Chapter 6: The Bloodline Vanessa Feared
For a moment, I thought I had read it wrong.
I leaned closer to the screen.
The document was a private paternity report dated seventeen years earlier.
My name appeared at the top.
Below it were two names.
Mother: Laura Bennett.
Biological father: Daniel Cross.
I read it again.
Then a third time.
"No," I whispered.
Richard took the laptop from me.
"That's impossible.""
Brielle backed away from the desk.
"Mom said Michael Carter was your father.""
I looked at her.
"Who told you that?""
"Mom. She said Laura had been involved with Michael, but he wasn't your real father.""
The room seemed to tilt.
The man in the hospital photograph.
The man Richard had identified as Michael.
He wasn't my biological father.
The man in the photograph with Vanessa was.
Daniel Cross.
Vanessa's supposedly dead first husband.
The same man whose name appeared in the email.
I looked at Richard.
"Did you know?""
He shook his head.
"Emily, I swear I didn't.""
"Then explain why this document exists.""
He examined the report.
His expression hardened.
"Because someone wanted us to believe it.""
Caleb leaned over his shoulder.
"There's a problem with the document.""
He pointed to the bottom corner.
"The laboratory name. This company didn't exist until four years ago.""
I stared at the screen.
The report was fake.
But why had Vanessa created it?
And why did she want me to believe Daniel was my father?
Brielle opened another email.
This one was older.
The sender was Daniel.
The subject line read:
*THE ORIGINAL TEST.*
There was a scanned attachment.
A laboratory report dated seventeen years earlier.
This time, the result was different.
Probability of paternity: 99.98%.
The biological father was Michael Carter.
I sat down.
My mother had told the truth.
Michael was my father.
Daniel was someone else entirely.
But the next line in the email was even more disturbing.
Vanessa, the girl is not Daniel's. I told you that years ago. Stop using her birth records to cover your own mistakes.
Brielle covered her mouth.
"Mom lied to me.""
I continued reading.
The email thread showed that Vanessa had been communicating with Daniel for years. They had been moving money between companies, changing ownership records, and attempting to gain control of a family trust established by my mother.
A trust worth several million dollars.
I looked at Richard.
"What trust?""
He slowly sat down.
"Your mother inherited land from her grandfather. She sold most of it before she died and placed the proceeds into a trust.""
"How much?""
He swallowed.
"About four million dollars.""
I stared at him.
Four million.
My mother had left me four million dollars, and Vanessa had spent years trying to get control of it.
"Why couldn't she access it?""
"Because Laura made you the sole beneficiary. The trust was protected until you turned eighteen.""
I looked at the email again.
Once Emily turns eighteen, the trust transfers into her control.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
The fake death certificate.
The forged property documents.
The stolen bank records.
The strange interest in my mother's old belongings.
Vanessa hadn't just wanted to humiliate me.
She wanted me out of the way before I inherited anything.
A loud crash interrupted my thoughts.
The office door shook.
"Open this door!"" Vanessa screamed.
Richard moved toward it.
"Vanessa, enough!""
She kicked it again.
"Richard, you have no idea what you've done!""
He stopped.
"What I have done?""
"Yes! You brought this girl into my life, and now she's destroying everything!""
I stepped toward the door.
"You brought yourself into my mother's house.""
Silence.
Then Vanessa laughed.
"Your mother was weak, Emily. She trusted everyone. That's why she lost everything.""
Richard's face turned red.
"Don't you dare speak about Laura.""
"Oh, now you care about Laura?""
Her voice sharpened.
"Where was that loyalty when she was begging you to believe her?""
Richard froze.
I looked at him.
"What's she talking about?""
Vanessa continued.
"Tell your daughter what happened that night, Richard. Tell her why Laura fell down those stairs.""
He closed his eyes.
"Vanessa, stop.""
"Tell her!""
I stepped closer.
"Did you hurt my mother?""
Richard looked at me, tears running down his face.
"No. But I should have stopped what happened.""
My chest tightened.
"What happened?""
He lowered his voice.
"Vanessa came to the house that night. She was looking for the original trust documents. Your mother confronted her. They argued in the basement.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Then?""
"I heard something break. I ran downstairs. Laura was at the bottom of the stairs.""
He began crying.
"Vanessa told me she had fallen. She said she would call an ambulance, but first she needed me to promise not to tell anyone about the documents.""
"Why?""
"Because she said she had proof I had been stealing from the trust.""
I stared at him.
"Did you call an ambulance?""
"Yes. But Vanessa had already taken Laura's phone. She told the paramedics Laura had fallen several minutes earlier.""
My stomach twisted.
"Was Mom alive when you found her?""
Richard covered his face.
"Yes.""
I gripped the desk.
"How long?""
He could barely speak.
"She was conscious. She kept asking for you.""
The room went silent.
I felt something inside me break.
My mother had been alive.
She had been asking for me.
And I had been upstairs, waiting for my father to tell me what was happening.
Richard continued.
"Before they took her away, she grabbed my hand. She whispered that Vanessa had pushed her.""
I looked at the door.
Vanessa had stopped shouting.
She was listening.
Richard's voice dropped.
"Laura survived the fall. She died three days later at the hospital.""
My phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
Unknown number.
*Your mother didn't die because of the fall, Emily. Check the hospital medication records. Someone changed her prescription after she was admitted.*
I stared at the message.
Then another arrived.
*And the person who signed the medication authorization wasn't Vanessa.*
A third message appeared.
*It was your father.*
I slowly raised my eyes toward Richard.
He saw the screen.
His entire face changed.
"Emily," he whispered.
"You have to understand...""
Behind the office door, Vanessa began laughing.
"Well, Richard," she called softly.
"Looks like your daughter finally found the part you forgot to tell her.""
May you like
Then she added six words that changed everything.
"Your father signed your mother's death warrant.""
