Chapter 16: The Child Nobody Knew About
The message stayed on my screen for nearly a minute.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t blink.
I couldn’t understand the sentence in front of me.
*Noah isn’t Ellis’s only secret child.*
The words felt impossible.
Like someone had thrown a match into a room already filled with gasoline.
Noah was standing beside me.
My son.
The child I carried.
The child I raised.
The child I thought I knew everything about.
“Mom?””
His voice pulled me back.
I quickly locked my phone.
“It’s nothing.””
But Noah knew me too well.
“No.””
His eyes narrowed.
“That wasn’t nothing.””
I looked away.
Because I had spent weeks protecting Noah from painful truths.
I couldn’t suddenly hand him another one.
Daniel sat down slowly.
“Sabrina.””
I looked at him.
“Tell me what you know.””
He hesitated.
And that hesitation scared me more than the message.
“Daniel.””
He sighed.
“I knew there were missing records.””
“What records?””
“Family records.””
I stared at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I wasn’t sure.””
“Sure about what?””
Daniel looked at Noah.
Then back at me.
“About whether Ellis had another child.””
The room became silent.
Noah stepped back.
“Another child?””
I immediately moved toward him.
“Don’t listen to that message.””
But he shook his head.
“No, Mom.””
His voice was quiet.
“Dad lied about everything else.””
That hurt because it was true.
Daniel opened another file.
“There’s something you need to see.””
Inside were old hospital records.
My hands became cold.
“Why do you have these?””
“Your father requested copies years ago.””
I looked at the dates.
The dates were from the year Noah was born.
I stopped.
There was another birth record.
Another baby.
Born six months before Noah.
Father listed:
Ellis Carter.
Mother listed:
Unknown.
I stared.
“No.””
Daniel didn’t speak.
“No.””
I repeated it.
Because saying it out loud felt like refusing to believe it.
Noah looked at the paper.
“Dad had another child?””
I couldn’t answer.
My mind went back through every memory.
Every business trip.
Every late night.
Every excuse.
Every time Ellis said he was working.
How much had I missed?
Daniel pointed to the file.
“There’s more.””
The mother’s name had been blacked out.
But underneath was a note.
*Financial agreement established. Child placed under private care.*
I felt sick.
“He paid her?””
Daniel nodded.
“Looks like it.””
Noah sat down.
His face had gone pale.
“Did Dad know about me?””
I immediately turned toward him.
“Noah.””
“Did he?””
I swallowed.
“Yes.””
The answer broke something in him.
“He knew I was his son…”
His voice cracked.
“And he still treated me like a tool.””
I sat beside him.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“That’s what he did, Mom.””
I had no argument.
Because Noah was right.
Ellis had never looked at him as a child.
He looked at him as an asset.
A weapon.
A piece on a chessboard.
My phone rang.
Claire.
I stared at the name.
Then answered.
“Why?””
No greeting.
No hello.
Just one word.
Claire was silent.
“You found the records.””
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
My heart tightened.
“How long?””
“Years.””
I closed my eyes.
“How could you?””
Her voice broke.
“Because I was trying to expose Ellis.””
“You helped him.””
“I know.””
“You hurt Noah.””
“I know.””
The anger inside me rose.
“You don’t get to say you know.””
A long pause.
Then Claire whispered:
“Sabrina, your father didn’t create that trust because he hated Ellis.””
“What?””
“He created it because he knew Ellis was being controlled.””
I frowned.
“Controlled by who?””
Claire didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“The person who has been moving behind everything.””
“Who?””
Her voice became barely audible.
“Your father’s business partner.””
I looked at Daniel.
“The third founder?””
“Yes.””
“Who is he?””
Claire hesitated.
Then said a name.
A name I had never heard before.
But Daniel recognized it immediately.
His face changed.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel stood.
“That man died fifteen years ago.””
Claire’s voice came through the phone.
“No, Sabrina.””
A pause.
“He didn’t.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“He changed his name.””
May you like
Another pause.
“And he’s been standing beside Ellis this entire time.””
