Chapter 9 - GRANDMOTHER WAS ALIVENobody spoke.
Grandmother looked at each of us like she'd been watching this scene in her head for years.
“You're supposed to be dead,” Dad whispered.
“I found it convenient.”
Mom began crying.
“You let us bury you.”
“I let you believe what you needed to believe.”
I stared.
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because I knew you would be useful.”
That word again.
Useful.
I hated it.
“What did you do?”
She sat down.
“Everything.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You were Northbridge.”
Grandmother smiled.
“I built it.”
Dad looked sick.
“You told me the company was legitimate.”
“It was.”
“You laundered money.”
“I redirected money.”
“You stole from families.”
“I protected assets.”
I laughed bitterly.
“By stealing from me?”
She turned toward me.
“Your money was never yours.”
My fists tightened.
“I worked for every dollar.”
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“You worked for me.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
She leaned back.
“Your father opened that account because I instructed him to.”
I looked at Dad.
He looked away.
“I told him to collect your wages.”
“For what?”
“For the trust.”
“You stole my money.”
“I invested it.”
“In what?”
“Northbridge.”
Daniel interrupted.
“That trust collapsed.”
“Yes.”
“You lost everything.”
Grandmother smiled.
“Not everything.”
She tapped the table.
“Your money became the seed.”
“What seed?”
She looked directly at me.
“The network.”
I felt sick.
“You turned my childhood earnings into your criminal operation.”
“Criminal is a matter of perspective.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You're still hiding the real reason.”
Grandmother's smile disappeared.
He pulled out a file.
Inside was a medical record.
My birth certificate.
And one strange document.
DNA testing.
I stared.
“What is this?”
Grandmother remained silent.
Daniel handed it to me.
The result showed:
Taylor Hayes – 99.98% biological match to Thomas Hayes.
I frowned.
“Why is this important?”
Daniel looked at Dad.
“Because your father isn't your biological father.”
Silence.
My knees nearly gave out.
Dad closed his eyes.
Mom whispered,
“Taylor…”
I stared at her.
“Who is my father?”
She couldn't answer.
Grandmother did.
“Daniel.”
The room exploded into silence.
I looked at the man standing beside me.
“No.”
He looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
Grandmother continued.
“Your mother was already pregnant when she married Thomas.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“It explains everything.”
She slid another document toward me.
A DNA report.
Taylor Hayes and Daniel Mercer: 99.97% parent-child probability.
I couldn't breathe.
Daniel stared at me.
“I wasn't supposed to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Because Northbridge wanted you hidden.”
“Then why did you come?”
He looked at Grandmother.
“She called me.”
I turned.
“You brought him here?”
Grandmother nodded.
“Your father was never meant to raise you.”
Dad looked devastated.
“I loved her.”
Grandmother's expression remained cold.
“Love was never part of the plan.”
I stood.
“I am done.”
I walked toward the door.
Grandmother's voice stopped me.
“You can't leave.”
I turned.
“Watch me.”
She smiled.
“Go.”
I hesitated.
“Because there's something you still don't know.”
“What?”
“Your mother didn't lose you.”
May you like
Grandmother's smile widened.
“She sold you.”
