Chapter 10 - The Record Beneath the Record
Claire demanded proof.
Carla claimed she had seen a document in Ruth’s apartment two years earlier. It looked like a copy of a hospital birth record, but one name had been covered with correction tape.
Beneath Dustin’s name, she could still read the word Gabriel.
Claire knew Carla could be lying.
She also knew that official birth records were not easily altered without leaving a trail.
Naomi requested Dustin’s long-form birth certificate and hospital registration file.
The hospital responded that some archived records had been damaged during a server migration. The visible records confirmed Dustin Reeves was born to Claire Bennett and Daniel Reeves.
However, one scanned admissions page contained an unexplained code beside Dustin’s name.
GM-17.
The same code appeared at the bottom of the Merritt Renewal Trust papers.
Naomi contacted a former hospital administrator.
The administrator recognized GM as an internal designation once used for confidential newborn-placement cases.
Claire felt dizzy.
“I never placed Dustin for adoption.”
“Placement does not necessarily mean adoption,” Naomi said. “It could relate to a protective identity change.”
“I gave birth to him.”
“No one is disputing that.”
“Then why would he need another identity?”
Naomi did not answer.
Claire remembered Daniel’s behavior during the final months of her pregnancy.
He had insisted that they use a private physician recommended by Henry. He changed hospitals two weeks before Dustin’s birth. He told Claire the original hospital had made an insurance mistake.
Henry was present during nearly every appointment.
At the time, Claire believed he was being protective.
Now every memory looked different.
Meanwhile, the evidence against Michael grew.
Investigators found emails showing that he had submitted forged financial statements to several lenders. He claimed Bellweather House was marital property and used its estimated value to secure business loans.
When the loans became due, Victor Hale’s client purchased them.
Michael then had thirty days to transfer the house or face criminal exposure and financial ruin.
Claire agreed to meet Michael in a monitored interview room.
Naomi and Ruiz watched from behind the glass.
Michael entered wearing the same suit he had worn at the airport.
He sat across from Claire.
“You should have signed,” he said.
Those were his first words.
Claire felt the final thread of their marriage break.
“You let your mother starve Dustin.”
“I did not know she would do that.”
“You told her to do whatever was necessary.”
“I was desperate.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I was trying to keep the company alive.”
“You lied for months.”
“I was going to repay everything.”
“With my house.”
“With our house.”
“It was never yours.”
Michael leaned closer.
“You think Henry left it to you because he loved you?”
Claire said nothing.
“He left it to you because it was the safest place to hide the evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“The ledger.”
“Victor took it.”
“Yes.”
“What is in it?”
“Payments. Names. Birth records. Every person Henry paid to keep quiet.”
“About what?”
Michael glanced toward the observation glass.
“Turn off the cameras.”
“No.”
“Then I’m done.”
Claire stood.
Michael grabbed the edge of the table.
“Wait.”
She remained standing.
“I never wanted Dustin hurt,” he said.
“You were willing to risk it.”
“I thought Carla would protect him.”
“Carla wanted my house.”
“She wanted money. My mother wanted revenge. Victor wanted the ledger. Everyone wanted something.”
“And you?”
Michael looked exhausted.
“I wanted to survive.”
“Who controls the trust?”
“I don’t know.”
“You created it.”
“No. Victor brought it to me. It already existed.”
“Naomi said it was created six weeks ago.”
“The documents were filed six weeks ago. The agreement behind them is older.”
“How old?”
Michael hesitated.
“Eleven years.”
The year Dustin was born.
Claire sat down again.
“Why does the code GM-17 appear on Dustin’s hospital record?”
Michael stared at her.
“You found that?”
“What does it mean?”
“I only know what Victor told me.”
“Tell me.”
“He said Bellweather would eventually belong to the seventeenth Merritt heir.”
“Dustin is not a Merritt.”
May you like
Michael gave her a strange, almost sorrowful look.
“Are you sure?”
