Chapter 14: The Last Lie
I had spent the past two days discovering that almost everything Claire knew about her family contained a lie.
I wasn’t prepared to discover one might include me.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said.
Claire nodded quickly.
“Probably not.””
But neither of us believed that.
Ramirez arranged for us to meet Lydia at the hospital.
This time, I insisted.
Claire came with me.
Lydia looked smaller than I expected.
Bruises covered one side of her face, and her left arm rested in a sling.
When Claire entered, Lydia started crying.
“I’m sorry.””
Claire stopped near the foot of the bed.
“For which part?””
Lydia looked down.
“All of it.””
I placed the photograph Ramirez had provided on the bedside table.
A newborn.
Bracelet:
DANIEL BENNETT.
“Who is he?””
Lydia stared at it.
Then at me.
Her expression changed.
“Oh.””
One syllable.
That was enough.
“You recognize me.””
“Yes.””
My heartbeat accelerated.
“How?””
Lydia looked at Claire.
“Your mother.””
Claire whispered, “What did she do?””
“Nothing.””
“Then explain.””
Lydia took a shaky breath.
“Before Robert married your mother, Evelyn, she had a child.””
Claire gripped the bed rail.
“A child?””
“A boy.””
I already knew.
Some part of me knew before Lydia said it.
“No.””
Lydia’s eyes met mine.
“Daniel.””
I stepped backward.
Claire whispered my name.
I couldn’t look at her.
“That’s ridiculous.””
“My parents were Michael and Susan Harris.””
“Yes.””
“They raised me from birth.””
“Yes.””
“They were my parents.””
“I’m not saying they weren’t.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Lydia’s voice softened.
“They adopted you.””
The room seemed to contract.
I remembered my father’s funeral.
My mother teaching me to drive.
Christmas mornings.
Baseball games.
None of that changed.
But something underneath it did.
“How would you know?””
“My brother Samuel knew Evelyn.””
“Thomas’s biological father?””
“Yes.””
Lydia explained.
Evelyn Bennett had become pregnant at seventeen.
Her parents forced a private adoption.
Michael and Susan Harris had been unable to have children.
They adopted the baby legally.
Me.
“Why was the bracelet in Robert’s archive?””
“Because Robert discovered Evelyn had a son years later.””
Claire went pale.
“When?””
“After he married her.””
“Did Mom know where Daniel was?””
“No.””
“But Robert did?””
“Eventually.””
I sat down.
“So Claire and I…”
“No.””
Lydia understood immediately.
“You’re not biologically related.””
Claire exhaled.
“Robert wasn’t Claire’s biological father?”” I asked.
“Correct. Evelyn had Claire with another man during a separation from Robert.””
Claire stared at her.
“My father wasn’t my father?””
“Biologically, no.””
The family tree had become a crime scene.
I almost laughed.
Instead, I asked the only question that mattered.
“Did my parents know any of this?””
“They knew your birth mother’s name. Nothing about Robert.””
That brought relief.
Michael and Susan Harris hadn’t lied to hurt me.
They had given me a life.
Still, one question remained.
“Why did Robert keep my record?””
Lydia’s face tightened.
“Leverage.””
“Against whom?””
“Evelyn.””
Claire looked sick.
“Mom.””
“Robert controlled people by collecting secrets. He knew Evelyn had spent her life wondering about the son she surrendered.””
Lydia turned toward me.
“He threatened to tell you everything if she ever left him permanently.””
I swallowed hard.
“She stayed because of me?””
“Partly.””
Claire sat beside me.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Lydia whispered, “There’s one more thing.””
I almost told her I didn’t want it.
But secrets had already cost us too much.
“Say it.””
“Evelyn is alive.””
Claire stood.
“No.””
“She left Robert twelve years ago.””
“My mother died thirteen years ago.””
“That’s what Robert told you.””
Claire stared at Lydia.
“Where is she?””
“I don’t know.””
Then Lydia remembered something.
“Thomas does.””
That afternoon, Ramirez confirmed Thomas had been located.
Alive.
Robert had kept him confined at an isolated property for four days after Thomas tried to expose the blackmail scheme.
Thomas was dehydrated but safe.
At the hospital, he asked to see Claire.
When we entered, he looked at his sister and started crying.
Claire did too.
Neither spoke at first.
Then Thomas said, “You look like Mom.””
Claire sat beside him.
“Where is she?””
Thomas smiled weakly.
“Waiting.””
“For what?””
“For Robert to finally lose the power to find her.””
He handed Claire a folded piece of paper.
An address.
Savannah, Georgia.
Claire stared at it.
“Is she really there?””
“She has been for nine years.””
Claire looked at me.
I knew what she was asking.
Not permission.
Whether I would come.
I nodded.
Then Thomas looked at me.
“You should come too.””
“Why?””
May you like
His tired smile widened.
“Because Evelyn has been waiting almost fifty years to meet her son.””
