Chapter 4: The Man in the Hospital Photograph
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The photograph trembled between my fingers.
My mother was lying in a hospital bed, exhausted but smiling. A tiny bundle rested in her arms. Beside her stood a tall man wearing a dark suit, one hand gently placed on the bedrail.
He wasn't my father.
I knew that immediately.
Richard had dark hair, a broad face, and a small scar above his left eyebrow.
The man in the photograph had lighter hair, a narrow jaw, and no scar.
But there was something worse.
He was wearing my mother's silver necklace.
The same necklace Vanessa had supposedly lost after my mother's death.
"Who is that?"" I whispered.
Richard didn't answer.
I pushed the photograph toward him.
"Dad. Who is that man?""
He stared at it as if someone had placed a loaded gun on the table.
"Where did you find this?""
"Inside the box. Where else?""
His hands began shaking.
"Emily, we need to leave.""
"No.""
"Please. Not here.""
I stood up.
"You've been telling me stories about my life for seventeen years. I'm done listening to half-truths.""
Caleb took the photograph and examined the back.
"There's something written here.""
He turned it over.
In my mother's handwriting were four words.
*The father she never knew.*
My stomach dropped.
"Are you saying he's my biological father?""
Richard closed his eyes.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the ventilation system humming above us.
Then he nodded.
"Yes.""
I felt as though the floor had disappeared.
"Who is he?""
Richard pulled out a chair.
"His name was Michael Carter. Your mother knew him before she met me. They were engaged.""
"Engaged?""
"She ended the relationship when she discovered he had been involved in some serious financial trouble. Later, she and I met. We fell in love. I knew she had a past, but I didn't know she was pregnant until after we married.""
I stared at him.
"Then you knew I wasn't yours?""
He shook his head.
"I knew there was a possibility. Your mother told me the dates were complicated. She said you might be mine.""
"Did you ever get a test?""
"No.""
"Why not?""
Richard looked down.
"Because I loved you. And I didn't want a piece of paper to change that.""
His answer should have comforted me.
Instead, it made everything hurt more.
"Then why did you let Vanessa treat me like I was nothing?""
He wiped his eyes.
"I thought keeping quiet would protect you.""
"From what?""
"From the people who wanted what your mother had left you.""
I opened the letter again.
There was another paragraph near the bottom that I hadn't read.
Emily, Michael did not abandon us. He tried to come back. But someone made sure he never reached our front door.
I looked up.
"Did you know Michael was alive?""
Richard nodded.
"Your mother received letters from him. I found them after she died.""
"Where are they?""
"Vanessa took them.""
My throat tightened.
"Why?""
"Because she knew Michael could prove that the financial documents were forged. He had been investigating Daniel and Vanessa for years.""
Caleb looked up from the photographs.
"Wait. Daniel was Vanessa's first husband. Michael was Laura's former fiancé. How are they connected?""
Richard rubbed his forehead.
"Michael discovered that Daniel was using different identities to move stolen money through several companies. Vanessa helped him.""
"And my mother?""
"She discovered the connection.""
I looked at the hospital photograph again.
"Then why was Michael at my birth?""
Richard's voice cracked.
"Because your mother asked him to come. She wanted him to meet you.""
I couldn't look at him.
The man who had raised me had hidden my origins. The man whose face appeared in the photograph had apparently been trying to reach me.
And the woman who had stolen my angel wings had spent years making sure I never learned any of it.
My phone vibrated again.
Unknown number.
*Don't trust Richard's version. Ask him what happened at the hospital three weeks before Laura died.*
I showed him the message.
His expression changed instantly.
"What?""
"What happened three weeks before Mom died?""
He stood up.
"Emily, that's enough.""
"Answer me.""
He stared at the floor.
Then he finally spoke.
"Your mother fell down the basement stairs.""
I felt cold.
"Was it an accident?""
"That's what Vanessa told the police.""
"Did you believe her?""
He looked directly into my eyes.
"No.""
Before I could ask another question, Caleb's phone rang.
He answered.
"Hello?""
A woman's voice came through the speaker, frantic and breathless.
"Caleb? It's Brielle.""
He looked at me.
"What happened?""
Brielle was crying.
"Mom knows Emily found the box. She's packing everything. She says we're leaving tonight.""
"Where are you going?""
"I don't know. But I found something in her office. Something with Emily's name on it.""
"What?""
Brielle swallowed.
Then she whispered:
May you like
"It's a death certificate.""
And the name printed on it was mine.
