Chapter 7: The Son Who Was Used
I didn't remember signing anything.
That was the first thought that entered my mind.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Confusion.
Because Marcus wasn't accusing me.
He sounded terrified.
"I need you to understand," he said through the phone.
"I don't believe you did this.""
I looked at the document on my computer screen.
My signature.
My handwriting.
My name.
A legal authorization transferring access to company archives.
The date was five years earlier.
I was twenty-eight.
I remembered that year.
I remembered working constantly.
I remembered Isabella and I had just started dating.
I remembered trusting everyone.
"Marcus.""
"Yes?""
"Who found this?""
"Your father kept it hidden.""
I closed my eyes.
"My father?""
"He created a backup system. He knew someone might manipulate records.""
I stared at the signature.
"But why would my signature be on it?""
Marcus hesitated.
"Because someone used you.""
The sentence stayed in my head.
Someone used you.
I ended the call.
When I returned home, everyone was waiting.
My mother.
Daniel.
Isabella.
And somehow, seeing Isabella there made me angrier.
Because she wasn't the only person who had lied.
She was just the person I caught first.
I placed the document on the table.
"Explain.""
My mother looked at it.
Then looked at me.
"I don't know.""
"Mom.""
"I swear.""
Her voice broke.
"I have never seen this before.""
Daniel picked it up.
"This is impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because this authorization gives access to information that didn't exist anymore.""
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?""
"It means whoever created this wasn't trying to steal information.""
He looked serious.
"They were trying to create a record.""
"A record of what?""
Daniel looked at me.
"That you were responsible.""
The room went silent.
Someone wasn't just destroying my family.
They were preparing to blame me.
A knock came at the door.
Everyone froze.
Nobody expected anyone.
I checked the security camera.
A woman stood outside.
An old employee from Carter Industries.
Her name was Margaret Hill.
My father trusted her.
I let her in.
She looked at me sadly.
"You have his eyes.""
I didn't know how to respond.
"How do you know my father?""
She smiled sadly.
"I worked for him for thirty years.""
She placed a small box on the table.
"Your father gave this to me before he died.""
My mother covered her mouth.
"You knew?""
Margaret nodded.
"He told me not to open it unless Nathaniel was in danger.""
I opened the box.
Inside was a recording device.
An old one.
My hands trembled as I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the room.
"If you're hearing this, something happened.""
I froze.
Hearing him again after all these years felt impossible.
"I don't know who I can trust anymore.""
A pause.
Then:
"Evelyn is innocent.""
My mother began crying.
"Someone inside our family is working against us.""
I looked at everyone.
My father continued.
"The person closest to Nathaniel will be the hardest truth to accept.""
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Isabella whispered:
"He knew.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"He knew someone would come for you.""
I stared at her.
"Did you?""
Her eyes filled with guilt.
"I suspected.""
The anger returned.
"You suspected?""
She looked down.
"I didn't know the whole truth.""
"But you knew enough to manipulate me.""
She didn't argue.
Margaret quietly spoke.
"There is one more thing.""
I turned.
"What?""
She looked at Isabella.
"Your father knew about her.""
Isabella went completely still.
"What?""
Margaret opened the box again.
She removed a photograph.
It showed my father meeting Isabella when she was a child.
My blood turned cold.
"Why did my father know her?""
Nobody answered.
Then my mother whispered:
"Nathaniel...""
I looked at her.
"What?""
She looked terrified.
"Your father didn't discover Victoria's betrayal twenty-five years ago.""
A pause.
"He discovered it before you were born.""
The room spun.
"What are you saying?""
My mother reached for my hand.
"Your father knew Isabella's family for decades.""
Daniel looked confused.
"But that's impossible.""
My mother shook her head.
"No.""
She looked at the photograph.
"Because Isabella's father wasn't just an employee.""
I stared at her.
"What was he?""
My mother's voice barely came out.
"He was your father's brother.""
The silence was unbearable.
Isabella stepped backward.
"No.""
Daniel looked shocked.
"That can't be true.""
But my mother was crying.
And I knew she wasn't lying.
The woman I planned to marry wasn't just connected to my family's past.
She was part of it.
My phone suddenly buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
May you like
One sentence.
*Ask Evelyn who your real father was.*
