Chapter 4: The Man Who Claimed to Be Ethan’s Father
Daniel read the message three times before he trusted himself to breathe.
*Stop asking questions about Grace. You have until midnight to give us the blue key. Otherwise, your son learns what happened to his real father.*
He lowered the phone slowly.
Across Thomas Reed's office, the attorney was still holding the old photograph. His expression had changed from concern to something Daniel couldn't identify.
Fear, perhaps.
Or recognition.
“What does that message mean?”” Daniel asked.
Thomas didn't answer.
“Thomas.””
The attorney placed the photograph on the desk, faceup.
“I need you to tell me exactly what you know about Ethan's birth.””
Daniel stared at him.
“I was there when my son was born. I cut the umbilical cord. I held him before Grace did because she was exhausted. What kind of question is that?””
“Did Grace ever tell you about complications during the pregnancy?””
“No.””
“Did she ever mention a paternity test?””
Daniel stood so abruptly that his chair struck the wall.
“Are you suggesting Ethan isn't my son?””
“I'm suggesting someone wants you to believe that.””
“Then tell me why.””
Thomas took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Michael had a son named Adrian. According to the family records, Adrian disappeared when he was eleven. Michael claimed the boy had been taken overseas by his mother. Grace believed that story was false.””
“Why?””
“Because the mother had died two years earlier, and Michael was the boy's legal guardian.””
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
The child beside Grace had dark hair, a narrow chin, and a small crease beside his left eye.
Ethan had the same crease.
It was the kind of resemblance that might have been meaningless if the rest of the circumstances hadn't been so disturbing.
“Where was Adrian taken?”” Daniel asked.
“We don't know.””
“And why would someone threaten Ethan over a missing boy?””
Thomas hesitated.
“Because Adrian's disappearance may have been connected to the dispute over Grace's inheritance.””
Daniel felt anger pushing through his fear.
“Enough with the maybes. Either tell me what you know or tell me you don't know.””
Thomas looked at him for a long moment.
Then he opened a cabinet and removed a thick file.
“Three weeks before Grace died, she came to my office with a document she had found among her grandfather's papers. It was an original birth registration connected to Michael's son. There was a discrepancy in the date of birth and a second name listed on the record.””
“What name?””
“Ethan.””
Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.
Thomas quickly raised a hand.
“Not your Ethan. The document was decades old. Michael's son had been registered under two names, and Grace believed someone had deliberately altered the records to conceal his identity.””
Daniel stared at the file.
“Why would Michael do that?””
“To protect himself, perhaps. Or to conceal something about the boy's inheritance. I can't tell you which.””
“And Vanessa?””
“She was asking questions about the same documents.””
Daniel looked at the message on his phone again.
Your son learns what happened to his real father.
The words had been chosen carefully. Whoever had sent them knew precisely which fear to exploit.
But Daniel wasn't going to let a stranger turn his son into a bargaining chip.
He called the police officer who had taken his report the night before. He explained the new threat, gave the officer the number, and forwarded the messages. He also told him about the woman who had visited his house claiming to be Grace's sister.
The officer's tone became serious.
“Mr. Mercer, don't meet anyone who contacts you about this key. Don't hand over documents or money.
We'll document the threat and determine what steps are appropriate. If anyone approaches your children, call emergency services immediately.””
Daniel thanked him and ended the call.
Thomas watched him.
“You should take the children somewhere else.””
“I'm already doing that.””
“I mean somewhere Vanessa and these people won't think to look.””
“My children aren't going to spend their lives running because your client left behind a secret.””
Thomas flinched.
“Grace wasn't trying to put you in danger.””
“Then she should have told me the truth.””
“She thought she had more time.””
Daniel looked away.
That answer hurt because it was possible.
Grace had been ill. She had been frightened. She might have believed she could solve everything before it reached their home.
But she had died, and Daniel had inherited a mystery that was now threatening his children.
He gathered the documents Thomas had agreed to copy and returned to the reception area.
Ethan was sitting on the carpet beside Sophie, helping her stack plastic cups. Their laughter was faint but genuine. For a few seconds, Daniel stood in the doorway and watched them.
Then Ethan noticed him.
“Dad?””
Daniel crouched beside his son.
“Hey, buddy.””
“Are we going home?””
“Not today.””
Ethan looked down at the cups.
“Is Vanessa still mad?””
“Vanessa is an adult. Her feelings are not your responsibility.””
“But she said I ruined everything.””
Daniel gently took his son's hand.
“You didn't ruin anything. You told me what happened, and that was the right thing to do.””
Ethan nodded, though his eyes remained uncertain.
Then he asked the question Daniel had been dreading.
“Dad, am I really your son?””
Daniel went still.
“Why would you ask me that?””
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in Mom's old photo album last month. I didn't know what it meant, so I hid it. Vanessa kept asking me about it.””
Daniel unfolded the paper.
It was a photocopy of a hospital record.
The print was faded, but the names were legible.
*Mother: Grace Mercer.*
*Child: Ethan Mercer.*
Below them, a second line had been written by hand.
*Paternity confirmation pending.*
Daniel stared at the words.
“Where did you find this?””
“In Mom's closet. I was looking for my dinosaur book. Vanessa said I wasn't allowed to look at the papers.””
Daniel read the document again.
It didn't prove anything. It could have been a preliminary record, an administrative notation, or something taken out of context.
But someone had hidden it.
And someone had frightened his son enough that he had carried it around for weeks.
“Ethan, listen to me,” Daniel said.
“A piece of paper doesn't change who loves you or who has raised you. You're my son. Nothing about that changes because someone sends us a frightening message.””
Ethan's eyes filled.
“Even if I'm not?””
Daniel drew him into his arms.
“Even if we discover something unexpected about the past, I will still be your dad. I will still show up for you. I will still love you. Do you understand?””
Ethan buried his face in Daniel's shoulder.
“Okay.””
Daniel held him until his breathing steadied.
Then he asked him to show the paper to Thomas.
The attorney examined it carefully.
“This appears to be a preliminary hospital record,” he said.
“It isn't a DNA report, and it doesn't establish that Daniel isn't Ethan's biological father.””
“Could Vanessa have used it to frighten him?””
“Possibly. We need to find out how it got into the album.””
Daniel slipped the paper into a protective folder.
“Then we'll find out.””
His phone rang again.
This time, the caller was Vanessa.
He answered on speaker.
“Daniel, thank God.””
Her voice trembled with practiced relief.
“Where are you?”” he asked.
“At home. I've been trying to reach you all morning.””
“What do you want?””
“I want you to come back so we can talk like adults.””
“About the strap?””
“About everything.””
“Then start with the woman who visited our house claiming to be Grace's sister.””
Silence.
A long, unmistakable silence.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Vanessa?””
“I don't know who you're talking about.””
“She threatened my children.””
“I didn't threaten anyone.””
“I didn't say you did.””
Another silence.
Then Vanessa's voice hardened.
“You've always been too trusting, Daniel. You think because someone cries in front of you, they must be innocent. Grace was exactly the same way.””
Daniel felt Thomas watching him.
“Why are you bringing Grace into this?””
“Because she lied to you.””
“About what?””
“Your son.””
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
There it was.
The accusation again.
“Tell me what you know.””
Vanessa exhaled.
“I found documents in her closet. Documents proving that Ethan's birth wasn't as simple as she told you.””
“What documents?””
“Come home, and I'll show you.””
“No.””
“Then you may never know the truth.””
Daniel ended the call.
He didn't feel victorious.
He felt sick.
Thomas collected the folders and locked them inside his briefcase.
“There's something else I need to tell you,” he said.
Daniel turned.
“What now?””
“The woman who visited your house wasn't Grace's sister.””
“Who was she?””
Thomas opened the old photograph again.
“The woman standing beside Grace in this picture is Michael's former wife. Her name was Laura. She died years ago.””
Daniel looked at the image.
“Then who visited my house?””
Thomas pointed to the dark-haired woman in the reflection.
“Someone who looks very much like Laura.””
He paused.
“And if I'm right, she's the person who knows what happened to Adrian.””
Before Daniel could respond, the receptionist appeared at the office door.
“Mr. Reed? There's a woman downstairs asking for you.””
Thomas frowned.
“Did she give you her name?””
The receptionist nodded.
“She says her name is Adrian Mercer.””
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
A woman claiming to be Grace's sister.
A man threatening to expose Ethan's real father.
And now someone using the name of a boy who had disappeared twenty years earlier.
Thomas closed his briefcase.
“Keep Daniel and the children here,” he told the receptionist.
Then he turned to Daniel.
“Whatever happens next, don't let that woman leave with the photograph.””
“Why?””
Thomas's voice dropped.
“Because if she is who I think she is, she's not here to threaten us.””
May you like
He glanced at the closed office door.
“She's here because someone has finally found her.””
