Chapter 7: The Truth About Her Birth
“Say it.””
Zarya stood in the doorway of the Rosewood cottage, staring at Alexander while Damon watched from the porch with the satisfied expression of a man who had finally found the right weapon.
“Whatever you're hiding,” she continued, “say it now.””
Alexander glanced at Damon.
“Leave us alone.””
Damon laughed.
“Still giving orders, Hayes? You should have thought about that before your family started rewriting birth certificates.””
“Damon,” Zarya warned, “one more word and I'll call the police.””
He raised both hands.
“Fine. But remember who told you the truth first.””
He walked toward his SUV, then stopped beside the driver's door.
“Oh, and Zarya? Ask your father why he never let you see your original hospital records.””
He drove away.
Zarya waited until the sound of his engine disappeared before turning to Alexander.
“Inside. Now.””
They entered the cottage. Alexander placed the folded document on the kitchen table, but Zarya didn't sit.
“Did your father change my birth certificate?””
“I don't know whether he changed it personally.””
“That's not what I asked.””
Alexander looked exhausted.
“Yes. Someone changed it.””
Zarya gripped the back of a chair.
“Who am I?””
“You're Zarya Williams. You're the woman I love.””
“Don't use that word to avoid answering me.””
He closed his eyes briefly.
“Your mother gave birth to you in September, twenty-six years ago. The hospital records list Thomas Hayes as your biological father.””
The room went silent.
Zarya felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“No.””
“I'm sorry.””
“No. My father is Richard Williams.””
“Richard raised you. He gave you his name. But the original records suggest he wasn't your biological father.””
She shook her head violently.
“You expect me to believe my entire life was a lie because of a piece of paper?””
“No. I expect you to demand a DNA test before believing anything.””
She stared at him.
That answer was reasonable. It was careful. It was exactly what she would have expected from the man who had taught her to question every business assumption.
And yet it terrified her.
“Why didn't you tell me when you first discovered the property dispute?””
“Because I didn't know about the birth records until two weeks ago.””
“Two weeks?””
“I received an anonymous package containing copies of my father's private correspondence. Your name appeared in several letters. I was trying to verify them.””
“And you still proposed marriage?””
“Yes.””
“Knowing I might be your half-sister?””
His face tightened.
“I had no evidence that you were related to me. I had no reason to believe the documents were authentic until I saw the hospital record.””
She stepped away from him.
“Then why come here today?””
“Because someone sent me a message saying Damon was looking for you. I knew he'd try to use the property dispute against you.””
Alexander pushed the folded document across the table.
“Read this.””
It was a letter from Thomas Hayes to his mother, Margaret, dated three months before Zarya's birth.
Elena has agreed to place the child under Richard's care if anything happens to her. The land must remain protected until the child reaches adulthood. No member of our family is to use the child as leverage.
Beneath the letter was another, written in Richard's handwriting.
I will raise the child as my own. In return, you will relinquish any claim to Elena and her estate.
Zarya read it twice.
Then she looked at Alexander.
“Your father knew about me before I was born.””
“Yes.””
“And my father agreed to raise me in exchange for my mother's estate?””
“That's what the letter suggests.””
She laughed, but the sound broke halfway through.
“So I was a business transaction.””
“No.””
“That's exactly what I was.””
Alexander reached toward her, then stopped when she recoiled.
“I don't believe Richard raised you for money,” he said.
“I believe he loved you. But I think the adults around you made an agreement that should never have involved a child.””
Zarya pressed her fingers against her temples.
Her childhood returned in fragments.
Richard carrying her on his shoulders at a county fair. Her mother teaching her to bake cinnamon rolls. Richard sitting beside her bed when she had nightmares. The funeral she had attended at fourteen, staring at a closed coffin because she had been told her mother's body was too damaged for viewing.
Had Richard truly mourned Elena?
Or had he been mourning a secret he could no longer control?
“Do you know where my mother is?”” she whispered.
“No.””
“Does Damon?””
“I don't know.””
“Does your grandmother?””
Alexander hesitated.
“Margaret died four years ago. But she left a letter with her estate attorney. I only learned about it recently.””
“What's in it?””
He opened his jacket and removed a sealed envelope.
“I haven't opened it. The attorney told me it was intended for the child of Elena Williams if she ever came forward.””
Zarya snatched it from him.
The envelope was yellowed with age. Her name appeared across the front in elegant handwriting.
She broke the seal.
Inside was a single page.
To Elena's daughter,
If this letter has reached you, then the adults who promised to protect you have failed.
Your mother did not disappear because she wanted to abandon you. She disappeared because she discovered that the northern property contained evidence of a crime committed by men who believed money could erase their actions.
Thomas tried to protect her. Richard tried to protect his reputation. Neither man understood that the only person who could truly protect you was Elena herself.
If you want the truth, find the original deed. Not the copy. The original deed contains a clause that identifies the person who arranged the transfer and the person who profited from your mother's disappearance.
Trust no one who offers to buy your silence.
The letter was signed Margaret Hayes.
Zarya lowered the page.
“What crime?””
Alexander shook his head.
“I don't know.””
She looked at the documents scattered across the table.
“The original deed. Where is it?””
“Margaret's attorney may know.””
“Then we're going to see him.””
“Zarya, we need to be careful. If someone forged your birth records and concealed your mother's location, this could be bigger than a property dispute.””
“It's already bigger than that.””
She gathered the documents and placed them inside her bag.
At the doorway, she stopped.
“Alexander, if the DNA test proves we're related, I never want to see you again.””
He nodded.
“I understand.””
“And if it doesn't, that doesn't mean I forgive you for keeping secrets.””
“I understand that too.””
She studied his face.
“Why are you helping me?””
He looked down at the engagement ring she had left behind on his desk weeks earlier. He had returned it to its original box and brought it with him.
“Because I love you,” he said.
“But if the truth means you never want me near you again, I'll accept that.””
For the first time, Zarya believed he might mean it.
They left the cottage together.
Before they reached the road, her phone rang.
The caller ID showed Richard.
She answered.
“Dad?””
His breathing sounded uneven.
“Zarya, where are you?””
“Why?””
“Because Monica has taken something from my office, and I think she's going to use it against you.””
“What did she take?””
“The original deed.””
Zarya stopped walking.
“You told me you had it.””
“I did. Until this morning.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was trying to recover it before anyone discovered what was written on the final page.””
“What is written on it, Dad?””
Richard's voice broke.
“The name of the person who arranged your mother's disappearance.””
A long silence followed.
Then he whispered, “Zarya, I think Monica has known the truth since the day she married me.””
The call disconnected.
Alexander looked at her.
“What happened?””
Zarya stared at the road ahead.
“Monica has the original deed.””
She opened the anonymous message thread and typed a single question.
*WHO ARE YOU, AND WHY ARE YOU HELPING MONICA?*
The reply arrived almost instantly.
*BECAUSE SHE'S NOT THE PERSON YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.*
A second message followed.
*ASK YOUR FATHER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOMAN WHO WAS BURIED UNDER YOUR MOTHER'S NAME.*
Zarya felt her blood turn cold.
Someone else had been buried.
May you like
Someone else had been identified as Elena Williams.
And suddenly, the closed coffin at her mother's funeral became the most frightening memory of her life.
