PART 4 — THE MAN REID WAS TERRIFIED OF
The words remained on the screen.
ASK REID WHO THE REAL FATHER IS.
Nobody moved.
Not the nurses.
Not Dr. Carter.
Not Camille.
Not even the security guard.
Everyone was staring at Reid.
But I wasn't.
I was staring at the name beneath the message.
There was a username attached to it.
A string of letters and numbers.
And I recognized the first three letters immediately.
M.V.
Marcus Vale.
I slowly turned toward Reid.
“Who is Lily's father?”
Reid's face hardened.
“I already told you. I don't know.”
“Then why is Marcus Vale sending us messages about her?”
“I don't know.”
“Why was my medical file altered?”
Silence.
“Why did you authorize my daughter's discharge?”
Nothing.
“And why,” I whispered, “does someone believe you know who her father is?”
Reid's eyes flickered.
That tiny movement was enough.
I stepped closer.
“You know.”
“No.”
“You know.”
“Amelia—”
“Say his name.”
His jaw clenched.
“Stop.”
I stared at him.
“Say. His. Name.”
He suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Not here.”
I immediately pulled away.
Dr. Carter stepped between us.
“Don't touch her again.”
Reid glared at her.
But before he could respond, Camille spoke.
Her voice was shaking.
“Reid.”
He turned.
She was holding Ethan.
“Is Ethan really your son?”
Reid looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Then why did the doctor say his blood type doesn't match yours?”
Reid didn't answer.
Camille's eyes filled with tears.
“You lied to me too.”
“Camille—”
“You said everything you did was because you wanted a family.”
Her voice cracked.
“You said Amelia couldn't give you one.”
I looked at her.
She looked back at me.
And for the first time, there was no competition between us.
Only two women realizing they had been manipulated by the same man.
Camille slowly lowered her eyes toward Ethan.
“Then who is his father?”
Reid's face became cold.
“That's enough.”
Camille shook her head.
“No.”
She stepped backward.
“It's not enough.”
Then she looked at me.
“I want to know too.”
Reid's expression changed.
“You're making a mistake.”
Camille laughed bitterly.
“Apparently, I've been making mistakes for a year.”
She removed the pearl earrings completely and placed them on a nearby chair.
Then she looked at me.
“I should have told you the truth.”
I stared at her.
“What truth?”
Camille swallowed.
“The first time Reid came to see me after your divorce…”
She paused.
“He wasn't alone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who was with him?”
“Marcus Vale.”
My heart sank.
“What did he want?”
Camille looked at Reid.
“He told me Reid needed me to sign something.”
“What?”
“A parental consent agreement.”
I froze.
“For Ethan?”
She nodded.
“He said the paperwork was necessary because Reid had undergone a private fertility procedure.”
I looked at Reid.
“Procedure?”
He said nothing.
Camille continued.
“I didn't understand it. I asked Reid why we needed a fertility specialist when I was already pregnant.”
My heart stopped.
“You were already pregnant?”
Camille nodded.
“I was about eight weeks.”
I looked at Reid.
“Then how did Marcus Vale become involved?”
Camille's voice dropped.
“Reid told me the pregnancy was complicated.”
She swallowed.
“He said there was a possibility the baby wasn't genetically related to him.”
Silence.
I felt cold all over.
“But you said Ethan was Reid's son.”
“He told me the test proved it.”
“Did you see the test?”
“No.”
I stared at her.
“Did you ever see a DNA report?”
Camille shook her head.
“No.”
A horrible realization settled inside me.
Reid had never proven Ethan was his son.
He had simply told Camille.
And she had believed him.
I turned toward Reid.
“You didn't know who Ethan's father was.”
He looked away.
“Reid.”
Nothing.
I stepped toward him.
“Who is Ethan's father?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Marcus.”
The room went silent.
Camille's eyes widened.
“Marcus?”
Reid nodded once.
I stared at him.
“You mean Marcus Vale?”
Reid closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Camille's face collapsed.
“You slept with my doctor?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
Reid looked at her.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain it!”
His voice suddenly exploded.
“Because none of this was supposed to happen!”
Ethan began screaming.
Camille immediately held him tighter.
I stared at Reid.
“What wasn't supposed to happen?”
He looked at me.
And I saw it.
Regret.
Not remorse.
Regret.
The kind a person feels when a plan has gone wrong.
“What did you do to me?”
Reid didn't answer.
Dr. Carter stepped forward.
“Amelia, we need to get you away from him.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I couldn't leave.
Not now.
Not when I was finally standing at the center of the truth.
I pointed at Reid.
“You told me I couldn't have children.”
He stared at me.
“You altered my medical records.”
His eyes remained fixed on the floor.
“You filed for divorce.”
Silence.
“You took my company shares.”
Nothing.
“You convinced everyone I was broken.”
His breathing became heavier.
“And then you had a child with Camille.”
He finally looked at me.
“You want to know why?”
“Yes.”
His voice dropped.
“Because I needed to protect my family.”
I laughed.
“Your family?”
He stepped toward me.
“My grandfather's trust was worth nearly four hundred million dollars.”
I froze.
He continued.
“If I didn't produce a biological heir before my thirty-fifth birthday, control of the company would have gone to my uncle.”
“And?”
“And my uncle would have destroyed everything.”
I stared at him.
“So you destroyed me first.”
He didn't deny it.
“You were the easiest person to sacrifice.”
Those words hurt more than I expected.
Not because I loved him anymore.
But because four years of my life had apparently been reduced to a business decision.
I whispered,
“Was there ever anything real between us?”
Reid's expression changed.
For one second...
I thought he might say yes.
Then he looked away.
And that was my answer.
Camille started crying.
“You used both of us.”
Reid snapped,
“I gave you a life!”
“No.”
Camille shook her head.
“You gave me a lie.”
She looked at Ethan.
“And you made me believe this child was ours.”
Reid suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Enough.”
Camille screamed.
“Let go of me!”
I moved toward them.
But before I could reach them, the security guard stepped between us.
“Sir, you need to leave.”
Reid released Camille.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at it.
His expression immediately changed.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Nobody could hear the voice on the other end.
But we could hear Reid's response.
“Don't touch her.”
My heart stopped.
He continued.
“I'll bring the money.”
I stared at him.
“Who is that?”
Reid looked at me.
His face had gone completely white.
The voice on the phone spoke again.
Reid whispered,
“Where is she?”
I stepped closer.
“Reid.”
He ignored me.
“Put Lily on the phone.”
My entire body froze.
He had said her name.
Lily.
The caller had Lily.
I grabbed his phone.
“Give it to me.”
Reid pulled away.
“Amelia, no.”
“Give me the phone!”
I reached for it.
The call suddenly ended.
I stared at him.
“Who was that?”
He didn't answer.
“WHO WAS THAT?”
He looked toward the hospital exit.
Then he ran.
I followed.
“REID!”
Security guards chased after him.
Camille stayed behind with Ethan.
Dr. Carter grabbed my arm.
“Amelia, wait!”
“No!”
“My daughter is out there!”
We reached the main lobby.
The automatic doors opened.
Reid disappeared into the parking garage.
I ran after him.
My heels slipped against the polished floor.
“REID!”
He stopped beside a black SUV.
I reached him.
He turned.
And I saw something in his hand.
A photograph.
A photograph of a little girl.
My heart stopped.
I grabbed it.
It was Lily.
She was perhaps eleven months old.
Tiny.
Pale.
But alive.
She was wearing a pink sweater.
And around her neck was a silver necklace.
I recognized it immediately.
My necklace.
The one Reid had told me was lost during our divorce.
I looked at him.
“Where did you get this?”
He said nothing.
I flipped the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
Six words.
SHE KNOWS WHO LILY'S FATHER IS.
I stared at the sentence.
“Who is she?”
Reid's eyes moved toward the parking garage entrance.
Then he whispered:
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother is dead.”
“I know.”
My blood ran cold.
“What did you just say?”
Reid swallowed.
“Your mother died twelve years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then explain this.”
He pulled out another photograph.
It showed my mother standing beside a man.
A man I had never seen before.
Except...
I knew his face.
I had seen it thousands of times.
In old family photographs.
On a framed portrait in my childhood home.
I stared at the man.
My hands began shaking.
It was my father.
The father everyone had told me had died before I was born.
Except he wasn't dead.
He was standing beside my mother.
And in his arms was a baby.
A baby who looked exactly like me.
I looked at Reid.
“What is this?”
His voice dropped.
“Your father never died.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“He disappeared.”
“Why?”
Reid stared at me.
“Because your family was hiding something.”
“What?”
He hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your father wasn't the only person who disappeared.”
I looked at the photograph again.
There was a second figure in the background.
A man standing beside my father.
I couldn't see his face.
But around his neck hung a distinctive silver cross.
I knew that cross.
I had seen it before.
On Marcus Vale.
My heart stopped.
I looked at Reid.
“Marcus knew my father?”
Reid nodded.
“And he knew my mother.”
I stepped backward.
“What does any of this have to do with Lily?”
Reid's eyes filled with something close to fear.
“Everything.”
Then a black sedan suddenly screeched to a stop at the entrance.
The passenger door opened.
A woman stepped out.
I recognized her instantly.
My breath disappeared.
It was Dr. Evelyn Carter.
But she wasn't alone.
A little girl was sitting in the back seat.
Pink sweater.
Silver necklace.
Dark curls.
She pressed her tiny hand against the window.
My heart shattered.
“Lily…”
The girl looked directly at me.
And then something happened that I will never forget.
She lifted her hand...
and touched the glass.
I ran toward the car.
But Evelyn raised one hand.
“Don't.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
Evelyn's face was full of tears.
“Because she isn't the only child Reid has been hiding.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Evelyn looked toward the hospital.
Then toward Reid.
And finally at me.
“Amelia…”
Her voice broke.
“Your daughter has a twin.”
I couldn't breathe.
Reid closed his eyes.
And somewhere behind us, Camille screamed.
Because she had just heard everything.
And she was holding Ethan.
The boy Reid had claimed was his son.
The boy who suddenly might be the second child Reid had stolen from me.
