Chapter 7: The Paternity Trap
BEFORE YOU CELEBRATE, ASK YOUR LAWYER WHAT HAPPENS IF CLARA ISN’T LEGALLY MY DAUGHTER.
I read Daniel’s message three times.
Then I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because after everything else, the cruelty had become almost predictable.
Lauren stared at my phone.
“What is he saying?””
“He’s saying Clara isn’t his.””
Gloria shot to her feet.
“That miserable—”
“Wait,” Nathan said.
He took the phone without touching anything else on the screen.
“Rebecca, is there any possibility Daniel is not Clara’s biological father?””
“No.””
“None?””
“None.””
Lauren looked away.
I understood why.
She had been sleeping with my husband.
Now she was discovering what happened when Daniel needed a woman to become inconvenient.
Nathan enlarged the photograph Daniel had sent.
It appeared to be a page from my prenatal file.
Patient: Rebecca Hale.
Father of Child: Unknown.
I frowned.
“That’s fake.””
“You’re sure?””
“My intake forms listed Daniel.””
Nathan looked at Agent Chen.
“Can we verify this directly with the hospital?””
“I’ll ask administration to preserve the original records.””
I stared at the image.
Something about it bothered me.
Then I saw it.
“The date.””
Nathan looked.
The document was timestamped two weeks earlier.
“I wasn't here two weeks ago.””
Agent Chen nodded.
“And this hospital uses electronic records. Changes should leave an audit trail.””
Lauren whispered, “He altered it.””
Nathan didn’t answer.
He didn't need to.
My phone rang.
Daniel.
This time, Nathan surprised me.
“Answer.””
Agent Chen nodded.
“Speakerphone.””
I accepted.
“Rebecca.””
Daniel sounded calm.
Too calm.
“Where are you?””
I looked around the hospital room.
“You know where I am.””
“I mean who’s with you.””
“Why?””
“Because you're being manipulated.””
Lauren’s expression hardened.
I said, “By whom?””
“Margaret. Nathan. Lauren.””
Lauren nearly laughed.
“You brought Lauren into my hospital room yesterday.””
“That was a mistake.””
Lauren’s face changed.
I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
“Was the ring a mistake too?””
Silence.
Then Daniel said, “This isn't about Lauren.””
“It seems nothing ever is when she stops being useful.””
“Rebecca, listen carefully. Margaret’s trust is unenforceable if Clara isn't legally established as my child.””
I looked at Nathan.
He nodded for me to continue.
“So establish it.””
Daniel went quiet.
I smiled without humor.
“Take a paternity test.””
“No.””
One word.
Too fast.
Lauren whispered, “Why not?””
Daniel heard her.
“You're there.””
“Yes.””
“Get out.””
“No.””
His breathing changed.
“Lauren, you have no idea what you're doing.””
“I’m beginning to.””
I leaned closer to the phone.
“Daniel, why won't you take the test?””
“Because I don't need to prove anything.””
“You're the one claiming Clara isn't yours.””
“I’m saying there are questions.””
“What questions?””
“You disappeared for a weekend last year.””
I stared at the phone.
“My grandmother was dying.””
Nobody spoke.
Daniel had forgotten.
Or he assumed I had.
I had spent that weekend in a hospice waiting room after Nathan’s office secretly contacted me to say Margaret had suffered a stroke.
She never woke while I was there.
I had sat outside her room for hours, too ashamed to go inside.
Daniel knew exactly where I had been.
“You drove me to the airport,” I said.
“That doesn't prove where you went.””
Nathan quietly wrote something on a legal pad.
KEEP HIM TALKING.
“So your position is that I cheated?””
“I’m saying I can't know.””
“Then take the test.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because I'm not participating in Margaret's games.””
I looked down at Clara.
Tiny nose.
Dark hair.
Daniel’s dimple in her left cheek.
“You threw us out because you knew the trust activated at birth.””
“That’s ridiculous.””
“You knew about the clause.””
“No.””
“You just described how it works.””
Silence.
Agent Chen’s eyes sharpened.
Daniel realized his mistake.
“I was told about it afterward.””
“By whom?””
“My attorney.””
“Which attorney?””
“Rebecca, stop.””
Nathan underlined something.
I asked again.
“Which attorney?””
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Come home.””
“No.””
“We can fix this.””
“You mean create the same story?””
He stopped breathing for a second.
“You showed those texts to someone.””
“You sent them.””
“You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.””
“I think I'm finally starting to.””
His voice dropped.
“If you pursue control of Halcyon, you inherit its liabilities too.””
Nathan shook his head.
Daniel continued.
“Millions in debt. Investigations. Lawsuits.
You think Margaret handed you a kingdom? She handed you a burning building.””
Lauren stepped toward the phone.
“You're the one who set it on fire.””
Daniel went silent.
Then he said something that made Lauren recoil.
“You signed the statements, Lauren.””
Her face drained.
“I signed reports you falsified.””
“Prove it.””
The call ended.
Lauren stared at the phone.
“He recorded that.””
Nathan nodded.
“Probably.””
Agent Chen stepped into the hallway to make another call.
Five minutes later, she returned.
“The hospital administrator has frozen access to Rebecca and Clara’s medical records.””
“Was anything changed?””
“They’re checking.””
Nathan looked at me.
“We should also arrange an independent DNA test immediately.””
“Do it.””
Lauren paced toward the window.
“Even if Clara is Daniel’s biological daughter, couldn't he argue the trust shouldn't activate?””
“He can argue anything,” Nathan said.
“Winning is different.””
His phone buzzed.
He checked the screen.
Then frowned.
“What?””
“My office received a filing.””
“What filing?””
“Daniel’s attorneys have petitioned for emergency relief in family court.””
I felt cold.
“For what?””
Nathan read silently.
His jaw tightened.
“Temporary custody.””
Gloria exploded.
“He hasn't held that baby once!””
Nathan kept reading.
“It gets worse.””
“What did he say?””
“He alleges you’re emotionally unstable, financially dependent, and under investigation for corporate fraud.””
My mouth fell open.
“He caused the investigation.””
“That will be our position.””
“He threw me out!””
“He claims you voluntarily abandoned the marital residence after an argument.””
I felt physically sick.
“He told me not to come back.””
“We have Gloria.””
“And the texts,” Agent Chen added.
Nathan nodded.
Then he reached the final page.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“Daniel has attached a sworn declaration.””
“From who?””
Nathan hesitated.
“Your obstetrician.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Dr. Harris states that Daniel expressed concerns about your mental health during pregnancy.””
“That never happened.””
Nathan continued reading.
“He claims Daniel asked the practice to document episodes of paranoia and erratic behavior.””
I almost couldn’t speak.
“Dr. Harris never told me that.””
Agent Chen said, “Could Daniel have contacted him privately?””
“I don’t know.””
My phone buzzed.
This time the message wasn't from Daniel.
It was from the hospital patient portal.
A new test result had been added to Clara’s chart.
Nathan opened it with me.
My eyes moved down the page.
Genetic Parentage Screening.
Alleged father: Daniel Hale.
Probability of paternity:
0.00%.
Gloria gasped.
Lauren whispered, “That’s impossible.””
Nathan stared at the screen.
“So is the timing.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
“Clara has never been tested.””
My heart began pounding.
Agent Chen was already reaching for her phone.
Nathan looked at the fraudulent result again.
Then at Daniel’s custody petition.
“He isn’t just planning to deny paternity.””
“What is he doing?””
May you like
Nathan’s face hardened.
“He’s creating a paper trail to prove it.””
