Chapter 28 - the father claire buriedClaire’s father was named Thomas Reed.
Daniel had known him only from a framed photograph.
Nora traced the payments to a residential facility under another name:
Thomas Caldwell.
The same surname assigned to Emma.
Claire went pale.
“My father did not die.”
Rose recognized the name.
Thomas had worked for the Bennett Child Placement Foundation. He had helped create false identities for children connected to wealthy families.
Claire’s mother had told her he was dead because he entered witness protection.
But the payments suggested something else.
Thomas had remained on the Mercer payroll.
Daniel and Claire visited the facility.
An elderly man sat alone beside a window.
Claire stopped in the doorway.
He looked older, but she recognized him immediately.
Thomas began crying.
“I tried to keep you away from them.”
“By pretending to be dead?”
“By making Margaret believe I had no family she could use.”
Thomas admitted that he had arranged Emma’s placement.
But he had also secretly given Rose the information needed to locate her.
“Why did Richard pay you?” Daniel asked.
“To preserve every record Vale ordered destroyed.”
Thomas pointed beneath his bed.
A metal case contained the original adoption files for dozens of children.
Emma was not the only child illegally placed through Mercer money.
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The party had exposed one family.
The records could expose many more.
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