Chapter 10
I stared at the letter.
My hands were shaking.
Daniel and Rebecca.
Not Harold's children.
Richard's.
Evelyn's lover.
Harold had no biological children.
None.
The whole family legacy.
The business.
The fortune.
Everything.
It was all a lie.
I picked up the phone.
I called the lawyer.
I called Harold.
I called the grandfather.
I told them to meet me at the office.
Immediately.
They arrived within the hour.
I handed them Evelyn's letter.
They read it.
Harold went white.
The grandfather looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
The lawyer looked grim.
"Is it possible?" Harold whispered. "Could they really not be mine?"
The lawyer nodded slowly.
"It's possible," he said. "If Evelyn was having an affair with Richard before she got pregnant with Daniel. And if she continued it through both pregnancies. It's possible. And if it's true... it changes everything."
"How?" the grandfather asked. His voice was trembling.
"Legally," the lawyer said. "Harold is still their legal father. He signed their birth certificates. He raised them as his own. They're still entitled to his name. To his support. To a portion of his estate. But... they wouldn't be entitled to the family business. Not the original shares. Not the grandfather's shares. Those are meant for blood relatives. For the grandfather's biological descendants. If Harold has no biological children... then the business would pass to his next of kin. Which would be... you."
The lawyer looked at the grandfather.
"Me?" the old man said.
"Yes," the lawyer said. "And you could leave it to whomever you choose. But if Evelyn can prove that Daniel and Rebecca are not Harold's biological children... she could use that to challenge the will. To challenge the trust. To create chaos. To drag this out for years. To destroy the business. Even from prison."
Harold put his head in his hands.
"I can't believe this," he said. "Thirty years. Thirty years of marriage. And none of it was real. None of the children are mine."
I looked at him.
I felt sorry for him.
In a way.
He'd been living a lie.
Just like everyone else.
But I didn't have time for sympathy.
We had a business to run.
A family to protect.
A war to fight.
"What do we do?" I asked.
The lawyer thought for a moment.
"We need to know the truth," he said. "We need DNA tests. From Harold. From Daniel. From Rebecca. If they are Harold's children... then Evelyn is just trying to cause trouble. We can ignore her. But if they're not... then we need to be prepared. We need to adjust our plans. We need to make sure the business is protected. That the grandfather's estate is protected. That everything is in order."
"Daniel and Rebecca are in prison," I said. "Will they agree to DNA tests?"
"Probably not voluntarily," the lawyer said. "But we can get a court order. Especially with this letter. Especially with everything that's happened. The judge will order it."
"Do it," the grandfather said. "I want to know the truth. Whatever it is. I want to know."
The lawyer nodded.
"I'll file the papers today," he said.
A week later, the judge ordered the DNA tests.
Daniel and Rebecca fought it.
But the judge overruled them.
The tests were done.
And we waited.
Two of the longest weeks of my life.
And then the results came back.
The lawyer called me.
His voice was grim.
"You need to sit down," he said.
"I'm sitting," I said.
"The results came back," he said. "Daniel and Rebecca... they're not Harold's children. The probability of paternity is 0.0%. They're Richard's. Just like Evelyn said."
I closed my eyes.
It was true.
All of it.
Evelyn had been telling the truth.
One last time.
To destroy us.
"What now?" I asked.
"Now," the lawyer said. "We need to meet. All of us. The grandfather. Harold. Sarah. Matthew. You. We need to figure out what this means. And what we're going to do about it."
"Okay," I said.
We met at the lawyer's office.
Everyone was there.
Harold looked broken.
The grandfather looked old.
Tired.
Sarah and Matthew looked nervous.
The lawyer laid out the results on the table.
"It's confirmed," he said. "Daniel and Rebecca are not Harold's biological children. They are the children of Richard Evans, Evelyn's lover and co-conspirator. Harold has no biological children of his own."
He looked at the grandfather.
"Which means," he said. "The family business. The original shares. The family fortune. All of it will pass to you. And you can leave it to whomever you choose. But there's no longer any direct biological heir from Harold's line."
The old man was quiet for a long time.
Then he looked at Matthew.
"Are you my biological grandson?" he asked.
Matthew nodded.
"Yes," he said. "Harold is my father. So yes. I'm your grandson."
The old man looked at him.
Then at Sarah.
Then at me.
Then back at Matthew.
"You're the only biological grandson I have," he said. "The only one who can carry on the family name. The family legacy."
He looked at the lawyer.
"I want to change my will," he said. "I want to leave everything to Matthew. The business. The fortune. All of it. But with one condition."
He looked at me.
"That she stays on as CEO," he said. "That she runs the business. That she teaches Matthew. That she guides him. Until he's ready. And that they run it together. As partners. As equals. As family."
I stared at him.
"Me?" I said.
"You," he said. "You saved this family. You saved this business. You've proven yourself. Time and time again. You're strong. You're honest. You're smart. And you care. More than anyone. This business is as much yours as it is anyone's. And I want you to run it. With Matthew. Together."
I looked at Matthew.
He smiled at me.
A genuine smile.
"I'd like that," he said. "I'd like that a lot."
Tears formed in my eyes.
"Thank you," I whispered.
The old man nodded.
"Thank you," he said. "For everything."
Harold sat there.
Quiet.
Defeated.
He had nothing left.
No wife.
No children.
No legacy.
Nothing.
Except Sarah and Matthew.
If they would have him.
Sarah looked at Harold.
She looked at the old man.
She looked at me.
Then she stood up.
"I think Harold should have a role too," she said. "Not in the business. Not in control. But... as an advisor. As a father. As a grandfather. If Matthew wants him. If he can earn it. He's made terrible mistakes. He's hurt a lot of people. But he's still Matthew's father. And he's still your son."
She looked at the old man.
The old man looked at Harold.
Then at Matthew.
"What do you think, Matthew?" he asked.
Matthew looked at his father.
Harold looked back.
Tears in his eyes.
Hopeful.
Scared.
"I think everyone deserves a second chance," Matthew said. "If they're willing to work for it. If they're willing to change. I'd like that. To get to know my father. For real. This time."
Harold broke down crying.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you. I won't let you down. I promise. I'll spend the rest of my life making this right. All of it."
Sarah took Harold's hand.
She didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
But she was willing to try.
To start over.
To build something new.
It was a new beginning.
For all of us.
A new family.
Built on the ruins of the old one.
Bound by truth.
And honesty.
And forgiveness.
But I knew it wouldn't be easy.
Evelyn was still out there.
In prison.
And she would never give up.
Never stop fighting.
Never stop trying to destroy us.
And she had one more card to play.
Richard.
Her lover.
Her partner in crime.
The father of her children.
He was still out there.
Free.
And he was coming for us.
For the business.
For the fortune.
For revenge.
We didn't know it yet.
But he was already closer than we thought.
Much closer.
A month later, everything was going well.
The business was thriving.
Matthew was learning fast.
He was good.
Really good.
He had a natural talent for it.
And we worked well together.
Better than I ever could have imagined.
Sarah and Harold were working things out.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But they were making progress.
The grandfather was happier than I'd ever seen him.
Proud of his grandson.
Proud of what we were building.
I was happy.
Truly happy.
I had a purpose.
A family.
A future.
And then one day, the police showed up at the office.
They had bad news.
Richard Evans.
Evelyn's lover.
Daniel and Rebecca's real father.
He'd been found.
Dead.
Murdered.
And the police had a suspect.
Someone who'd been seen arguing with him.
Someone who had a motive.
May you like
Someone who had been threatening him.
Me.
