Chapter 9: The Man Behind the Wedding
For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood.
Daniel's father had died when he was a child.
His name was Michael Carter.
He had been a financial consultant who worked with several wealthy families in Chicago before dying in a car accident.
Daniel rarely spoke about him.
But I remembered seeing his photograph in Daniel's childhood home.
A smiling man with dark hair and a silver watch.
I turned toward my fiancé.
“Vanessa, are you saying Michael Carter was involved in our family?””
She nodded.
“He contacted me after I found Thomas's letter.””
Daniel looked stunned.
“My father died when I was nine.””
“I know.””
“Then who did you meet?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I never said I met him in person.””
She pulled her phone from her handbag.
“There was an email account connected to his old business. Someone was using it.””
Dad leaned forward.
“Do you have proof?””
Vanessa nodded.
She opened a folder containing several printed emails.
The first message was dated three years earlier.
The sender used Michael Carter's old consulting address.
The subject line read:
Regarding the Bennett Family Trust.
I took the page.
The email stated that the sender had access to information concerning Thomas Bennett's biological children.
It offered to provide the original records in exchange for a confidential payment.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You paid him?””
She nodded.
“How much?””
“Over two hundred thousand dollars.””
I felt sick.
“And what did he tell you?””
“That the DNA records were wrong. He said Thomas wasn't your father.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“That's a lie.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“How do you know?””
“Because I personally witnessed the DNA testing.””
“Then why would someone make up something like that?””
Evelyn studied the emails.
“Because the truth was worth more than the money.””
Daniel took the pages.
He read the sender information carefully.
Then he frowned.
“Wait.””
He pulled out his phone.
“There's something familiar about this email address.””
He opened his contacts and searched for an old name.
A moment later, he showed the screen to his father.
It was an old business contact saved under Michael Carter's name.
The email address was different by only one character.
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
“Did you ever speak to this person on the phone?””
“Yes.””
“Did he sound like my father?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“I don't know. It was a man.””
Daniel looked at his phone again.
“My father used to have a business partner.””
Dad frowned.
“Who?””
“Gregory Shaw.””
Evelyn's face changed.
“Gregory?””
Daniel nodded.
“He handled my father's accounts after the accident.””
Evelyn slowly sat down.
“That name appears in Thomas's files.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
She opened the trust agreement and searched through several pages.
Then she found it.
A consulting authorization.
Gregory Shaw.
I stared at the document.
“Was he involved in the hospital arrangement?””
Evelyn nodded.
“He was the accountant who managed payments for Edward Bennett.””
Dad looked horrified.
“My father trusted Gregory with everything.””
“And Gregory trusted money more than people,” Evelyn replied.
Daniel stood.
“I need to call my mother.””
He dialed.
Margaret answered immediately.
“Daniel?””
“Mom, do you know a man named Gregory Shaw?””
There was a pause.
“Yes.””
“Is he connected to your company?””
“He used to be.””
“Did he manage the Thomas Bennett trust?””
Another pause.
“Yes. Before I took over.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I believed he had retired.””
“Where is he now?””
“I don't know.””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“I do.””
Everyone turned.
She looked at the floor.
“He contacted me last month.””
Dad's voice became sharp.
“Why?””
“He wanted more money.””
“How much?””
“Five hundred thousand dollars.””
I stared at her.
“And you were going to pay him?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. I refused.””
“Why?””
“Because he threatened to release something.””
Evelyn leaned forward.
“What?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“A document proving that one of us had been deliberately switched at birth.””
I swallowed.
“But we already know that.””
“No,” she whispered.
“You don't understand. Gregory claimed the switch wasn't about the inheritance.””
“What was it about?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“He said one of the babies wasn't supposed to survive.””
The room became silent.
I felt Daniel's hand close around mine.
“What are you saying?””
Vanessa began to cry.
“Gregory told me that Thomas had discovered something about the hospital before we were born. He said Edward wanted to make sure one child disappeared from the family records completely.””
Patricia covered her mouth.
Dad stood.
“That's enough.””
But Evelyn shook her head.
“No, Richard. Let her finish.””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“Gregory said Edward believed one of the babies would eventually become a threat to the company. He wanted that child removed from the inheritance.””
I stared.
“Which baby?””
“He wouldn't tell me.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“Was there another child?””
She shook her head.
“No. Both girls were born alive.””
“Then what does Gregory mean?””
Evelyn studied the document.
Then she noticed something.
She moved closer to the lamp and examined the hospital records.
“Wait.””
She pointed to the date.
“This isn't the original birth record.””
Dad frowned.
“What?””
“This is a corrected copy. Look at the time stamps.””
I leaned over.
Two birth times were listed.
One at 2:14 a.m.
The other at 2:25 a.m.
But the correction had been made three days later.
Evelyn pulled another paper from her handbag.
It was an original hospital nursery log.
The names were missing.
Only the numbers remained.
She placed the two documents side by side.
Then she looked at Patricia.
“Did you ever see this?””
Patricia shook her head.
“No.””
Evelyn pointed to a handwritten notation.
“Baby 41 was transferred at 3:10 a.m. Baby 42 was transferred at 3:25 a.m.””
I frowned.
“Transferred where?””
Evelyn turned the paper.
The destination was listed as a private medical facility.
A facility that had been closed for decades.
I looked at Dad.
“Why would newborn babies be transferred to a private facility?””
Dad's face had gone pale.
“Father owned that facility.””
I felt cold.
“Grandpa owned a hospital?””
“Not a hospital. A private medical center.””
Evelyn nodded.
“It was used for executive medical care. Thomas believed Edward had arranged a separate examination there.””
“What kind of examination?””
Evelyn looked at me.
“A DNA test.””
I stared.
“But we were newborns.””
“Yes.””
“Why would they need a DNA test immediately?””
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“Because Edward already suspected that one of the babies wasn't biologically related to the Bennett family.””
Dad looked confused.
“That's impossible. Thomas was the father.””
“Of one child,” Evelyn replied.
“But Edward believed the other baby had a different biological father.””
I felt my stomach turn.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was trembling.
“Who?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
Instead, she reached for the hospital log.
There was a second note written beside Baby 42.
Genetic comparison requested by E.B.
Below it was a name.
Not Thomas.
Not Richard.
Not Edward.
A name I recognized from the family business.
Gregory Shaw.
I stared at the paper.
“Why would Gregory be listed as the person requesting a DNA test?””
Evelyn looked toward Daniel.
“Because Gregory wasn't just Edward's accountant.””
Daniel frowned.
“What was he?””
Evelyn slowly placed the original trust agreement beside the hospital log.
Then she pointed to a handwritten note.
If the results confirm what I suspect, the child must never be allowed to inherit.
I read the sentence twice.
Then I looked at my father.
“Who wrote this?””
Dad examined the handwriting.
His hands began to shake.
“My father.””
I turned toward Vanessa.
“Did Gregory ever tell you which of us was the threat?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Did he tell you why he wanted money?””
“He said he needed to keep the records hidden.””
Evelyn suddenly stood.
“Then he has been lying to you.””
Vanessa looked up.
“What?””
Evelyn pointed to the old hospital document.
“Gregory didn't need money to hide the records. He needed money because he was the one who created the false records in the first place.””
Daniel looked at his phone.
“Mom, can you find Gregory?””
Margaret replied immediately.
“I can try.””
“Please do.””
A few seconds passed.
Then Margaret spoke again.
“Daniel, I found something.””
“What?””
“Gregory's company was dissolved years ago. But someone has been making monthly payments to an account under his name.””
Dad frowned.
“Who is paying him?””
Margaret read the information.
Then she went silent.
“Mom?””
“Daniel, the payments are coming from the Bennett Family Trust.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“I didn't authorize those.””
Evelyn examined the account number.
Then she looked directly at Dad.
“Richard, this account was opened under your name.””
Dad's expression changed.
“I never opened an account with that bank.””
Margaret's voice became urgent.
“There's more. The account was accessed yesterday.””
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
“By whom?””
Margaret hesitated.
Then she answered.
“By someone currently inside the Bennett mansion.””
At that exact moment, the library lights went out.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Daniel pulled me toward him.
Dad shouted for the housekeeper.
Someone ran across the upper floor.
Then the emergency lights flickered on.
The library door was open.
And the envelope containing my mother's original letter was gone.
Vanessa stood beside the table, staring at the empty space.
“I didn't take it,” she whispered.
Dad moved toward the hallway.
“Security!””
But Evelyn grabbed his arm.
“Richard, wait.””
She pointed to the window.
A shadow was moving across the garden.
Someone was leaving through the side entrance.
Daniel rushed to the window.
“Hey!””
The figure turned briefly beneath the outdoor lights.
I saw a dark coat.
A familiar silver watch.
And then the person disappeared beyond the garden wall.
Dad stared into the darkness.
His voice broke.
“That's impossible.””
I looked at him.
“Who was it?””
He slowly turned toward us.
Then he said:
“Gregory Shaw.””
And before anyone could move, Daniel's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a name.
*MOM.*
He answered.
“Mom?””
Margaret was crying.
“Daniel, don't let Claire leave that house.””
“Why?””
“Because Gregory isn't the only person who came looking for the letter.””
A pause.
Then she whispered:
“Someone has been following Claire for months.””
I felt Daniel's hand tighten around mine.
“Who?””
Margaret's answer was barely audible.
“Your biological father's other child.””
I stared at the phone.
“Thomas had another child?””
Margaret began sobbing.
“Yes, Claire.””
May you like
Then she said the one thing that made Vanessa collapse into her chair.
“And that person is not your sister.””
