Chapter 11: The Other Father
Nobody spoke.
Frank stared at my phone.
Jason stared at Frank.
I stared at both of them.
“That wasn't you.””
Frank shook his head.
“No.””
“But Melissa said Dad.””
His face seemed to age ten years.
“Frank.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“What haven't you told them?””
Frank looked at Diane.
For the first time since this began, Diane lost her composure.
“Don't.””
Frank’s voice was barely audible.
“Melissa isn't mine.””
Jason stumbled backward.
“What?””
Diane snapped, “Frank!””
“No more.””
Frank looked at his son.
“I raised Melissa. I love her. She is my daughter in every way that matters.””
Jason's face twisted.
“But biologically?””
Frank shook his head.
I felt Ethan go rigid beside me.
“Who is her father?””
Frank closed his eyes.
“Charles Mercer.””
I thought I had misheard.
“Diane’s father?””
Frank nodded.
Jason looked sick.
“Grandpa?””
Diane shouted, “Stop calling him that!””
Every officer nearby turned.
She tried to step forward, but an officer blocked her.
Jason stared at his mother.
“You told me Melissa was my sister.””
“She is.””
“You had a child with your own father?””
“No!””
Diane’s scream tore through the ranch yard.
“God, no.””
Frank covered his face.
Ethan whispered, “Charles adopted Diane.””
The pieces shifted again.
Diane looked at him with hatred.
“You always knew.””
“I suspected.””
Frank spoke before she could stop him.
“Diane was eighteen when Charles began controlling every part of her life. By the time I met her, Melissa was already a baby.””
Jason looked at his mother.
“You told me Dad was Melissa’s biological father.””
“I wanted you to have a normal family.””
“You built our family on lies.””
Diane’s eyes filled.
For the first time, I saw something other than anger in her.
Shame.
But Lily squeezed my hand, and whatever sympathy might have risen inside me disappeared.
Pain did not excuse what Diane had done to my daughter.
“Who is with Melissa?”” I asked.
Frank lowered his hands.
“If she called him Dad…”
He looked at Ethan.
“Charles.””
Ethan shook his head.
“Charles died ten years ago.””
“Did you see the body?””
“No.””
“Neither did I.””
Diane laughed once.
It sounded almost hysterical.
“My father is dead.””
Frank looked at her.
“You said Ethan was dead too.””
That silenced her.
Detective Alvarez approached.
“We’re sending units to the Miller residence.””
“I’m going too,” I said.
“No.””
“Melissa called me.””
“We don't know what's waiting there.””
“My daughter is not going.””
I crouched beside Lily.
“Baby, Detective Alvarez is going to have someone take you back to Grandma Margaret.””
Lily immediately grabbed my shirt.
“No.””
“Sweetheart—”
“No!””
Tears filled her eyes.
“Every time you leave, something bad happens.””
The words cut straight through me.
I pulled her close.
“I know.””
“I want to stay with you.””
I looked at Alvarez.
“Can she stay with an officer here?””
He nodded.
“We can arrange that.””
Jason crouched beside Lily.
“I'll stay.””
I looked at him.
“You're not coming?””
He glanced at Frank, Diane, then back at Lily.
“My daughter needs someone she knows.””
My daughter.
Despite everything, the words still sounded right.
Lily hesitated.
Then reached for him.
Jason held her.
I turned away before he could see the tears in my eyes.
Twenty-five minutes later, Ethan and I followed police vehicles back toward Diane’s house.
“Tell me something,” I said.
“What?””
“Why did you disappear?””
He stared through the windshield.
“I found Charles.””
My heart jumped.
“When?””
“The night Lily was born.””
“Alive?””
“Yes.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
“He came to the hospital.””
“Why?””
“To get the paternity paperwork.””
“What for?””
“To find out whether Lily could inherit the trust.””
My stomach turned.
“He was still chasing the land.””
“Not the land.””
Ethan looked at me.
“The money underneath it.””
“What money?””
“The restitution trust doesn't just own Diane’s property. It holds shares in Mercer Development.””
“How much?””
“Enough to control the company.””
I stared at him.
“And those shares belong to me?””
“After my death.””
“But you're alive.””
“Legally, I'm dead.””
I understood.
“If you reveal yourself…”
“The trust becomes mine again.””
“And someone doesn't want that.””
“Exactly.””
Police lights appeared ahead.
Diane’s house.
The garage door stood open.
We stopped behind two patrol cars.
Detective Alvarez entered first.
“Melissa!””
No answer.
We followed.
The garage floor had been broken open.
A steel hatch stood exposed.
Blood marked the concrete beside it.
“Melissa!””
I ran toward the hatch.
Alvarez caught my arm.
“Stay behind me.””
We descended narrow metal steps.
A basement room waited below.
Shelves lined the walls.
Documents.
Boxes.
Old photographs.
And in the center of the room sat Melissa.
Her wrists were tied to a chair.
Her lip was bleeding.
“Sarah.””
I rushed toward her.
“Where is he?””
Her eyes widened.
“Behind you.””
I turned.
A gun clicked.
An elderly man stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Thin.
White-haired.
But unmistakably the man from photographs inside Ethan’s files.
Charles Mercer.
He smiled at Ethan.
“You should have stayed dead.””
May you like
Then he looked at me.
“And you should never have married into my family.””
