Chapter 6: The Son My Father Hid
I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
The boy beside Patricia looked about sixteen.
He had dark hair, a narrow jaw, and the same deep-set eyes I'd seen in every photograph of my father.
“Who is he?”” I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“I've never seen him.””
“Rachel knows?””
“She says Patricia wouldn't give her his name.””
I handed the phone back.
“Call my aunt.””
Daniel dialed.
The call rang four times before Patricia answered.
“Daniel?””
Her voice was sharp.
“Where are you?””
“Why?””
“Because I need to talk to you about the hospital.””
A pause.
Then Patricia said, “You shouldn't be involved in this.””
Daniel looked at me.
“It's already too late.””
Patricia sighed.
“Is Marcus there?””
I took the phone.
“It's me.””
Silence.
Then she whispered, “Oh, sweetheart.””
I almost lost control.
“Don't call me that. What happened to the babies?””
Patricia didn't answer.
“Were the records changed deliberately?””
Another pause.
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“Who arranged it?””
“Your mother.””
I closed my eyes.
“Why?””
“Because she believed she was protecting you.””
“Protecting me from what?””
Patricia's voice trembled.
“From your father's second family.””
I looked at Daniel.
He mouthed, What?
Patricia continued.
“Robert had three children, Marcus. Not two.””
I felt my knees weaken.
“Three?””
“Yes. You, Daniel, and another boy.””
“The boy in the photograph?””
“No.””
“Then who is he?””
Patricia took a shaky breath.
“His name is Ethan.””
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who is Ethan?””
“Your father's youngest son.””
Daniel interrupted.
“That's impossible. My mother told me my father only had two sons.””
Patricia let out a bitter laugh.
“Your mother didn't know about Ethan.””
I gripped the phone.
“Where is he?””
“That's what your mother has been hiding.””
“Tell me.””
Patricia lowered her voice.
“Ethan was born with a serious heart condition. Robert wanted him protected. He arranged for a private medical fund and placed certain assets in a separate trust.””
I glanced at the documents Daniel had shown me.
“Was the hospital incident connected to that trust?””
“Yes.””
“Why would anyone switch babies to protect money?””
Patricia sounded exhausted.
“Because the trust required a direct biological heir. Your father feared that if the wrong people discovered Ethan's identity, they would use him to take control of the money.””
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.””
“Your father was afraid of someone, Marcus.””
“Who?””
Patricia didn't answer.
Instead, she said, “Come to my house. I'll show you everything.””
Forty minutes later, Daniel and I stood outside Patricia's home.
Vanessa had stayed behind.
She claimed she was too upset to come.
I didn't believe her, but I didn't care.
Patricia opened the door before we knocked.
She looked older than I remembered. Her silver hair was pulled into a loose bun, and her hands trembled as she held the door.
“Come inside.””
The living room was filled with photographs.
My father at Christmas.
My father holding me as a baby.
My father standing beside Daniel's mother.
And one photograph of a woman I'd never seen.
She was holding a newborn wrapped in a hospital blanket.
“Who is she?”” I asked.
Patricia closed the door.
“Ethan's mother. Her name was Margaret.””
“Where is she now?””
“Dead.””
Daniel moved closer to the photograph.
“Is Ethan alive?””
Patricia nodded.
“He is.””
“Where?””
Patricia hesitated.
“Your mother knows.””
I slammed my hand against the table.
“I'm tired of hearing that! Why won't anyone tell me?””
Patricia opened a cabinet and removed a thick brown envelope.
“Because Ethan isn't the only person whose identity was changed.””
She placed several documents on the table.
The first was a hospital discharge record.
The second was a birth certificate.
The third was an adoption agreement.
I looked at the names.
The biological mother was Margaret.
The biological father was Robert Williams.
But the adoptive parents were listed as a couple named Thomas and Evelyn Williams.
My breath caught.
“Evelyn?””
Patricia nodded.
“Your mother adopted Ethan.””
I stared at the document.
“My mother raised my father's biological son as her own?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“Because she wanted him to have a normal childhood.””
I shook my head.
“Then why change the other babies' records?””
Patricia sat down.
“Because three years ago, someone discovered the truth about the trust.””
She explained that the trust had been created to provide for all of Robert's children and grandchildren.
But there was a condition.
If Ethan remained alive and was identified as Robert's biological son, he would receive control over a separate medical and property fund.
The other beneficiaries would also have to disclose their biological children.
The hospital records had been altered to conceal the connections between the families.
“Who arranged the changes?”” I asked.
Patricia looked directly at me.
“Evelyn.””
I felt sick.
“And the children?””
Patricia took another document from the envelope.
It listed three newborns.
One was registered to Vanessa Williams.
One was registered to Rachel Morgan.
The third was registered to Margaret's medical guardian.
But the handwritten amendments showed that the identities had been changed.
I looked at the dates.
Then I noticed something.
The third baby's discharge record listed a different hospital.
A private clinic in Chicago.
“Where was this child sent?””
Patricia looked down.
“I don't know.””
“Then why do you have this?””
“Because I found it in your father's safe.””
She handed me another sheet.
It was a handwritten note.
I recognized my father's handwriting immediately.
If anything happens to me, Evelyn must never be allowed to make decisions concerning the children without independent supervision.
I read it twice.
Then I turned it over.
There was another sentence on the back.
The person who knows where Ethan is has already been paid.
I looked up.
“Paid by whom?””
Patricia didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her purse and placed a small photograph on the table.
It showed my mother standing outside a private medical clinic.
Beside her was a man in a white coat.
I recognized him from the hospital records.
Peter Lawson.
The compliance officer we'd spoken to earlier.
But there was something else.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
October 14, 2020.
The day Noah was born.
I looked at Patricia.
“Why was Peter with my mother?””
Patricia's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because he wasn't just the hospital's compliance officer, Marcus.””
She pointed to the man in the photograph.
“He was the doctor who delivered Vanessa's baby.””
My heart stopped.
Then my phone rang.
It was Vanessa.
I answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
Her voice was barely audible.
“Marcus, you need to come home.””
“Why?””
“Your mother is here.””
I stood.
“What is she doing?””
Vanessa began sobbing.
“She brought someone with her.””
“Who?””
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
“Ethan.””
I looked at Daniel.
He had gone completely pale.
But before I could ask another question, Vanessa said something that made my blood turn cold.
“Marcus, Ethan isn't sixteen.””
I gripped the phone.
“What do you mean?””
“He's six.””
And then I heard my mother's voice in the background.
May you like
“Vanessa, give me the phone.””
The call ended.
