Chapter 7 - The Father Nobody BuriedThe name my father gave me belonged to a man whose grave I had visited as a child.
"Thomas."
That was the name my father whispered.
Thomas Vale.
My mother's first husband.
Dead before Juny was born.
I stared at him.
"That's impossible."
My mother started shaking.
My father continued.
"Thomas wasn't Juny's father."
"Then why did you say his name?"
"Because he knew."
"Knew what?"
"That Mara was alive."
I felt sick.
This was no longer a family scandal.
This was a web.
My mother had married Thomas years before she married my father.
Thomas had died in what everyone called a workplace accident.
But if Daniel was telling the truth, Thomas had known about Mara's daughter.
And someone wanted him silent.
"Where is the original birth certificate?" I asked.
My mother covered her mouth.
"I destroyed it."
The room went silent.
"You destroyed my daughter's birth certificate?"
"No."
"You just said..."
"I destroyed the copy."
"Why?"
"Because your father told me to."
I looked at my father.
"You lied about my daughter."
He nodded.
"Why?"
"To protect you."
That answer made me angrier.
"You don't protect people by stealing their history."
My father's face hardened.
"You don't understand what Augusta was trying to uncover."
"Then explain it."
He sat down.
"The woman named Mara was your grandfather's secret daughter."
I said nothing.
"She discovered that Richard had another child before your grandmother met him."
"Daniel?"
"No. Daniel was Richard's business partner."
"So who was the other child?"
My father looked at the red-room photographs.
"Elise."
"Elise is dead."
"Supposedly."
My father opened another file.
Inside was a newspaper clipping.
LOCAL WOMAN KILLED IN HIGHWAY ACCIDENT
The victim was Elise Carrow.
Twenty-three.
I read the article.
Then noticed the date.
June 17.
The same date as the birth certificate my father had shown me.
My head spun.
Miss Castellano took the paper.
"This wasn't an accident."
"You know that?"
"I've suspected it."
My father stared at the floor.
"Elise found the money."
"What money?"
"Your grandfather had been moving assets into a private corporation."
"Why?"
"To hide them."
"From Grandma?"
"From everyone."
I looked at the trust papers.
"Did Augusta leave the lake house to Juny because of this?"
My father didn't answer.
I asked again.
"Why Juny?"
He finally looked at me.
"Because Juny inherited something."
"Money?"
"No."
"What?"
"A name."
I laughed bitterly.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It will."
He handed me another document.
It was a DNA test.
I read the first line.
Probability of biological relationship: 99.98%.
I looked at the names.
Then my hands started trembling.
The test was between Juny and me.
My own daughter.
It should have been obvious.
But there was another line.
Secondary maternal relationship detected.
I looked at Miss Castellano.
"What does this mean?"
She read the report.
"It means the sample doesn't belong to Juny alone."
"What?"
"There are traces of another person."
My father closed his eyes.
"That sample came from the hospital."
I felt ice move through my veins.
"Who else's DNA was on my daughter's medical records?"
He didn't answer.
My phone rang.
The hospital.
A nurse said:
"Mrs. Bennett, you need to come back immediately."
"Why?"
"Your daughter's room is empty."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
"We had security outside."
"Where is she?"
"We don't know."
I ran.
At the hospital, chaos filled the corridor.
Security officers moved between rooms.
A nurse was crying.
My daughter's bed was empty.
The IV line had been disconnected.
The monitor still showed her name.
But Juny was gone.
Then I saw a piece of paper on the pillow.
May you like
Three words.
Ask about Elise.
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