Chapter 13 - MICHAEL'S LAST CARD
Michael claimed Daniel had known about me for years.
Not six months.
Years.
According to Michael, Daniel had secretly approached him before our wedding.
I didn't believe it.
Then Michael's attorney produced a photograph.
Daniel and Michael.
Standing outside a restaurant in Chicago.
Date stamp.
Four years earlier.
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Daniel.
He said nothing.
"Is that real?"
"Yes."
I felt betrayed all over again.
"You met my husband?"
"Once."
"You said you found me six months ago."
"I confirmed you were my daughter six months ago."
"That's not what I asked."
Daniel's face tightened.
He explained that years earlier, an investigator searching for Laura found Michael's name connected to mine through a public engagement announcement.
Daniel still had no confirmation that Laura Hayes was Laura Bennett.
But he became suspicious.
"So you met Michael."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I wanted information about your mother."
"What did he tell you?"
"That she was dead."
I stared at him.
"And me?"
"He said you wanted nothing to do with your biological past."
I almost stopped breathing.
"I never said that."
"I know now."
"Did you believe him?"
Daniel looked ashamed.
"Yes."
Anger rose through me.
"You let my husband decide whether you contacted me?"
"I thought I was respecting your wishes."
"You didn't ask me."
"No."
"Why would Michael lie?"
Rebecca answered.
"Money."
We both looked at her.
She placed documents on the table.
Four years earlier, Michael had been preparing to marry me.
He already knew my consulting company had potential.
But when Daniel approached him, Michael discovered something much bigger.
If I was Daniel Bennett's daughter, I could become heir to part of Daniel's fortune.
Michael didn't keep Daniel away because he feared disruption.
He kept Daniel away because he wanted to control when the relationship happened.
Or prevent it until he controlled me legally through marriage.
"How much did Michael know?" I asked.
Daniel looked sick.
"Enough to know I had no other children."
The room went silent.
Michael had married a woman he thought might someday inherit billions.
Then, after years without confirmation, he decided my existing assets and insurance were enough.
My death became simpler than waiting.
Rebecca leaned forward.
"There's more."
Michael had secretly hired a genealogist two years earlier.
The researcher concluded there was a strong probability Daniel was my biological father.
Michael never told me.
He also never told Daniel.
Instead, he increased insurance coverage.
My skin crawled.
"He knew."
Daniel's voice was barely audible.
"He knew before I did."
That night, I confronted Daniel.
Not as a billionaire.
As my father.
"You should have contacted me."
"I know."
"You should have ignored Michael."
"I know."
"You lost four years because you trusted the man who tried to kill me."
Daniel did not defend himself.
"I will regret that until I die."
I stared at him for a long time.
Then I said, "Don't hide anything from me again."
"Never."
"Even if you think you're protecting me."
"Especially then."
I nodded.
Trust would take time.
But unlike Michael, Daniel understood something important.
May you like
Forgiveness could not be demanded.
It had to be earned.
