Chapter 6 - My Father’s Name on the Birth Certificate
Raymond did not deny knowing Celeste.
He denied fathering her child.
“That is impossible.”
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“Exactly.”
Maren looked between them.
“Then explain.”
Celeste entered after hotel security confirmed she carried no weapon and Dana joined by video.
She admitted Noah’s birth certificate had been falsified.
Russell wanted the child registered under a Hale-family connection because certain Wintermere trust provisions required another beneficiary if Felix became unavailable.
“Why my father?”
“Russell had copies of Raymond’s identification from medical paperwork.”
Raymond sat down heavily.
“He stole my identity too.”
Celeste nodded.
“I believed Russell when he said it was temporary legal paperwork.”
Maren stared at her.
“You moved into my house. You watched my son sleep beside a washing machine.”
Celeste’s face crumpled.
“I was cruel.”
“Yes.”
“I thought he was spoiled.”
“He was hungry.”
“I know.”
“You locked food away.”
Celeste looked at Felix’s closed door.
“I did.”
There was no excuse big enough.
Maren did not offer forgiveness.
Celeste continued because Russell had begun threatening her too. When she questioned Wintermere, he told her she and Noah could disappear as easily as Maren’s parents had.
“Why come here?”
“Because I finally understood what he did to all of us.”
Dana asked, “What does Russell want now?”
Celeste produced a flash drive.
“Wintermere is about to be sold.”
“To whom?”
“A company called Northbridge Care.”
Dana searched.
Then she went quiet.
“Maren, Northbridge is owned by Evelyn Price’s estate.”
Maren stared.
Evelyn.
The elderly woman she had cared for in Tampa.
The woman who had died one week ago.
Her job had not been random.
Maren remembered Russell finding the position online.
“Great pay,” he had said. “Perfect solution.”
Dana said, “Your employer was connected to Wintermere.”
Maren felt the past rearranging itself.
The next morning, she called Evelyn’s estate attorney, Samuel Greene.
He agreed to meet.
Samuel was eighty, bow-tied, and sharp-eyed.
“Evelyn adored you,” he said.
“Did she know Russell?”
His expression answered.
“She knew Diane.”
“How?”
“They were business partners thirty years ago.”
Maren sat back.
Samuel explained Evelyn and Diane had developed nursing homes together. Diane manipulated residents’ assets; Evelyn discovered it and ended the partnership.
Years later, Diane resurfaced through Wintermere.
“Why hire me?”
“Evelyn recognized your name.”
“So she used me?”
“She wanted to warn you.”
“She had five years.”
“She tried.”
Samuel opened a drawer.
Inside were twenty-three sealed envelopes addressed to Maren.
None had been mailed.
“Why?”
“Evelyn became afraid someone intercepted her correspondence.”
Maren opened the first.
Maren, if Russell tells you your family is fine, verify it yourself.
Her stomach turned.
Another:
Ask why your son’s school address changed.
Another:
Never sign anything Russell sends without independent counsel.
Maren covered her mouth.
“I never saw these.”
Samuel nodded.
“Evelyn eventually stopped trusting the mail.”
“Why didn’t she tell me directly?”
“She feared Russell would remove you from her home before she could finish transferring evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
Samuel slid over a photograph.
Diane Dane.
Russell.
Peter Sloan.
And Evelyn.
Taken three years earlier in Tampa.
Maren whispered, “Russell told me he had never met Evelyn.”
Samuel replied, “Russell visited her every Christmas.”
Maren’s mind flashed through five lonely Christmases.
Russell had claimed business trips.
Felix had been told Mommy did not want calls.
And while Maren worked upstairs caring for Evelyn, her husband had been downstairs negotiating with the woman whose money could expose him.
Samuel placed one final envelope on the desk.
“This arrived after Evelyn died.”
Maren opened it.
Inside was a key and one sentence:
THE TRUTH ABOUT FELIX IS IN SAFE-DEPOSIT BOX 417.
Maren stopped breathing.
“What truth?”
May you like
Samuel looked frightened.
“I was hoping you knew.”
