Chapter 13 - THE FIFTH CHILD
The accusation was designed perfectly.
That was what Maya said when she arrived.
Not because it was believable.
Because it was destabilizing.
Victor had produced a sworn statement from a woman named Elise Warren.
She claimed Daniel was the biological father of her nine-year-old son, Lucas.
One year older than my children.
She claimed she and Daniel had a brief relationship shortly before our separation.
Daniel denied it immediately.
"I know her name."
I stared at him.
"That is a terrible start."
"She worked at the Singapore office."
My stomach tightened.
"Before you moved there?"
"She visited Denver for a project."
"Did you sleep with her?"
The room went silent.
Daniel looked at me.
He did not hide behind a lawyer.
"No."
"Did you kiss her?"
His face changed.
That was enough.
I stood.
"Daniel."
"Once."
My chest went cold.
"When?"
"Two weeks before I filed for divorce."
I laughed because otherwise I might have broken something.
"You accused me of cheating because I had coffee with a college friend."
"I know."
"And you were kissing a coworker."
"Yes."
"Did Margaret know?"
"No."
"Victor?"
"I do not know."
Maya interrupted.
"We can litigate hypocrisy later."
I glared at her.
"I would like at least ten minutes."
"You have five."
Daniel sat motionless while I paced.
Eight years had passed.
The marriage was dead.
The kiss should not have mattered anymore.
It did.
Not because I wanted him back.
Because his accusation had destroyed us.
And now I knew that while he was interrogating my loyalty, he had already crossed the line himself.
"You were projecting."
He nodded.
"Probably."
"Stop saying probably."
"Yes."
"You were projecting."
"Yes."
"You destroyed our marriage over something you were doing."
"I helped destroy it."
"Do not make that sentence smaller."
He looked at me.
"I destroyed my part of it."
I wanted to stay angry forever.
Then Maya put Elise Warren's affidavit on the table.
"We need to know whether the child is his."
Daniel shook his head.
"He is not."
"Then prove it."
"I will."
Maya looked at me.
"Victor wants this because five beneficiaries dilute each child's share."
"But not the total thirty-one percent."
"Correct."
"Then why does it matter?"
Thomas answered.
"Because Elise is asking to be appointed trustee for Lucas's share while he is a minor."
I understood.
"And she would vote with Victor."
"Almost certainly."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"This is insane."
Maya disagreed.
"No. It is calculated."
She pointed to the affidavit.
"If Lucas is accepted as a potential beneficiary before all DNA testing is complete, Victor creates uncertainty around distribution and buys time."
"How fast can we test?"
"If Elise cooperates, forty-eight hours."
"And if she does not?"
"Court order."
My phone rang.
The elementary school.
My heart dropped before I answered.
"Hello?"
The principal's voice was tight.
"Ms. Bennett, the children are safe."
Any sentence that started that way was bad.
"What happened?"
"A man came to the school claiming he was authorized to pick up Ethan."
I stood so fast the chair scraped.
"What man?"
Daniel was already on his feet.
"He had identification in the name Michael Sanders."
"I do not know anyone named Michael Sanders."
"We know."
"How did he know Ethan's name?"
The principal hesitated.
"He had a printed emergency contact form."
My blood went cold.
"Those forms are private."
"Yes."
"Did he get inside?"
"Only the front office."
"Where is he now?"
"He left when we called you to verify."
"Did security stop him?"
"He was gone before they reached the lobby."
I could not breathe.
Maya was already signaling her investigator.
"Keep the school locked down."
"Police are here."
"I am coming."
Daniel reached for his coat.
"I am coming too."
I almost said no.
Then I saw his face.
"Fine."
We drove in silence.
The school looked wrong with police cars outside.
The children were in the principal's office.
All four ran to me.
Ethan tried to act annoyed.
That was how he handled fear.
"I told them I did not know him."
I hugged him.
"Good."
"He said you sent him."
"I did not."
"I know."
Daniel stood several feet away.
Ethan looked over my shoulder.
Then he walked to Daniel too.
"Someone tried to take me."
Daniel crouched.
"I know."
"Are you mad?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Very."
"Mom says mad is not an excuse to be mean."
Daniel looked at me.
"Your mom says a lot of useful things."
Ethan nodded.
"But if you catch him, you can be a little mean."
Despite everything, the principal laughed.
The police obtained security footage.
The man wore a baseball cap and kept his head low.
Maya's investigator froze one frame.
Daniel stared at it.
"I know him."
"Who?"
"Northstar contractor."
"Name?"
"Peter Voss."
Maya immediately sent the image to federal investigators.
Within an hour, they confirmed Voss had worked for Northstar for six years.
Grant's company.
The explanation from Northstar came fast.
Voss had been terminated two months earlier.
They claimed he was acting independently.
Maya did not believe them.
Neither did I.
That night, I sat on the floor between my children's beds because none of them wanted to sleep alone.
Daniel sat outside the bedroom door in the hallway.
I had not asked him to.
I had not told him to leave either.
At two in the morning, I stepped into the hall.
He was awake.
"You should go home."
"I do not know where home is right now."
The sentence was too honest.
I sat against the opposite wall.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked,
"Why did you kiss Elise?"
He stared at the floor.
"Because I was angry at you."
"That is not a reason."
"No."
"Try again."
He was quiet.
"Because she admired me and I wanted to feel like the version of myself she saw."
That answer hurt more because I understood it.
"Did you stop it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I loved you."
I laughed softly.
"You had a strange way of showing it."
"I know."
We sat there with eight years between us.
Then his phone buzzed.
Marcus.
Daniel answered quietly.
"What?"
He listened.
His face changed.
"Are you sure?"
He looked at me.
"Send it."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
"Elise agreed to testing."
"Good."
"She also asked for immunity."
"From what?"
Daniel's face had gone pale.
"She says Victor paid her to name the wrong father."
I stared at him.
"Then who is Lucas's father?"
Daniel looked at the message Marcus had just received.
May you like
"Grant."
