A Name Buried in Records
Chapter 06 - A Name Buried in Records
Ruth was found at a neighbor’s home after fleeing a stranger at her door. The burned records were mostly ruined, but one corner survived with the number 47 and the beginning of a name: Em—
Conrad denied everything, called Grace a fortune hunter, and suspended her from all Vale properties through an emergency clause Ethan had forgotten existed.
“That clause was meant to protect the company from fraud,” Ethan said, furious.
“It’s protecting the person who wrote it.”
The DNA results arrived that afternoon.
Naomi opened them in a private conference room. The probability that Grace was Emma’s biological mother was greater than 99.99 percent.
Grace stared at the page until the numbers blurred. For seven years, Grace had imagined a newborn. Now that child loved astronomy, had a missing front tooth, and kissed another mother’s photograph every night.
Ethan walked to the window and pressed both hands against the glass. “They stole her from you.”
“They lied to you, too.”
“But I had seven years.”
Grace was grieving the same years from the opposite side.
Beatrice arrived after Ethan summoned her. Naomi placed the DNA report on the table and asked one direct question: had she known the adoption was illegal?
Beatrice sat very still. Finally, she admitted that Conrad had promised a private, fast placement when Claire’s fertility treatments failed. He told her the birth mother wanted secrecy and financial help. Beatrice authorized a large “donation” without asking why it went through New Horizons.
“Later, Claire found inconsistencies,” Beatrice said. “Conrad assured me the mother had changed her story because she wanted more money. I chose to believe him.”
“You chose what kept the family comfortable,” Ethan replied.
“Yes.”
Grace looked at the woman who had nearly dragged Emma away at the gala. “When you saw me, you recognized my name.”
“I recognized your face from a photograph Conrad once showed me. He said you were unstable.”
Grace rose. “I was a frightened nineteen-year-old asking where my baby had gone.”
Beatrice covered her mouth, but Grace did not soften.
Naomi warned that the next step could become public and brutal. Conrad controlled members of the foundation board and might argue that Grace planned to remove Emma from the only home she knew.
“I don’t want to tear her life apart,” Grace said. “I want the lies to stop.”
Ethan turned from the window. “Then we stop them together.”
May you like
At that moment, his phone displayed a security alert from the hotel.
Someone had entered Grace’s employee locker and placed a diamond bracelet inside.
