Robert didn't deny it.
He simply sat at the table with both hands clasped together.
Ethan looked at him.
“Dad?”
Robert stared at the floor.
“I never stole from your grandfather.”
Marcus said, “Then why is your name in the ledger?”
“Because I helped him.”
“With what?”
“Finding the money.”
I looked at Ethan.
He seemed unable to decide whether to believe his father.
Robert continued.
“Samuel discovered money was being moved through companies Victor controlled. He asked me to trace it.”
“Did you?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I found accounts overseas.”
Marcus interrupted.
“And then the transfers stopped.”
Robert nodded.
“Victor realized someone was watching.”
“So you stopped investigating.”
“No.”
Robert's voice sharpened.
“I kept investigating.”
He looked at me.
“But Samuel didn't want the family destroyed.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor had threatened him.”
The room became quiet.
“Threatened him how?” I asked.
Robert looked at the bassinet.
“Victor knew Samuel had grandchildren.”
Ethan frowned.
“That was decades ago.”
“Exactly.”
Robert rubbed his hands together.
“He knew what pressure to apply.”
I asked, “So Samuel created the trust to protect the property?”
“Yes.”
“And he made the first grandchild the beneficiary?”
“Yes.”
“To keep Victor from controlling it?”
“Yes.”
I looked at our daughter.
That much finally made sense.
But another question remained.
“What happened to the money?”
Robert didn't answer.
Marcus did.
“Dad recovered some of it.”
Robert looked at the phone.
“Marcus.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“That's not an answer.”
Robert's face tightened.
“I recovered several million.”
I stared at him.
“Where did you put it?”
“In the trust.”
Marcus said, “Not all of it.”
Robert closed his eyes.
“No.”
Ethan asked, “Where is the rest?”
Robert looked at him.
“Some disappeared.”
“Because of Victor?”
“Yes.”
Carol suddenly spoke.
“Not all of it.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked exhausted.
“Some went through me.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“I borrowed money.”
Robert's expression hardened.
“You were never supposed to know.”
“I found the accounts.”
Carol's voice shook.
“I found them years ago.”
“Why did you take the money?”
“I didn't.”
Robert stared at her.
“Then explain.”
“I moved money because Victor threatened me.”
The room went silent.
Carol continued.
“He knew I had access to Ethan's family records.”
“And?”
“He told me if I didn't help him, he'd expose everything.”
“What everything?” I asked.
Carol looked at me.
“Your husband.”
I frowned.
“What about Ethan?”
“His birth records.”
Ethan's face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
Carol's hands began to shake.
“I didn't know if it was true.”
“What?”
“That you weren't actually Robert's son.”
Silence.
No one breathed.
Ethan stared at his mother.
“That isn't funny.”
“I know.”
Robert stood.
“Carol.”
She looked at him.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You let me believe—”
“I was scared.”
Ethan stepped backward.
I moved toward him.
He looked at me.
His face was drained of color.
“Is it true?”
Robert couldn't answer.
Carol began crying.
“I don't know.”
Ethan's voice cracked.
“You don't know?”
“Your birth certificate is legitimate.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“I don't know who your biological father is.”
Robert sat back down.
I could see the shock spreading across Ethan's face.
But there was something else.
The trust.
The family.
The property.
The money.
Suddenly, all of it seemed connected to Ethan's identity.
I asked Carol, “Why would Victor care about Ethan's biological father?”
She wiped her face.
“Because Samuel's trust required a Bennett descendant.”
Ethan whispered, “So if I'm not—”
“You are legally a Bennett,” Robert said.
“But biologically?”
Robert looked away.
I felt Ethan's hand find mine.
He gripped it.
I held on.
Marcus spoke from the phone.
“I found something that may answer that.”
Ethan looked toward the phone.
“What?”
“There was a sealed envelope with Granddad's papers.”
“What's inside?”
“A birth record.”
Robert stood.
“Don't open it.”
Marcus went silent.
Ethan stared at his father.
“Why?”
“Because some things can't be undone.”
“I want the truth.”
Robert's face crumpled.
“I was your father.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Robert whispered, “I know.”
Marcus said, “Ethan, the envelope has your name on it.”
I looked at my husband.
He seemed torn between fear and anger.
Then he said, “Open it.”
Marcus did.
Paper rustled.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Marcus said, “There are two names.”
“Whose?”
“One is Robert Bennett.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“And the other?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Daniel Hale.”
Robert's head dropped.
Carol covered her mouth.
Victor Hale.
The man whose company had been connected to the missing money.
The man who had used my identity.
The man who had apparently been threatening Carol.
Ethan opened his eyes.
“My biological father is Victor Hale?”
Marcus said, “The document suggests that.”
Robert stood.
“No.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew there was a possibility.”
“For how long?”
“Since you were born.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“And you never told me.”
“I loved you.”
“That doesn't answer the question.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Victor?”
“Yes.”
“And Granddad?”
“Yes.”
I stepped closer to Ethan.
He looked at me.
“I don't know who I am anymore.”
I squeezed his hand.
“You're still you.”
He nodded, but his eyes were wet.
Then Marcus spoke again.
“There is another page.”
“What does it say?”
“It's from Samuel.”
I waited.
Marcus read silently for a moment.
Then his voice changed.
“He says if Victor ever discovers Ethan is his son, the trust will be attacked.”
Robert whispered, “That's why.”
“Why what?” Ethan asked.
Robert looked at him.
“That's why Victor came back.”
My stomach tightened.
Marcus said, “Dad, there's a date on the letter.”
“What date?”
“Two months ago.”
The same month our daughter was born.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Birth Record Explained Why the Scheme Began When Our Daughter Arrived, but Victor’s Next Move Put Her in Immediate Danger
At Half Past Four, the Front Door Opened, and One Look From My Husband Told Me the Night Was About to Change Everything
Part 10 of 24
