I did not tell Elise what I suspected.<\/p>\n
Not on the phone.<\/p>\n
Not before facts.<\/p>\n
I had learned that lesson painfully well.<\/p>\n
Instead I asked her to send Thomas Morgan\u2019s full name, birth date, and any information she knew about where he had grown up.<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
Thomas Edward Morgan.<\/p>\n
Born in 1955.<\/p>\n
Raised in a small Pennsylvania town where Ingrid had lived until she left for college.<\/p>\n
Same graduating class.<\/p>\n
That alone proved nothing.<\/p>\n
I repeated the sentence until my breathing steadied.<\/p>\n
Same town.<\/p>\n
Same generation.<\/p>\n
Nothing more.<\/p>\n
I called Evelyn.<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Then she said exactly what I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not tell Elise your theory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see a reason to investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFelix thinks Thomas Morgan might be his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Elise is Thomas\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf both are true\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not finish that sentence without evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the unfinished sentence remained.<\/p>\n
If Thomas Morgan was Felix\u2019s biological father, Felix and Elise could be half siblings.<\/p>\n
The affair.<\/p>\n
The baby.<\/p>\n
Everything became unbearable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould a paternity test between Felix and Elise\u2019s baby show something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk a genetic counselor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re serious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompletely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is a possibility of close biological relation, this is beyond something you and I should interpret from internet searches.\u201d<\/p>\n
That afternoon, Elise\u2019s attorney arranged a consultation with a clinical genetic counselor.<\/p>\n
I did not attend.<\/p>\n
This was no longer my medical question.<\/p>\n
Elise called afterward.<\/p>\n
Her voice was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy attorney told me what you were worried about.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know anything yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She breathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if Thomas was Felix\u2019s father\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI slept with my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came out broken.<\/p>\n
\u201cElise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was crying now.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did not know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither of them had.<\/p>\n
For all the anger I carried toward Elise, that mattered.<\/p>\n
If the possibility was true, Ingrid\u2019s secret had placed two people in a situation neither could reasonably have anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour lawyer will get facts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Thomas Morgan\u2019s surviving brother.<\/p>\n
A close biological relative could help establish the connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill he cooperate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to him in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily argument after Dad died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney. My grandmother\u2019s estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
She inhaled shakily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to call him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do anything this minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Waiting could be worse than knowing.<\/p>\n
Her uncle\u2019s name was Robert Morgan.<\/p>\n
He lived outside Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Elise reached him that evening.<\/p>\n
He remembered Ingrid.<\/p>\n
Not vaguely.<\/p>\n
Very clearly.<\/p>\n
They had dated.<\/p>\n
The news reached me through Evelyn the following morning.<\/p>\n
I sat in her conference room with both hands wrapped around coffee I did not drink.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert says Thomas and Ingrid were together during their final year of high school and part of the following summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was Felix born?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately nine months after Ingrid married Helmut.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t answer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Thomas know she was pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Helmut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Robert have proof they dated?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhotographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhotographs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOld family albums.\u201d<\/p>\n
One image had already been scanned.<\/p>\n
Evelyn turned her laptop toward me.<\/p>\n
The photograph was faded.<\/p>\n
A teenage Ingrid stood beside a young man with dark hair.<\/p>\n
Thomas Morgan.<\/p>\n
His arm rested around her shoulders.<\/p>\n
They were laughing.<\/p>\n
I had seen photographs of young Felix.<\/p>\n
The resemblance was not proof.<\/p>\n
I knew that.<\/p>\n
Still, it hit me immediately.<\/p>\n
The eyes.<\/p>\n
The shape of the mouth.<\/p>\n
Something around the jaw.<\/p>\n
I pushed the laptop away.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAppearance is not evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert agreed to genetic testing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow quickly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA sample kit is being arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Elise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer attorney is handling the medical implications separately.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked again at the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Felix?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must have found this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigator found it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Felix already suspects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ingrid knows he suspects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat appears likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they knew there was a possibility Felix and Elise were related.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not know when Ingrid learned Felix was involved with Elise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she still cares more about controlling the baby than telling them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn did not answer.<\/p>\n
There was no defense for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy adoption?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Think about what adoption accomplishes for Ingrid.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
The baby would live with Felix.<\/p>\n
With me.<\/p>\n
Elise would be removed.<\/p>\n
Records would be private.<\/p>\n
The child would be raised inside the Weber family.<\/p>\n
Helmut might never know who the biological mother was.<\/p>\n
Then I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants Elise gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot just because of the affair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Elise\u2019s identity connects the baby to Thomas Morgan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I adopt the baby, everyone can say the mother was anonymous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on the arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Helmut never asks why his granddaughter\u2019s maternal family looks familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would reduce the chance of certain questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Felix?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may have a different motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants his child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAssuming it\u2019s safe to call the baby that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paternity test says he is the biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix might want the baby near him regardless of what the genetic relationship with Elise turned out to be.<\/p>\n
That thought chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes he know there could be health risks?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he still pressures her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s protecting himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely one motive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Helmut.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn closed the laptop.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop trying to reduce this to one motive. People can be selfish in several directions at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed despite myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should be on your business card.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI prefer my phone number.\u201d<\/p>\n
The genetic test would take time.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, life continued.<\/p>\n
That was perhaps the strangest part.<\/p>\n
I went to work.<\/p>\n
Answered emails.<\/p>\n
Bought toothpaste.<\/p>\n
Ate cereal.<\/p>\n
Felix complained that our dishwasher sounded strange.<\/p>\n
The world did not acknowledge that our family structure had become a puzzle made of hidden paternity, adultery, money, and an unborn child.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday night, Sabine called.<\/p>\n
Not Felix.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you busy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded different.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I come over?\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFelix.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix was at a client dinner.<\/p>\n
At least that was what he had told me.<\/p>\n
I called Evelyn before answering Sabine.<\/p>\n
She advised caution but saw no reason I could not speak with her.<\/p>\n
Sabine arrived twenty minutes later.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
No makeup.<\/p>\n
Hair pulled into a loose ponytail.<\/p>\n
I had never seen her enter my house without appearing completely assembled.<\/p>\n
She sat at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
I made coffee.<\/p>\n
For several minutes she said nothing.<\/p>\n
Then she asked, \u201cIs Felix having an affair?\u201d<\/p>\n
The directness stunned me.<\/p>\n
I placed the mug in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he\u2019s lying to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat opposite her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSabine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
For once there was no mockery in her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Elise\u2019s baby is his.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not react.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of years of German insults.<\/p>\n
No, Sabine was not stupid.<\/p>\n
Cruel sometimes.<\/p>\n
Spoiled.<\/p>\n
But not stupid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw them together last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHotel bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAugust.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Ingrid had known about the affair months before the pregnancy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I was mistaken.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you confront Felix?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he and Elise were discussing business.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Sabine did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a terrible liar when he thinks you already know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy come to me now?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad is acting strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelmut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of strange?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me for a blood sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every muscle in my body tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said his doctor wanted family medical information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad doesn\u2019t ask people for blood samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ask Felix?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to stop asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabine rubbed both hands over her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard them fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom and Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly German.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly smiled at the irony.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me an irritated look.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it, Nora.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The habit of exclusion had become so ingrained that I had briefly forgotten German was Sabine\u2019s first language.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad accused Mom of hiding financial transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernbrook.<\/p>\n
The seventy-five thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found the money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Daniel had warned him something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
The lawyer who had arrived at Sunday lunch.<\/p>\n
Perhaps we had misunderstood his role.<\/p>\n
Maybe he was not helping Helmut attack Elise.<\/p>\n
Maybe he was investigating the family itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Ingrid say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told him Felix needed help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabine looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Dad said something strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018I will not be made a fool twice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The words settled between us.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither did I.<\/p>\n
But someone did.<\/p>\n
I looked at Sabine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I think everyone is lying to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence was almost funny.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She mistook my answer for agreement rather than confirmation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found something in Mom\u2019s desk.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached into her handbag.<\/p>\n
A photograph.<\/p>\n
Not the one Evelyn had shown me.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
A wedding photograph.<\/p>\n
Ingrid in white.<\/p>\n
Helmut beside her.<\/p>\n
Behind them stood several young guests.<\/p>\n
One was Thomas Morgan.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize him?\u201d Sabine asked.<\/p>\n
I looked up too quickly.<\/p>\n
Her eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
There was no safe lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Felix had the same photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJanuary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it in his car.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora, who is that man?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at Thomas Morgan\u2019s young face.<\/p>\n
Sabine had come to me because she believed I was the only person outside the conspiracy.<\/p>\n
She had no idea that I knew more than she did.<\/p>\n
Before I could answer, headlights swept across the front window.<\/p>\n
A car entered the driveway.<\/p>\n
Sabine looked toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Felix.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was supposed to be at dinner for another two hours.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut the photograph away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in my voice made her obey.<\/p>\n
The front door opened.<\/p>\n
Felix stepped inside.<\/p>\n
He saw Sabine\u2019s coat.<\/p>\n
Then her.<\/p>\n
Then me.<\/p>\n
His expression changed so completely that I understood one thing at once.<\/p>\n
Whatever secrets he believed I might know, seeing his sister sitting at my kitchen table frightened him more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Sabine stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabine\u2019s hand moved toward her handbag.<\/p>\n
I caught her eye.<\/p>\n
Do not.<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily stuff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The phrase landed like a private joke only I understood.<\/p>\n
Felix did not smile.<\/p>\n
I did not tell Elise what I suspected. Not on the phone. Not before facts. I had learned that lesson painfully well. Instead I asked her to send Thomas Morgan\u2019s … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19336,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19301\/revisions\/19336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}