“And you spent that night together.”
“One night.”
“Then you began seeing Daniel weeks later.”
“Yes.”
“You had no idea they were father and son?”
“No.”
I paced away from the table.
This wasn’t a triangle.
It was a maze built by secrets.
“So the baby is Lucas’s.”
“The probability is extremely high.”
“Does Lucas know?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“No.”
I turned sharply.
“You came to London before telling him?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Daniel?”
“No. Of Charles.”
That stopped me.
“Why?”
“Because Charles offered Lucas money to disappear.”
“How much?”
“Two million.”
“Lucas refused?”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“Charles threatened to contest every claim, expose Rachel’s history, destroy Lucas professionally.”
“Why protect Daniel from having a son?”
“He wasn’t protecting Daniel.”
Vanessa’s voice hardened.
“He was protecting the inheritance structure.”
There it was again.
Money disguised as family.
Legacy disguised as love.
“What inheritance?”
“If Daniel is Thomas Hale’s biological son and Lucas is Daniel’s son, then Lucas has a claim tied to the Hale intellectual property and possibly the Riverside project.”
