Chapter 9 - MY FATHER KNEW THERE MIGHT BE A BABY
My father died five years ago.
For three years after Nicholas’s crash, he never once mentioned Rose.
Now I knew why.
Or thought I did.
Rose had met him only once.
Nicholas arranged it quietly.
A private lunch.
My father, Charles Vance, did not approve.
Not because Rose was Hispanic.
Not because she lacked money.
Because Nicholas had a history of making enormous decisions quickly.
Dad thought he was panicking after learning about the pregnancy.
“He asked me if I expected Nicholas to marry me because I was pregnant.”
“What did you say?”
“That I expected Nicholas to decide whether he wanted to marry me because he loved me.”
I smiled.
“That sounds like you.”
Rose continued.
By the end of lunch, my father softened.
Not fully.
But enough.
He told Nicholas:
If the child is yours, the child is Vance family whether you marry Rose or not.
Then Nicholas died.
Afterward, Rose tried to contact Dad.
Victor intercepted her.
He told Rose my father was grieving and unstable.
Then told my father something else.
Rose had lost the baby.
I stared.
“He told Dad you miscarried?”
“Yes.”
Victor admitted it during the investigation.
One lie.
Five years of consequences.
My father died believing Nicholas’s child had never been born.
That hurt in a way I could not explain.
Then our estate attorney found an old letter.
Dad had written it after Nicholas’s death.
Never sent.
Rose,
Victor told me about the pregnancy loss.
I am sorry for my behavior at lunch.
Nicholas loved you. Grief has made me honest enough to admit I saw that and still tried to control him.
If there is ever anything you need, contact me directly.
Dad had included his private number.
Rose never received the letter.
Victor’s office had intercepted it along with other estate correspondence.
Rose cried when I gave her the original.
“He believed me?”
“At the end, yes.”
She folded the letter carefully.
Then Matthew entered carrying a hospital balloon shaped like a shark.
He had chosen it because Rose hated sharks.
Seven-year-old logic.
I watched him climb onto the bed.
He looked at the sapphire ring.
“What’s that?”
“Your dad gave it to me.”
Matthew stared.
“Was he going to marry you?”
Rose smiled.
“I think he was.”
“Would I have had his last name?”
The room went quiet.
Rose looked at me.
I answered:
“You can have any name your mom thinks is right.”
Matthew thought.
“I like Mendoza.”
Rose started crying again.
“Okay,” she whispered.
That moment taught me something Victor never understood.
Belonging does not require ownership.
Matthew did not need Vance in his surname to be my brother’s son.
Then Michael called.
Victor’s financial review had uncovered another secret.
For six years, someone had been withdrawing money from a dormant account originally created by Nicholas.
Total:
$6.4 million.
Victor denied touching it.
Camila denied touching it.
Recipient name:
N.M. FAMILY SUPPORT.
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The account looked as though Nicholas had somehow been quietly supporting Matthew from beyond the grave.
But Rose had never received a dollar.
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