Chapter 5: The Man Who Wasn't Supposed to Be My Father
“Where did you get that?””
Dad's voice was barely audible.
I pushed the photograph toward him.
“Mom's letter.””
He didn't touch it.
“Ethan, listen to me.””
“Just answer the question.””
He pulled out the chair opposite me.
Then he sat down.
Helen remained standing beside the window.
Dad stared at the photograph for a long time.
Finally, he spoke.
“Daniel and I had a disagreement before you were born.””
“What kind of disagreement?””
“A serious one.””
“About Mom?””
He nodded.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Was Uncle Daniel in love with her?””
Dad closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I looked at the photograph again.
Mom stood between them, one hand resting on Daniel's shoulder.
My father was smiling.
Daniel looked directly at the camera.
They all looked happy.
“How long?””
“Before your mother met me.””
I swallowed.
“Then why did she marry you?””
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“Because she loved me.””
“But she loved him too?””
He didn't answer.
I pushed the photograph away.
“Is Daniel my biological father?””
Dad looked at me.
And his silence answered before his words did.
“I don't know.””
I laughed once.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
It was because I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You don't know?””
“Your mother never told me.””
“But there's a paternity document!””
Helen stepped forward.
“Ethan, the document is an old laboratory report. It doesn't establish a final legal determination.””
I looked at her.
“What does it say?””
She hesitated.
“Your mother requested a private genetic comparison before you were born.””
“With whom?””
Helen looked at Dad.
“Mr. Daniel Walker.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“And?””
“The report was inconclusive.””
Dad looked up sharply.
“What?””
Helen removed another page from the folder.
“It indicates that the sample was insufficient for a definitive result.””
I stared at the document.
“So nobody knows?””
“Not from this report.””
Dad leaned back.
His face looked exhausted.
“Why would Claire do this?””
Helen carefully placed another document on the table.
“Because she was trying to establish the truth before finalizing your son's trust arrangements.””
I looked at her.
“Did Mom know who my father was?””
Helen paused.
“She believed she knew.””
“Who?””
Helen glanced at Dad.
Then she said, “She believed Marcus was your biological father.””
Dad exhaled.
I stared at him.
“Then why did she test Daniel?””
Helen turned to the next page.
“Because Daniel had made a claim.””
Dad stood abruptly.
“What claim?””
Helen looked uncomfortable.
“According to your mother's notes, Daniel told her that he believed you might be his child.””
Dad slammed his palm against the table.
“He had no right!””
I flinched.
Helen remained calm.
“Mr. Walker, please.””
Dad lowered his hand.
I looked between them.
“Did Uncle Daniel know about this?””
“Yes,” Helen answered.
“Does he still think he's my father?””
“I cannot answer that.””
Dad picked up his phone.
“I'm calling him.””
I caught his wrist.
“Wait.””
He looked at me.
“I want to hear what he says.””
Dad's expression softened.
Then he dialed.
Daniel answered after three rings.
“Marcus?””
“Where are you?””
“At home.””
“You need to come to Helen Price's office.””
A pause.
“Why?””
“Because Ethan has seen the documents.””
Silence.
Then Daniel said quietly, “I was afraid this day would come.””
Dad's face hardened.
“You knew?””
“I knew Claire had requested the test.””
“And you never told me?””
“Marcus, it wasn't my secret to tell.””
Dad laughed bitterly.
“You had eighteen years!””
“Don't do this over the phone.””
“Then get here.””
He ended the call.
Daniel arrived forty minutes later.
He wore a gray sweater and dark jeans.
He looked older than I remembered.
His hair had turned almost completely silver, and his shoulders seemed narrower.
When he entered the room, he didn't look at Dad.
He looked at me.
“Ethan.””
I stood.
“Am I your son?””
He stopped.
His eyes filled.
Then he pulled out a chair.
“Can we sit down?””
“No.””
He swallowed.
“I don't know.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“That's what everyone keeps saying.””
Daniel looked toward Dad.
“Marcus, I never wanted to hurt you.””
“Then why did you keep this from me?””
“Because Claire asked me to.””
“You let me raise a child while wondering whether he belonged to you?””
Daniel's voice rose.
“I never wondered whether he belonged to me! I loved him from the day he was born.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
He seemed to realize what he had said.
Then he looked at me again.
“I mean, I loved you as my nephew.””
“That's not what you said.””
Daniel rubbed his eyes.
“I know.””
Helen opened the blue folder.
“Perhaps we should focus on the documents.””
She removed a second envelope.
This one was marked with my mother's initials.
Inside was a letter addressed to Daniel.
He stared at it.
“Claire wrote that?””
Helen nodded.
“She asked that it be given to you only if you were formally questioned about the paternity issue.””
Daniel opened the letter.
His fingers trembled.
He read silently.
Then he covered his mouth.
“What's it say?”” Dad demanded.
Daniel passed the letter across the table.
Dad read it.
His expression changed.
Then he pushed it toward me.
I read the first lines.
Daniel,
I know you have carried questions about Ethan for years. I know you believe the timing of our relationship may have created uncertainty.
But I need you to understand something.
You were never asked to be his father.
You were asked to protect him.
I looked up.
Daniel wiped his eyes.
“Keep reading,” he whispered.
I continued.
Marcus has been a good husband and a wonderful father. He deserves to raise his son without living under the shadow of a question that cannot be answered by suspicion.
If you truly love Ethan, you will never use this uncertainty to claim him, hurt him, or interfere with the family he already has.
I looked at Daniel.
He lowered his head.
“Your mother made me promise.””
Dad stood.
“And you kept that promise while Vanessa was arranging to send him away?””
Daniel looked up.
“What?””
I turned toward him.
“Vanessa told you Dad had agreed to put me in a residential school.””
Daniel's face changed.
“I didn't know she was doing this without his permission.””
“You agreed to collect me.””
“She said it was temporary.””
“And you didn't ask me?””
He looked ashamed.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You're all the same.””
“Ethan—”
“No. You all make decisions about my life and then tell me it's because you love me.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“I deserve that.””
Dad looked at him.
“Did Vanessa tell you about the trust?””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“She said Claire had left some money for Ethan.””
“Did she tell you how much?””
“No.””
“Did she ask you to help her access it?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he reached into his coat pocket.
“I brought something.””
He placed a small envelope on the table.
Inside was a USB drive and a handwritten note.
“Vanessa gave me this last week,” he said.
“She said it contained the residential school documents.””
Dad picked up the note.
It read:
Daniel, please make sure Ethan is collected before Marcus changes his mind. The guardianship application must be completed before the trustee's review.
Dad looked at him.
“You knew she was arranging guardianship?””
“I thought Marcus had approved it.””
“Did you check?””
“No.””
Daniel looked at me.
“I made a terrible mistake.””
I looked away.
Helen took the USB drive.
“May I examine this?””
Daniel nodded.
She connected it to her laptop.
There were several folders.
One was labeled School Placement.
Another was labeled Walker Trust.
Helen opened the second folder.
Inside were scanned bank statements, legal correspondence, and a spreadsheet.
She scrolled through the documents.
Then she stopped.
“Mr. Walker?””
Dad leaned forward.
“What?””
“This account has received several transfers from the trust's investment portfolio.””
Dad frowned.
“How much?””
Helen checked the figures.
“Approximately six hundred and forty thousand dollars.””
I stared at the screen.
“Who received it?””
Helen opened the transaction details.
The receiving account belonged to a company registered in London.
Its director was listed as—
Vanessa Reed.
My father's wife had been moving money for months.
Dad stood.
“Call the bank.””
Helen picked up her phone.
But Daniel suddenly spoke.
“There's something else.””
We turned toward him.
He looked at Dad.
“Vanessa came to see me three weeks ago. She said she had proof that Claire had changed the trust before she died.””
“What proof?””
“A letter.””
“What letter?””
Daniel swallowed.
“She said Claire had signed something transferring the money to her.””
Dad shook his head.
“That document doesn't exist.””
“I know that now.””
“How?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because I saw the original.””
Helen frowned.
“Where?””
Daniel reached into his coat again.
This time, he removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I took a photograph before Vanessa realized I had it.””
He placed it on the table.
Dad examined the document.
Then his face went pale.
At the bottom was my mother's signature.
But the date was impossible.
It was dated two days after her death.
I stared at the paper.
“How could Mom sign something after she died?””
Helen took the document.
She examined the signature carefully.
Then she looked up.
“This isn't simply a forged signature.””
Dad frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Helen turned the page over.
“There is a notarial stamp.””
She examined it again.
Then she whispered:
“This stamp belongs to a solicitor who died eleven years ago.””
Nobody spoke.
Vanessa hadn't merely forged my mother's signature.
May you like
She had created a legal document using the identity of a dead professional.
And that meant she hadn't been working alone.
