Chapter 3 - THE SECRET IN MY BROTHER'S MEDICAL FILE
I left Roman's office with the photograph in my pocket and a terrible feeling in my stomach.
He offered to send two men to our apartment.
I refused.
He offered to have Eli's medical records examined by an independent specialist.
I refused that, too.
Finally, he asked what I needed.
"The truth," I said. "And for you to stop treating my family like another business problem."
For the first time, Roman looked genuinely ashamed.
"Fair enough."
He handed me a card with his private number.
"If anyone approaches you or Eli, call me."
"I can protect my brother."
"I believe you."
"Then why do you keep acting as though I can't?"
"Because your father once said exactly the same thing to me. He was right about many things. I don't intend to make the same mistake twice."
I walked out before he could say anything else.
Adrian drove me home.
The entire way, I watched the streets for unfamiliar cars.
When I reached our building, I found Eli sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of medical bills spread in front of him.
He looked up.
"You're back early."
"How's your chest?"
He blinked.
"What?"
"You said you were tired last night."
"I'm always tired."
The answer was too casual.
I set my bag down.
"Eli, have you been feeling worse?"
He looked away.
That frightened me.
"How long?"
"A few weeks."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because every time I tell you something is wrong, you look at me like you're about to sell a kidney to pay for it."
"Don't joke about that."
"I'm not joking."
His voice cracked.
"I'm tired of being the reason you can't have a life."
I sat across from him.
"You are not the reason. You're my brother."
He rubbed his face.
"There's something else."
My heart sank.
He opened his laptop and turned it toward me.
An email from the cardiology clinic filled the screen. His latest appointment had been moved to the next morning. Beneath it was a notification stating that his insurance authorization had been suspended pending verification of an old medical record.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. The clinic said someone requested a review of my original diagnosis."
"Who?"
"They wouldn't tell me."
I thought of Roman's photograph.
Someone was watching Eli. Someone knew about his medical history. Someone was searching through records that should have been private.
I called the clinic.
After ten minutes of transfers, a supervisor finally agreed to speak with me. She confirmed that the request had come through an outside legal office. The office claimed it was verifying a possible discrepancy in Eli's birth documentation.
"Birth documentation?" I repeated.
"That's what the request says."
I ended the call and stared at my brother.
"Eli, do you know anything about your birth records?"
He frowned.
"What kind of question is that?"
"Did Dad ever tell you anything unusual?"
"No."
"Did you ever see a different birth certificate?"
"No. Why?"
I couldn't tell him everything yet.
Instead, I said, "Someone is asking questions about our family."
Eli went very still.
Then he reached into his desk drawer and removed an old envelope.
"I was going to give you this on your birthday."
Inside was a letter in our father's handwriting.
Tessa,
If you're reading this, something has happened that I hoped to prevent.
Trust the people who show you the truth, not the people who tell you what you want to hear.
There is something about Eli's birth that I should have explained years ago. I made a promise to protect him, and I believed silence was the safest way to keep it.
I was wrong about many things.
I'm sorry that I may have left you to finish what I couldn't.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
I read it again, then looked at Eli.
"Where did you get this?"
"It was inside Dad's toolbox. I found it a week after the funeral."
"You've had this for five months?"
"I didn't understand what it meant!"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought it was about some old debt. I didn't want to make things worse."
I stood and walked to the window.
For years, I had believed our father had left us with nothing but grief and bills.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether he'd left us a dangerous secret instead.
A knock sounded at the door.
We both froze.
I checked the peephole.
A woman stood in the hallway wearing a cream coat and carrying a leather portfolio. She looked to be in her late thirties, with perfect makeup and a smile that seemed carefully practiced.
When I opened the door a few inches, she held up an identification card.
"Ms. Vaughn? My name is Vanessa Reed. I'm an attorney representing the estate of Daniel Vaughn."
I glanced at Eli.
"There's no estate."
"That may be a misunderstanding."
She held out a business card.
"I'd like to discuss an inheritance matter. Privately."
"Then send us a letter."
Her smile tightened.
"I'm afraid this is time-sensitive. Your brother's medical situation may be directly affected."
I felt cold all over.
"What do you know about his medical situation?"
"Only what appears in the records."
"Which records?"
She lowered her voice.
"Ms. Vaughn, your father made arrangements that could change your brother's life. If you'd allow me inside, I can explain."
I didn't move.
"Who hired you?"
Before she could answer, Eli appeared behind me.
The moment he saw her, he dropped the envelope.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
"Eli," she whispered.
My brother stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
"You said you'd never come back."
The hallway fell silent.
I turned toward him.
"What does she mean?"
Eli's face had gone white.
Vanessa recovered first.
"I believe your brother is confused."
"No," Eli said, his voice shaking. "I remember you."
He stepped backward.
"You were at the hospital when I was little."
Vanessa looked directly at me.
"Your father asked me to keep a promise. I did so for twenty years. But now, someone else has decided that promise no longer matters."
She placed a sealed envelope on the floor.
"Read this before you speak to Roman Mercer again."
Then she walked away.
I picked up the envelope.
Inside was a photocopy of a birth certificate.
The mother's name was blank.
The father's name was Daniel Vaughn.
But the date of birth was wrong.
It was eighteen months earlier than Eli's actual birthday.
At the bottom, someone had stamped the document with a red warning.
RECORD SEALED BY COURT ORDER.
I looked at my brother.
"Eli, what aren't you telling me?"
May you like
He swallowed.
Then he whispered, "Tessa, I don't think Dad was my biological father."
