Chapter 10 - The Second Lie

The body inside Marcus Vale’s vehicle was not Marcus.

Dental records identified the victim as one of his clinic employees.

Marcus had used the man’s death to stage his own disappearance.

Police recovered traces of blood inside the trunk and evidence that the explosion had been triggered remotely.

The missing notebook page was authentic.

Someone had removed it before Helena surrendered the book.

Helena denied knowing who had taken it.

Sabrina denied any connection to the explosion.

Daniel remained unconscious after the poisoning attempt.

Marcus vanished.

The court-ordered paternity test proceeded under federal supervision.

Sabrina’s attorneys resisted every stage.

They claimed repeated testing endangered the pregnancy.

The judge allowed a noninvasive blood draw monitored by three independent observers.

Results would take several days.

While waiting, Evan studied the first report.

His genetic sample had been collected at Mercer Executive Health.

The chain-of-custody form bore Marcus’s signature.

Evan remembered the appointment.

He had undergone routine bloodwork six months earlier.

Daniel arranged it.

Marcus briefly entered the room.

At the time, Evan thought nothing of it.

“They stored my sample,” he said.

Naomi nodded.

“Marcus could have used it whenever Sabrina needed a positive comparison.”

“But the fetal sample must still belong to her baby.”

“Not necessarily.”

The report contained an identification number.

Naomi’s investigator traced it to another patient at St. Matthew’s Genetics Center.

A pregnant woman named Rebecca Shaw.

Martin’s daughter-in-law.

The fetal sample did not belong to Sabrina.

They had compared Evan’s real DNA with the fetus of an unrelated patient.

“Why would that produce a match?” Leah asked.

“It should not,” Naomi said.

“Unless the report itself was altered.”

The supervised test returned the following morning.

Evan was excluded as the father.

Daniel Cross had a 99.99 percent probability of paternity.

Sabrina’s claim collapsed.

But the medical analysis revealed something else.

The fetus carried the rare Mercer blood disorder because Daniel was Helena’s son.

Sabrina had planned to present Daniel’s biological child as Evan’s heir.

The deception might have survived for years because the genetic disorder appeared to support Mercer ancestry.

Daniel regained consciousness that afternoon.

Ruiz allowed Evan to attend a recorded interview.

Daniel looked weak beneath the hospital lights.

His shoulder remained bandaged.

The attempted poisoning had damaged his lungs.

“Did Sabrina send Marcus?” Evan asked.

Daniel gave a faint laugh.

“Who else?”

“Why did he try to kill you?”

“Because I knew the baby was mine.”

“That was already obvious.”

“Not everything was.”

Evan sat closer.

“Explain the paternity plan.”

“Sabrina wanted to be pregnant before the wedding.

You were pulling away from her.

She believed a child would force you to continue.”

“I had not been intimate with her for nearly four months.”

Daniel looked toward the ceiling.

“She arranged one final night.”

Evan remembered a charity dinner.

Sabrina appeared at his apartment afterward.

She poured whiskey.

His memory ended before midnight.

“What did she give me?”

“A sedative.”

Rage moved through Evan.

“Did she assault me?”

Daniel did not answer directly.

“She collected your glass, toothbrush and clothing.

Marcus stored samples.”

“Did she believe she became pregnant that night?”

“She intended everyone else to believe it.”

“And Ellie?”

“She was never supposed to be recognized.”

“Because of the trust.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to my father?”

Daniel’s monitor accelerated.

“I changed medical orders.”

“On whose instruction?”

“Sabrina and Marcus.”

“Did my mother approve?”

“She approved sedation.

She did not know the dosage.”

“Did you know it could kill him?”

“I believed it would make him confused.”

“What about the brakes?”

Daniel looked away.

“Sabrina handled Martin.”

“You canceled the repair.”

“She told me the report was false.”

“Why did Dad drive across that bridge?”

Daniel’s expression changed.

Evan noticed.

“What did you do?”

“I want protection.”

“You kidnapped my daughter.”

“I panicked.”

“You held a gun against her.”

“I never intended to fire.”

“Tell that to the bullet hole in the boat.”

Daniel’s breathing became shallow.

“I can give the district attorney the financial passwords.”

“You will give them everything.”

“I want immunity.”

“You will not receive it from me.”

Daniel looked desperate.

“Sabrina kept files that make Leah appear guilty.”

“They are forged.”

“Some.”

The answer stopped Evan.

“What do you mean?”

“Leah contacted Thomas after taking Helena’s money.

She asked for another payment.”

“That is a lie.”

“Ask her.”

Evan returned to the estate after midnight.

Leah sat alone in the kitchen.

He placed the interview transcript on the table.

“Did you ask my father for money?”

She became still.

“Yes.”

The answer felt like another fracture opening.

“Why?”

“Ellie needed heart surgery.”

Evan stared toward the staircase.

“She had a heart condition?”

“A ventricular defect.

Doctors believed it might close naturally.

It did not.”

“Why didn’t you use Helena’s payment?”

“The agreement allowed her attorneys to monitor the account.

Any withdrawal would reveal where we were receiving medical care.”

“How much did Dad give you?”

“One hundred eighty thousand dollars.”

“Did you repay it?”

“No.

He died before I could.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Leah’s eyes filled.

“Because every time I tell you one terrible thing, I watch you lose another piece of your family.”

“My family already did these things.”

“You still have to survive learning them.”

Evan sat across from her.

“There cannot be more secrets.”

“There is one.”

His chest tightened.

“What?”

“After Ellie’s surgery, my phone was stolen.”

“Daniel used it to send messages.”

“I know that now.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because Thomas called me on the hospital landline the night he died.”

Evan leaned forward.

“What did he say?”

“He said he had proof Sabrina falsified the test.

He was driving to meet a prosecutor.”

“That matches his recording.”

“He also said someone inside Mercer Global had opened an account in my name.”

“What account?”

“I never found out.”

Naomi entered through the kitchen door.

She carried bank records obtained under subpoena.

“A transfer was made from Thomas’s private account to an account opened using Leah’s identification,” she said.

“How much?”

“Three million dollars.”

Leah stared at her.

“I never received that.”

“The account remained untouched for four years.”

“Then where is the money?”

Naomi placed another page on the table.

“It was withdrawn yesterday.”

“By whom?”

“According to the authorization, Leah.”

“That is impossible.”

“A camera recorded a woman matching her description entering the bank.”

Naomi showed them the image.

A woman wearing sunglasses and a sling walked through the lobby.

She copied Leah’s current injury to make the identification more convincing.

Police vehicles appeared outside.

Leah looked toward Evan.

“They are coming for me.”

He reached for her hand.

“You are not facing them alone.”

An officer entered with an arrest warrant.

Before Leah was taken away, Ellie appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Mommy?”

Leah forced a smile.

“I will come home.”

The officer led her outside.

Evan watched the vehicle disappear.

Then his phone received a video from an unknown number.

The woman who had impersonated Leah removed her sunglasses inside the bank elevator.

It was Claire Cross.

Someone off camera handed her an envelope.

Claire asked, “Where is Marcus?”

A woman answered.

“He is preparing the second death.”

The voice belonged to Sabrina.

The camera turned.

Sabrina stood inside the elevator, no longer in custody and no longer wearing the medical monitoring bracelet ordered by the court.

She looked directly into the lens.

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“First Thomas,” she said.

“Now Evan.”