.""
I turned.
"Tell me what?""
Daniel removed a document from his briefcase.
It was a photocopy of a birth certificate.
Lily's name was printed across the top.
Under the section marked FATHER was Daniel's full name.
I stared at it.
"Emily would never have done this.""
Daniel shrugged.
"People keep secrets, Marcus.""
"Emily loved me.""
"She loved you. That doesn't mean she was faithful.""
Rachel stepped forward.
"You're disgusting.""
Daniel ignored her.
"Look, Marcus. I'm not here to fight. I'm here because Lily deserves a stable home.""
I laughed.
"A stable home? You mean the home where my brother and my wife plan to steal her inheritance?""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Watch your mouth.""
"Or what?""
He leaned toward me.
"Or you'll lose everything.""
The room went silent.
I pointed toward the front door.
"Get out.""
He didn't move.
Instead, he opened his briefcase and removed another document.
"This is the court order. It grants me temporary authority to collect Lily while the paternity matter is reviewed.""
I took the paper.
There was a judge's signature.
A case number.
An official seal.
And a date.
Three weeks earlier.
My eyes moved to the final paragraph.
It stated that Marcus Williams had voluntarily surrendered his parental rights.
My signature appeared beneath it.
My real signature.
Not the clumsy imitation I'd seen in Vanessa's bedroom.
I looked at Daniel.
"How did you get this?""
He smiled.
"That's what happens when people don't read what they sign.""
I felt my stomach turn.
Three weeks earlier, Daniel had visited my office with several documents concerning Lily's inheritance.
He'd told me the trust needed routine updates.
I'd signed a stack of papers between meetings.
Had one of them been this?
I remembered asking him what I was signing.
He'd laughed.
"Just boring legal stuff. I'll handle everything.""
I looked at the document again.
Then at my brother.
"You tricked me.""
Daniel adjusted his cufflinks.
"You were busy.""
Rachel grabbed the paper.
"This doesn't prove anything. We need to call the police.""
Susan Blake cleared her throat.
"Please understand that my client is acting under an existing court order.""
I looked at her.
"Have you verified the underlying documents?""
She didn't answer immediately.
Daniel interrupted.
"Everything is legitimate.""
Then Lily spoke from the couch.
"Uncle Daniel?""
We all turned.
She was standing beside Rachel, clutching her rabbit.
Daniel's face softened instantly.
"Hello, princess.""
Lily stepped backward.
"Are you taking me to the place with the little beds?""
Daniel blinked.
"What?""
"The place Mommy Vanessa showed me on her computer.""
Vanessa rushed forward.
"Lily, stop talking.""
I stepped between them.
"Let her finish.""
Lily began twisting the rabbit's ear.
"She said I would live there and Daddy wouldn't know where I was.""
Daniel's expression hardened.
"That's enough.""
Lily flinched.
I saw it.
Rachel saw it.
Even Susan Blake noticed.
"Mr. Williams," she said quietly, "perhaps we should postpone this discussion until the child is not present.""
Daniel slammed his briefcase shut.
"No. We came here for a reason.""
He pulled out a final document.
"This is the transfer authorization for the inheritance. Once the guardianship is settled, I can manage the trust without Marcus interfering.""
I stared at the paper.
The account number was familiar.
Lily's inheritance account.
The balance was printed at the top.
$740,000.
But beneath it was a line I'd never seen before.
*Proposed distribution upon change of guardianship:*
- $370,000 to Vanessa Williams. - $185,000 to Daniel Williams. - $185,000 retained for Lily's care.
I looked up slowly.
"You divided my daughter's inheritance between yourselves?""
Vanessa's voice cracked.
"Marcus, listen—"
"YOU WERE GOING TO STEAL HER MONEY?""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Lower your voice.""
I pointed at the door.
"Get out of my house.""
He leaned close enough for me to smell his expensive cologne.
"You're making a terrible mistake. You have no idea what Emily told me before she died.""
I froze.
"What did you just say?""
Daniel smiled.
For the first time, it wasn't a friendly smile.
It was the expression of a man who believed he'd finally found the weapon that would destroy his enemy.
"Emily didn't leave that money because she trusted you, Marcus.""
He glanced toward Lily.
"She left it because she knew what you were.""
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?""
Daniel picked up his briefcase.
Then he delivered the words that changed everything.
"Ask yourself why Emily made me promise to protect Lily before she died.""
He walked toward the door.
But before leaving, he turned back.
"And Marcus? You should probably ask your wife what happened the night Emily died.""
Vanessa went completely white.
I looked at her.
She couldn't meet my eyes.
And suddenly, I understood something far more frightening than the forged court order.
My brother hadn't just been planning to take my daughter.
He and my wife had been hiding something about her mother.
Something that had started before Emily's death.
Something that might explain why they were so desperate to get Lily out of my house.
Then Rachel's phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
Her face drained of color.
"Marcus...""
"What?""
She turned the phone toward me.
It was a message from an unknown number.
There was one photograph attached.
Emily.
My late wife.
Standing outside a hospital three days before she died.
And beside her, holding a newborn baby, was Daniel.
May you like
The message beneath the photograph contained only eleven words:
*"If you want the truth about Lily, ask who switched the babies.""*
