Chapter 3
I had never felt so betrayed.
Not when my business partner stole money from our first company.
Not when my grandfather died unexpectedly.
Not even when I believed Nia had abandoned our newborn son.
Because this betrayal had happened inside my own home.
My own family.
The people I trusted most had apparently watched me raise Noah while believing his mother didn't want him.
I stood across from Vanessa.
"How long?"
She looked away.
"Marcus—"
"How long have you known Nia was alive?"
Her eyes filled.
"Since the beginning."
I felt the room tilt.
Four years.
Four birthdays.
Four Christmas mornings.
Four years of watching Noah ask why his mother never came home.
And Vanessa knew.
I looked at Diane.
"Mom, did you know too?"
My mother began sobbing.
"I thought we were protecting you."
I laughed.
It wasn't a happy sound.
"Protecting me from what?"
She lowered her head.
"From another heartbreak."
I stared at her.
"You let me believe Nia abandoned our son."
Diane covered her mouth.
Claire finally spoke.
"The situation was more complicated than you understand."
I turned toward her.
"Then explain it."
She folded her hands.
"Nia was critically ill. There were concerns about her recovery and ability to care for a child."
Nia stood.
"Nobody ever evaluated my ability to care for Noah after I recovered."
Claire looked uncomfortable.
Nia continued.
"I spent six months in rehabilitation. I called the hospital dozens of times asking about my baby."
My throat tightened.
"What did they tell you?"
She wiped her cheeks.
"That the records were sealed."
I looked toward Claire.
"And you knew?"
Claire didn't answer.
Nia stepped closer.
"Marcus, I didn't know Noah was alive until eight months ago."
I stared at her.
"How?"
She took a trembling breath.
"I saw a photograph."
She reached for her phone.
Then showed me a picture from a charity event.
It was a photograph of me holding Noah at Sterling Manor.
He was wearing a little blue suit.
I remembered the event.
I'd posted the picture on our foundation's website.
Nia touched the screen.
"I saw it in an article about your company."
I frowned.
"Why didn't you contact me immediately?"
She began crying.
"I did."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"I sent letters."
I stared at her.
"To where?"
"Your office. Your house. Your attorney."
She looked toward Claire.
"None of them reached you."
I felt cold.
Then she showed me copies of emails.
Messages addressed to my business account.
Messages asking for a meeting.
Messages explaining that she believed Noah was her son.
I had never seen them.
I looked at Vanessa.
She controlled much of my personal correspondence.
She worked as director of communications for the Sterling Foundation.
She had access to my office calendar.
My household staff.
And the family email system.
I felt sick.
"Did you block these?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I was trying to stop a scandal."
I stared at her.
"A scandal?"
She began crying.
"Marcus, you were finally happy."
My voice rose.
"MY SON THOUGHT HIS MOTHER ABANDONED HIM!"
Vanessa flinched.
I took a breath.
I didn't want to frighten Noah if he could hear us outside.
Then I lowered my voice.
"You don't get to decide what truth makes me happy."
Vanessa stared at me.
Nia continued.
"After the letters failed, I tried visiting the house."
I looked at her.
"When?"
"Six months ago."
My chest tightened.
"The security guards told me I wasn't allowed inside."
I closed my eyes.
Vanessa had changed the household security instructions six months earlier.
She claimed we needed stronger privacy after a minor incident involving photographers.
Now I wondered whether that had been the real reason.
Nia's voice broke.
"Eventually, I found someone willing to help me."
"Who?"
"Mrs. Evelyn."
I frowned.
Evelyn was our longtime housekeeper.
She had worked for my family since I was a teenager.
Nia continued.
"She remembered me from before Noah was born."
I stared at her.
"She helped you get inside?"
Nia nodded.
"She didn't believe the story about me abandoning him."
I felt tears gathering.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"She tried."
My stomach tightened.
Nia looked down.
"Vanessa threatened to fire her and report her for trespassing if she contacted you."
I turned toward Vanessa.
She began crying harder.
"You don't understand what I was trying to protect!"
I stared at her.
"What were you protecting?"
She looked toward Claire.
Then Diane.
I waited.
Finally, she whispered, "Our future."
The words made me feel sick.
Our future.
She'd been willing to erase Noah's mother to create it.
I turned back toward Nia.
"How did Noah know you were his mother?"
Nia's face softened.
She looked toward the door.
"The first time I saw him, he was asleep."
Her voice trembled.
"I sat beside his bed and cried."
I swallowed.
"The second time, he woke up."
I closed my eyes.
Nia continued.
"He asked who I was."
I looked at her.
"What did you say?"
She began crying again.
"I told him my name."
She wiped her face.
"Then he asked if I knew his mommy."
My heart broke.
Nia looked directly at me.
"I couldn't lie to him."
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, "I told him I was his mother."
I felt tears rolling down my face.
She continued.
"He said Vanessa told him his mother didn't want him."
I covered my mouth.
Nia's voice cracked.
"He asked why I didn't come sooner."
I could barely breathe.
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him I'd been looking for him."
She looked down.
"And that I would never stop."
I wanted to pull her into my arms.
But everything was too complicated.
Too painful.
Then I remembered something.
Noah had recently started asking whether mothers could come back after leaving.
I thought he was confused by storybooks.
Now I understood.
He had been trying to tell me.
I looked at Nia.
"Why tonight?"
She reached into her apron.
Then removed another document.
"Because today I received confirmation from an independent records review."
My heart pounded.
"Confirmation of what?"
Nia looked toward Vanessa.
Then she whispered, "Someone submitted a forged custody document while I was still unconscious."
I stared at the paper.
May you like
My signature appeared at the bottom.
And beside it was Vanessa's name.
