Chapter 9
No one spoke for several seconds.
Nathan stared at the newborn photograph.
Another child.
A hospital bracelet with his surname.
A date three months after Lily’s birth.
“That’s impossible,” he said.
Grace looked at Martin.
“What did that letter mean?”
Martin answered cautiously.
“We need medical experts before drawing conclusions.”
Nathan slammed the laptop shut.
“Someone used my genetic material.”
Grace stared at him.
“Did Victoria have access to anything?”
Nathan went still.
Years earlier, before Grace became pregnant, Nathan had undergone routine fertility testing after an illness.
Samples had been stored temporarily at a private clinic.
Dr. Mercer had referred him there.
Nathan’s face went white.
“She had access.”
Martin immediately contacted investigators.
By morning, they had an answer.
A fertility clinic confirmed that archived genetic material belonging to Nathan had been transferred four years earlier.
The authorization carried Nathan’s signature.
He had never signed it.
Grace felt sick.
“What did they do with it?”
The records were incomplete.
But one name appeared repeatedly.
Victoria Hale.
Nathan walked toward the window.
“She wanted her own child.”
Grace understood.
“If Victoria had your biological child…”
“She could replace Lily’s claim.”
Martin nodded slowly.
“Or create a competing heir.”
Nathan turned.
“But where is that baby?”
Police worked through the morning.
The hospital tag in the photograph led them to a private maternity center.
A woman had given birth there under an alias.
The child had been registered privately.
The mother was not Victoria.
Grace felt another shock.
“Then who?”
The detective showed them a photograph.
Nathan didn’t recognize her.
Grace did.
“That’s Anna.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Who?”
“She worked at your house.”
Nathan remembered vaguely.
A young housekeeper.
She had quit suddenly.
Grace stared at the photograph.
“She disappeared a few months after I did.”
The detective nodded.
“We found her.”
“Where?”
“Ohio.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Is the child with her?”
“Yes.”
Grace felt relief.
“Is he safe?”
The detective nodded.
“He’s six.”
Nathan frowned.
“Six?”
Everyone stared at him.
Lily was four.
The photograph had supposedly been taken four years earlier.
The timeline was wrong.
Martin pulled the image closer.
“The date embedded in the file may have been altered.”
The detective confirmed it.
“We’re checking.”
Nathan sat down.
If the child was six, then Victoria’s scheme had begun long before Grace became pregnant.
The detective called Anna.
She agreed to speak through video.
A tired-looking woman appeared on screen.
The moment she saw Nathan, she started crying.
“I’m sorry.”
Nathan’s voice was controlled.
“Is the boy mine?”
Anna nodded.
“Yes.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Nathan looked stunned.
“How?”
“Victoria paid me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Anna rushed on.
“I was twenty-two. My mother was dying. I needed money.”
“You carried my child?”
“Yes.”
“Using stolen genetic material?”
“I didn’t know it was stolen.”
Nathan stared at the screen.
“Why?”
Anna wiped her face.
“Victoria said she loved you, but she couldn’t have children.”
Martin frowned.
“Was Victoria intended to become the legal mother?”
Anna shook her head.
“That was the original plan.”
“What changed?”
“She became afraid your father would find out.”
Nathan’s heart pounded.
“What happened after the baby was born?”
“Victoria told me to disappear.”
Anna looked over her shoulder.
A small boy was playing in another room.
“She paid me every month.”
Nathan swallowed.
“What’s his name?”
“Benjamin.”
Grace looked at Nathan.
His face had changed completely.
He had discovered two children in one day.
Anna began crying harder.
“There’s something else.”
Nathan waited.
“Victoria stopped paying me three months ago.”
“Why?”
“She said she was finally marrying you.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
Anna continued.
“She wanted Benjamin back.”
Grace whispered, “Back?”
Anna nodded.
“She said once she became your wife, she needed him in New York.”
“Why?”
Anna looked terrified.
“I don’t know.”
Then a loud knock came from somewhere behind her.
Anna froze.
Nathan stood.
“Anna?”
Another knock.
Harder.
Anna whispered, “No.”
“What is it?”
She looked toward the window.
Her face went white.
“He found us.”
“Who?”
Anna grabbed the laptop.
The image shook.
Then Caleb Ross appeared through the glass behind her.
Grace screamed.
“Anna, run!”
The screen crashed sideways.
They heard a door break.
Anna shouted.
Benjamin began crying.
Then the connection disappeared.
Nathan turned to the detective.
“Get someone there now!”
The detective was already calling.
Grace stared at the black screen.
May you like
Victoria’s plan was no longer just about Lily.
Somewhere in Ohio, Nathan’s other child was in danger.
