Chapter 5 - THE HEIR WHO WAS NEVER COUNTED|
Theodore did not sleep that night.
He sat in his study surrounded by old documents, police reports, and photographs from his father's private collection. Every few minutes, he looked toward the locked door as though expecting Richard Hawthorne to walk through it and explain why his entire life suddenly seemed built on a lie.
Nadia sat across from him, holding a cup of tea she had barely touched.
“My mother never mentioned another baby,” she said.
“Perhaps she was protecting the child.”
“Or perhaps Clarissa was trying to frighten us.”
Theodore nodded, but neither believed the possibility was enough to dismiss the evidence.
At six in the morning, Marcus entered with a preliminary report.
“Clarissa is being questioned. Her attorney arrived an hour ago. She's refusing to answer anything about Richard Hawthorne.”
“What about the photograph?”
“Authentic. Taken in 2003. We found three more images in her personal storage.”
Marcus placed them on the desk.
One showed Clarissa beside Richard outside a private hospital. Another showed her entering a courthouse with a man identified as Daniel Price, the family's former attorney.
The third photograph made Theodore's blood run cold.
It showed Richard holding a newborn baby.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Our future. October 14.
Theodore stared at the date.
October 14, 2003, was also his birthday.
Nadia looked from the photograph to Theodore.
“You were born that day?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would your father be holding another baby?”
He had no answer.
Marcus continued.
“The hospital's records were partially destroyed in a fire years ago. But we found a nurse who worked there. Her name is Patricia Sloan. She retired in Maine.”
“Find her,” Theodore ordered.
Before Marcus could leave, Nadia's phone rang.
Mila's name appeared on the screen.
Nadia answered immediately.
“Hey, sweetheart. What's wrong?”
Her sister sounded frightened.
“Someone came to the apartment.”
Nadia stood.
“Who?”
“A man. He said he was from the estate and wanted to ask questions about Mom. I told him to leave, but he knew things about us. He knew where I go to school.”
“Did he touch you?”
“No. But he left something.”
Nadia's grip tightened around the phone.
“What?”
“A photograph of Mom. And a note that says you need to stop looking.”
Theodore was already reaching for his phone.
“Lock the doors,” Nadia instructed. “Don't let anyone inside. I'm coming.”
“You're not coming alone,” Theodore said.
She turned on him.
“I don't need your permission.”
“No. You need a safe route, a security team, and someone who can identify the man who threatened your sister.”
“I've spent my entire life protecting Mila without you.”
“And you've done it well,” he replied. “But whoever is doing this knows where she lives. Let me help.”
Nadia wanted to refuse. She had spent seven years surviving the Hawthorne estate by keeping her problems separate from its powerful residents. Depending on Theodore felt dangerously close to surrendering control of the only life she had ever managed herself.
But Mila was frightened.
That settled the argument.
Within an hour, Marcus had arranged secure transportation to Boston. Two trusted guards accompanied Nadia, while Theodore remained behind to coordinate with investigators.
Before she left, Eleanor caught Nadia's hand.
“Your mother trusted you with the key because she believed you would know when to use it.”
“I don't know what any of this means.”
“You will.”
Eleanor hesitated.
“There is something I never told you. After the fire, Richard insisted that his son be raised without questions about the hospital. He said it was necessary to protect the family's reputation.”
Nadia looked at Theodore.
His expression was unreadable.
“Do you think the baby in the photograph was me?” he asked.
Eleanor swallowed.
“I think your father spent twenty-three years making certain no one asked.”
That afternoon, Nadia reached Mila's apartment and found her sister waiting behind a locked door.
The moment they embraced, Nadia noticed a small envelope on the kitchen table.
Inside was a birth certificate.
The name of the mother had been blacked out.
The name of the father had not.
Richard Alexander Hawthorne.
May you like
Below it was a handwritten note.
Ask Theodore why his father paid to change the baby's identity.
