Chapter 9: The Investigator Who Took Both Sides
Richard Shaw's office occupied the second floor of an aging brick building near downtown Atlanta.
The brass letters on the glass door were tarnished, and a narrow staircase smelled of dust and old coffee. Dad insisted on coming with me, while Daniel arranged a meeting through the investigator's receptionist.
David waited outside.
He said he didn't want his presence to give Richard an excuse to refuse the meeting.
Tyler stayed home with instructions to preserve every email and banking record he'd found.
As we climbed the stairs, Dad stopped halfway.
"Emily, if this man tells us something difficult, I need you to remember that none of this changes how I feel about you.""
I looked at him.
"Are you afraid I'm going to leave?""
His eyes dropped.
"I'm afraid you've spent the last few days discovering that the adults you trusted weren't honest with you.""
I thought about that.
"Some weren't. But you came back downstairs every time I needed you.""
He pulled me into a hug.
For a moment, I was twelve again, hiding my face against his shirt after a nightmare.
Then the office door opened.
A receptionist led us into a small room with a desk, two filing cabinets, and a wall covered in framed photographs of Atlanta landmarks.
Richard Shaw stood behind the desk.
He was in his late fifties, with thinning silver hair and a narrow face. He wore a blue suit that looked expensive but had frayed cuffs.
When he saw my father, he smiled politely.
"Marcus. It's been a long time.""
Dad didn't return the smile.
"We need to discuss Laura's estate.""
Richard gestured toward two chairs.
"Of course.""
I remained standing.
"You worked for my mother?""
His gaze moved to me.
"Emily. Yes, I did.""
"And you worked for Vanessa?""
His expression changed.
"I was retained for a separate matter.""
"Did she pay you to keep David Bennett away from my mother?""
Richard adjusted his tie.
"I think we should clarify a few things before making accusations.""
Dad placed the email on the desk.
"Start with this.""
Richard glanced at it.
Then he looked toward the door.
"Who gave you that?""
"Does it matter?"" Dad asked.
"It could be confidential.""
"It's evidence that you were communicating with my wife and her estate investigator at the same time.""
Richard's face tightened.
"I had permission to handle both matters.""
"From whom?""
"Vanessa.""
"Did Laura authorize you to work for her?""
Richard hesitated.
"Yes.""
"Did Laura know you were also working for Vanessa?""
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer to the desk.
"My mother died eleven days before a will appeared with her signature on it. My college savings disappeared. More than seventy thousand dollars was taken from her inheritance trust. And you were investigating the accounts.""
Richard looked at me carefully.
"What do you want to know?""
"Everything.""
He sat down.
For a moment, the only sound was the ticking clock on the wall.
Then he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and removed a thick file.
"I was hired by Laura's attorney to monitor the trust after she became concerned about unauthorized access. She suspected someone was attempting to change the beneficiary designations.""
"Did she know who?"" Dad asked.
"She suspected Vanessa.""
Dad closed his eyes.
Richard continued.
"Laura asked me to document any suspicious transactions. I found several attempts to access the accounts, including a request to transfer funds to an account associated with a company called Cole Financial Services.""
"Patricia's company," I said.
He nodded.
"At first, I believed the transactions were part of an estate-planning arrangement. Then I discovered that some of the supporting documents appeared to have been altered.""
"Why didn't you tell the police?"" Dad demanded.
"I was still gathering evidence.""
"You had evidence that someone was stealing from my daughter!""
"I had suspicions, not proof.""
Richard opened the file and removed a photograph of Vanessa entering a bank.
"Three years ago, I received an offer from her. She wanted me to locate David Bennett and establish whether he intended to challenge the estate.""
"Why?"" I asked.
"She said David was threatening to expose a family secret. She wanted to know what he had.""
"Did you find out?""
Richard nodded.
"David had discovered that the trust's original balance was substantially larger than the amount currently recorded in the estate documents.""
Dad gripped the edge of the desk.
"How much larger?""
"Approximately $300,000.""
I thought of the investment account David had mentioned.
"Did Vanessa know?""
"She knew about the account. She claimed Laura had authorized the transfers.""
"With a will dated after her death?"" I asked.
Richard looked away.
"That document came later.""
"Did you help her?""
He remained silent.
Dad stood.
"Answer her.""
Richard's shoulders sagged.
"I verified certain information for Vanessa. I did not create the will, and I did not forge Laura's signature.""
"But you helped her keep David away.""
"Yes.""
The admission landed like a stone.
"Why?"" I asked.
"She paid me.""
Dad stared at him in disgust.
"You took money to obstruct an investigation into your own client's missing inheritance?""
Richard's face flushed.
"I made a serious mistake.""
"That doesn't begin to describe it.""
"No," he admitted.
"It doesn't.""
He opened the file again and removed a small digital storage device.
"Laura gave me this two weeks before she died. She told me to keep it secure and release it only if the trust was compromised.""
I reached for it.
Richard held it back.
"There's something you need to understand first. The files contain financial records, correspondence, and a recording. I haven't listened to the recording.""
"Why not?"" I asked.
"Because Laura specifically instructed me not to open it unless the trust was challenged.""
Dad's voice became cold.
"Then why did you keep it hidden for three years?""
Richard looked at me.
"Because I was afraid Vanessa would expose my involvement in the investigation. I thought I could correct the situation quietly.""
"You stole three years of my life," I said.
He flinched.
"I know.""
I held out my hand.
"Give it to me.""
This time, he did.
Daniel had arranged for a forensic specialist to examine the device, so we didn't open it in Richard's office. Dad placed it carefully inside an evidence envelope.
Before we left, Richard spoke again.
"Emily, there's one more thing.""
I turned.
"Your mother wasn't only worried about the money. She was worried about what would happen if you discovered the truth about your biological father.""
"I already know about David.""
Richard shook his head.
"Not all of it.""
He pulled a final document from the file.
It was a copy of a letter written by my mother and addressed to David.
The date was six days before her death.
I read the first paragraph.
David, I need you to know that Emily's birth certificate does not tell the whole story. Marcus agreed to raise her as his own, but the truth is more complicated than either of us understood.
My hands began to shake.
I read the next sentence.
The paternity test we arranged before Emily was born was never completed. The laboratory received a second sample, and the results were sent to someone other than us.
I looked up.
"Someone switched the samples?""
Richard nodded.
"That's what Laura suspected.""
Dad stared at him.
"Who received the results?""
Richard hesitated.
Then he pointed to a name typed at the bottom of the letter.
*Patricia Cole.*
My mother's closest friend had received the results of a paternity test that might have determined who my biological father was.
And according to the next line of my mother's letter, Patricia had promised to tell her the truth.
But she never did.
Richard leaned forward.
"There's another reason Vanessa paid me to keep David away. She believed he had a copy of the original laboratory report.""
"Does he?"" I asked.
"I don't know.""
I looked at the sealed evidence envelope in my father's hands.
The recording might contain the answer.
So might Patricia.
But before we could leave, Richard's phone rang.
He checked the screen and went pale.
"It's Patricia," he whispered.
Dad stepped closer.
"Answer it.""
Richard pressed the button and put the call on speaker.
A woman's voice filled the room.
"Richard, I know you've spoken to Emily. I need you to listen carefully. Vanessa has found out about the recording.""
A sharp breath followed.
Then Patricia said the words that made all three of us freeze.
"She knows where the original test results are hidden, and if she gets there first, Emily may never learn who her father really is.""
The line went dead.
Richard stared at his phone.
Dad clutched the evidence envelope.
And I realized that the money, the forged will, and my mother's final hospital records might all be connected to a single secret someone had spent eighteen years trying to bury.
My biological father wasn't the only person whose identity had been hidden.
May you like
Someone had also made sure that the truth about my birth would never reach me.
And now that I was finally looking for it, Vanessa was racing to destroy the last piece of evidence.
