Chapter 7
Jason didn’t react at first.
He simply stared.
Robert’s words seemed to hang in the hospital room.
I am not your biological father.
Jason slowly sat back.
“No.”
Robert’s eyes filled with tears.
“I raised you. You are my son.”
“No.”
“Jason—”
“No.”
He stood.
“You’re confused.”
“I’m not.”
“You’ve been drugged.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
Jason looked at me.
I had no idea what to say.
He turned back to Robert.
“Who?”
Robert closed his eyes.
“Thomas.”
The room seemed to shrink.
Jason laughed once.
A horrible, empty sound.
“Thomas Reed?”
“Yes.”
“Dad’s lawyer?”
Robert flinched at the word Dad.
Jason saw it.
“You are my dad.”
“Yes.”
“You just said—”
“Biology doesn’t change thirty-eight years.”
Jason turned away.
His shoulders shook.
I stepped toward him.
He held up a hand.
“Don’t.”
I stopped.
Not because he didn’t need me.
Because he needed one second to understand who he was.
Robert whispered, “I found out when you were four.”
Jason spun back.
“You knew that long?”
“Yes.”
“And you stayed?”
“Of course I stayed.”
“Why?”
Robert looked stunned.
“Because you were my son.”
Jason’s face broke.
Robert reached toward him.
“You called me Daddy before you could say your own name properly. You slept on my chest when you had pneumonia. I taught you to ride a bicycle. I took you fishing. Biology never mattered to me.”
Jason covered his eyes.
I cried silently.
Then anger replaced grief.
Jason lowered his hands.
“Mom cheated on you with Thomas.”
“Yes.”
“And then kept him as your attorney?”
Robert’s mouth tightened.
“I didn’t know it was Thomas until recently.”
“What?”
“Evelyn told me your biological father was someone she met before we married.”
“But that was a lie.”
“Yes.”
“When did you discover the truth?”
“Two months before I disappeared.”
Jason’s face hardened.
“How?”
“Thomas needed a medical procedure.”
“What procedure?”
“He asked whether anyone in the family had a history of a rare blood condition.”
Robert paused to catch his breath.
“It made no sense.”
“So you investigated?”
“I remembered your blood type.”
Jason went still.
“My blood type?”
“You and I could never have had the relationship Evelyn claimed medically.”
I frowned.
“Wouldn’t that have been obvious earlier?”
“It should have been.”
Robert looked ashamed.
“But I never questioned it. Why would I?”
Jason’s voice turned bitter.
“Because you trusted your wife.”
Robert looked at him.
“Yes.”
That one word connected everything.
Robert trusted Evelyn.
Jason trusted Evelyn.
I had tolerated Evelyn.
All of us had underestimated what she would do to control the family.
Robert continued.
“I secretly collected DNA.”
“Mine?”
“From a glass you used at dinner.”
“And Thomas?”
“He left a coffee cup in my office.”
“You tested us.”
“Yes.”
“The result?”
“Thomas is your biological father.”
Jason sat back down.
He looked physically sick.
“And Mom knew.”
“Yes.”
“Did Thomas know?”
Robert hesitated.
“I believe he suspected.”
“Suspected?”
“He didn’t know for certain until he found my lab report.”
“When?”
“The day I confronted Evelyn about the missing company funds.”
Jason rubbed his forehead.
“This is insane.”
“It gets worse.”
Of course it did.
Robert looked toward the closed hospital door.
“Thomas didn’t just steal company money.”
“What else?”
“He used the company to launder money for people involved in construction fraud and bribery.”
Jason’s expression sharpened.
“Who?”
“Developers. Public officials. Contractors.”
“How much?”
“Hundreds of millions over years.”
I stared.
“And you found proof.”
“Yes.”
“The encrypted archive?”
Robert nodded.
Jason looked at me.
“That part was true.”
“Everything in the letter was true,” Robert said.
“Then why assign the encryption key to Lily?”
Robert took a shaky breath.
“Because I didn’t trust myself to keep it.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“I created a trust structure that required multiple conditions before access.”
“What conditions?”
“My death or incapacity.”
“You were declared dead.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Control by Lily’s lawful guardian.”
My stomach turned.
“So if Evelyn became Lily’s guardian…”
“She could activate the trust.”
“And access the evidence.”
“Not alone.”
“Who else?”
Robert looked at Jason.
“Your biological father.”
Jason’s face went blank.
“Thomas.”
“Yes.”
“Why would you create that?”
“I didn’t.”
Silence.
Robert’s voice lowered.
“That condition was added after my disappearance.”
Jason stood.
“By who?”
“Thomas.”
“How?”
“Forged amendments.”
“Then the trust isn’t valid.”
“The original trust is. The amendment is fraudulent, but until a court proves that, Thomas can create chaos.”
I finally understood.
“They don’t need Lily’s money.”
Robert looked at me.
“No.”
“They need legal control of her because the forged trust amendment gives Thomas access to the evidence archive.”
“Yes.”
“And if the archive becomes accessible to him…”
“He can destroy the evidence.”
Jason stared at the floor.
“So the kidnapping threats…”
“Were pressure.”
“The custody petition…”
“Pressure.”
“The pool?”
Robert looked confused.
“That was Evelyn losing control.”
I thought back to Evelyn’s face.
“You’re sure?”
Robert looked at me.
“Evelyn can be cruel. But she loves control more than money. Thomas understands that.”
“You think he manipulated her.”
“I think they manipulated each other for thirty-eight years.”
Jason leaned toward him.
“Why were you hidden at Magnolia Ridge?”
Robert’s expression darkened.
“After I discovered the theft, I planned to go to federal investigators.”
“What stopped you?”
“Evelyn.”
“She drugged you?”
“At first, yes.”
My stomach twisted.
“She told me I was paranoid. That stress was affecting my memory. She convinced me to take pills Hargrove supposedly prescribed.”
“He didn’t.”
“I know now.”
“What happened the night you collapsed?”
Robert looked toward the ceiling.
“I had already stopped taking the pills.”
Jason frowned.
“Then why did you collapse?”
“Thomas came to dinner.”
Jason’s head snapped up.
“He wasn’t there.”
“He came earlier.”
“What did he do?”
“He put something in my drink.”
Jason’s jaw clenched.
“You remember?”
“I remember waking in a private clinic.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did Mom say?”
“That someone had tried to kill me.”
“And you believed her?”
“For three days.”
“Then?”
“She told me the safest option was to disappear while she and Thomas identified who was behind it.”
Jason laughed bitterly.
“And the whole time it was them.”
“Yes.”
“Why fake your death?”
“To control the company. To access portions of my estate. To isolate me.”
“Why keep you alive?”
Robert looked at him.
“They needed signatures.”
Mark had been right.
Jason paced.
“How many?”
“I lost count.”
“Did you know what you were signing?”
“Sometimes.”
“And when you refused?”
Robert looked down at his bruised wrist.
“They increased the medication.”
Jason looked like he might be sick.
I moved closer to Robert.
“How did you get the phone to call us?”
“A nurse helped me.”
“At Magnolia Ridge?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Emily.”
“Last name?”
“Vance.”
Jason immediately texted Brooks.
Robert continued.
“She realized the medication orders didn’t make sense.”
“Did she help you escape?”
“She tried.”
“What happened?”
“Calvin came.”
That name again.
“He moved me overnight.”
“To the abandoned house?”
“Yes.”
“How did police find you?”
Robert gave the faintest smile.
“Emily put a tracker in my shoe.”
I almost laughed from relief.
Someone had done something brave.
“Is she safe?”
Robert’s smile disappeared.
“I don’t know.”
Jason called Brooks.
The detective answered.
Jason explained.
Brooks promised to locate Emily immediately.
Then Robert suddenly grabbed Jason’s wrist.
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“Thomas knows the original archive still exists.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know anymore.”
“Dad.”
“I designed it so even I couldn’t retrieve it directly.”
“Then who can?”
Robert looked at me.
“Lily.”
I stared.
“She’s five.”
“She doesn’t know what it is.”
“Then how can she access it?”
Robert swallowed.
“Through something I gave her.”
Jason went still.
“What?”
“A necklace.”
I remembered the silver necklace in Evelyn’s purse.
My heart pounded.
“That necklace?”
Robert nodded.
“I gave it to Lily on her fourth birthday.”
Jason looked at me.
The necklace had a tiny heart-shaped pendant.
Lily wore it constantly.
“I thought it was jewelry.”
“It is.”
“What else is it?”
“The pendant contains a hardware security key.”
I stared.
“Like a computer key?”
“Yes.”
Jason’s face changed.
“That’s why Mom took it.”
Robert looked confused.
“Evelyn had it?”
“She stole it from Lily at the party.”
Robert closed his eyes.
“Then Thomas told her what it was.”
“Maybe.”
I remembered Lily pointing toward the purse.
Grandma took my necklace.
If Lily hadn’t noticed…
If we hadn’t opened the purse…
Thomas might already have it.
“But police have the necklace now,” I said.
Robert opened his eyes.
“Good.”
Jason looked toward the door.
“Then Thomas can’t get the archive.”
“Not without the pendant.”
A nurse entered.
“Mr. Carter needs rest.”
Jason ignored her.
“One more question.”
Robert nodded.
“Why did Thomas take a DNA test recently if you already tested him?”
Robert looked confused.
“Recently?”
Jason showed him the photograph of Thomas carrying the DNA lab envelope outside Lily’s preschool.
Robert’s face went pale.
“That wasn’t for you.”
“The doctor said the test was about me.”
“I said the DNA truth was about you. Not that test.”
Jason stared.
“Then whose DNA were they testing?”
Robert looked at the picture again.
Slowly, horror spread across his face.
“Lily’s.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“But why?”
Robert looked at me.
Then Jason.
“Because Thomas would want to know if she carries the Carter family bloodline.”
Jason’s face twisted.
“She’s my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then of course she carries my blood.”
Robert hesitated.
And that hesitation destroyed the air in the room.
Jason stared at him.
“What?”
Robert shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“No.”
Jason stepped closer.
“You know something.”
“I know Thomas.”
“What does that mean?”
“He never trusts one secret when he can create another.”
I felt suddenly sick.
“Robert.”
He looked at me.
“Did Evelyn ever ask you strange questions about Lily’s birth?”
I froze.
Jason turned.
“Sarah?”
I remembered.
Five years ago.
Evelyn had been unusually involved during my pregnancy.
She insisted on choosing the hospital.
She recommended the obstetrician.
After a difficult delivery, I had hemorrhaged.
I was unconscious for several hours.
Lily spent part of that night in the nursery.
Jason had gone home briefly to shower.
Evelyn stayed at the hospital.
When I woke, Lily was beside me.
I had never questioned anything.
My mouth went dry.
“What are you saying?”
Robert closed his eyes.
“I’m saying Thomas never wanted you and Jason to have control over a child who could inherit Robert Carter’s assets.”
Jason stared.
“You think someone switched our baby?”
The nurse gasped.
Robert shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“Sarah—”
“No.”
Lily was my daughter.
I knew her face.
Her laugh.
The way she curled into me when she was sleepy.
Nothing could change that.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was whether someone had interfered.
Jason took my hand.
“We’ll test ourselves.”
I looked at him.
“No secret labs.”
“No.”
“Together.”
“Yes.”
My phone rang.
Nora.
I answered immediately.
“Is Lily okay?”
Silence.
Then Nora started crying.
My blood turned cold.
“Nora?”
“Sarah, I’m sorry.”
“What happened?”
“I turned around for two seconds.”
My knees weakened.
“What happened?”
“The hotel fire alarm went off.”
Jason grabbed my shoulder.
Nora’s voice shook.
“Security told everyone to evacuate.”
“Where is Lily?”
“I had her hand.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“Someone pushed between us on the stairs.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Nora.”
“When I got outside…”
May you like
She broke down.
“Lily was gone.”
