Marcus refused to leave his apartment until Nina\u2019s team arrived.<\/p>\n
That was the first sensible decision anyone in this family had made without argument.<\/p>\n
He stayed on the line with me while two investigators traveled across Chicago.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you recognize the handwriting?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhotograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it show?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman holding me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFace visible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDescribe her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDark hair. Maybe thirty. Hospital gown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara looked at me.<\/p>\n
Not Margot.<\/p>\n
Margot had been blond for as long as I remembered, though hair changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything distinctive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s wearing a bracelet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital ID.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you read it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t enhance it yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina had trained all of us into reluctant evidence technicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid the intruder damage anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoor lock.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cComputer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntouched.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompany equipment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntouched.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they wanted you to see the photo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows where you live?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf of HR.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not helpful.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Margot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know you were adopted?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince when?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClosed adoption?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cParents?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave their names.<\/p>\n
Ordinary people from Illinois.<\/p>\n
His father had taught high-school chemistry.<\/p>\n
His mother worked as a physical therapist.<\/p>\n
Both deceased within the last five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they ever tell you anything about your birth family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly that my mother was young and couldn\u2019t raise me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t fit Margot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would have been mid-thirties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus breathed slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Nina thinks she arranged the adoption, not necessarily gave birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is somehow worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone planned where I went.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Being surrendered was one thing.<\/p>\n
Being placed strategically was another.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you join Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re asking if I infiltrated you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you recruited me from a cybersecurity firm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou interviewed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian approved the compensation package.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know you were adopted?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHR did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth information?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot beyond legal records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Margot ever show unusual interest?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt company events, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does maybe mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembered my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s unusual?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your mother\u2019s assistant? Not necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe once asked where I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvanston.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked whether my parents had always lived there.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is specific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she was making conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything used to look like conversation.<\/p>\n
Then you discovered too many people had been collecting answers.<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s investigators arrived.<\/p>\n
Marcus stayed on the call until they took control.<\/p>\n
The photograph was bagged.<\/p>\n
The handwriting note preserved.<\/p>\n
Door evidence collected.<\/p>\n
Fifteen minutes later, Nina called me directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got access to partial adoption records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgency successor records were transferred to a diocesan archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus was processed through St. Augustine.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the ledger is him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSealed in the surviving index.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you open it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegal process underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot listed in the index.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho paid?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat note?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate placement requested. No contact with Mercer family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she was protecting him from the Mercers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr hiding him from them,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Nina nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth can be true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho selected his adoptive parents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot appears to have approved them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus had grown up with teachers and therapists.<\/p>\n
Stable.<\/p>\n
Unconnected to wealth.<\/p>\n
No corporate dynasty.<\/p>\n
No leverage.<\/p>\n
Maybe Margot did not hide him to use later.<\/p>\n
Maybe she wanted one child to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Margot appear in medical records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill sealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the NICU.<\/p>\n
Leo slept.<\/p>\n
Children kept appearing in this story only after adults erased their beginnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Marcus consent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo unsealing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already has.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara asked, \u201cWhere is Margot?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill unlocated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we ask her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like Catherine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina looked annoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk the child who grew up watching the family from the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could he be watching from inside if he had no idea?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may be implying something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr trying to poison trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called Marcus once investigators finished interviewing him.<\/p>\n
He answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Margot arranged your adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in agency records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill sealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was quiet for so long I checked the connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent my whole career finding hidden relationships in systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd apparently missed my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one looks at themselves like an audit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Then his voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Margot place me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas I leverage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA Mercer child?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cImpossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
His anxiety made sense.<\/p>\n
When your origin became uncertain, absurdity stopped feeling absurd.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever have genetic testing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you consent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly. Me. Existing Mercer samples. Maybe Margot if we find one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we have hers?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina had already thought of that.<\/p>\n
A hairbrush and personal items remained in Margot\u2019s room at the Asheville property.<\/p>\n
Chain-of-custody collection underway.<\/p>\n
Marcus went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if she\u2019s my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you decide what that means.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make that sound simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surrounded by people who taught me honesty late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later that morning, I met with my mother by secure video.<\/p>\n
She was still under protection at the Asheville property.<\/p>\n
I told her about Marcus.<\/p>\n
Her reaction was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean Margot never had a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe arranged an adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she ever mention St. Augustine?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago, she donated to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said they helped a relative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat relative?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she tell you about her miscarriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat she lost the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know she was pregnant by Lucas?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until much later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Lucas had made a mess with an employee.\u201d<\/p>\n
That phrasing made me angry even decades later.<\/p>\n
\u201cA mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly that the pregnancy ended.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he verify?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen maybe it didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Marcus is Margot and Lucas\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think evidence needs to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was quiet.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian would have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas kept a private medical file in the family archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPaternity concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Margot have access?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if a child was born, someone could test later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Lucas\u2019s file contain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood-type records. Later genetic samples from medical treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStored sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same stored material Catherine eventually used to create Ethan.<\/p>\n
This family had preserved more DNA than truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Margot ever ask about those samples?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShortly after she started working for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Lucas\u2019s medical archives still existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she access them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Nina, who was listening.<\/p>\n
She noted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard know Margot worked for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever object?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy recommend her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds plausible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said we owed her stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Money and employment instead of truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if Marcus is Lucas\u2019s son?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother whispered, \u201cThen Richard knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would not have let Margot near us otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not proof.<\/p>\n
But it fit Richard\u2019s pattern.<\/p>\n
Keep secrets close where they could be monitored.<\/p>\n
Give Margot a job.<\/p>\n
Give Helena money.<\/p>\n
Keep Catherine uncertain.<\/p>\n
Control through proximity.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever notice Margot paying special attention to Marcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother thought.<\/p>\n
Then her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat scholarship?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Marcus was hired, he had student loans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot suggested MHC create a technical-recruitment loan repayment benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecifically for him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe framed it broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone else receive it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina typed.<\/p>\n
She would know soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Margot secretly paid his debt\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may have been helping him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a distance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not using him.<\/p>\n
Protecting him.<\/p>\n
At least perhaps.<\/p>\n
That complicated Margot again.<\/p>\n
Destroyer of my marriage.<\/p>\n
Architect of traps.<\/p>\n
Possible mother who made sure her son grew up far from Mercer power.<\/p>\n
People refused to remain simple.<\/p>\n
At noon, Nina received the unsealed birth index.<\/p>\n
She called immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth mother confirmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot Pierce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFather?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot on birth certificate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGenetic test?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill pending.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName at birth?\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew Pierce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
The adoption had changed his first and last name.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Lucas present?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny hospital notes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne social-work summary survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina read.<\/p>\n
Mother requests no contact with father\u2019s family. States paternal relatives use money and influence to control dependents. Fears child will become instrument in inheritance dispute.<\/p>\n
Clara looked at me.<\/p>\n
Margot had seen the future.<\/p>\n
Or something close to it.<\/p>\n
She hid her son precisely to prevent what Catherine later did to Ethan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy tell everyone she miscarried?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Catherine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly him too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Lucas wanted to meet Julian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not mean he would have treated Margot\u2019s child well.\u201d<\/p>\n
True.<\/p>\n
Nina continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMother intends to maintain distant financial support if possible without revealing identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus\u2019s scholarship.<\/p>\n
Birthdays remembered.<\/p>\n
Questions about where his parents lived.<\/p>\n
She had watched from afar.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot is your birth mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed out.<\/p>\n
Not quite a sob.<\/p>\n
Not quite relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the result.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should feel something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou probably feel many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve sat across tables from her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe watched me grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords say she believed the Mercer family would turn you into leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was right about the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she protect me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered before evidence could stop me.<\/p>\n
Then corrected.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause now I have to hate someone who might have loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood exactly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m becoming experienced with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed despite himself.<\/p>\n
Then Nina sent me a message.<\/p>\n
DNA preliminary kinship complete.<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
Marcus spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I read twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was Lucas Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then a long exhale.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Julian\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs likely your half-brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso your half-brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed once.<\/p>\n
The sound was almost broken.<\/p>\n
\u201cI joined Mercer Holdings because the salary was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd ended up working for cousins I didn\u2019t know I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargot did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus stopped.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Catherine knew I was Lucas\u2019s son\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why create Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara looked at me.<\/p>\n
The question was obvious once he asked it.<\/p>\n
Catherine had claimed she created Ethan as an heir.<\/p>\n
As leverage over Julian.<\/p>\n
But Lucas already had another biological son.<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
An adult.<\/p>\n
More plausible as an heir than an engineered child.<\/p>\n
I looked at Nina.<\/p>\n
She had reached the same conclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine didn\u2019t create Ethan because Lucas had no other son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to reexamine the embryo records.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Ethan may not have been created for Julian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor someone Catherine believed had a stronger legal claim than Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Clara.<\/p>\n
Then at Leo\u2019s incubator beyond the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus refused to leave his apartment until Nina\u2019s team arrived. That was the first sensible decision anyone in this family had made without argument. He stayed on the line with … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23851","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\/23851","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=23851"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23889,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23851\/revisions\/23889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}