Chapter 5 - Evelyn's Last Investigation
Claire did not open the envelope immediately.
She looked at Adrian.
He looked terrified.
That frightened her more than anything else.
Bianca stood.
"What did your mother know about me?"
Adrian's voice was sharp.
"Nothing."
Martin glanced toward him.
"That isn't accurate."
Bianca stared.
"Why would she hire an investigator?"
Martin answered.
"Because she believed her son was hiding financial assets."
Adrian paced away.
"The investigator wasn't supposed to investigate Bianca."
"No," Martin agreed. "But Bianca appeared repeatedly in financial records."
Claire opened the envelope.
Inside was a short handwritten note.
Claire,
I am sorry that some truths arrive too late to spare pain.
But sometimes truth can still prevent a second mistake.
Do not punish the innocent for the choices of adults.
And before Adrian builds another life on a lie, make him look at the evidence.
Love,
Evelyn
Claire's eyes moved to Noah.
Bianca tightened her arms around him.
"What evidence?"
Martin removed a thin folder.
Adrian shook his head.
"This has gone far enough."
Bianca stared at him.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Then sit down."
He looked at her.
Her voice hardened.
"Sit down, Adrian."
For the first time that evening, he obeyed Bianca.
Martin opened the folder.
"The investigator discovered that Adrian had been transferring money regularly to an account in British Columbia."
Bianca nodded slowly.
"My account."
Claire looked at her.
"Why?"
"Expenses."
"Rent?"
"Some."
"Medical costs?"
Bianca hesitated.
"Yes."
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
Martin continued.
"The investigator also found that Adrian had listed himself as Noah's father on several private insurance documents."
Bianca's eyes narrowed.
"He is Noah's father."
Martin looked at her carefully.
"Did Adrian ever take a paternity test?"
Silence.
Bianca went still.
Claire looked at Adrian.
He would not meet anyone's eyes.
Bianca whispered, "Adrian?"
He stood.
"This is ridiculous."
"Did you?"
"It wasn't necessary."
"Why?"
"Because you told me."
Bianca's face changed.
She looked offended.
Then confused.
Then afraid.
"Of course I told you."
Claire sensed something more complicated than a simple revelation.
Martin spoke carefully.
"The investigator interviewed someone named Marcus Hale."
Bianca's entire body froze.
Adrian stared at her.
"Who is Marcus?"
She did not answer.
"Bianca."
Her lips parted.
"A friend."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"A friend?"
"He was someone I dated."
"When?"
She looked down.
"Before you."
"How long before?"
Silence.
Adrian took one step closer.
"When?"
Bianca's voice dropped.
"Not long."
Noah stirred.
Claire stepped between them.
"Lower your voice."
Adrian looked at her.
"Stay out of this."
Claire's expression changed instantly.
"No."
The word stopped him.
"There is a baby in the room."
She gestured toward Noah.
"Whatever you discover tonight, he does not deserve to hear people screaming around him."
Adrian looked ashamed.
He backed away.
Martin continued.
"Marcus claimed he and Bianca were together during the period when Noah was conceived."
Bianca shook her head.
"He doesn't know that."
"He also provided messages."
She stared.
"What messages?"
Martin handed her copies.
Bianca read.
Her face changed.
Claire could not see the text.
But she didn't need to.
"Those are private."
"They were voluntarily provided."
Adrian held out his hand.
"Give them to me."
Bianca pulled them away.
"No."
"Bianca."
"No."
She read another page.
Then looked at Martin.
"Does Marcus think he's Noah's father?"
"Yes."
Adrian's face darkened.
"He knew?"
Bianca shook her head.
"He suspected."
"And you never told me?"
"I didn't know."
"You told me Noah was mine."
"Because I believed he was."
"You believed?"
Her eyes flashed.
"Don't you dare."
Adrian stopped.
Bianca stood holding Noah.
"You told Claire you were working for your family while using her money to build a life with me."
Adrian looked stunned by the accusation.
"You lied about your marriage."
She continued.
"You lied about your house."
"Bianca—"
"You lied about your mother's money."
"That has nothing to do with this."
"It has everything to do with this."
Claire watched them.
At the airport, she had thought Bianca was the woman who had won.
Now she saw something else.
Bianca was not innocent.
She had participated in an affair.
But she had also been deceived.
Adrian had built their relationship from layers of half-truths.
He told Bianca enough to keep her.
He told Claire enough to keep her waiting.
And he told Evelyn nothing because she had begun seeing through him.
Martin cleared his throat.
"Evelyn's investigator collected a sealed DNA sample from Marcus voluntarily."
Bianca stared.
"Why?"
"In case paternity became legally relevant."
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"My mother really planned everything."
Claire looked at him.
"She spent her final months trying to clean up what you left behind."
His expression tightened.
Martin continued.
"No test was performed because no legally obtained sample from Noah existed."
Bianca held the baby tighter.
"Nobody is touching my son."
"No one is asking you tonight."
Martin placed the folder aside.
"Evelyn's point was not to prove Noah wasn't Adrian's."
Claire understood.
"It was to prove Adrian never bothered to find out."
Martin nodded.
Adrian stared at him.
"What difference does that make?"
Claire answered.
"Because you came into an airport and used that child as a weapon."
He looked at her.
"You didn't say, 'I have a child I love.'"
Claire's voice remained steady.
"You said, 'Bianca gave me the son you never could.'"
Adrian flinched.
Bianca looked sharply at him.
"What?"
Claire froze.
"You didn't know he said that?"
Bianca's eyes widened.
"No."
Adrian looked cornered.
Claire repeated quietly.
"That was the first thing he told me."
Bianca stared at him.
"You told me Claire didn't want children."
Claire's eyes closed.
There it was.
Another lie.
She opened them slowly.
"I had two miscarriages."
Bianca's face collapsed.
"What?"
Claire looked at her.
"The second happened six months before Adrian left."
Bianca's hand went to her mouth.
Adrian looked away.
Claire continued.
"We were trying."
Bianca stared at Adrian.
"You said she refused to start a family."
He said nothing.
"You told me she cared more about her career."
Still nothing.
Bianca began crying.
Not dramatically.
Quiet tears.
Claire looked at Noah.
Then at the young woman holding him.
Suddenly the airport insult felt different.
Not forgiven.
But understood.
Bianca had walked into Terminal 4 believing Claire was a woman who had rejected Adrian, rejected children, and clung to his family home.
Adrian had made both women villains in each other's stories.
Because if they ever spoke honestly, his entire world would collapse.
Bianca wiped her cheek.
"Can I ask you something?"
Claire nodded.
"Did you know about me before today?"
"No."
Bianca looked toward Adrian.
"Then he lied to both of us."
Claire answered carefully.
"Yes."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Bianca, we can talk about this later."
She backed away.
"No."
"You're emotional."
She laughed through tears.
"You really say the same things to everyone, don't you?"
He froze.
Claire almost smiled.
Bianca looked toward Martin.
"What happens with Noah?"
"Legally? Nothing tonight."
"And Adrian?"
"That depends on Adrian."
Martin closed the folder.
"The financial evidence may create separate civil issues."
Adrian turned.
"What does that mean?"
"The unauthorized use of Evelyn's property."
"You said I had power of attorney."
"Power of attorney does not permit self-dealing."
Adrian's face hardened.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No."
Martin stood.
"I'm explaining your exposure."
Claire looked at Adrian.
For the first time, she saw fear.
Not fear of losing her.
Not fear of losing Bianca.
Fear of consequences.
Martin gathered the papers.
"Evelyn left Claire the authority to decide whether the trust pursues repayment."
Adrian stared at Claire.
There it was again.
The calculation.
He approached slowly.
"Claire."
She looked at him.
"Please."
The word sounded strange from him.
"Don't do this."
Claire studied his face.
She remembered a younger Adrian.
The man who once drove three hours because she had a flat tire.
The man who proposed beneath a tree covered in Christmas lights.
The man who cried after their first miscarriage.
Maybe that man had been real.
Maybe people could be real once and selfish later.
Claire did not know.
But forgiveness was not the same as protection.
"I haven't decided anything," she said.
Hope appeared instantly in his face.
Claire saw it.
And hated what came next.
"Your mother already decided what happens first."
"What?"
Claire picked up Evelyn's note.
"She wrote, 'Do not punish the innocent for the choices of adults.'"
Claire looked toward Bianca and Noah.
Then back at Adrian.
"I think she was telling me that none of us should make decisions tonight."
Adrian exhaled.
Bianca looked relieved.
Claire continued.
"But tomorrow morning, you and I are going to the bank."
Adrian stiffened.
May you like
"Why?"
"Because I want to know exactly where every dollar went."
