Chapter 9 - THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Daniel did not sleep.
At sunrise, Vivian drove them to a private medical clinic owned by a former Whitmore employee.
Emily was examined again.
No serious internal injuries were found, but the physician documented every mark and collected samples from beneath her fingernails.
Claire remained with her.
Daniel and Vivian sat in an empty office.
“Who is my biological father?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You knew Harold wasn’t.”
“Thomas suspected it.”
“Why?”
“Because Margaret was already pregnant when she met Harold.”
Daniel thought of his childhood.
Harold had always treated Rebecca differently.
He paid for her mistakes.
Excused her cruelty.
Praised her loyalty.
Daniel had been expected to earn every kindness.
He had assumed that was because he was the older child.
Now the imbalance had another explanation.
“Where is my birth certificate?”
“Your parents likely replaced it.”
“That isn’t easy.”
“With Vale, it was.”
Vivian produced a photocopy from one of her files.
Daniel’s official birth certificate listed Harold Mercer as his father.
But a handwritten hospital log from the same date listed Baby Boy Whitmore.
Daniel stared at the page.
“Whitmore?”
“Your mother was admitted under the name Margaret Whitmore.”
“She married Harold two years later.”
“Yes.”
“Was she married to Thomas?”
“No.”
Daniel’s mind moved toward a conclusion he did not want.
“Was Thomas my father?”
Vivian shook her head.
“The blood records did not match.”
“What blood records?”
“Thomas tested you when you were an infant.”
“Why?”
“Because Margaret claimed you were his.”
Daniel stood.
The room felt too small.
“She used me to get close to him.”
“That is what Thomas believed.”
“Then whose son am I?”
Vivian looked at the closed door.
“There was another partner.”
“The man who took Thomas’s identity?”
“Possibly.”
Daniel thought of the third signature requirement.
If he was the child of another Whitmore partner, his signature might complete a legal structure created before his birth.
“Why didn’t Thomas name him on the tape?”
“He may not have known.”
The clinic receptionist entered.
A delivery had arrived for Daniel.
No courier remained outside.
The package contained a certified copy of an old birth certificate.
This one listed Daniel’s mother as Margaret Elaine Crowe.
The father’s space was blank.
Attached was a photograph of Margaret holding newborn Daniel beside a man whose face had been cut from the image.
A note was taped beneath it.
YOUR FATHER ATTENDED THE PARTY.
Daniel immediately thought of every older man present.
Uncles.
Neighbors.
Family friends.
Martin Vale.
Harold.
The photographer.
The clown.
Claire entered with Emily.
“We need to contact Ramirez.”
Vivian disagreed.
“Police channels are compromised.”
“Ramirez protected evidence.”
“He also allowed Margaret and Harold to remain free.”
“He needed warrants.”
“He needed courage.”
Daniel took out his phone.
“There may be another way.”
Owen had sent several guest photographs to the family’s shared party album before his phone was taken.
Daniel downloaded them.
He examined every man in the background.
One face appeared repeatedly.
A tall man with silver hair and dark glasses.
He stood near the pool during the incident.
He appeared behind Martin Vale during the police interview.
In the final photograph, he was seated in a black sedan outside the house.
Daniel did not recognize him.
Vivian did.
She took the phone.
“Elias Crowe.”
“Who is he?”
“Margaret’s older brother.”
“My uncle?”
“He officially died before you were born.”
Claire stared at the image.
“Officially?”
“He worked for Thomas Whitmore under another name.”
“Which name?” Daniel asked.
Vivian zoomed in on the ring on the man’s hand.
The initials were partly hidden.
T.W.
“Thomas Whitmore,” she said.
The room became silent.
The man who took Thomas’s identity had attended Emily’s birthday.
He had watched her near the pool.
He had stood outside while police gathered evidence.
“He is my father,” Daniel said.
Vivian did not answer.
Daniel understood that she suspected the same.
Emily leaned against Claire.
“I know him.”
Every adult turned toward her.
“Where did you see him?” Claire asked gently.
“At Grandma’s house.”
“Today?”
Emily shook her head.
“He came to my school.”
Daniel crouched.
“When?”
“The day Aunt Rebecca called.”
“What did he say?”
Emily looked at Daniel.
“He said I had your eyes.”
A phone rang in the office.
The clinic line.
The receptionist answered, listened and then looked toward Daniel.
“It’s for you.”
Daniel took the receiver.
A man spoke.
His voice was deep and calm.
“You have spent your life believing Harold Mercer made you successful.”
“Who is this?”
“He made you obedient.”
“Elias?”
A soft laugh.
“Margaret gave you my stubbornness.”
Daniel’s hand tightened around the phone.
“You hurt Emily.”
“No.”
“You were at the party.”
“To prevent a mistake.”
“Rebecca pushed her into the pool.”
“Rebecca acts without thinking.”
“Margaret ordered it.”
“Margaret follows plans she does not understand.”
“What plan?”
“To make Claire appear dangerous. To remove her from Emily’s life.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire knows enough to run.”
Daniel glanced at her.
“She didn’t know anything.”
“She knew her name.”
“That was enough.”
“What do you want?”
The man paused.
“I want what Thomas stole from me.”
“And what is that?”
“My future.”
The line crackled.
“Bring Claire and Emily to the old Whitmore hospital at midnight.”
“No.”
“Then ask the police to identify the body currently lying in Rebecca’s apartment.”
The call ended.
Officer Ramirez phoned three minutes later.
Police had entered Rebecca’s apartment.
A woman had been found dead in the bedroom.
Her face had been severely damaged.
May you like
She wore Rebecca’s clothes.
Beside the body was Emily’s missing yellow ribbon.
