Chapter 10 - THE OTHER HALE
His name was Andrew.
Margaret had been twenty-three when she gave birth.
Charles was not the father.
Arthur’s younger business partner was.
The affair ended before Andrew was born.
Arthur considered the child a threat to the Hale succession structure.
He arranged for the infant to be declared stillborn.
Margaret believed him.
Until years later, Eleanor discovered Arthur had placed the child with another family.
“Why?”
Daniel asked.
“Leverage,” Eleanor said.
“Arthur believed everyone was more useful if they had something to lose.”
Andrew grew up as Andrew Harris.
Jonathan’s adopted son.
Daniel sat perfectly still.
Jonathan Harris had raised his brother.
The man threatening us was family.
Not legally.
Not emotionally.
But by blood.
“That explains the signature,” Thomas said.
“And why Harris could create identification records matching Daniel’s profile.”
I looked at Margaret.
“You didn’t know?”
“Not until today.”
Her grief was raw.
For once, there was no manipulation in it.
Daniel stood.
“What does Andrew want?”
Eleanor answered.
“The company.”
“Why?”
“Because Jonathan raised him to believe Charles stole his birthright.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Did he?”
“In a way.”
Margaret whispered, “I thought he was dead.”
“That won’t matter to Andrew.”
Thomas found Andrew’s file.
It contained decades of correspondence.
Jonathan had shaped him from childhood.
The Hales abandoned you.
The Hales stole from you.
Daniel has the life you should have had.
Daniel has the mother who chose him.
The last line made Margaret break.
Daniel didn’t comfort her.
Not yet.
I didn’t blame him.
Then we found photographs of Andrew and my father.
Recent photographs.
My heart stopped.
“Why was he with Robert?”
Thomas stared.
“I don’t know.”
The dates spanned five years.
They met in diners.
Parking lots.
A library.
Once at a church.
Andrew had known my father.
Maybe even helped him.
That changed the picture again.
“What if Andrew isn’t working with Jonathan?”
Daniel asked.
Thomas shook his head.
“Then why use your identity?”
“To access the archive without Harris knowing.”
Possible.
We needed Andrew.
He found us first.
A burner phone inside the archive rang.
No one knew it was there.
I answered.
“Grace.”
His voice sounded disturbingly like Daniel’s.
Older.
Rougher.
“Andrew?”
Silence.
Then:
“So she finally told you.”
“Where are you?”
“Not somewhere Jonathan can hear us.”
“What do you want?”
“To finish what Robert started.”
I closed my eyes.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“Were you with him when he died?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
My throat tightened.
“What were his last words?”
Andrew answered immediately.
“Tell Gracie I chose wrong.”
I stopped breathing.
No one else knew my father called me Gracie.
“Wrong about what?”
“He thought hiding would save you.”
“He eventually understood that secrets only made Jonathan stronger.”
“Then why didn’t he contact me?”
“He tried.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
I stared at Thomas.
Thomas frowned.
“He didn’t tell me that.”
Andrew continued.
“Robert mailed you a letter.”
“I never received it.”
“I know.”
“Who intercepted it?”
“You should ask your husband.”
I turned toward Daniel.
His face changed.
I felt something inside me drop.
“Daniel?”
He looked at me.
And I knew.
“You got a letter.”
His silence was confession.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
Margaret whispered his name.
I couldn’t hear anything else.
“You got a letter from my father.”
“I didn’t know it was from him.”
“Stop.”
“It came without a return address.”
“Stop.”
“It said someone had lied about Robert’s death and asked you to meet at a bus station.”
“You opened my mail.”
“Yes.”
“You hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought it was a scam.”
I laughed.
Then cried.
Then laughed again because my body couldn’t decide what to do.
“He tried to come back.”
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t know.”
“But you chose for me.”
“I was scared.”
“You chose for me.”
“Yes.”
Andrew’s voice came through the phone.
“That is what Hales do.”
Daniel grabbed the phone.
“You don’t know me.”
Andrew laughed softly.
“I know everything about you.”
“I know the boarding school.”
“The broken wrist when you were twelve.”
“The first car.”
“The girl from Princeton.”
“The panic attacks you hid after your father died.”
Daniel went pale.
Andrew continued.
“Jonathan trained me on your life.”
“So if necessary, I could become you.”
The archive fell silent.
I took the phone back.
“Why?”
“To sign documents.”
“Access accounts.”
“Control Hale Development if Daniel became inconvenient.”
Daniel stared at his mother.
Margaret nearly collapsed.
Andrew said, “Jonathan never needed Daniel loyal.”
“He only needed Daniel alive long enough to transfer everything.”
“And after?”
Andrew’s voice turned cold.
May you like
“After Grace signs away the Bennett claim, neither of you is necessary.”
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