CHAPTER 8 The Son Who Was Never His
The letter fell onto the table.
Evelyn stared at the words.
Again.
And again.
As if reading them enough times could somehow change their meaning.
Owen is not Thomas Hawthorne's son.
Her fingers went numb.
"No..."
The whisper barely escaped.
Valerie stood frozen across from her.
For the first time in decades, the woman who seemed impossible to break looked completely defeated.
Evelyn slowly lifted her eyes.
"Tell me this is a lie."
Valerie didn't answer.
That was the answer.
Outside the library windows, the last sunlight disappeared behind the estate.
The wedding decorations remained scattered across the gardens.
White roses.
Golden ribbons.
Empty chairs.
A celebration that had transformed into a battlefield.
But inside the Hawthorne mansion...
The real secrets were only beginning to surface.
"Valerie."
Evelyn's voice was quieter now.
Almost afraid.
"Who is Owen's father?"
Valerie looked toward the old fireplace.
The flames reflected in her eyes.
"I don't know."
Evelyn froze.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I know who Thomas isn't."
A pause.
"But I never discovered who was."
The answer created a new kind of fear.
Not betrayal.
Not anger.
Uncertainty.
Twenty-eight years of motherhood.
Twenty-eight years of memories.
Every birthday.
Every school event.
Every moment she held Owen as a child.
Was any of it real?
"Start from the beginning."
Evelyn's voice hardened.
"No more secrets."
Valerie nodded.
"You deserve that."
She sat down.
"When Claire disappeared, everyone believed she was gone forever."
"But you didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Claire left something behind."
Valerie opened another folder.
Inside were old documents.
Medical records.
Private investigations.
Photographs.
"Before she vanished, Claire discovered Thomas was involved in illegal financial operations."
Evelyn looked through the pages.
"Thomas?"
Valerie nodded.
"He wasn't the mastermind yet."
"He was working for someone."
"Who?"
Valerie hesitated.
"The original architect of the Hawthorne empire."
Evelyn frowned.
"Your father?"
"No."
Valerie's expression darkened.
"Thomas's father."
A cold feeling moved through Evelyn.
The Hawthorne family had always been presented as a powerful dynasty built on intelligence and hard work.
But now every layer she uncovered revealed something darker.
"Claire found evidence."
Valerie continued.
"Evidence that Thomas had been using relationships to gain access to wealth and influence."
Evelyn stared.
"Relationships?"
"Yes."
Valerie looked at her.
"You weren't the first woman he approached."
The words cut deep.
"He had a pattern."
Meanwhile...
Inside the abandoned warehouse...
Thomas remained tied to the chair.
The mysterious man stood silently.
"You expect me to believe this was all planned?"
Thomas smiled.
"Not all."
He looked down at his bruised wrist.
"Evelyn discovering the affair was unexpected."
"The investigation was unexpected."
"The arrest was inconvenient."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"Then what was planned?"
Thomas looked up.
"Owen."
A long silence.
"What about him?"
Thomas smiled.
"You really think I raised that boy for twenty-eight years without a reason?"
Back at the mansion...
Owen stood alone in the empty ballroom.
The same room where he had planned his wedding reception.
Tables covered in white cloth.
Crystal glasses waiting for guests who would never arrive.
He stared at the decorations.
Then at an old family portrait hanging on the wall.
Him as a child.
Thomas behind him.
Evelyn smiling.
A perfect family.
Or so he thought.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He almost ignored it.
Then he saw the message.
You deserve to know the truth about your father.
Owen frowned.
Another message appeared.
Not Thomas. Your real father.
His blood ran cold.
Before he could reply...
A photograph arrived.
A man.
Young.
Dark hair.
Standing beside Evelyn.
Holding a baby.
Owen zoomed in.
The baby was him.
The man was not Thomas.
The caption beneath the image contained only a name.
Alexander Reed.
Owen's hands began shaking.
"No..."
He called the number immediately.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then a final message appeared.
Your mother never wanted you to know.
But Thomas did.
At the mansion entrance, Evelyn found Owen standing there.
His face told her everything.
She stopped.
"Owen?"
He turned.
His eyes were filled with confusion.
Pain.
Betrayal.
"Mom."
One word.
But she felt the weight behind it.
"What happened?"
He held up his phone.
She saw the photograph.
The moment she saw it...
She stopped breathing.
Because she knew that picture.
She had hidden it for twenty-eight years.
"Where did you get this?"
Owen's voice cracked.
"Who is Alexander Reed?"
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Evelyn looked away.
And Owen understood.
"You knew."
"No..."
"You knew!"
His voice echoed through the entrance hall.
"You knew Thomas wasn't my father?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"I was going to tell you."
"When?"
"Before you got married."
"When?"
She couldn't answer.
Because she knew there was no answer that would make this hurt less.
Valerie stepped forward.
"Owen..."
He looked at her.
"You knew too?"
Valerie said nothing.
His expression changed.
"Everyone knew except me."
"No."
Evelyn reached for him.
"That isn't true."
"Isn't it?"
He backed away.
"My entire life was built on lies."
"No."
He looked toward the family portrait.
"Then what was real?"
Nobody answered.
Suddenly...
Daniel rushed into the hall.
"We found something."
Everyone turned.
He held a tablet.
"It's about Thomas."
Evelyn wiped her tears.
"What now?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I traced the money transfers."
"And?"
"They weren't only going to Argentina."
Valerie frowned.
"Where else?"
Daniel turned the tablet around.
A map appeared.
Multiple locations.
Europe.
Asia.
South America.
And one final destination.
A small island account.
Evelyn stared.
"What is that?"
Daniel zoomed in.
The account owner appeared.
Everyone froze.
Because the name wasn't Thomas.
It wasn't Marissa.
It wasn't any known company.
The account belonged to:
Alexander Reed.
Owen stepped closer.
His face went pale.
"My biological father?"
Valerie whispered,
"Impossible."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He opened another file.
"This gets worse."
A photograph appeared.
Security footage.
A man entering a private bank.
The timestamp:
Two days earlier.
The man was older now.
Gray hair.
But unmistakable.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Because she recognized him.
She had seen him once before.
At the wedding.
A guest sitting in the back row.
A man nobody paid attention to.
A man who disappeared before the arrest.
Daniel looked at everyone.
"Alexander Reed is alive."
Silence.
Then Evelyn whispered the question everyone was afraid to ask.
"If he's alive..."
"...why has he been hiding for twenty-eight years?"
The tablet screen suddenly received a new notification.
A live message.
From Alexander Reed.
Only one sentence appeared.
May you like
Ask Thomas why he raised my son.
END OF CHAPTER 8
