Chapter 12: The Last Secret of My Father
I stared at the photograph.
My hands became numb.
A young Vivian.
My father.
A baby.
Me.
The impossible image burned into my mind.
I called Rebecca immediately.
She answered after one ring.
“You saw it.””
“Yes.””
My voice barely worked.
“What is this?””
A long silence.
Then:
“The reason Vivian married you.””
I walked away from the courthouse.
Away from the noise.
Away from everyone.
“Tell me.””
Rebecca took a breath.
“Your father knew Vivian’s family.””
“How?””
“They worked together.””
“For what?””
“For years.””
I closed my eyes.
Every answer created more questions.
“Rebecca.””
“I know this is difficult.””
“No.””
My voice sharpened.
“I need the truth.””
She was quiet.
Then:
“Vivian’s father helped your father build his first medical company.””
I froze.
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
She continued.
“But there was a betrayal.””
“What betrayal?””
“Your father cut Vivian’s family out of the company.””
I understood.
“This is revenge.””
“Yes.””
“But why me?””
Rebecca’s voice lowered.
“Because your father’s greatest mistake was trusting Vivian’s mother.””
I felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
“Your father had evidence that could destroy Vivian’s family.””
“What evidence?””
“I don’t know.””
“But Vivian does.””
I looked back toward the courthouse.
“She spent twelve years with me searching.””
“Yes.””
“She married me to find it.””
“Yes.””
The realization hurt differently than before.
Because every memory changed.
Our first date.
Our wedding.
The birth of our children.
Were any of them real?
Or had I been living inside someone else’s plan?
That evening, I returned home alone.
The house was empty.
Too empty.
I walked through the rooms slowly.
Every corner held memories.
The kitchen where my sons made pancakes.
The living room where we opened Christmas gifts.
The hallway where Maya had been taken away.
Then I saw something.
A small mark on the wall near the staircase.
I remembered.
Ethan had scratched this wall when he was three.
Vivian had been furious.
I had laughed.
A normal memory.
A real one.
Or maybe I was desperate for one.
My phone rang.
Rebecca.
“I found something.””
“What?””
“Your father’s old safe deposit information.””
I sat down.
“Where?””
“In a bank.””
“What’s inside?””
“I don’t know.””
“Then why call me?””
“Because Vivian has been trying to access it for years.””
My heart stopped.
“The safe?””
“Yes.””
“What does she need?””
Rebecca answered:
“Your fingerprint.””
I froze.
“She needs me?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because your father designed it that way.””
I looked around my house.
At everything I had built.
Everything I had trusted.
Then I heard a sound.
A door closing upstairs.
I stood immediately.
“Rebecca, I’ll call you back.””
I ended the call.
Someone was inside.
I moved quietly.
Toward the stairs.
My hand reached for my phone.
I didn’t know who I expected.
Vivian.
Daniel.
Someone else.
But when I entered the hallway, I froze.
Because standing in my office doorway was Ethan.
My son.
Holding something in his hands.
A small black notebook.
“Daddy,” he whispered.
I walked toward him.
“Where did you get that?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Mommy gave it to me.””
My heart stopped.
“Why?””
He looked down.
“She said if anything happened to her…”
He swallowed.
“I should give this to you.””
I took the notebook.
On the cover was a name.
Not Vivian.
Not my father.
Not Lucas.
A name I had never seen before.
The same name from the old birth record.
Rebecca.
I opened the first page.
May you like
And the first sentence made my entire body go cold.
*“If Ethan Hale ever finds this notebook, it means Vivian has finally failed.””*
