CHAPTER 4 THE NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Gavin stared at the torn piece of paper.
THE CHILD IS NOT YOURS.
For several seconds, the words made no sense.
Then they did.
And once they did, Gavin felt as though the floor beneath him had disappeared.
“The child…”
His eyes moved toward the ballroom entrance.
“Which child?”
Victor Kane smiled.
It was the smile of a man who had just watched someone walk into a trap.
“You really don't know.”
Gavin grabbed him by the collar.
“Where is my mother?”
Victor didn't answer.
“Where is Evelyn?”
Still nothing.
Gavin slammed him against the marble floor.
“WHERE IS SHE?”
Victor laughed.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
Gavin froze.
Victor looked directly into his eyes.
“The question is why your mother spent twenty years hiding the truth about you.”
Gavin's grip tightened.
“You're lying.”
“Am I?”
Victor nodded toward the torn paper.
“You should read the rest.”
“There is no rest.”
Victor smiled.
“Not on that piece.”
Gavin's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Victor didn't answer.
Because suddenly, a scream came from the upper floor.
Gavin turned.
“Mom!”
He ran.
Behind him, Victor rolled across the floor and reached for the fallen gun.
One of Gavin's security guards kicked it away.
“Don't move!”
Victor raised both hands.
“Too late.”
The guard frowned.
“What?”
Victor smiled.
“The game already started.”
Gavin sprinted up the staircase.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
The mansion was chaos.
Guests were being escorted toward the main entrance.
Security teams searched every hallway.
Doors slammed.
Phones rang.
Someone was crying.
But Gavin saw none of it.
He only saw the empty corridor.
And at the end of it…
A single black shoe.
He stopped.
“Mom?”
No answer.
He ran toward it.
The shoe belonged to Evelyn.
Her purse lay several feet away.
The contents had been scattered across the carpet.
Gavin dropped to his knees.
“Mom!”
Nothing.
He searched the hallway.
A broken vase.
A torn curtain.
A smear of blood on the wall.
His breathing stopped.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
Priscilla.
She stood at the end of the hallway.
Her dress was torn.
Her hair was disheveled.
There was a thin cut across her cheek.
Gavin stared at her.
“Where were you?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Where is my mother?”
“I don't know.”
“You were kidnapped.”
“Yes.”
“By Victor?”
“I think so.”
Gavin walked toward her.
“Then how did you get away?”
Priscilla hesitated.
“I ran.”
“From where?”
“An upstairs room.”
“Which room?”
“I don't know.”
Gavin's expression hardened.
“You don't know?”
“I was blindfolded.”
“Then how did you escape?”
Priscilla looked away.
“I don't remember.”
Gavin studied her face.
Something was wrong.
Again.
Every answer she gave created two more questions.
He stepped closer.
“Did Victor tell you why he wanted the envelope?”
Priscilla shook her head.
“No.”
“Did he mention Evelyn?”
“No.”
“Did he mention Marissa Cole?”
Priscilla froze.
Just for half a second.
Gavin saw it.
“Who is Marissa?”
Priscilla looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“You know the name.”
“No.”
“You reacted to it.”
“I was scared.”
“That's not an answer.”
Priscilla stepped backward.
“Gavin, please.”
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out the birth certificate.
Held it up.
“Who is this woman?”
Priscilla stared at the document.
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered,
“Marissa was supposed to be dead.”
Gavin felt his blood run cold.
“What?”
Priscilla covered her mouth.
She realized what she'd said.
Gavin moved closer.
“Why?”
Priscilla shook her head.
“Forget I said that.”
“Who is she?”
“I can't tell you.”
“You will.”
“Gavin…”
“Who is Marissa Cole?”
Priscilla's eyes filled with tears.
“She was your father's mistress.”
Gavin stopped.
His entire body went rigid.
“What?”
“Your father had another family.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“My father died twenty-two years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you're telling me he had another family?”
Priscilla nodded.
“Marissa was pregnant.”
Gavin's voice dropped.
“With my father's child?”
Priscilla looked away.
“Yes.”
The hallway seemed to spin.
Gavin looked down at the birth certificate.
The mother's name.
The DNA report.
The blank father's name.
Then the handwritten note.
99.98% MATCH.
He suddenly understood.
The child wasn't his.
The child was his father's.
His half-sibling.
Gavin looked at Priscilla.
“Why did my mother hide this?”
“I don't know.”
“You said she was dead.”
“She disappeared.”
“Because of Victor?”
Priscilla nodded.
“Victor wanted her gone.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew about the money.”
Gavin's mind raced.
His father's secret.
The stolen money.
Victor Kane.
Marissa.
The child.
Priscilla.
Everything seemed connected.
But one piece didn't fit.
“Why were you involved?”
Priscilla didn't answer.
Gavin stepped closer.
“Why were you investigating Marissa?”
“I wasn't.”
“Then why did Evelyn have photographs of you with her?”
Priscilla's face changed.
Gavin pulled one from his pocket.
The photograph from the black folder.
Priscilla standing outside the clinic.
Beside Marissa.
Priscilla stared at it.
Then she closed her eyes.
“Because I tried to help her.”
Gavin's anger faltered.
“Help her?”
“She came to me.”
“When?”
“Before I met you.”
Gavin frowned.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Priscilla's voice broke.
“She came to me six years ago.”
“Why?”
“She knew I was going to marry you.”
Gavin stared at her.
“I didn't know you six years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then how could she know?”
Priscilla looked at him.
“Because she had been watching your family.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed you were in danger.”
Gavin stepped back.
“From whom?”
Priscilla whispered,
“Your grandfather.”
Silence.
Gavin remembered Evelyn's words.
Your grandfather.
His grandfather had been involved.
But he had died fifteen years ago.
How could he still be controlling anything?
Unless…
Gavin looked at Priscilla.
“Who is running Roberson Holdings now?”
“You are.”
“Who controls the trust?”
“You do.”
“Who controls the old family accounts?”
Priscilla hesitated.
“The trustees.”
“Names.”
She swallowed.
“Richard Bell.”
Gavin froze.
“Who?”
“Richard Bell.”
Gavin's face went blank.
“My father was Richard Roberson.”
“No.”
Priscilla shook her head.
“I'm talking about Richard Bell.”
“Who is he?”
Priscilla whispered,
“Your mother's brother.”
Gavin stared at her.
He had never heard that name.
Not once.
His mother had always told him she was an only child.
“Why didn't I know I had an uncle?”
“Because he disappeared.”
“When?”
“Twenty-two years ago.”
Gavin looked toward the staircase.
Another piece.
Another secret.
Another person his mother had hidden.
He pulled out his phone.
“I'm calling my security team.”
Priscilla grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He turned.
“Why?”
“Because they're compromised.”
“What?”
“The man who attacked the ballroom had access codes.”
Gavin stared at her.
“Who gave him those codes?”
Priscilla's face went pale.
“I don't know.”
Gavin slowly removed her hand.
“I'm beginning to think you know more than you're telling me.”
She didn't answer.
Then Gavin's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Where is my mother?”
A man's voice replied.
“Safe.”
Gavin's heart slammed against his chest.
“Victor?”
“No.”
The voice sounded older.
Rougher.
But familiar.
Gavin frowned.
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then:
“Ask your mother about Richard Bell.”
Gavin's eyes widened.
“How do you know that name?”
“You have ten minutes.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you want Evelyn alive.”
Gavin's blood froze.
“Where is she?”
“Old Roberson warehouse. Harbor District.”
“Let me speak to her.”
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because she's not alone.”
Gavin's voice hardened.
“Who is with her?”
The caller laughed softly.
“Someone you buried twenty-two years ago.”
The line went dead.
Gavin stared at the phone.
Priscilla whispered,
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
“Someone has my mother.”
She went pale.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
He headed for the stairs.
Priscilla followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To the harbor.”
“No.”
Gavin stopped.
“Why?”
Priscilla looked terrified.
“Because that's exactly where they want you to go.”
Gavin stared at her.
“What are you saying?”
“It's a trap.”
“Then why call me?”
“Because they don't want to kill you.”
“What do they want?”
Priscilla looked at the black folder.
Then at the torn piece of paper.
Then at Gavin.
“They want you to open the family vault.”
Gavin's face changed.
“What vault?”
Priscilla whispered,
“The one your father sealed before he died.”
Gavin stared at her.
“My father didn't seal a vault.”
Priscilla shook her head.
“He did.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
Gavin stopped breathing.
“You were there?”
Priscilla nodded.
“Six years ago.”
“With Marissa?”
“Yes.”
“And Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Priscilla's eyes filled with tears.
“The man who has your mother.”
Gavin waited.
Priscilla whispered the name.
“Richard Bell.”
Gavin stared at her.
His mother's supposedly dead brother.
His father's hidden business partner.
The man who had supposedly disappeared twenty-two years ago.
A man who, according to Priscilla, had been alive six years ago.
And now…
Had his mother.
Gavin suddenly heard a small voice behind him.
Taylor.
“Mr. Gavin?”
He turned.
The little girl stood on the stairs.
She was holding something.
A photograph.
Gavin crouched.
“What is that?”
Taylor handed it to him.
“I found it in Miss Priscilla's bag.”
Gavin looked down.
His face turned white.
The photograph showed three people.
His mother.
Victor Kane.
And Richard Bell.
All standing together.
But that wasn't what shocked him.
In the middle of them was a little boy.
A little boy around three years old.
The same age Taylor was now.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
AUGUST 10, 2009.
And beneath it, written in black ink:
THE DAY GAVIN WAS REPLACED.
Gavin's hands began to shake.
He looked at Taylor.
Then at Priscilla.
Then back at the photograph.
“What does this mean?”
Priscilla whispered,
“It means…”
She couldn't finish.
Gavin stared at her.
“Tell me.”
Priscilla finally looked into his eyes.
“You may not be Gavin Roberson.”
The mansion went silent.
And somewhere outside, a car engine started.
May you like
Someone was leaving.
With Gavin's mother.
:::
