Chapter 3 - The Lie Hidden in Her Blood
Daniel had never wanted to hit another man more than he wanted to hit Nathan Whitmore.
Not when his brother lost two million dollars gambling in Monte Carlo.
Not when Nathan crashed their father's vintage Porsche.
Not even when Nathan accused Catherine of marrying Daniel for his money.
But the medical report on his phone made something ancient and ugly rise inside him.
Vanessa reached for the device.
"Don't."
Daniel pulled it away.
"Explain."
"It's a forged report."
"How do you know?"
"Because I helped Catherine investigate it."
Daniel stared at her.
"You knew about this too?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"Daniel, please understand the timing."
"Stop asking me to understand."
His voice cracked.
"My daughter has spent eleven months believing her mother was dead."
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"And now I'm looking at a document designed to make me question whether she's even mine."
"She's yours."
"Then prove it."
Vanessa took a breath.
"Eight months ago, somebody sent Catherine a document claiming Nathan was Lily's biological father."
Daniel said nothing.
"It was part of the pressure campaign against her."
"What pressure campaign?"
"They wanted her to believe Nathan could destroy your marriage."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"So they invented an affair?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Catherine had evidence tying Nathan to the missing money."
"Then why not simply threaten her?"
"They did."
Vanessa looked toward the door.
"But Catherine wouldn't stop."
Daniel sat down heavily on the piano bench.
He remembered his wife's final months.
The sleepless nights.
The sudden phone calls she would take in the garden.
The way she had checked the locks before bed.
He had noticed.
Of course he had noticed.
He had asked what was wrong.
And Catherine had always said the same thing.
"Just work."
Daniel pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Vanessa sat across from him.
"She tried."
He looked up.
"When?"
"On the night of your anniversary."
Daniel remembered that night.
A reservation at a restaurant overlooking Lake Michigan.
Catherine had worn a dark green dress.
She had barely touched her dinner.
Halfway through the meal, Nathan called.
There was an urgent problem with a loan covenant.
Daniel left to take the call.
When he returned, Catherine was furious.
They argued in the car.
She accused him of trusting his brother too much.
He told her she was being unfair.
Then they went home without speaking.
Daniel had replayed that argument hundreds of times after her death.
He had always imagined that if he could change one thing, he would have apologized sooner.
Now he wondered what might have happened if he had simply listened.
"Did Nathan call me on purpose?"
Vanessa nodded.
"He knew she was planning to show you something."
Daniel stood abruptly.
"How?"
"Because your office was compromised."
"What does that mean?"
"Your brother had access to your executive calendar, your security reports, and some of your encrypted messages."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
Daniel thought of the company's internal systems.
Nathan controlled finance.
Martin controlled physical security.
Their longtime family attorney, Charles Mercer, controlled the estate's legal records.
Three men Daniel had trusted for years.
Three men with overlapping access to his life.
Vanessa continued.
"Catherine discovered that someone was watching her searches, reading her emails, and intercepting messages intended for you."
"So she thought I was involved."
"Eventually."
Daniel looked down at Nathan's photograph.
"He told her I wanted her dead."
"Yes."
"And she believed him?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"Not at first."
The hesitation made Daniel's stomach tighten.
"What changed?"
"A recording."
"What recording?"
"Your voice."
Daniel stared at her.
Vanessa opened her handbag.
She removed an old phone with a cracked screen.
"Catherine gave me this the day before the accident."
Daniel watched as she opened an audio file.
A man's voice filled the room.
His voice.
"Make sure Catherine never reaches the board."
A pause.
Then another sentence.
"If she won't stop, do whatever is necessary."
Daniel's face drained of color.
He recognized the words.
But not the conversation.
"That's not what I said."
Vanessa nodded.
"I know."
Daniel seized the phone.
"I said those things, but not together."
"Exactly."
The first sentence had come from a dispute involving an executive named Catherine Bell, who had been accused of falsifying invoices.
The second had been Daniel's instruction during a warehouse security emergency.
Someone had stitched the phrases together.
He could hear the abrupt change in background noise now that he knew what to listen for.
"They used my voice against her."
Vanessa nodded.
"And Catherine believed you had ordered someone to stop her."
Daniel stared at the device.
"Who made it?"
"We don't know."
"Someone does."
"Yes."
Daniel looked at her.
"And what does any of this have to do with Lily's DNA?"
Vanessa opened another file.
This time it was a genuine laboratory report from a hospital in Milwaukee.
It listed Daniel Whitmore and Lily Whitmore.
The conclusion was clear.
Daniel was Lily's biological father.
He felt dizzy with relief.
"Why did Catherine have this done?"
"Because she wanted to prove the other report was fraudulent."
Daniel looked at the date.
Seven months earlier.
Catherine had been alive.
Taking tests.
Searching for evidence.
While he visited her grave.
He swallowed hard.
"Where was she living?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"Different places."
"With you?"
"Sometimes."
"And sometimes?"
"With people we thought we could trust."
"Who?"
Before Vanessa could answer, her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
"Don't answer that," Daniel said.
"It's Catherine's doctor."
Daniel stood.
"Put it on speaker."
Vanessa answered.
"Dr. Ellis?"
A woman's voice came through.
"Vanessa, where are you?"
"At the Whitmore estate."
"Is Daniel with you?"
"Yes."
A sharp breath.
"Good."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Doctor, where is my wife?"
"I'm trying to find her."
"What do you mean?"
"Catherine was supposed to meet me at the clinic two hours ago."
"She didn't come?"
"No."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Did she call?"
"Once."
"What did she say?"
The doctor hesitated.
"She said she'd found the original files."
Daniel frowned.
"What files?"
"The genetic records."
Vanessa went pale.
Dr. Ellis continued.
"Vanessa, she also said somebody had been using Lily's identity to authorize patient transfers."
Daniel felt the relief from the genuine DNA report evaporate.
"What patient transfers?"
The doctor took a breath.
"Mr. Whitmore, your daughter's medical identity has been attached to a restricted pediatric research account."
Daniel stared at Vanessa.
"Research?"
"Yes."
"Who authorized it?"
"That's why Catherine was coming to see me."
The doctor lowered her voice.
"She discovered the account was created before Lily was born."
Daniel gripped the edge of the piano.
"Who created it?"
There was a rustling sound.
Then Dr. Ellis whispered, "Someone's in the clinic."
A door opened.
A man's voice said something indistinct.
The doctor drew a sharp breath.
"Vanessa, don't trust the patient records."
"Dr. Ellis?"
"Find the original birth certificate."
The line disconnected.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Then Vanessa whispered, "Catherine found something about Lily's birth."
Daniel looked toward the basement, where his daughter was waiting.
"What?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know."
For the first time that night, Daniel believed her.
Then his own phone chimed.
A message from Nathan.
ASK VANESSA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FIRST DAUGHTER.
Daniel turned.
Vanessa's face had gone completely still.
"Vanessa?"
She didn't answer.
"Who was your first daughter?"
May you like
A tear rolled down her cheek.
And she whispered, "Catherine."
