Chapter 2 - The Man Who Came Back Smiling
Weston stood in the doorway.
His eyes remained fixed on the folder.
“What is that?”
Sable closed it.
“You tell me.”
His expression tightened.
“Where did you get it?”
“From my uncle's attorney.”
Weston stepped closer.
“Sable, Elliott was sick.”
“He was very clear.”
“He wasn't thinking rationally.”
“He left legal instructions.”
“About me?”
“About Callaway Holdings.”
Weston stopped.
Olivia crossed her arms.
“Maybe you should leave.”
“I want to see my daughter.”
Sable looked at him.
“You had your chance.”
His jaw tightened.
“Don't make this difficult.”
Sable laughed softly.
“You're the one who refused to put your name on her birth certificate.”
“That was a decision about the company.”
“No.”
Sable touched Marlo's cheek.
“That was a decision about your daughter.”
Weston looked toward the baby.
For a moment, guilt crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“I need to speak to you privately.”
“You can speak here.”
“No.”
“Then don't speak.”
Weston left.
Olivia watched him go.
“You know what scares me?”
Sable asked.
“What?”
“He wasn't surprised about the clause.”
The next morning, the hospital's legal department arrived.
They explained that Weston had already attempted to change Marlo's preliminary birth documentation.
Sable's attorney immediately intervened.
The matter became a legal dispute.
But then something stranger happened.
Camille appeared.
She stood outside Sable's room wearing a cream-colored coat.
Sable recognized her immediately.
Camille looked nervous.
“Can I come in?”
“No.”
Camille swallowed.
“I need to tell you something.”
Sable stared at her.
“About your son?”
Camille's face changed.
“He isn't Weston's.”
Silence.
Sable didn't understand.
“What?”
Camille looked toward the hallway.
“Your husband isn't the father.”
Olivia stepped forward.
“Then who is?”
“I don't know.”
Camille's voice broke.
“That's the problem.”
She entered the room.
“Weston told everyone the baby was his.”
“Wasn't he?”
“No.”
Camille pulled out an envelope.
“He paid for a private DNA test.”
Sable opened it.
The result was clear.
Weston Callaway was not the child's biological father.
Sable stared.
“Why would he lie?”
Camille shook her head.
“Because my son is connected to something bigger.”
“What?”
Camille looked at Marlo.
“Your uncle Elliott found out.”
Sable's heart raced.
“What did he find?”
“I don't know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Camille whispered:
“The Callaway family has been hiding something for decades.”
Before she could continue, the door opened.
Weston's mother, Vivian Callaway, entered.
She looked at Camille.
“You.”
Camille stepped back.
Vivian's expression became icy.
“You were told never to speak to Sable.”
Camille trembled.
“I changed my mind.”
Vivian looked at Sable.
“Give me the folder.”
Sable almost smiled.
“No.”
Vivian's face hardened.
“You don't understand what you're holding.”
“I understand enough.”
“You think Elliott protected you.”
“He did.”
“He put you in danger.”
Sable stared.
“From whom?”
Vivian didn't answer.
Then she looked at Marlo.
“From the people who want that child.”
Sable felt a chill.
“Why would anyone want my daughter?”
Vivian leaned closer.
“Because your daughter may be the only person who can legally destroy this family.”
Then she walked away.
Sable sat frozen.
Olivia whispered:
“What the hell did she mean?”
Sable opened the folder again.
This time, she noticed something she'd missed.
A small notation beside Clause Seven.
See Schedule D.
Schedule D wasn't attached.
But a handwritten note was.
The original is where Elliott died.
Sable stared at the words.
Her uncle had died at his lake house.
Two days later, she and Olivia drove there.
The house had been untouched since his death.
They searched the study.
Nothing.
Then Olivia noticed the fireplace.
“What's that?”
A loose brick.
Behind it was a small metal key.
The key opened a drawer in Elliott's desk.
Inside was a second folder.
This one contained photographs.
Weston.
Vivian.
Camille.
And a man Sable had never seen.
A final photograph showed Elliott speaking to him.
May you like
On the back were three words:
THE REAL FATHER.
