Chapter 9: The Truth About Hailey
“You already know him.””
My mother stood beneath the attic doorway, her face drained of color.
I held Hailey against my chest.
“Who?””
She looked at me.
Then at the photograph of Dr. Harris lying on the floor between us.
My stomach dropped.
“No.””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“No. That's not possible.””
“Claire—”
“You're saying Dr. Harris is Hailey's father?””
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I looked down at my daughter.
Her tiny fingers curled around the collar of my coat.
Everything I'd believed about the day she was born began rearranging itself in my mind.
Dr. Harris had been there.
He had delivered her.
He had signed the paperwork.
He had held her before I did.
And somehow, all these years, I'd never once questioned why he seemed so emotional when he looked at her.
I remembered him standing in the hospital doorway.
His eyes red.
His voice shaking.
“You have a beautiful daughter, Claire.””
I'd thought he was simply being kind.
Now every memory looked different.
“How?””
The word came out as a whisper.
My mother stepped into the attic.
“Before you married Liam, you were seeing someone.””
“I was not.””
She gave me a painful look.
“You were.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
“Dr. Harris.””
My breath caught.
“No.””
“You were twenty-seven.””
“I was twenty-seven when I met Liam.””
“You met Liam afterward.””
I stared at her.
“I don't remember.””
“I know.””
“What do you mean, you know?””
My mother took another step.
“You don't remember because Liam made sure you wouldn't.””
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“Claire, she's telling the truth about one thing.””
I turned.
“What?””
He looked toward my mother.
“There are gaps in your medical records from that year.””
“What kind of gaps?””
“Three months.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
“We never found out.””
My mother whispered, “Because your father discovered what Liam had done.””
I felt my pulse in my throat.
“What did Liam do?””
My mother looked at Hailey.
“He drugged you.””
The room went silent.
Megan covered her mouth.
I couldn't speak.
“He what?””
“He wanted you to believe you'd never been with anyone but him.””
My knees weakened.
Daniel caught my elbow.
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
He immediately stepped back.
My mother was crying now.
“We found out after you became pregnant. Your father confronted Liam.””
“About the pregnancy?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“That the baby might not be his.””
I stared at her.
“Liam knew?””
“He suspected.””
“Why?””
“Because he had been told you were seeing someone before him.””
I looked at Dr. Harris's photograph.
“What happened?””
My mother swallowed.
“You and Dr. Harris were in love.””
The attic seemed to tilt.
“I don't remember loving him.””
“You were young. Your father wanted you to finish school. Dr.
Harris was older. He was afraid of ruining your future.””
“So we broke up?””
“No.””
My mother looked at me.
“Liam made sure you did.””
A chill moved through me.
“How?””
“He convinced you that Dr. Harris had abandoned you.””
I stared.
“He showed you forged messages.””
My mouth went dry.
“And you believed him.””
I looked toward Liam's photograph from years earlier.
He was smiling.
Perfect suit.
Perfect hair.
Perfect husband.
The man I had thought rescued me from heartbreak.
He hadn't rescued me.
He had created it.
Megan slowly sat down.
“That's why he targeted you.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“He didn't meet you by chance.””
My mother's face tightened.
“No.””
She continued.
“He knew about Claire's relationship with Harris before he ever approached her.””
Megan looked sick.
“He told me that the first thing that attracted him to Claire was how easy she was to isolate.””
My hands curled into fists.
“He said that?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Months ago.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was already trapped.””
“How?””
She looked at my mother.
Then away.
“Liam had proof that I had helped him move the company money.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“And now we know how.””
He pulled another file from his briefcase.
“Shell accounts.””
He opened it.
“Transfers between Liam, Megan, and several companies.””
I looked at the documents.
There were names I'd never seen before.
Addresses.
Account numbers.
Amounts.
Then I saw one name repeated.
*Harris Medical Consulting.*
My blood ran cold.
“What is that?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your husband's financial trail.””
My mother whispered, “He paid Dr. Harris.””
“For what?””
Daniel turned another page.
“To alter the hospital records.””
I stared at the signature.
Dr. Harris.
Next to it was an amount.
$40,000.
“Why would he help Liam?””
“He didn't,” my mother said.
“He was threatened.””
“With what?””
My father had told me not to trust anyone.
Now I understood why.
“What did Liam have on him?””
My mother looked toward the attic floor.
“Something your father found.””
She knelt beside the old metal box and pulled out another envelope.
“This.””
I took it.
Inside was a photograph.
Dr. Harris standing beside Liam.
There was a hospital corridor behind them.
And between them was a folder.
On the folder was written:
*PATERNITY TEST — CONFIDENTIAL*
My hands shook.
I looked at the date.
Three days before Hailey was born.
“What does this mean?””
My mother whispered, “The test was done before the delivery.””
I looked at the result.
My eyes scanned the page.
Then stopped.
*Probability of paternity: 99.99%.*
I stared.
“Liam is the father.””
Daniel frowned.
Megan stepped closer.
“What?””
I held the paper up.
“It's Liam.””
My mother shook her head.
“No.””
“But this says—”
“Read the name.””
I looked again.
The page was addressed to:
*Daniel Harris.*
Not Liam Bennett.
Daniel Harris.
I frowned.
Then something clicked.
Dr. Harris's full name.
*Daniel Harris.*
My mother's voice was barely audible.
“The test says Dr. Harris is the biological father.””
I looked at the photograph.
Then at Hailey.
Then at my mother.
“Why did you say Daniel Reeves wasn't her father?””
“Because he isn't.””
I turned toward the attorney.
He stood frozen.
My mother looked at him.
“You were hired because your father knew mine.””
Daniel Reeves stared at her.
“And you never told me?””
“I didn't trust you.””
“Why?””
“Because Liam had already been using your name.””
Everyone went quiet.
I looked at the paperwork again.
The paternity result.
Dr. Harris.
The date.
Three days before Hailey's birth.
Everything suddenly fell into place.
My relationship with Dr. Harris.
The missing memories.
Liam's obsession with the pregnancy.
The altered hospital records.
The insurance policy.
The secret storage unit.
The woman on the phone.
My father disappearing.
My mother lying.
It wasn't an affair.
It was a takeover.
Liam hadn't simply wanted to replace me.
He wanted to erase the people who could prove Hailey wasn't his.
I suddenly understood something else.
“Where is Dr. Harris?””
My mother went silent.
“Mom.””
She looked at me.
“He disappeared.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
My heart stopped.
“The same year Dad disappeared?””
“Yes.””
I stared at her.
“You said Dad survived.””
“He did.””
“And Dr. Harris?””
She shook her head.
“We thought he was dead.””
A floorboard creaked behind us.
Everyone turned.
Daniel reached for his phone.
The attic door moved.
Slowly.
Nobody was standing there.
Then a phone began ringing from downstairs.
A strange ringtone.
One I didn't recognize.
Megan whispered, “That's Liam's.””
I froze.
“How would his phone be here?””
Daniel moved toward the stairs.
“Stay here.””
But I was already following him.
We reached the hallway.
The ringing continued.
It was coming from the old study.
I opened the door.
A cell phone lay in the center of my grandfather's desk.
Liam's phone.
The screen was illuminated.
One missed call.
Then another.
Then a message appeared.
*STOP LOOKING FOR DR. HARRIS.*
I stared.
A second message appeared.
*HE IS NOT THE MAN YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.*
Then the phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID showed a name.
*DAD.*
My hands trembled as I answered.
“Hello?””
My father's voice came through.
“Claire.””
“Dad, where are you?””
“Listen to me.””
I glanced at my mother.
She was crying.
My father continued.
“Your mother is lying to you.””
My stomach dropped.
“About what?””
“She wasn't the one who changed the records.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
My father's breathing grew ragged.
“Liam did.””
“But Mom said—”
“I know what she said.””
“Where are you?””
Silence.
Then:
“With Dr. Harris.””
My heart stopped.
“You're alive.””
“Yes.””
“Is he alive?””
My father's voice fell to a whisper.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
“Dad, where are you?””
“I'll tell you.””
A pause.
“But first, you need to know why Liam wanted you to believe Hailey was his.””
“Why?””
“Because he discovered the truth about Dr. Harris.””
“What truth?””
My father didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Dr. Harris isn't just Hailey's father.””
I swallowed.
“What else is he?””
“He is Liam's biological father.””
I stared at the phone.
My mother covered her face.
Daniel went completely still.
And then my father's final words came through the speaker.
“Claire, your husband married you to get revenge on his own father.””
The line went dead.
I looked at Hailey.
Then at the phone.
And somewhere inside me, the final piece of the nightmare clicked into place.
May you like
Liam had never wanted a wife.
He had wanted a weapon.
