“He is your son.”
Daniel’s eyes sharpened.
“Is he?”
“The test—”
He laughed softly.
“Your mother arranged that test.”
My blood chilled.
“She told me the truth after the divorce,” he said. “She said she switched it. Said you needed stability. Said I owed you after everything.”
My hand tightened on the phone.
“She lied.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
He tilted his head.
“You always were easy to convince.”
I forced myself not to react.
“What did Noah see?”
His smile faded.
For the first time, I saw fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“You have no idea what your family is,” he said.
“My family?”
“You think this started with Patricia?” He leaned toward the glass. “Your grandfather built that room. Your mother kept it running. Madison wanted in because she was tired of being nobody. And you…”
He smiled again, slowly.
“You were supposed to be the next one.”
I stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Why do you think Patricia pushed you toward me?” he asked. “Why do you think she paid for the wedding? Why do you think she helped with the paternity test, the house, the divorce attorney? She wasn’t protecting you. She was placing you.”
My pulse thundered in my ears.
“No.”
“She had plans for you.”
“You’re lying.”
“Ask her about the red book.”
I went still.
He saw it.
“Oh,” he said. “You remember.”
I did.
Not clearly. Not enough.
A red leather book locked in my mother’s nightstand. I saw it once when I was eleven. Madison dared me to open the drawer while our mother was at the grocery store. Inside were envelopes, old photographs, and that book. I had barely touched it before my mother appeared in the doorway.
I remembered the slap.
I remembered blood in my mouth.
I remembered her whispering, Never open what belongs to you before it is given.
Before it is given.
My throat tightened.
“What was in it?”
Daniel’s smile vanished completely.
“Insurance.”
“Against who?”
He looked over his shoulder, though there was no one behind him but a guard.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Against the people above her.”
The people above her.
