Chapter 5 - The Name on the Paper
Bianca laughed.
It was too loud.
Too fast.
“That’s ridiculous.”
No one joined her.
“Why would my birth certificate be locked in a secret safe?”
Charles stared at the floor.
Bianca turned toward him.
“Dad?”
He said nothing.
“Answer me.”
Detective Reyes stepped toward Bianca.
“Ms. Sterling, let the investigators handle this.”
“No.”
Bianca’s voice shook.
“That’s my name they just said.”
Reyes lowered her voice.
“We don’t know what the document means yet.”
Bianca looked at Charles.
“Do you?”
Charles lifted his head.
“We’re not discussing this here.”
Bianca almost screamed.
“You keep saying that!”
The fire alarm finally stopped.
The sudden silence felt heavier.
Guests continued evacuating, but dozens lingered near the exits, pretending not to listen.
Bianca didn’t care anymore.
“Twenty minutes ago you told me this woman was lying.”
She pointed at Marissa.
“Then police found the room she described.”
Charles’s jaw flexed.
“You don’t understand.”
“They found the safe.”
“Bianca.”
“They found my birth certificate!”
Charles looked toward Adrian.
“You think this is funny?”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“I think you should answer your daughter.”
Charles laughed bitterly.
“My daughter.”
Bianca heard the emphasis.
So did Elena.
Bianca went still.
“What does that mean?”
Charles closed his eyes.
“Nothing.”
Elena watched Bianca.
For the first time, she felt something other than anger toward her.
Bianca had been cruel.
Arrogant.
Violent.
None of that disappeared.
But something had just cracked beneath her feet, and she had no idea how deep the fall was.
Reyes’s radio crackled again.
“We’re bringing the contents downstairs.”
Charles surged forward.
The officer holding him stopped him.
“No.”
Charles shouted.
“Those documents are private!”
Reyes stared at him.
“Apparently not private enough.”
Five minutes later, another detective entered the ballroom carrying two evidence bags.
Inside the first was a silver flash drive.
Inside the second was an old folded document.
Bianca stepped forward.
“Let me see it.”
Reyes hesitated.
Then she held the clear bag up without handing it over.
Bianca read the paper.
Her face changed.
Elena could see the line from several feet away.
NAME OF CHILD: BIANCA ROSE HART.
Not Sterling.
Hart.
Bianca’s lips parted.
“No.”
Charles looked away.
She read the next line.
Mother: Rebecca Hart.
Father: Unlisted.
Bianca looked at Charles.
“My mother’s name was Catherine.”
Charles said nothing.
“You told me Catherine Sterling was my mother.”
“She raised you.”
“Who is Rebecca Hart?”
Silence.
Bianca walked toward him.
“Who is she?”
Charles finally looked at her.
“She worked for me.”
Marissa whispered, “Oh God.”
Bianca seemed unable to breathe.
“Worked for you how?”
Charles’s shoulders dropped.
“She was an accountant.”
“And?”
“She discovered irregularities.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“What irregularities?”
Charles ignored him.
Bianca moved closer.
“Was she my mother?”
“Yes.”
The word barely left his mouth.
Bianca swayed.
Nobody caught her.
She steadied herself against a chair.
“Where is she?”
Charles said nothing.
“Where is my mother?”
“She died.”
Bianca blinked.
“When?”
“When you were a baby.”
“How?”
Charles stared at her.
“Car accident.”
Elena saw Marissa’s expression change.
“What?” Elena asked.
Marissa stepped backward.
“Mr. Sterling told me something once.”
Charles’s face hardened.
“Don’t.”
Reyes moved closer.
“What did he tell you?”
Marissa looked frightened.
“He was drunk.”
“Marissa.”
“He said somebody should’ve known better than to drive in the rain.”
Bianca stared at Charles.
“That means nothing.”
Marissa shook her head.
“He said it after I asked why there was a newspaper clipping in his office.”
“What clipping?”
“A woman died after her car went through a bridge railing.”
Charles shouted, “Stop!”
Bianca flinched.
Marissa was crying now.
“The woman’s name was Rebecca Hart.”
Detective Reyes’s face changed.
She turned to her partner.
“Find the case.”
Charles struggled against his cuffs.
“That was twenty-nine years ago.”
Reyes stopped.
Then slowly turned back toward him.
“You remembered the exact year pretty quickly.”
Charles said nothing.
Bianca sank into a chair.
Elena watched the woman who had slapped her less than an hour earlier cover her face with both hands.
Then Adrian’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
“Who is it?” Elena asked.
“My forensic accountant.”
He answered.
“Sam.”
A pause.
Adrian’s expression sharpened.
“You’re sure?”
Another pause.
Then he looked toward Charles.
“How much?”
Elena felt her stomach tighten.
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
“What?”
He looked at her.
“The flash drive has already been copied.”
Charles’s head snapped up.
“What?”
Adrian continued.
“And somebody sent the copy to my office this afternoon.”
Marissa looked confused.
“I didn’t.”
Elena asked the obvious question.
“Who did?”
Adrian stared at the message that had just appeared on his screen.
Then he read the name aloud.
“Catherine Sterling.”
Bianca stood so fast her chair fell backward.
“My mother is dead.”
Adrian looked at her.
“No.”
May you like
He turned the phone around.
“She’s asking to meet us.”
