Chapter 8 - WHAT NATHAN KNEW
I didn't sleep that night.
At sunrise, Nathan called.
I answered.
"Where are you?"
"At home."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"I need to see you."
I almost laughed.
"Why?"
"Because I owe you the truth."
I agreed to meet him.
Not because I trusted him.
Because I wanted to hear him lie.
We met in a quiet hotel lounge.
Nathan looked exhausted.
No tuxedo.
No perfect smile.
No carefully styled hair.
Just a man who suddenly looked much older than he had twenty-four hours earlier.
He sat across from me.
"I know about Daniel."
My heart stopped.
"Then you know everything."
He looked down.
"I know enough."
"How long?"
"Three years."
I felt anger rise.
"You knew I was Daniel Cole's daughter."
"Yes."
"You knew about the trust."
"Yes."
"You knew your mother was trying to control it."
He closed his eyes.
"Yes."
I wanted to slap him.
Instead, I asked:
"Why did you marry me?"
Nathan looked at me.
"At first, because I loved you."
"And later?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of your mother?"
"Of what she'd do."
I stared at him.
"You cheated on me."
"I know."
"You stole from me."
"I know."
"You helped Iris frame me."
He swallowed.
"Yes."
My voice broke.
"Then why should I believe anything you say?"
"You shouldn't."
That answer surprised me.
Nathan leaned forward.
"My mother threatened you."
"She threatened me?"
"She threatened everyone."
He told me that Evelyn had been controlling the family for decades.
She controlled the trust.
She controlled the company.
She controlled the people who worked for her.
And she controlled Nathan through his medical records.
"She told me that if I didn't cooperate, she'd have me declared incompetent."
I frowned.
"Because of your diagnosis."
He nodded.
"She could have taken control of everything."
"So you sacrificed me."
He looked at me.
"I thought I could protect you."
"You didn't."
"I know."
I stood.
"Then why tell me now?"
He looked toward the window.
"Because Iris is dead."
I froze.
"What?"
"She was found this morning."
My blood ran cold.
"How?"
"Overdose."
"No."
Nathan shook his head.
"She didn't use drugs."
I sat back down.
"What happened?"
"Someone staged it."
Diana had warned me.
Someone was removing witnesses.
Nathan reached into his coat.
He placed a small envelope on the table.
"Iris gave me this last night."
Inside was a photograph.
Iris stood beside Evelyn.
Behind them was a hospital room.
A baby slept in a bassinet.
On the back was written:
THE CHILD THEY TOLD YOU DIED.
I stared at the photograph.
"What child?"
Nathan looked at me.
"Your child."
My entire body went numb.
"What?"
"Before we married."
I shook my head.
"I never had a child."
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
"You did."
"No."
"You gave birth."
"When?"
"Nine years ago."
My mind raced.
Nine years ago.
I had been hospitalized for a week.
I had been told I suffered a miscarriage.
Nathan had held my hand.
He had cried.
He had told me the baby was gone.
But what if it wasn't?
I looked at the photograph again.
The baby had a small birthmark near the left ear.
I had seen that mark.
In a photograph.
One photograph Nathan had once hidden from me.
I whispered:
"Where is my child?"
Nathan looked terrified.
"I don't know."
"Who does?"
"Evelyn."
My phone rang.
Diana.
I answered.
Her voice was urgent.
"Sofia, don't trust Nathan."
"Why?"
"Because we just found the hospital records."
My heart raced.
"What do they say?"
"There was no miscarriage."
Silence.
"You gave birth to a healthy baby."
I couldn't breathe.
"Where is the baby?"
Diana hesitated.
"That's the problem."
"Tell me."
"The child was discharged from the hospital under a different mother's name."
I stared at Nathan.
He looked away.
I whispered:
"Who?"
May you like
Diana said:
"Iris Walsh."
