Chapter 20 - My Father’s Name
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because sometimes the mind rejects a statement so completely that laughter becomes the only available response.
“Arthur Hale was not my father.”
Simon tilted his head.
“Biologically?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did Thomas ever show you your birth certificate?”
“Yes.”
“Original?”
I stopped.
I had seen copies.
Never the original.
Simon smiled.
Richard stared at me.
“No.”
He whispered.
“Arthur would have told me.”
“Arthur didn’t trust you.”
Simon replied.
“You know that.”
I looked at Richard.
His silence wasn’t reassurance.
“Who was my mother?”
Simon answered.
“Rebecca Bennett.”
That part was true.
My mother died when I was four.
Cancer.
Thomas raised me alone.
“Did she know Arthur?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She worked for Hale Holdings.”
I remembered almost nothing of my mother’s career.
She had been an analyst.
At least that was what Dad told me.
Simon continued.
“Arthur and Rebecca had an affair.”
“No.”
“She became pregnant.”
“No.”
“Thomas knew.”
“Stop.”
“He married her anyway.”
“Stop.”
“Arthur wanted to acknowledge you.”
I slapped him.
The room went silent.
Simon touched his cheek.
Then smiled.
“Your father would have enjoyed that.”
“Thomas was my father.”
I said.
“Whatever biology says.”
For the first time, Simon’s smile disappeared.
That answer bothered him.
Maybe because Edward Hale had taught his children blood was everything.
I had been raised by a man who taught me it wasn’t.
Sirens sounded below.
Simon heard them.
“So Marcus brought police.”
“Of course.”
“You disappoint me.”
“Get used to it.”
He looked toward Richard.
“Where is Julian?”
Richard shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Simon raised the weapon slightly.
“Wrong answer.”
Then the lights went out.
Marcus.
Emergency breach.
I dropped behind a desk.
Richard moved.
Simon fired once into the ceiling or wall.
Glass shattered somewhere.
Officers entered.
“Drop it.”
Simon ran through a side door.
Marcus pursued.
I stayed down.
Daniel reached me seconds later.
He wasn’t supposed to be on the floor.
I didn’t care.
He pulled me into his arms.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Baby?”
“Yes.”
Richard stood against the wall with his hands raised.
Simon escaped through an old service stairwell.
But he left the copied drive behind.
Detective Cole recovered it.
The claim about my biological father could not be ignored.
DNA answered it.
Arthur Hale was my biological father.
Thomas Bennett was not.
I cried for an hour.
Not because Thomas became less my father.
Because another dead man had become part of my history without my permission.
Margaret sat beside me.
She looked devastated.
“Arthur had a child with your mother.”
“Yes.”
“I never knew.”
“I believe you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
She cried.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For all the lies this family put around you before you even entered it.”
That sentence changed something between us.
Daniel stood near the door.
My husband was now, biologically, my half brother’s son?
No.
Arthur was Daniel’s father and my biological father.
That would make Daniel my half brother.
I stared at Margaret in horror.
Daniel understood at the same moment.
“Oh God.”
The room became silent.
Then Detective Cole entered with Samuel.
Samuel looked at the DNA report.
“No.”
“What?”
I asked.
“Arthur wasn’t Daniel’s biological father.”
Daniel froze.
“I am done.”
He sat down.
“I am completely done with paternity surprises.”
Even Margaret laughed through her tears.
Samuel explained.
Daniel and Vanessa were Richard’s biological children.
Nobody moved.
Richard stared at him.
“No.”
Margaret stood.
“What?”
Samuel looked ashamed.
“Arthur was infertile after an illness in his twenties.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
Samuel continued.
“Margaret wanted children.”
“Arthur asked Richard to be a donor.”
Daniel looked like his soul left his body.
“Dad asked Uncle Richard to father us?”
“Yes.”
“Did Richard know?”
“No.”
Richard stared at Margaret.
She stared back.
Margaret whispered.
“I was told the donor was anonymous.”
Samuel nodded.
“Arthur chose him.”
Richard sat down.
For the first time, he looked truly shattered.
“My children.”
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Both biologically his.
But raised as Arthur’s.
That explained why Richard had been unnaturally protective.
Maybe somewhere inside, he knew without knowing.
I looked at Daniel.
Relief hit me despite everything.
We were not biologically siblings.
Our child wasn’t the product of a hidden family relationship.
Daniel came to me.
He looked exhausted.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
I almost smiled.
Detective Cole interrupted.
“We found Julian.”
“Where?”
“At Hale Holdings.”
“What is he doing?”
Cole looked grim.
“He called an emergency board meeting.”
Richard stood.
“Why?”
“Because he claims Margaret is mentally incompetent.”
Margaret’s face hardened.
“He’s using the amended will.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at the clock.
“When?”
“In ninety minutes.”
Samuel whispered.
“He has the archive.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because Edward designed the archive to control the board.”
Richard stared.
“If Julian has it, he can blackmail every director.”
Samuel nodded.
“And if the board recognizes the amended trust before Claire’s baby triggers the audit?”
“What happens?”
I asked.
Richard answered.
“Julian takes control of Hale Holdings.”
My phone vibrated.
Unknown sender.
This time the message contained only one word.
May you like
RUN.
Then every light in Hale Tower went dark.
