Chapter 5 - The Son They Stole
Adrian didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Claire.
At six in the morning, his private investigator arrived at the bakery with a laptop and a stack of hospital records.
His name was Marcus Reed.
He had worked for Adrian for twelve years, and unlike Daniel, he had never been part of the family.
“There's a problem,” Marcus said.
Adrian looked up.
“Tell me.”
“The hospital's archived records were accessed three weeks ago.”
“By whom?”
“An account belonging to Park Meridian's legal department.”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“Daniel.”
“Probably. But there's something else.”
Marcus opened a scanned document.
A child had been transferred from Harborview to a private neonatal facility in Portland.
The transfer authorization carried a signature from a hospital administrator.
The receiving party was listed as a charitable foundation.
The same foundation had received millions from the Park family.
Claire stared at the screen.
“Can we find him?”
Marcus hesitated.
“I found a possible match.”
He opened a photograph.
A six-year-old boy stood beside a woman in a blue cardigan.
He had dark hair.
A familiar dimple.
Claire covered her mouth.
Adrian leaned closer.
“What's his name?”
“Lucas.”
The boy lived at a private children's residence outside Portland.
His legal guardian was listed as a woman named Margaret Ellis.
Claire's eyes filled.
“That's my son.”
Adrian reached for her hand.
This time she didn't pull away.
They drove to Portland that afternoon.
Emma and Ethan stayed with Claire's trusted bakery manager, Mrs. Alvarez.
Before leaving, Ethan hugged Adrian.
“Bring my brother home.”
Adrian knelt.
“I will do everything I can.”
Ethan frowned.
“Everything means everything?”
Adrian nodded.
“Everything.”
The residence was a beautiful old house surrounded by trees.
Margaret Ellis met them at the door.
She was in her sixties, with silver hair and tired eyes.
When Claire showed her the photograph, the woman's face went pale.
“I wondered when this day would come.”
Claire stepped forward.
“You know who I am?”
Margaret nodded.
“I was told you had died.”
Claire recoiled.
“What?”
“Five years ago, Daniel Seo brought the baby here. He said the mother had died during childbirth and the father was unable to care for him.”
Adrian's voice became dangerously quiet.
“And you believed him?”
“I was shown documents. Legal guardianship papers. A medical certificate.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Where is my son?”
Margaret looked toward the staircase.
“He's upstairs.”
A small boy appeared at the landing.
He was holding a stuffed dinosaur.
Claire recognized his face immediately.
She wanted to run toward him.
But she stopped herself.
He was a stranger who shared her blood.
And she didn't want to frighten him.
“Hi,” she whispered.
The boy studied her.
“Are you the lady from the picture?”
Claire nodded.
“Yes.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“Lucas, this is someone who has been looking for you.”
The boy looked at Adrian.
“Is he my dad?”
Adrian's eyes shone.
“Yes.”
Lucas gripped the dinosaur.
“Why didn't you come?”
The question nearly broke him.
“I didn't know you were here.”
Lucas looked at Claire.
“Did you know?”
She shook her head.
“No, sweetheart. I didn't know either.”
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Lucas descended the stairs one step at a time.
He stopped in front of Claire.
“Can I hug you?”
She dropped to her knees.
“Whenever you want.”
He wrapped his arms around her neck.
Claire held him carefully, sobbing into his hair.
Adrian stood beside them, one hand covering his mouth.
Then Margaret spoke.
“There's something else you need to know.”
She retrieved a sealed envelope from a drawer.
“Daniel left this with me. He said I should give it to the boy's father if he ever came looking.”
Adrian opened it.
Inside was a photograph of a woman.
A woman Claire had never seen before.
On the back was a handwritten note.
The third child was never supposed to survive.
Adrian stared at the sentence.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret looked at him.
“Daniel didn't bring Lucas here alone. There was another man with him.”
“Who?”
Margaret's voice dropped.
“Your father.”
Adrian went completely still.
“My father was dead.”
May you like
Margaret shook her head.
“No. I saw him three weeks after his funeral.”
