Chapter 5: The Name in His Mother's Letter
Ethan stared at his father.
"Richard who?""
Marcus didn't answer.
The silence was worse than any explanation.
I stood in the dressing room doorway, clutching my phone.
Daniel appeared at the top of the staircase with a folder in his hand.
He took one look at Marcus's face.
Then at Ethan.
"What's happened?""
Ethan didn't move.
"Apparently, my mother left a letter about my biological father.""
Daniel slowly lowered the folder.
Marcus closed his eyes.
"Not here.""
"Why not here?""
"Because this isn't the time.""
"When is the time, Dad? When I'm forty?""
Marcus stepped toward him.
"Ethan, please.""
"No. I've spent my entire life believing you were my father. If there's something I don't know, I want to hear it now.""
Marcus looked toward me.
I knew that look.
He was trying to decide how much to reveal.
And I knew something he didn't.
Richard Cole wasn't just a name from Marcus's past.
He was the reason I had entered this family.
It had started long before my wedding.
Before the engagement ring.
Before the beautiful house.
Before I had ever called Marcus my husband.
I had met Richard at a charity fundraiser in Chicago.
He was charming, wealthy, and surprisingly attentive.
He told me about his brother Marcus.
He told me about the family business.
He told me that Marcus had a son who was difficult to reach and a wife who had died under circumstances nobody liked discussing.
At the time, I thought Richard was simply gossiping.
Then he showed me a photograph.
A younger Marcus.
A little boy with dark hair.
And a woman holding the child's hand.
The woman was Claire Cole.
Ethan's mother.
Richard told me that Claire had been his first love.
He also told me that the family had secrets.
I should have walked away.
Instead, I listened.
And six months later, I met Marcus.
Now Ethan was standing in front of me, demanding answers.
"Who is Richard?"" he repeated.
Marcus finally spoke.
"Richard was my younger brother.""
Ethan frowned.
"Was?""
"He died three years ago.""
"Then why would my mother leave a letter about him?""
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
Daniel opened the folder.
"I think we should sit down.""
Nobody moved.
Finally, Ethan pulled out a chair.
"Tell me.""
Daniel placed an old envelope on the table.
It was yellowed around the edges, with Claire's handwriting across the front.
FOR ETHAN.
To be opened on his twenty-first birthday.
Ethan stared at it.
His fingers hovered over the paper.
"Where did you get this?""
"From your mother's attorney," Daniel said.
"Why wasn't it given to me?""
Daniel glanced at Marcus.
"Because your father asked that it be held.""
Ethan turned slowly.
"You stopped me from reading my mother's letter?""
Marcus looked exhausted.
"I thought I was protecting you.""
"From what?""
Marcus said nothing.
Ethan opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter and a small photograph.
He picked up the photograph first.
It showed Claire standing beside a man in a gray suit.
The man had Ethan's eyes.
His smile.
Even the same small scar near his left eyebrow.
Ethan turned the photograph over.
On the back were four words.
My son and Richard.
His hand began to shake.
He looked at Marcus.
"Is this him?""
Marcus nodded.
Ethan stared at the photograph again.
"You're telling me Uncle Richard was my biological father?""
Marcus's eyes filled.
"Yes.""
The word landed like a stone.
Ethan stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
"No.""
Marcus stepped toward him.
"Ethan—"
"No! You let me believe—"
"I raised you.""
"That's not what I asked!""
His voice cracked.
"You let me call you Dad for twenty-three years.""
Marcus looked devastated.
"Because you are my son.""
"Then why did you hide this?""
Marcus lowered his head.
"Because Claire asked me to.""
Ethan shook his head.
"Read the letter.""
Daniel reached for it.
"I can—"
"NO. I want to read it.""
Ethan unfolded the paper.
The handwriting was delicate and slightly uneven.
He began reading aloud.
"My dearest Ethan,
If you're reading this, then you're old enough to understand that families are not always built the way people expect.
Richard was your biological father.
Marcus knew the truth before you were born.
But the man who held you when you cried, who taught you to ride a bicycle, and who stayed awake beside your bed when you were sick was Marcus.
Never confuse blood with love.
Your father loved you long before he knew the truth.
And he continued loving you after he did.""
Ethan stopped.
He pressed his lips together.
Marcus wiped his eyes.
"Claire told me Richard was the father after you were born. She was afraid Richard would take you away. I promised her I would raise you as my own.""
Ethan looked at the photograph.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I was afraid you would think our relationship meant less.""
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"It means less now because you lied.""
Marcus didn't defend himself.
For the first time that evening, he looked like a man who had run out of excuses.
Then Ethan continued reading.
The next paragraph was shorter.
"There's something else you need to know.
Richard believed his family would eventually try to take what belonged to you.
Before his death, he arranged for a separate inheritance.
Marcus was entrusted with protecting it.
If anything ever happened to that money, ask Daniel Brooks to show you the original trust agreement.
There is a condition in it that neither Marcus nor I wanted you to discover until you were ready.""
Ethan stopped reading.
He looked at Daniel.
"What condition?""
Daniel took a breath.
"Your uncle established a separate trust before he died.""
Marcus frowned.
"I thought that was part of the estate.""
"It was. But it was never included in the family estate.""
Daniel removed another document from the folder.
"Richard left Ethan a controlling interest in Cole Holdings.""
Marcus went completely still.
"What?""
Daniel looked at him.
"Fifty-one percent.""
The room fell silent.
Ethan stared.
"That's impossible.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Your uncle arranged it through an independent trust. You became the beneficiary when you turned twenty-one.""
Marcus took the document.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he looked at me.
And suddenly, I understood.
The three hundred thousand dollars.
The stolen trust.
The forged company.
The Miami property.
I hadn't simply wanted Ethan out of the house.
I had wanted him out before he discovered that he owned more than half of the company I had spent eighteen months trying to control.
Ethan turned toward me.
"Is that why you wanted me gone?""
I forced a laugh.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
He lifted the photograph.
"Did you know Richard was my biological father?""
I said nothing.
Marcus looked at me.
"Vanessa?""
I backed away.
"I didn't know about the inheritance.""
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Then perhaps you can explain why your company attempted to transfer another $1.2 million out of the trust tonight.""
Marcus turned toward me.
"You knew.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
Ethan stepped closer.
"How long have you known?""
"About what?""
"About Richard. About the company. About the money.""
I looked at Marcus.
Then at Daniel.
Then at the envelope in Ethan's hand.
I realized there was only one person in that room who still had something to lose.
Me.
So I did what I had always done.
I started crying.
"Marcus, please. You have to believe me.""
He didn't move.
I reached for him.
"Everything I did was because I loved you.""
Marcus looked down at my hand.
Then he gently removed it from his sleeve.
"Don't.""
One word.
One quiet word.
And eighteen months of manipulation collapsed.
Daniel closed his briefcase.
"Marcus, there's something else you should know.""
Marcus looked up.
"What?""
Daniel hesitated.
"The bank has confirmed that the attempted $1.2 million transfer wasn't the only transaction initiated tonight.""
He placed another sheet of paper on the table.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
My signature.
Beneath it was a second name.
ADRIAN VALE.
Ethan stared.
"Who's Adrian Vale?""
I couldn't breathe.
Marcus slowly lifted his eyes toward me.
"Vanessa.""
I backed toward the staircase.
Daniel spoke before I could move.
"He's the man who has been receiving the money.""
Then he turned the paper around.
"And according to the marriage records we just obtained...""
He paused.
"He's also your first husband.""
May you like
*Marcus looked at me as if he had never seen my face before.*
"Vanessa," he whispered, "how many husbands have you had?""
