Chapter 7
Daniel remembered Uncle Marcus.
Barely.
“He disappeared after my grandfather died.”
“How old were you?” Detective Morales asked.
“Ten.”
Rebecca sat beside him.
“I remember Mom telling us never to mention him.”
The detective opened a family database.
Marcus Carter.
Born sixty-one years earlier.
Medical school.
License suspended.
Name legally changed to Marcus Hale.
Then Daniel pointed to another name.
“Who is Samuel Carter?”
Rebecca froze.
I noticed immediately.
“You know him?”
She looked terrified.
“Mom’s first son.”
Daniel stared at her.
“What?”
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“I thought you knew.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Apparently I know nothing about my own family.”
Rebecca explained.
Linda had been married briefly before Daniel’s father.
She had a son named Samuel.
The marriage ended.
Samuel supposedly died as a teenager.
Detective Morales searched the records.
“No death certificate.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Of course there isn’t.”
I looked at Noah.
“If Samuel is alive…”
“He could be Noah’s biological father,” the detective said.
My stomach turned.
I had never knowingly met him.
Which meant if his DNA had been used, someone had done it during the procedure I thought was removing a polyp.
Linda had selected the biological father of my son.
But why?
Rebecca suddenly whispered, “Inheritance.”
We turned.
“What?”
“My grandfather’s trust.”
Daniel frowned.
“What trust?”
Rebecca looked toward him.
“The Carter family trust passes through biological male descendants.”
Daniel went still.
His father had never mentioned it.
Rebecca continued.
“Mom was furious because you couldn’t have children.”
I understood.
“If Daniel had a biological son, Linda could control the trust through him.”
Detective Morales nodded slowly.
“And using another Carter male would make DNA testing appear consistent with extended family.”
I felt sick.
“This was about money?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Not just money.”
“What else?”
“Control.”
She explained that the trust included voting rights in Carter Medical Holdings.
Hospitals.
Clinics.
Private care facilities.
Linda had spent decades fighting relatives for influence.
A Carter grandson would strengthen her claim.
Noah wasn’t just a baby to her.
He was leverage.
My son began crying.
I lifted him.
His tiny fingers wrapped around mine.
I felt pure rage.
Detective Morales’s phone rang.
She listened.
Then looked at us.
“We found Samuel.”
Daniel stood.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Three miles from here.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He checked into this hospital yesterday.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
The detective hesitated.
“He’s listed as a patient in the psychiatric wing.”
Rebecca went pale.
“Mom always said Samuel was dangerous.”
Detective Morales shook her head.
“His chart suggests he has been under legal guardianship for eighteen years.”
“Whose guardianship?”
We all knew before she answered.
Linda’s.
Daniel whispered, “She controlled him.”
The detective nodded.
“And according to his medical records, frozen reproductive samples were collected from him repeatedly.”
I nearly dropped the blanket around Noah.
“Without permission?”
“We’re investigating.”
Daniel looked toward his newborn son.
Then toward the hallway.
“Take me to him.”
The detective stopped him.
“There’s one more thing.”
She showed us Samuel’s admission photograph.
I stared.
He looked almost exactly like Daniel.
Then Emily leaned closer.
Her face changed.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I know him.”
Every adult froze.
“From where?”
May you like
Emily pointed toward the photograph.
“He’s the man Grandma takes me to visit.”
