Chapter 6: The Lawyer Who Had Been Waiting Six Years
The following morning, Dad drove me downtown.
We didn't speak much during the journey.
My jaw still hurt from his punch. A dark bruise had appeared beneath my left eye, and every time Dad glanced at it in the rearview mirror, his hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Finally, he spoke.
"Ethan.""
I looked out the passenger window.
"Yes?""
"I know saying I'm sorry isn't enough.""
"No, it isn't.""
He nodded slowly.
"I should have listened.""
"You should have asked.""
"I know.""
The silence returned.
When we arrived at Hayes and Associates, the building looked nothing like the offices I'd imagined from television. It was an old brick building with narrow windows and a brass plaque beside the entrance.
A receptionist greeted us.
"Mr. Williams?""
Dad nodded.
"That's me.""
"Ms. Hayes is expecting you.""
She led us through a quiet hallway into a conference room.
An older woman stood beside the window, holding a folder.
Her silver hair was pulled into a bun, and a pair of reading glasses rested on top of her head.
"Marcus," she said.
Dad shook her hand.
"Thank you for seeing us.""
She looked at me.
"And you must be Ethan.""
I nodded.
She studied my face for several seconds.
Then she said softly, "You have your mother's eyes.""
I didn't know what to say.
She pointed toward two chairs.
"Please sit.""
Dad placed the broken photograph and yellow envelope on the table.
"We found these yesterday.""
Clara Hayes picked up the letter.
Her expression changed as soon as she recognized the handwriting.
"Oh, Danielle.""
She sat down slowly.
"She told me she had prepared something for Ethan.""
I leaned forward.
"You knew about this letter?""
"Yes. She told me she had hidden it inside a photograph. She said that if anything happened to her, you would eventually find it.""
Dad gripped the armrest.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Clara looked at him.
"Because Danielle specifically instructed me not to contact you until she felt it was safe.""
"Safe from whom?""
She opened the folder.
"Your brother, Daniel.""
Dad stared at her.
Clara placed several documents on the table.
"Your wife discovered that Daniel had been moving money out of the family business. At first, she believed it was a bookkeeping error. Then she found accounts registered under companies he controlled.""
I recognized the name on one of the documents.
"Williams Family Holdings?""
Clara nodded.
"That was one of the companies.""
Dad leaned forward.
"Why didn't you report him?""
"We prepared a civil case. But Danielle wanted to protect Ethan first. She was afraid Daniel would use the family to pressure her.""
I looked at the papers.
"How much money did he steal?""
"That's difficult to calculate without a complete financial audit. But the trust itself was worth approximately six hundred and eighty thousand dollars.""
My father's jaw tightened.
"And Vanessa?""
Clara stopped turning the pages.
"Vanessa was involved.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"How?""
"She worked as an administrative assistant for Daniel's company before marrying your father.""
Dad looked genuinely shocked.
"She told me she was a marketing consultant.""
Clara shook her head.
"That isn't what our records show.""
She removed a photograph from her folder.
It showed Vanessa entering an office building with Daniel.
The date was printed on the back.
It was several months before Danielle died.
I stared at the image.
"They knew each other before my mother died.""
"Yes," Clara replied.
Dad stood up.
"How could you let her marry me?""
Clara didn't flinch.
"I tried to warn you.""
He stopped.
"What?""
"I sent you letters. I called your office. I even visited your house once.""
Dad slowly shook his head.
"Nobody told me.""
Clara opened another folder.
"Then someone intercepted them.""
She placed three envelopes on the table.
Each was addressed to Marcus Williams.
Each had been returned unopened.
The return labels showed our old home address.
Dad picked one up.
He recognized the handwriting on the forwarding note.
It belonged to Daniel.
"He was handling my mail," Dad whispered.
Clara nodded.
"Your brother told us you didn't want contact with the estate.""
Dad lowered himself into the chair.
I looked at the documents.
"Can you prove Vanessa and Daniel stole the money?""
Clara folded her hands.
"We can prove the transfers were unauthorized by the original trust agreement. But there is another issue.""
"What issue?"" Dad asked.
She looked directly at me.
"Danielle changed her will three weeks before she died.""
My heart started beating faster.
"Changed it how?""
Clara removed a sealed document.
"She appointed a different trustee and added a condition that would protect your inheritance until your twenty-first birthday.""
Dad frowned.
"Who was the trustee?""
Clara turned the page.
"Your mother appointed me.""
I stared at her.
"Then why did the bank say Vanessa was the trustee?""
"Because someone submitted a replacement document containing forged signatures.""
Dad looked horrified.
"Whose signatures?""
"Danielle's and yours.""
Clara turned another page and pointed at a signature.
"Your signature appears on the document, Marcus. But this version was never executed legally.""
Dad leaned forward.
"Can we stop the money?""
"Possibly. But we'll need to move quickly.""
She opened another envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note from my mother.
"This was delivered to my office two days before the accident," Clara explained.
"Danielle told me to keep it until you came here together.""
I unfolded it.
The first line was addressed to Dad.
Marcus, if you're reading this with Ethan beside you, then I was wrong to believe I could protect him alone.
My throat tightened.
The next paragraph read:
Daniel and Vanessa are not working together only because of the money. They have a secret involving Ethan's birth, and they have spent years making sure neither of us discovers it.
I stopped reading.
Dad looked at me.
"What does that mean?""
I turned the page.
There was another sentence written in darker ink.
Marcus, Ethan is not the only child in this family whose identity you have been lied to about.
Clara suddenly stood.
"There's something else you need to know.""
She walked to a locked cabinet and removed a thin medical envelope.
It bore my mother's name and a hospital logo.
Inside was a birth record.
I stared at the page.
Then I saw the line marked *Biological Father*.
My father's name wasn't there.
Neither was Daniel's.
Instead, there was a name I had never seen before.
And beneath it, in my mother's handwriting, were five words:
The man is still alive.
Clara looked at Dad.
"Marcus, before we go any further, I need you to tell Ethan what happened at the hospital on the night he was born.""
May you like
Dad's face went completely white.
Because he knew exactly what she was talking about.
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