Chapter 6 - The Truth Behind M-17
My first reaction was anger.
Not relief.
Not happiness.
Anger.
“He let me bury an empty coffin?”
Luka sat across from me.
“We don't know that.”
“Yes, we do.”
The investigator confirmed it within hours.
My father's death certificate had been falsified.
The cremation record belonged to an unidentified patient.
Thomas Bennett had disappeared.
To protect me.
Again.
I hated him for it.
And desperately wanted to see him.
The confession contained coordinates to a rural property in Vermont.
Authorities went first.
Then Luka and I.
Thomas was sitting on the porch when our car arrived.
Older.
Thinner.
Alive.
I got out.
He stood.
“Emma.”
I slapped him.
Luka looked away.
Dad touched his cheek.
“I deserved that.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“I cried over you.”
“I know.”
“You don't get to say that!”
My voice broke.
“You weren't there when I got pregnant. You weren't there when she was born. You weren't there when my husband walked out.”
Dad looked at the baby in my arms.
His eyes filled.
“Is that her?”
I almost said no.
Instead, I stepped closer.
“Her name is Grace.”
Dad smiled.
“Your mother's favorite name.”
I glanced at Luka.
“My real mother?”
“Maria.”
Luka stepped forward.
Thomas stared at him.
“Luka.”
“You could've told me.”
“I wanted to.”
“For nineteen years?”
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“If Northstar learned you were siblings, they'd know Emma carried the marker.”
Luka shook his head.
“So you separated us.”
“I kept you alive.”
“And almost left her alone.”
Thomas looked at me.
“I made mistakes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That might be the understatement of the century.”
Then Grace started crying.
Dad instinctively stepped forward.
He stopped himself.
“May I?”
I looked at him.
This man had lied to me.
Protected me.
Hurt me.
Saved me.
Families were complicated.
I handed him Grace.
He held her carefully.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Grace immediately stopped crying.
Luka muttered, “Traitor.”
I laughed.
For the first time since the hospital, it felt natural.
Thomas looked at Luka.
“Your mother would be proud of you.”
Luka's jaw tightened.
“You don't know what I've become.”
“I know exactly what you've become.”
Thomas nodded toward me.
“You came when she needed you.”
Luka looked at me.
I smiled.
“He did.”
Over the following weeks, the M-17 evidence went public through attorneys, federal investigators, and former patients.
Northstar Biomedical collapsed under criminal investigations and civil lawsuits.
Executives were arrested.
Families finally received answers.
Daniel was charged with illegally selling protected medical information and obstructing the investigation.
His cooperation reduced the eventual consequences, but it didn't save his reputation.
Or our marriage.
Three months later, Daniel asked to see me.
We met in my attorney's office.
He looked smaller.
“Emma.”
“What do you want?”
“To apologize.”
“Okay.”
He seemed surprised.
“That's it?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want to see Grace.”
“You'll have to prove you want to be her father rather than own access to her.”
“I do.”
“Then prove it.”
He nodded.
Before leaving, he placed an envelope on the table.
“What is that?”
“The final DNA report from M-17.”
My stomach tightened.
“I thought we had everything.”
“Not this.”
Luka, standing near the door, immediately became alert.
Daniel looked at him.
“You don't know what's inside either.”
“No.”
Daniel turned to me.
“Northstar offered me everything to destroy it.”
“How much?”
“Five million.”
I stared at the envelope.
“What's inside?”
Daniel swallowed.
“The identity of Grace's biological grandfather.”
Luka frowned.
“We already know Daniel's father.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not my side.”
He pointed toward me.
“Yours.”
The room became silent.
My biological father.
The last missing piece.
Daniel looked at me.
“If you open that envelope, there's no going back.”
I picked it up.
May you like
And for once, I wasn't afraid.
“Good.”
