Chapter 6 - THE FATHER HE NEVER KNEW
“Daniel wasn't my father?”
Sebastian read the sentence aloud, but it sounded like someone else's voice.
Anthony closed his eyes.
Hannah watched the old man's shoulders collapse.
For six years, he had struggled to speak.
Now the truth seemed to weigh more heavily on him than his illness.
Sebastian turned the letter over.
There was nothing else.
“Grandpa, is this true?”
Anthony slowly nodded.
Sebastian stepped backward.
“No.”
Hannah remained seated, unsure whether to speak.
She had known Sebastian less than twenty-four hours.
Yet she understood the expression on his face.
It was the look of someone who had spent his entire life believing one thing about his family, only to discover that the people he loved had hidden another.
“Who was my father?” Sebastian asked.
Anthony reached for his tablet.
His fingers trembled.
Sebastian waited.
Finally, a name appeared.
MICHAEL REED.
Sebastian frowned.
“I've never heard that name.”
Anthony typed again.
GOOD MAN.
Then:
YOUR MOTHER LOVED HIM.
Sebastian lowered himself onto the bench.
His mother, Caroline Castellano, had died when he was sixteen.
He remembered her as warm, patient, and quietly unhappy.
Daniel had often criticized her for spending too much time away from family gatherings.
Now Sebastian wondered what else he'd misunderstood.
“Did she know?” he asked.
Anthony nodded.
“And Daniel?”
Another nod.
Sebastian stared at the floor.
“Then why did he raise me?”
Anthony struggled to type.
Hannah gently moved the tablet closer.
The answer came slowly.
CAROLINE WAS PREGNANT BEFORE WEDDING.
DANIEL AGREED.
Sebastian looked up.
“Agreed to what?”
Anthony typed:
TO BE YOUR FATHER.
Hannah watched Sebastian absorb the words.
Daniel hadn't been deceived.
He had chosen to marry a pregnant woman and raise her child.
But that choice had apparently become another source of resentment.
Sebastian took a long breath.
“Did Michael know about me?”
Anthony nodded.
“Was he alive when I was born?”
Another nod.
Sebastian's voice cracked.
“Then why didn't he come?”
Anthony reached toward the envelope.
Beneath Eleanor's letter was a smaller folded page Sebastian hadn't noticed.
He opened it.
It was dated September 1986, three months before his birth.
Caroline,
I will respect your decision, but please never let our son believe he was unwanted.
If he asks about me, tell him I loved him before I ever saw his face.
Michael.
Sebastian's eyes filled.
He carefully folded the letter.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Hannah looked away, giving him what little privacy she could.
Finally, Sebastian whispered, “I spent my entire life trying to become the man Daniel wanted.”
Anthony touched his arm.
Sebastian looked at him.
“And he knew.”
Anthony nodded, tears falling.
“I don't know if I can forgive that.”
Anthony typed:
I UNDERSTAND.
That answer surprised him.
No demand.
No excuse.
Just understanding.
Hannah spoke softly.
“My mother never told me much about her childhood. I used to think she was ashamed of it.”
Sebastian turned toward her.
“She probably wanted to protect you.”
“Maybe. But sometimes protecting someone with silence only leaves them alone with questions.”
Anthony began crying.
Hannah took his hand.
“That doesn't mean love wasn't there.”
The old man squeezed her fingers.
Sebastian looked toward the clock.
For the first time, he understood that Eleanor's recording wasn't simply evidence of theft.
It was evidence of how many people had suffered because powerful men refused to surrender control.
Marco approached quietly.
“Sir, there's something else in the compartment.”
He held a small envelope containing a faded train ticket.
It was dated December 17, 1999.
Hartford to Boston.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Rosemary, take Hannah north if they come looking. Don't trust Victor.
Hannah stared.
“I was born in 2000. My mother couldn't have been taking me anywhere in 1999.”
Sebastian examined the handwriting.
“It says Hannah.”
Anthony suddenly shook his head.
He reached for the tablet.
NOT YOU.
Hannah looked at him.
“Then who?”
Anthony typed:
HANNAH WAS ELEANOR'S SISTER.
Sebastian frowned.
“Great-aunt Hannah?”
He remembered hearing the name once.
Eleanor's younger sister had died before he was born.
Anthony nodded.
Hannah looked at the ticket again.
“My mother named me after her aunt?”
Anthony smiled through tears.
Then he typed:
ELEANOR SENT ROSE TO HANNAH.
Hannah studied the train ticket.
“So my mother went to Boston after the fire?”
Anthony shook his head.
BEFORE.
Sebastian frowned.
“Before the fire?”
Anthony tapped the date.
December 17, 1999.
The lake house fire had happened on December 23.
Six days later.
Hannah felt a chill.
“Then my mother knew something was wrong before Eleanor died.”
Anthony nodded.
Margaret, who had quietly entered the winter garden, stopped near the door.
“I remember that trip.”
Everyone turned.
Margaret looked at the ticket.
“Rosemary went to Boston to collect papers from Eleanor's sister.”
“What papers?” Sebastian asked.
“Old family records. Letters. Things Eleanor believed would prove that Daniel had altered the trust.”
Sebastian frowned.
“Then why did Rosemary come back?”
Margaret looked at Anthony.
“Because someone told her Eleanor was in danger.”
Anthony closed his eyes.
Sebastian looked at Margaret.
“Who told her?”
Margaret swallowed.
“Victor.”
Hannah stared at the ticket.
Her mother had returned to save someone she loved.
And in doing so, she'd lost her family, her security, and the life she should have had.
But something still didn't fit.
“If Victor wanted the papers destroyed, why bring Rosemary back?”
Margaret's expression changed.
“Because he needed to know where she had hidden them.”
Sebastian looked at Marco.
“Have every document from the clock photographed and preserved. Nothing leaves this garden without a record.”
Marco nodded.
Then Margaret spoke again.
“There's something Vanessa hasn't told you.”
Sebastian looked up.
“What now?”
“Her father gave her a warning three months ago. He said Victor was preparing to sell his controlling interest in the Caldwell company.”
“That doesn't involve me.”
Margaret shook her head.
“It involves the estate.”
Hannah felt her stomach tighten.
“How?”
“The company holds the development rights to the old lake property. Victor wants to build a luxury resort there.”
Sebastian frowned.
“That property belongs to Anthony.”
“Not according to the paperwork Victor filed.”
Sebastian stared.
“What paperwork?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Frederick tried to stop it. That's when he was injured.”
Sebastian turned toward Marco.
“Find out whether any transfer has been recorded.”
Marco stepped away.
Hannah looked at Margaret.
“Why would Victor want the lake property so badly?”
Margaret's face went pale.
“Because Eleanor left something there that he never managed to find.”
Sebastian looked toward the silver watch in Hannah's hand.
“What?”
Margaret whispered, “The original records.”
Hannah frowned.
“Why not tell Anthony?”
“She tried. But someone intercepted every message she sent.”
Anthony suddenly began typing.
His fingers moved faster than Hannah had seen before.
He turned the screen toward Sebastian.
One sentence appeared.
DANIEL DIDN'T ACT ALONE.
Sebastian looked at Margaret.
“We know Victor helped him.”
Anthony shook his head violently.
He typed another sentence.
CAROLINE FOUND OUT.
Sebastian froze.
“My mother?”
Anthony nodded.
May you like
Then three final words appeared.
SHE WAS NEXT.
