Chapter 7: The Dead Man at the Baby Shower
For three years, I had believed Robert Parker was dead.
I'd attended his funeral.
I'd watched Daniel lower his head beside the grave.
I'd listened to Margaret sob as the minister spoke about a loving husband, a devoted father, and a man whose sudden death had left an enormous hole in the family.
And now he was standing outside my baby shower.
Alive.
Older, thinner, and leaning slightly on a black walking stick, but undeniably alive.
My mother whispered, "Oh, my God.""
Margaret stumbled backward.
Daniel looked as though he had seen a ghost.
Ethan didn't move.
And Victoria?
Victoria began laughing.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the laughter of someone whose worst suspicions had just been confirmed.
Robert walked slowly into the garden.
"Victoria," he said.
"You've caused quite a scene.""
My sister wiped her cheeks.
"That's what you taught us, isn't it? How to make a scene and then pretend nothing happened.""
Robert stopped.
His eyes moved toward me.
"Claire. You look exactly like your sister.""
I stared at him.
"Don't.""
He raised an eyebrow.
"Don't what?""
"Don't pretend you know me.""
For a moment, something flickered across his face.
Then he nodded.
"Fair enough.""
Daniel finally found his voice.
"Dad?""
Robert turned.
"Hello, son.""
"You've been dead for three years.""
"Apparently, you've been told that.""
Daniel stepped toward him.
"What is this? Some kind of joke?""
Robert looked at Margaret.
"Your mother can explain.""
Margaret began shaking her head.
"Robert, please.""
"Not another word, Margaret. You've had three years to tell them.""
Ethan moved closer.
"Tell us what?""
Robert sighed.
Then he looked at the guests.
"I suggest everyone leaves.""
Nobody moved.
I stepped forward.
"No. Nobody leaves until we understand why a dead man is standing in front of us.""
Robert studied me.
Then he nodded.
"You're right.""
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
"My sons deserve to know why I disappeared. And you deserve to know why your marriage became part of it.""
I folded my arms.
"Start talking.""
Robert looked at Daniel.
"Three years ago, I discovered that someone was stealing money from the family company.""
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"We know. Nearly four hundred thousand dollars.""
Robert nodded.
"That was only the beginning.""
Daniel looked away.
Robert continued.
"I discovered falsified invoices, offshore accounts, and a series of payments made through companies that didn't exist.""
Margaret began crying.
"I told you not to involve the boys.""
Robert turned toward her.
"And I told you that covering for one son would destroy both of them.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"You're talking nonsense.""
Robert ignored him.
"When I confronted Daniel, he told me Ethan was responsible. He had prepared documents suggesting his brother had been moving company money into private accounts.""
Ethan looked stunned.
"You knew?""
"I suspected. But I didn't have proof.""
Robert paused.
"Then I found the recordings.""
He reached into his jacket and removed a small black device.
"I recorded a conversation with Daniel. He admitted he'd been transferring money for months.""
Daniel lunged.
"Give me that!""
Ethan blocked him.
Robert continued.
"That night, I confronted Margaret. She told me Daniel had been under enormous pressure. She begged me not to report him.""
Margaret covered her face.
"I was trying to protect my son.""
"And you did," Robert replied.
"You protected him so thoroughly that he believed he could get away with anything.""
He looked at me.
"Shortly afterward, I arranged for my death to be publicly reported.""
My stomach tightened.
"You faked your death?""
Robert nodded.
"I had received threats. I believed someone was watching my movements. I needed to disappear long enough to identify everyone involved.""
Ethan shook his head.
"You let us bury an empty coffin?""
"It was necessary.""
"Necessary?"" Ethan's voice cracked.
"We mourned you!""
Robert lowered his eyes.
"I know.""
Daniel suddenly laughed.
"So this is your big revelation? You abandoned your family, and now you want to pretend you're some kind of hero?""
Robert looked directly at him.
"No, Daniel. I'm here because I discovered something much worse than stolen money.""
He turned toward Victoria.
"Tell them what you found.""
Victoria stopped smiling.
I looked at her.
"What does he mean?""
She hesitated.
Then she pulled a small photograph from her purse.
It showed a young woman standing beside Robert.
The woman was Margaret.
But the date printed on the back was twenty-eight years earlier.
I frowned.
"Why are you showing me this?""
Victoria looked at Robert.
"Because he told me something before he disappeared.""
Robert nodded slowly.
"Victoria and Claire were not the first children Margaret gave birth to.""
My mother gasped.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?""
Robert continued.
"Margaret gave birth to a little girl before she married me. The child was adopted.""
Margaret started sobbing.
Daniel looked confused.
"Mom?""
Robert pointed toward the photograph.
"That child was Victoria's daughter.""
Silence.
Victoria's face crumpled.
"What?""
Robert nodded.
"She was adopted by another family shortly after birth. Your mother was very young. She believed she was doing what was best for the child.""
Victoria shook her head.
"No. That's impossible.""
Margaret stood.
"Victoria, I was nineteen. I had no money. My parents insisted I give her up.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Margaret couldn't answer.
Robert looked at me.
"There's more.""
I didn't want to hear it.
But I couldn't stop him.
"The child was eventually raised by a family in Ohio. She died in a car accident several years ago.""
Victoria's eyes filled.
For a moment, the anger disappeared.
All that remained was grief for someone she'd never known.
Then she looked at Margaret.
"You let me grow up thinking I was an only child?""
Margaret nodded.
"I was afraid.""
Victoria laughed through her tears.
"You were afraid?""
She pointed at her stomach.
"And what about this baby? Were you going to let my child grow up believing the same lies?""
Robert's expression darkened.
"That's why I came.""
I looked at him.
"What does that have to do with the paternity report?""
Robert took the document from the table.
He studied it carefully.
Then he looked at Victoria.
"Because this report is fraudulent.""
Daniel immediately stiffened.
"What?""
Robert tapped the page.
"The laboratory that supposedly performed this test closed two years ago. Its license was revoked.""
Ethan took the document.
"How did you know?""
"I investigated the company.""
Victoria looked confused.
"But I received it three weeks ago.""
Robert nodded.
"Someone wanted you to believe the baby belonged to your mother's husband.""
Margaret began shaking.
"Robert, please.""
I turned toward her.
"Did you know?""
She looked at me.
"No.""
But her voice was weak.
Robert pulled out another envelope.
"This is the actual report from a licensed laboratory. I arranged it after Victoria contacted me.""
Victoria's eyes widened.
"You tested the baby?""
"With your consent, yes.""
He placed the envelope on the table.
My hands were trembling.
"What's the result?""
Robert looked at Victoria.
Then at Daniel.
Then at Ethan.
"The father of Victoria's baby is not Daniel, not Ethan, and certainly not me.""
Victoria swallowed.
"Then who?""
Robert turned toward Margaret.
"The man who fathered that child was the same man who helped Daniel arrange the false paternity results.""
Margaret closed her eyes.
Daniel took a step backward.
I stared at him.
"Who?""
Robert opened the envelope.
And the name printed on the report was one I had never expected.
*MARCUS REED.*
Daniel's former business partner.
The man who had supposedly moved to London after the company investigation.
Victoria looked horrified.
"I don't understand.""
Robert explained quietly.
"Marcus was involved with Daniel's financial scheme. He was also involved with Victoria.""
I looked at my sister.
She shook her head.
"No. Marcus told me he was only helping Daniel.""
Robert nodded.
"He was helping Daniel. But not in the way you think.""
He placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Marcus standing beside Victoria outside a restaurant.
Her hand was resting on his arm.
Daniel looked at the photograph.
Then he whispered something that made my blood turn cold.
"Marcus was supposed to be dead.""
Robert slowly looked up.
"Exactly.""
And suddenly, the story became much bigger than two cheating husbands and two identical sisters.
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Because apparently, there was another dead man who wasn't dead.
And he knew exactly what had happened to my baby.
