Chapter 8 - THE IMPOSTOR
I looked at Michael.
He was breathing heavily.
"Tell me she's lying."
He said nothing.
My mother continued.
"The real Michael died when he was twelve."
"How?"
"Caldwell."
I felt sick.
"The boy in the photograph was killed?"
My mother nodded.
"Caldwell's operation involved people who disappeared when they became inconvenient."
"Then who is this man?"
She looked at him.
"Someone who knew Michael."
The stranger's expression changed.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
My mother smiled sadly.
"I know exactly who you are."
He suddenly reached into his coat.
I stepped in front of the children.
My mother shouted:
"Daniel, don't!"
But he didn't pull a weapon.
He pulled a photograph.
It showed him as a young man.
Standing beside the real Michael.
My mother whispered:
"His name is Adrian."
I stared.
Adrian looked at me.
"I was his friend."
"What do you want?"
"The same thing your father wanted."
"Which is?"
"To stop Caldwell."
I looked at my mother.
"Then why pretend to be Michael?"
"Because Caldwell feared Michael."
Adrian's voice cracked.
"I used his identity because it was the only way to get close enough to expose the people responsible."
My mother closed her eyes.
"And Vanessa?"
Adrian looked toward her.
"She was never working for me."
Vanessa stepped forward.
"I was trying to find Noah's trust documents."
"Why?"
"Because Caldwell threatened Daniel."
I looked at her.
"How much of this did you know?"
"Not enough."
My mother interrupted.
"The trust isn't what you think."
Everyone turned.
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small envelope.
"This is what your father actually left Noah."
I took it.
There was no money.
No property deed.
No account information.
Only a handwritten statement.
I read it.
Noah is not the beneficiary because of his blood.
My eyes moved lower.
He is the beneficiary because his mother was the only person who refused to betray this family.
I looked at my mother.
"Who was Noah's mother?"
She looked away.
I felt my chest tighten.
"Mom."
She whispered:
"You already know her."
I shook my head.
"No."
She looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa began crying.
I stared at her.
"No."
Vanessa covered her face.
My mother said:
"Your son's mother was Vanessa."
The room went silent.
I couldn't move.
Noah looked at Vanessa.
"Dad?"
I stared at the woman I thought I knew.
She had lied about everything.
May you like
But the most impossible lie was the one I had never considered.
Vanessa was Noah's mother.
