Chapter 11: The Name Renee Feared
I read Renee's warning until the words blurred.
If Rachel contacts Isaiah, do not let her near him.
My daughter-in-law had written those words years before Tasha's suspicious withdrawal request, years before Daniel called Marcus, and years before a woman pretending to be Renee appeared at our bank.
Who was Rachel Johnson?
And why had Renee been afraid of her?
Eleanor placed the paper in a protective folder.
"I need to review the original file before I can tell you anything more. But I recommend that we give this information to the investigators immediately.""
Marcus was already reaching for his phone.
"Do it.""
Within an hour, we were back at Eleanor's office, speaking with an investigator named Detective Harris. He was a broad-shouldered man with tired eyes and a habit of writing down every detail before asking the next question.
He examined the ticket, the threatening message, and the documents bearing the name Rachel Johnson.
"Have any of you met this woman?"" he asked.
"No," Marcus replied.
"Has Tasha ever mentioned her?""
"Not to me.""
I shook my head.
Detective Harris studied Renee's handwriting.
"Do you know whether Rachel is a relative?""
Eleanor answered carefully.
"Renee never identified her as one. She simply instructed me to preserve this note and not release certain documents unless specific conditions were met.""
"What conditions?""
"An attempted unauthorized change to Isaiah's trust, or contact from Rachel herself.""
Detective Harris looked up.
"Both conditions may now have been triggered.""
He requested copies of the documents and said his team would investigate the connection between Rachel, Rebecca, and the suspicious bank applications.
Before leaving, he asked Marcus to contact him if Tasha or Rebecca made further threats.
We returned to my house that afternoon.
Isaiah was sitting at the kitchen table, carefully arranging his new school supplies into neat rows. He had placed his broken backpack beside the door, unwilling to throw it away despite my offer to replace it.
Marcus sat opposite him.
"Buddy, I need to tell you something.""
Isaiah looked up immediately.
"Am I in trouble?""
"No, son. Not at all.""
Marcus reached across the table.
"Do you remember Daniel?""
Isaiah nodded.
"He's the boy who stayed at our house.""
"Yes. Daniel is someone I need to get to know better. He may be part of our family.""
Isaiah frowned.
"Is he your son?""
Marcus swallowed.
"We're working to confirm the details, but I believe he may be. If that's true, it doesn't change anything about how much I love you.""
Isaiah looked down at his notebook.
"Would you love him more because he didn't have a dad?""
Marcus's face crumpled.
"No. Never. Love isn't something you divide into smaller pieces. It's something you make room for.""
Isaiah considered that.
Then he asked, "Does he know about Mom?""
"Not the way you do.""
"Does he know she was nice?""
Marcus smiled sadly.
"Your mother was one of the kindest people I've ever known.""
Isaiah nodded.
"Then maybe he'll like her, too.""
I turned away to hide my tears.
That evening, Detective Harris called with an update.
His team had located a business registration connected to Rebecca Lane. The name appeared to be an alias used in several transactions, and the mailing address led to an office that had been vacant for months.
But the investigators had found another connection.
A woman using the name Rachel Johnson had contacted a private document-preparation service in Denver nearly a year earlier. She had requested assistance with a set of records concerning a minor child.
The service had retained copies of some correspondence.
Detective Harris wouldn't disclose the details over the phone, but he said the material could be important.
Marcus paced my living room.
"Why would Rachel need documents concerning a child?""
"Maybe Daniel," I said.
"Or Isaiah.""
Neither possibility comforted me.
At nine that evening, a car stopped outside my house.
I watched through the curtains as a woman stepped out and approached the porch.
She was in her early forties, dressed in a gray coat, with her dark hair pulled into a low bun. She carried a thick envelope beneath one arm.
I didn't recognize her.
Marcus came to stand beside me.
"Is that Rebecca?""
"No.""
The doorbell rang.
Marcus opened the door but kept the chain secured.
The woman looked at him.
"Are you Marcus Johnson?""
"Who are you?""
"My name is Rachel.""
His expression changed instantly.
"Rachel Johnson?""
She nodded.
"I need to speak with you about Renee.""
I stepped into view.
"How do we know you're really Rachel?""
She looked at me through the narrow opening.
"Because Renee gave me something before she died, and I believe Tasha is trying to destroy it.""
Marcus didn't move.
"What did she give you?""
Rachel lifted the envelope.
"Evidence that the person you married has been lying to you about much more than Daniel.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Then leave the envelope and speak to the investigators.""
Rachel shook her head.
"I can't. The originals contain private information about a child, and I won't hand them over until I know Isaiah is safe.""
Marcus's voice hardened.
"You're standing outside our home after someone threatened my mother. You need to understand why we're cautious.""
"I understand perfectly.""
She looked past him, toward the hallway.
"Is Isaiah there?""
"No," I lied.
Rachel's eyes returned to mine.
"You shouldn't lie to me, Mrs. Johnson. I spent years trying to protect that boy.""
I felt a chill.
"Protect him from whom?""
She swallowed.
"From his own family.""
Marcus began closing the door.
"That's enough.""
Rachel thrust the envelope through the opening.
"Please. Just read the first page.""
The envelope fell onto the porch.
Marcus picked it up but didn't open it.
Rachel stepped backward.
"Renee knew someone would eventually try to use Isaiah's trust. She also knew that if the wrong person obtained legal authority over him, the money would become much harder to protect.""
I stared at her.
"Who was the wrong person?""
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
"Tasha wasn't the first woman who tried to get close to Marcus for his money.""
Then she turned and hurried toward her car.
Marcus called after her.
"Wait! What does that mean?""
She stopped with one hand on the door.
"It means you need to ask your wife what happened before she met you.""
Then she drove away.
We locked the door and carried the envelope into the kitchen.
Eleanor had warned us not to handle suspicious evidence unnecessarily, so Marcus photographed the exterior and called Detective Harris. The detective instructed him to leave the contents untouched until they could be examined.
But one loose sheet had slipped halfway out of the envelope when Marcus picked it up.
We could see only the heading.
It was a copy of a court filing.
The name at the top was Tasha Reed.
Beneath it was a date from nearly nine years earlier.
And the case description read:
*Petition to Establish Paternity and Claim Financial Support.*
Marcus stared at the page.
"She filed a paternity claim before we met?""
I looked at the date.
It was almost exactly one year before Tasha had first approached him.
Then I noticed the name of the man named in the petition.
It wasn't Marcus.
It was a wealthy property developer who had died several years earlier.
The document stated that Tasha had claimed the man was Daniel's biological father.
Marcus looked sick.
"She told me Daniel's father abandoned her.""
I slowly shook my head.
"She told you what she wanted you to believe.""
Detective Harris arrived shortly afterward and collected the envelope for examination.
Before leaving, he showed us a photograph from the document-preparation service.
It depicted a younger Tasha standing beside a man in a suit outside a courthouse.
The man was identified as Robert Jameson, the deceased property developer.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.
He refused to pay. Find another way.
Detective Harris placed the photograph in an evidence sleeve.
"We're going to investigate this further," he said.
"But I need you both to understand that these documents don't establish the truth on their own.""
After he left, Marcus sat at the kitchen table.
"She might have hidden Daniel's paternity because she thought I was a better option.""
"Perhaps," I said.
"But we need proof.""
He looked toward the stairs.
"How do I tell my son that his mother may have built our entire marriage on a lie?""
I took his hand.
"One truth at a time.""
My phone rang.
It was Eleanor.
"I reviewed another portion of Renee's file," she said.
"There's a note explaining why she feared Rachel.""
I straightened.
"What does it say?""
Eleanor took a breath.
"Renee believed Rachel was connected to the person who originally helped Tasha obtain Marcus's personal documents.""
"Who was that person?""
A pause.
Then Eleanor answered.
"Someone who worked in the hospital where Renee gave birth to Isaiah.""
I stared at Marcus.
The hospital where Isaiah had been born.
The place where the original birth records had been created.
And the place where someone might have gained access to information that would later be used to construct a false identity.
"Do we know who?"" I asked.
"Not yet," Eleanor replied.
"But Renee wrote down a name.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"What name?""
Eleanor's voice dropped.
"Dr. Samuel Price.""
I knew that name.
May you like
He had been the physician who signed Isaiah's original birth records.
And according to Renee's notes, he had died six years ago.
