Chapter 11 - THE FATHER I NEVER HAD
For one second, nothing in the warehouse made sense.
Not the lockbox.
Not Helen.
Not Jason.
Not even the floor beneath my feet.
I stared at Dad.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
He said nothing.
That hurt more than any answer.
“Dad.”
His eyes finally met mine.
“I raised you.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Stephen laughed softly.
Jason shot him a look.
Apparently even he had not expected the revelation to happen then.
“Who?”
My voice sounded strange in my own ears.
“Who is my father?”
Robert looked at Stephen.
“Not here.”
I almost screamed.
Instead I stepped closer.
“You forged my signature.”
“You stole my inheritance.”
“You helped my fiancé target me.”
“You knew my grandmother was hiding evidence.”
“And now you want boundaries?”
His face crumpled slightly.
“I didn’t know about Jason and Sydney until later.”
“Congratulations.”
“You missed one betrayal.”
Stephen interrupted.
“This is touching.”
I turned on him.
“Who is my father?”
He smiled.
“Gregory Voss.”
Silence.
Even Jason looked shocked.
Robert lunged.
Not at me.
At Stephen.
“You son of a bitch.”
Agents moved outside.
We could not see them.
They were waiting for a clean opportunity.
Stephen stepped backward.
Jason grabbed Helen’s arm.
“Stop.”
Everything froze.
I looked at Robert.
“Is Voss my father?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Stephen laughed again.
“Ask Diane.”
My mother.
Of course.
The woman who had spent my entire life managing what each person was allowed to know.
Jason held up the pendant.
“The drive.”
I tossed the duplicate onto the floor halfway between us.
“Let Helen walk.”
He did.
To my surprise.
Helen crossed toward me.
Dad pulled her behind the desk.
Jason picked up the drive.
Then tossed me the pendant.
“We’re done.”
“No.”
I stared at him.
“You’re really not.”
He smiled.
“We’ll see.”
The lights went out.
Agents moved.
Shouting erupted.
Someone ran.
Glass shattered.
When emergency lights came on, Stephen was gone.
Jason was gone.
But Dad remained.
So did the lockbox.
And Helen.
For once, we had won something.
We opened the hidden compartment at federal offices two hours later.
The pendant fit perfectly.
Inside were ledgers.
Account keys.
Signed statements.
And one sealed envelope carrying my name.
MELINE.
I opened it alone.
Grandma’s handwriting filled five pages.
My hands shook as I read.
Robert was my father.
Biologically.
Stephen had lied.
But there was another secret.
My mother had once had an affair with Gregory Voss.
Sydney was his daughter.
Not Robert’s.
I sat down.
Sydney.
The golden child.
The daughter Mom protected above everyone.
The daughter Grandma trusted less.
The daughter Stephen had called “actually family.”
Now I understood.
He meant Voss family.
Sydney was Gregory Voss’s biological daughter.
And she had no idea.
Or maybe she did.
The final paragraph of Grandma’s letter was worse.
DIANE WILL ALWAYS PROTECT SYDNEY.
NOT BECAUSE SHE LOVES HER MORE.
BECAUSE GREGORY MADE HER PROMISE.
IF THAT PROMISE IS STILL IN FORCE WHEN YOU READ THIS, YOUR SISTER MAY BE IN MORE DANGER THAN YOU ARE.
I called Sydney.
No answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
Then Terrence called me.
His voice was shaking.
“She’s gone.”
Again.
“What happened?”
“She left the hospital discharge apartment.”
“Did she say where?”
“No.”
Then he added.
“But she took one thing.”
“What?”
“The ultrasound.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why does that matter?”
Terrence answered.
“Because she wrote a name on the back.”
I waited.
“Gregory.”
May you like
Sydney knew.
And she was going to meet her biological father.
