Chapter 3 - THE NIGHT LILY WAS BORN
Nathan stared at Grace.
“He knew where you were?”
Grace nodded.
“All five years.”
Nathan sat down slowly.
“Tell me everything.”
Grace glanced toward Lily, who was asleep on the couch beneath a blanket.
Then she began.
Lily had been born during a thunderstorm in a small hospital three states away.
Grace had used her mother’s maiden name.
She had told no one.
Still, Charles found her.
He entered her hospital room less than six hours after Lily was born.
He didn’t congratulate her.
He looked at the baby once and said, “She has Nathan’s eyes.”
Grace had reached for the call button.
Charles stopped her.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
Grace had laughed.
“You already did.”
Charles placed a folder beside her bed.
Inside was a custody agreement.
Grace would retain Lily.
Nathan would never know.
In exchange, Charles would provide enough money for Grace to disappear permanently.
Grace refused every dollar.
Charles stared at the sleeping newborn.
Then something unexpected happened.
He cried.
Only for a few seconds.
Grace had never understood why.
Before leaving, Charles said one sentence.
“If they find out she exists, they will come for her.”
Grace asked who “they” were.
Charles refused to answer.
He left behind a phone number.
Grace never called it.
Nathan listened without speaking.
When Grace finished, his face was hard.
“You thought my father was protecting her?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Then why come back?”
“My mother got sick.”
Grace looked away.
“I needed work close to her.”
“And you chose my house?”
“I didn’t know it was yours.”
Nathan frowned.
“The agency didn’t list the client’s name.”
Grace smiled sadly.
“When I saw you that first morning, I almost walked out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Grace looked at Lily.
“Because I was tired of running.”
Nathan’s eyes softened.
Then his phone rang.
His attorney.
Nathan answered.
“Richard?”
The voice on the other end sounded tense.
“Nathan, where are you?”
“Home.”
“Do not speak to police without me.”
Nathan stood.
“What police?”
The doorbell rang.
Then another knock.
Harder.
“Mr. Cole?”
A man’s voice called from outside.
“Police.”
Grace’s face went white.
Nathan looked at her.
Richard spoke rapidly through the phone.
“Victoria filed a report.”
Nathan’s jaw clenched.
“For assault?”
“No.”
Richard hesitated.
“She says Grace abducted Lily.”
Nathan stared at the phone.
“That’s her own child.”
“The report claims otherwise.”
Two officers entered after Nathan opened the door.
One carried documents.
The taller officer looked at Grace.
“Grace Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“We have an emergency order requiring temporary removal of the child pending investigation.”
Grace shot to her feet.
“No.”
Lily woke and began crying.
Nathan stepped between them.
“Nobody is taking her.”
The officer remained calm.
“Mr. Cole, don’t interfere.”
Nathan looked at the paperwork.
There was a birth certificate attached.
Different mother.
Different name.
Nathan stared at Grace.
Grace looked horrified.
“That’s fake.”
The officer continued.
“We also have evidence Ms. Bennett purchased international plane tickets this morning using false identification.”
“I did not.”
Lily ran toward Grace.
“Mommy!”
Grace grabbed her.
Nathan turned to the officers.
“I want a DNA test.”
The officer sighed.
“That’s not my decision.”
Nathan’s attorney burst through the front door ten minutes later.
He studied the documents.
His expression changed.
“Nathan.”
“What?”
Richard lowered his voice.
“These records were sealed.”
“So?”
“So almost nobody could have accessed them.”
Nathan looked toward the officers.
“Who could?”
Richard hesitated.
“Someone with authorization from the Cole family trust.”
Nathan felt cold.
His father was dead.
Only three people still had that level of access.
Nathan.
Richard.
And Helena Ashford.
Then Richard looked at the forged birth certificate again.
“There’s one more problem.”
“What?”
Richard turned the document toward Nathan.
May you like
“The judge who signed this emergency order is your father’s oldest friend.”
And outside the mansion, another black SUV pulled into the driveway.
