Chapter 5 - The Name on My Birth Certificate
The entire diner went silent as Adrian Vale placed a folded document on the counter.
"My mother didn't lie to me," I said.
Adrian smiled.
"Didn't she?"
Dominic stepped forward.
"Whatever you're planning, Adrian, stop."
"I'm only giving the girl information she deserves."
He slid the paper toward me.
It was a copy of a birth certificate.
My name appeared at the top.
LILY ELEANOR CARTER.
Mother: Eleanor Marie Carter.
Father: Anthony Michael Carter.
I stared at it.
"That's my father's name."
Adrian nodded.
"Anthony Carter. A mechanic, correct?"
"Yes."
"He died when you were five?"
I swallowed.
"Yes."
Adrian leaned closer.
"Except Anthony Carter wasn't your biological father."
My entire body went cold.
Dominic looked furious.
"Enough."
Adrian ignored him.
"Your mother was involved with someone powerful before you were born."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Someone who paid to keep your existence quiet."
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
He produced another photograph.
It showed my mother holding hands with a young man outside a hospital.
The man's face was partially obscured.
But I recognized the dark hair.
The sharp jaw.
The unmistakable gray eyes.
My heart began pounding.
I looked from the photograph to Dominic.
Then back again.
"No."
Dominic stared at Adrian.
"What are you implying?"
Adrian smiled.
"That Eleanor's daughter belongs to the Vale bloodline."
For one terrible moment, I couldn't breathe.
Dominic looked as shocked as I felt.
Then he shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because Eleanor was like a mother to me."
"That doesn't mean she wasn't involved with someone else."
I stared at Dominic.
The possibility was horrifying.
Not because I feared being related to him.
But because the last twenty-four hours had awakened feelings I didn't know how to explain.
He had looked at me with such tenderness.
Such gratitude.
Such quiet fascination.
And now Adrian was suggesting something that could change everything.
Dominic turned toward me.
"Lily, don't believe him without proof."
I looked at the photograph.
"Then let's get proof."
Adrian's smile faltered.
I lifted my chin.
"A DNA test."
Dominic nodded immediately.
"Agreed."
For the first time, Adrian looked uncomfortable.
He gathered his papers.
"Be careful what you wish for."
Then he left.
Dominic turned toward Marcus.
"Find out where that photograph came from."
Marcus nodded.
But before he could leave, his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"Boss, we have a problem."
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
Marcus swallowed.
"Someone just accessed Eleanor Carter's sealed hospital records."
"Who?"
Marcus looked at me.
"The person who requested them used Lily's identification."
I stared at him.
"But I've never requested those records."
Marcus nodded grimly.
"That's what makes this worse."
He showed us the security photograph.
A woman stood at the hospital registration desk.
She had my hair.
May you like
My height.
And almost exactly my face.
