Chapter 6: The Night I Was Born
"Tell me what happened.""
My voice was quiet.
But Walter knew I wasn't going to accept another excuse.
He sat down on an old wooden chair inside the archive.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at me.
"The night you were born, your mother nearly died.""
I swallowed.
"Why?""
"There was a complication during delivery. The doctors performed an emergency procedure. Denise lost a great deal of blood.""
"And me?""
"You were healthy.""
"Then what happened?""
Walter rubbed his forehead.
"Simone was at the hospital.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"She had followed me there. She knew Denise was pregnant, but she didn't know how serious the situation was.""
He paused.
"When she arrived, she heard the doctors discussing the possibility that Denise might not survive.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"And?""
"Simone believed that if Denise died, you would become my responsibility.""
"Wasn't I already?""
Walter looked down.
"Yes. But Simone believed you would inherit a part of my estate. She was convinced that your existence would change everything.""
I stared at him.
"So she wanted me gone?""
"She wanted the problem removed.""
"What does that mean?""
Walter's hands began trembling.
"She arranged for a nurse to give her access to the maternity ward. She then attempted to have your hospital identification changed.""
I stepped closer.
"Attempted?""
"Yes.""
"What happened?""
"Denise woke up.""
Walter's voice broke.
"She saw Simone standing beside your cot.""
I looked at the photograph.
My mother.
The hospital bed.
Simone in the red dress.
"What did my mother do?""
"She tried to stop her. There was an argument. Security was called.""
"Did Simone hurt her?""
Walter closed his eyes.
"She threatened her.""
My stomach turned.
"With what?""
"She told Denise that if she ever tried to claim you, she would make sure nobody believed her.""
I shook my head.
"How could she do that?""
"Simone had access to the hospital's administrative records. She had already discovered the altered financial accounts Denise had been investigating.""
"So she blackmailed her.""
Walter nodded.
"She told Denise that she would be portrayed as an unstable woman who had attempted to steal a child.""
I stepped away.
"And you?""
"I arrived after the argument.""
"You were there?""
"Yes.""
"What did you do?""
He stared at the floor.
"I told Simone to leave.""
I laughed bitterly.
"That's it?""
"I thought I had solved it.""
"You thought telling your daughter to leave was enough?""
Walter didn't answer.
I looked at him.
"Where was my mother taken?""
"She was transferred to another hospital for recovery.""
"And I?""
"I arranged for Margaret to collect you.""
I closed my eyes.
"Without telling Denise?""
He nodded.
My chest hurt.
"Did you tell her I was dead?""
"No.""
"Then who did?""
Walter looked toward the door.
"Simone.""
I turned away.
For twenty-five years, I had imagined my mother dying during childbirth.
I had imagined a hospital room where nobody could save her.
I had imagined a grave I had never visited.
But the truth was worse.
She had survived.
She had wanted me.
And the people who were supposed to protect us had taken me away.
Darius entered the archive.
"Mr. Bellmont, the police have located the original transport company.""
Walter stood.
"Where?""
"Their registered office is downtown. But the company claims it hasn't operated for nearly a year.""
"Who owns it?""
Darius checked his phone.
"An offshore holding company.""
Walter frowned.
"Can you identify the director?""
"Yes.""
Darius handed him the screen.
Walter stared at the name.
Then he looked at me.
"Simone.""
I shook my head.
"She owns the company that moved my mother?""
"Apparently.""
Darius continued.
"There's another record. The transfer order wasn't issued by the medical residence. It came from an external account.""
"Can you trace it?""
"I'm trying.""
Walter picked up his phone.
"I'm calling the police commissioner.""
Darius raised a hand.
"Sir, I'd recommend we wait until we have a confirmed location. If Simone knows we're investigating, she may move Denise again.""
Walter stopped.
He looked at me.
Darius was right.
We couldn't afford to scare her into making another move.
I walked toward the archive's filing cabinets.
"Then we find something she doesn't know we have.""
I began opening drawers.
Most contained routine paperwork.
Old hotel contracts.
Maintenance schedules.
Employee records.
Then I found a narrow folder tucked behind a row of financial documents.
It had no label.
Inside were handwritten notes from my mother.
The first page contained a list of names.
Hospital administrators.
Security personnel.
Two doctors.
And one name I recognized.
Margaret Cole.
My aunt.
I stared at it.
There was a note beside her name.
Margaret knows the truth about the father. She agreed to protect Avery.
I read it again.
Then I looked at Walter.
"Did my aunt know you were my father?""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
I felt my heart sink.
"She raised me knowing that?""
"She promised Denise she would keep you safe.""
I shook my head.
"She let me grow up believing my mother was dead.""
Walter lowered his eyes.
"I know.""
I picked up the next page.
The handwriting became increasingly shaky.
If anything happens to me, Avery must know the truth about the hospital records.
Below it was a sentence underlined three times.
The original birth certificate is not the only document that proves who her father is.
I looked at Walter.
"What does that mean?""
He appeared confused.
"I don't know.""
I turned the page.
A small envelope was attached to the back.
Inside was a photocopy of a hospital laboratory report.
I read the heading.
*PATERNITY TEST — CONFIDENTIAL.*
The date was twenty-five years earlier.
The names were clear.
Denise Cole.
Walter Bellmont.
And a third name.
I frowned.
"Why is there another man listed?""
Walter took the page.
His eyes moved down the report.
Then his face went completely blank.
"That's impossible.""
"What?""
He read the result again.
I grabbed the document.
At the bottom, the result was printed in bold.
*PATERNITY EXCLUSION: WALTER J. BELLMONT.*
I stared at him.
"But you said you were my father.""
Walter shook his head slowly.
"That test was falsified.""
"How do you know?""
"Because Denise told me you were mine.""
I looked at the date.
"Did you ever take another test?""
"No.""
"Then how can you be certain?""
He had no answer.
I looked at the third name.
It belonged to a man I had never heard of.
*EDWARD HAYES.*
"Who is Edward Hayes?""
Walter's expression changed.
For the first time, I saw something other than guilt in his eyes.
Fear.
"Edward was my business partner.""
"Was?""
"He died twenty-four years ago.""
I looked at the report again.
"Could he be my father?""
Walter didn't speak.
Then he said:
"Edward was married to Simone's mother before she died. He was the man who helped me build this hotel.""
I stared at the paper.
"Why would my mother have his name on a paternity test?""
Walter sat down heavily.
"I don't know.""
Darius approached.
"Sir, there's something else.""
He held out his phone.
A new message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
My mother was sitting in a room with pale green walls.
She looked older than the woman in the photographs, but her eyes were unmistakable.
She was holding a piece of paper.
On it, written in thick black marker, were four words.
*AVERY, ASK ABOUT EDWARD.*
Beneath the photograph was a message.
If you want your mother alive, stop investigating.
I stared at the screen.
My phone began ringing.
Aunt Margaret.
I answered immediately.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Her breathing was ragged.
"Avery, sweetheart...""
"Did you know Walter wasn't my father?""
Silence.
Then she whispered:
"Yes.""
I closed my eyes.
"Who is Edward Hayes?""
My aunt began sobbing.
"Oh, God.""
"Tell me!""
She took a shaky breath.
Then she said something I never expected.
"Edward Hayes wasn't just your mother's friend.""
I gripped the phone.
"What was he?""
"He was the man Denise loved before she ever met Walter.""
I looked at Walter.
Margaret continued.
"And he was the person who disappeared the night you were born.""
I felt cold.
"Why?""
My aunt's voice dropped.
"Because someone told him the baby had died.""
I stared at the photograph on Darius's phone.
My mother was holding the message as though she knew I would eventually find it.
Then Margaret whispered the final words.
"There's something else, Avery. Edward didn't die twenty-four years ago.""
My breath caught.
"What?""
"He's alive.""
I looked at Walter.
He had heard every word.
And the expression on his face told me he knew exactly where Edward Hayes had been hiding.
My aunt continued:
"He's the man who has been paying for your mother's care all these years.""
I stared at the photograph.
A new message appeared beneath it.
Your mother wants to tell you who your real father is.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
But Simone has already found him.
