Chapter 9 - The Secret Before EthanThe next morning, Michael locked every door in the house.
No visitors.
No staff.
No exceptions.
Ethan stayed upstairs.
Olivia sat beside him.
Michael confronted Evelyn in the library.
"You said Ethan was never supposed to be born."
"Yes."
"Explain."
Evelyn closed the curtains.
"Your father had a plan."
"What plan?"
"To destroy Daniel."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel discovered something."
Michael's expression hardened.
"What?"
Evelyn placed a file on the desk.
Inside were records from twelve years earlier.
Hospital invoices.
Bank transfers.
Private contracts.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Dr. Samuel Vale.
The same doctor connected to Ethan's suspicious DNA report.
Michael stared.
"Why was this doctor involved with our family?"
Evelyn swallowed.
"Because he was involved with mine."
She explained.
Years ago, his father had used the Bennett Foundation to fund a private fertility program.
The program wasn't illegal on paper.
But the records were falsified.
Donor information disappeared.
Embryo records were altered.
Families were given incomplete information.
"What does that have to do with Ethan?"
Evelyn looked toward the ceiling.
"Everything."
Michael's anger rose.
"Tell me."
"Your father wanted an heir."
"I was his heir."
"Not good enough."
Michael went silent.
Evelyn continued.
"Your father knew you loved Olivia."
"Yes."
"He also knew Olivia had a connection to Daniel."
Michael's face changed.
"She had met Daniel before?"
"Years earlier."
Olivia appeared at the doorway.
"I never knew who he really was."
Evelyn looked at her.
"But you knew he had a son."
Olivia's eyes filled with tears.
"I was told the child had died."
Michael stared.
"What child?"
"Daniel's first child."
Silence.
Evelyn placed another document on the desk.
A birth certificate.
The mother's name was not Olivia.
The father's name was Daniel Reed.
And the child's name was:
Ethan Reed.
Michael's face went blank.
"No."
Olivia whispered:
"They changed his identity."
Michael looked at his son upstairs.
Suddenly, the entire mystery became something larger.
The baby crying.
The cameras.
The false DNA report.
The hidden hospital records.
Evelyn wasn't simply trying to control their home.
Someone was trying to erase Ethan's identity.
Michael picked up the birth certificate.
"Why?"
Evelyn stared at him.
"Because Ethan is the last piece of evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
"Your father's crime."
Before Michael could respond, the library door slammed shut.
The lock clicked.
Olivia screamed.
Smoke began filling the hallway.
Michael rushed to the door.
Someone had locked them inside.
He grabbed the handle.
Nothing.
Then a message appeared on his phone.
YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES.
Underneath it was a photograph of Ethan's crib.
Live.
Taken moments ago.
May you like
Michael stared at the screen.
The crib was empty.
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