Chapter 14 - The Cruelest Lie
I stared at the paper until anger overcame surprise.
The birth certificate listed Thomas as Daniel's father, exactly as the original had always done.
The altered portion was a separate handwritten notation pasted over the image.
It claimed that Philip Dane had been Daniel's biological father.
I knew the claim was false.
Thomas and I had struggled for years before Daniel was born.
I remembered every appointment and the ordinary happiness of hearing his heartbeat.
But I also knew how a lie could be packaged to look like a secret.
Someone wanted to distract me from money by making me defend my marriage.
Margaret asked whether I wanted the document reported as an attempted intimidation tactic.
"Yes," I said. "And I want Daniel to know I won't repeat the lie for his benefit."
Daniel finally agreed to another meeting.
He arrived alone, thinner than before, and avoided looking at my wheelchair.
I placed the forged image between us.
"Did Owen send this?"
He shook his head.
"He told me Dad wasn't honest about everything."
"That doesn't answer me."
"I didn't know about the certificate."
For once I believed him, or at least believed the surprise in his face.
Then I asked the question that mattered more.
"Why did you trust a stranger over me?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Because he listened when I said I deserved more."
He had finally given me an honest answer.
Owen had told him what he wanted to hear.
I had told him what he needed to hear.
For years Daniel had called one love and the other cruelty.
"I didn't ask you to be poor," I said. "I asked you not to steal."
He looked at the certificate again.
"Owen said I could get the inheritance early if you were declared unfit."
Margaret, seated beside me, asked him to repeat the statement for the record.
Daniel closed his eyes.
"He said the paperwork was already arranged."
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Before he could say more, his phone lit up with a message.
He read it, stood abruptly, and whispered, "He's coming for me."
