Chapter 12 - Two Fathers
Daniel refused to believe it.
"Michael Reed was my father."
"That's what Evelyn told everyone," Margaret said. "But Richard ordered a private paternity test after he took you."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas demanded to know where you were. Richard suspected something."
"And?"
Margaret looked sick.
"Thomas was your biological father."
The room seemed to shrink.
Daniel thought of Rachel.
Thomas Vale was Rachel's father too.
He stood so fast the table shook.
"No."
Margaret reached for him. "Daniel—"
He backed away. "No."
If Thomas was Daniel's father and Rachel's father, then Daniel and Rachel were half-siblings.
Emma—
His stomach turned.
He stumbled into the hallway.
Rachel saw his face and ran toward him.
"What happened?"
Daniel couldn't say it.
Ortiz came out behind him and understood immediately.
"We verify before we conclude anything," she said.
Rachel looked between them. "Verify what?"
Daniel finally forced the words out.
"Margaret says Thomas is my biological father."
Rachel went still.
Then she laughed once, a tiny shocked sound. "That's impossible."
"I know."
"Daniel, that's impossible."
"I know."
They both looked at Emma sleeping in the carrier beside Rachel's chair.
Ortiz moved quickly. "We can do an urgent kinship test on stored samples. Until then, nobody jumps ahead."
The next six hours were unbearable.
Daniel wouldn't touch food. Rachel sat across from him, clutching Emma as if somebody might take her again.
Finally Ortiz returned with a lab supervisor.
"Thomas Vale is not Daniel's biological father."
Rachel broke into tears of relief.
Daniel shut his eyes.
Ortiz continued. "But Margaret wasn't inventing the paternity test. We found the original report in Richard's records. It was falsified."
"By who?"
"The lab technician was paid through a company linked to Thomas."
Daniel stared.
"Why make Richard think Thomas was my father?"
Evelyn, brought in under guard, answered from the doorway.
"To keep Richard afraid of him."
Daniel turned.
Evelyn looked at Margaret with open hatred.
"Thomas wanted leverage. He knew Richard would never hurt the child of a man he feared."
"Then Michael really was my father?"
"Yes."
Ortiz said, "The DNA supports Michael Reed as your biological father."
Daniel finally had one fact he could stand on.
Then Evelyn looked at Rachel.
"Thomas told you he was your father too, didn't he?"
Rachel nodded.
Evelyn's expression changed.
"He lied to you."
Rachel frowned. "What?"
"Thomas can't have children. He was injured when he was twenty."
Rachel shook her head. "Then who is my father?"
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
"That's why Thomas came back. He wasn't protecting a daughter. He was protecting another secret."
Ortiz's phone rang.
She listened, then slowly lowered it.
"We decrypted the first folder on Richard's flash drive."
Daniel asked, "And?"
Ortiz looked at Rachel.
"There is a photograph of your mother, Susan Hale."
She turned the screen around.
May you like
Susan stood beside Richard Cross.
They were kissing.
