Chapter 8: The Boy Who Looked Like Leo
I didn’t sleep.
I couldn’t.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photo.
Leo standing in my backyard.
But the message kept repeating in my head.
Wrong child.
Detective Harris traced the number.
Nothing.
Burner phone.
No records.
No location.
Just another ghost.
But I knew one thing.
Someone wanted me confused.
Someone wanted me afraid.
When I arrived at Emma’s house, Leo was sitting at the kitchen table drawing.
The moment he saw me, he smiled.
“Daddy.””
I stopped.
Because for the first time since finding him…
I looked closely.
Not like a father.
Like an investigator.
His face.
His eyes.
The small scar near his eyebrow.
Everything was Leo.
But then I remembered the words.
He replaced Leo.
I hated myself for even thinking it.
This was my son.
Or was he?
“David?””
Emma’s voice pulled me back.
“You okay?””
I forced a smile.
“Yeah.””
Leo looked at me.
“You’re scared.””
I froze.
“What?””
He lowered his pencil.
“Grandma said you would look at me differently.””
My heart dropped.
“What did she tell you?””
He looked down.
“She said when you knew the truth, you wouldn’t love me anymore.””
I immediately knelt beside him.
“Leo, listen to me.””
He looked at me.
“I don’t care about anything else.””
I held his face.
“You are my son.””
Tears filled his eyes.
“Even if I’m not?””
That sentence broke something inside me.
I hugged him.
“You are.””
But somewhere deep down…
I needed answers.
Later that day, DNA results arrived.
I sat in Detective Harris’s office.
The paper was face down.
I didn’t want to turn it over.
Because once I did, nothing could go back.
“David,” Harris said softly.
“You deserve the truth.””
I flipped the page.
The result was clear.
Leo was my biological son.
I closed my eyes.
A wave of relief hit me.
Then confusion.
“Then who was the other child?””
Harris looked serious.
“We found him.””
I looked up.
“Where?””
He slid another file across the desk.
The name on it made my blood run cold.
*Ethan Carter.*
My last name.
My family name.
“How?””
“Michael Voss gave him your identity.””
I stared.
“Why?””
Harris opened the file.
“Because Michael believed you stole his son.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It does if you know the full story.””
He handed me another document.
A custody agreement.
Between Sarah and Michael.
My wife’s signature was on it.
Years before Leo was born.
I felt sick.
“Sarah knew him.””
“Yes.””
“She was with him?””
Harris didn’t answer.
But his silence was enough.
That night, I confronted Sarah.
She was sitting alone in the hospital room.
“You knew Michael.””
Her face fell.
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Before you.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
“Was Leo planned?””
Sarah started crying.
“No.””
“Then what was?””
She covered her face.
“I was young.””
I stepped closer.
“You lied to me.””
“I loved you.””
“Then why?””
She looked up.
“Because Elina threatened me.””
The anger in me shifted.
“What?””
“She said she would take Leo away.””
Sarah’s voice shook.
“She knew about Michael. She knew about Ethan. She used it against me.””
I stared at her.
“And the accident?””
“Elina arranged it.””
Silence.
“She wanted me gone.””
“Why?””
Sarah looked toward the door.
“Because Ethan was coming back.””
I felt a chill.
“Where is he now?””
Sarah didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
A shadow moved outside the hospital window.
A tall figure.
Watching.
Then my phone buzzed.
May you like
One message.
*You found Leo. Now find out what you did to Ethan.*
