Chapter 4: The Signature That Lied
Daniel held the phone closer.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said.
“A woman offered to take me to a family shelter.
The driver took my bag and left me outside a private clinic.”
“Are you hurt?”
“I fainted.
A nurse found me near the entrance.”
Lily rushed toward the phone.
“Mama, Rose is hungry.”
“I know, sweetheart.
You did exactly what I asked.”
“Are you coming back?”
“I’m trying.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Anna, tell me the clinic’s name.”
Vanessa seized a microphone from the officiant.
“This performance has gone far enough.
Daniel, hang up.”
He turned slowly.
“You don’t give me orders where my children are concerned.”
“They have not been proven to be your children.”
Anna’s voice came through the speaker.
“Ask her about Northbridge Laboratory.”
Vanessa’s hand tightened around the microphone.
Daniel noticed.
“What happened at Northbridge?”
“I sent a paternity sample there six years ago,” Anna said.
“The result said you were not Lily’s father.”
“Then why are you here?” Vanessa demanded.
“Because the technician called me last week.
Someone paid him to alter the result.”
“That is convenient.”
“He kept the original file.”
Daniel stared at Vanessa.
“Did you know about the test?”
“No.”
“You answered too quickly.”
Vanessa opened her handbag and removed a folded document.
“I didn’t want to humiliate Anna in front of everyone, but she leaves me no choice.”
She handed it to Daniel.
It carried Anna’s name beneath an agreement stating that she had accepted two million dollars and surrendered any claim involving Daniel or Lily.
“You said my father paid her,” Daniel said.
“He did.”
“Then why is your signature listed as the witness?”
Vanessa lifted her chin.
“Because your father asked me to handle it.”
On the phone, Anna began to cry.
“I have never seen that paper.”
Vanessa looked at Lily.
“Perhaps your mother lied to you because she regretted spending the money.”
“Mama doesn’t lie.”
“Children believe many things.”
Daniel studied the signature.
The shape matched Anna’s handwriting closely enough to make him hesitate.
Lily saw his face change.
“You believe her,” she whispered.
“I’m trying to understand.”
“Mama said you would know.”
“Lily—”
“She was wrong.”
The child’s shoulders collapsed.
Rose began crying with her, and Lily turned toward the aisle as if preparing to leave.
Daniel caught up but did not touch her.
“Please don’t go.”
“You looked at me like I was bad.”
“No.
I looked at that paper and became confused.
That was my failure, not yours.”
Victor removed his formal jacket and gently placed it around Lily’s narrow shoulders.
“My daughter is the one making accusations,” he said.
“But you are not leaving this room cold or hungry.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“You’re taking their side?”
“I’m taking the side of two frightened children.”
Victor signaled to a server.
“Bring warm milk, bread, and something suitable for the baby.”
“Dad, you’re embarrassing me.”
“No, Vanessa.
You managed that without my help.”
Daniel handed the agreement to his attorney, Miles Grant, who had been seated among the guests.
“Check the registration number.”
Miles photographed the notary seal and made a call.
He listened, then looked toward the rear of the hall.
“The commission number is valid,” he said.
Vanessa smiled.
“There.
Finally.”
“But it belongs to a notary named Evelyn Shaw.”
An older bridesmaid near the back dropped her bouquet.
Victor turned toward her.
“Evelyn?”
The woman’s face drained of color.
Vanessa stepped between them.
“She has nothing to do with this.”
Evelyn reached into her handbag and removed a small ledger.
May you like
“I have everything to do with it,” she said.
“That is my seal—and I never witnessed Anna sign that document.”
