Chapter 14 - THE LAST NAME ON THE LIST
Manon felt the ground shift beneath her feet.
Noah.
Adopted.
The words made no sense.
She remembered every moment of her pregnancy.
The morning sickness.
The swollen ankles.
The sleepless nights.
The first ultrasound.
The tiny heartbeat that had made her cry.
She remembered the delivery room.
The pain.
The exhaustion.
The moment the nurse placed Noah against her chest.
He was her son.
There was no question.
“There has to be a mistake,” she said.
Officer Ramirez lowered her voice.
“Mrs. Whitmore, the man has documents.”
“Then they're forged.”
“We're checking them.”
Manon closed her eyes.
Jonathan Reed.
Her biological father.
A man she had never met.
A man whose name appeared in the ledger.
Why would he suddenly appear now?
And why would he claim Noah was adopted?
She looked toward Laurent.
“We need to go back to the station.”
He studied her expression.
“What happened?”
She told him.
His face darkened.
“Let's go.”
The drive back to Briar Glen was quiet.
Anna sat beside Elias in another vehicle.
Bennett had been taken to the hospital.
Mercer was in custody.
And somewhere, Mayor Hale was still missing.
Manon stared through the windshield.
The town looked ordinary.
Streetlights glowed.
Families sat down to dinner.
A teenager rode his bicycle past a gas station.
Life continued.
It always did.
Even when someone's world had been torn apart.
They reached the police station at 7:18 p.m.
Manon hurried inside.
Noah was sitting in the waiting room with Officer Ramirez.
He jumped up when he saw her.
“Mom!”
She dropped to her knees and held him.
For several seconds, she could not speak.
She simply breathed in the familiar scent of his hair.
Soap.
Crayons.
Peanut butter.
Home.
“I'm here,” she whispered.
Noah pulled back.
“Can we go home now?”
Manon kissed his forehead.
“Soon, baby.”
He looked toward the hallway.
“There's a man who says he knows Grandpa.”
Manon's heart tightened.
“What man?”
Noah pointed.
A tall man in his early sixties stood near the reception desk.
He wore a dark jacket.
His hair was gray at the temples.
His expression was anxious.
When he saw Manon, he went pale.
“Anna's daughter,” he whispered.
Manon stood.
“Jonathan Reed?”
He nodded.
Her voice hardened.
“Why are you telling people my son is adopted?”
Jonathan looked confused.
“I never said that.”
Manon turned toward Ramirez.
The officer frowned.
“Sir, you told us you had documents concerning the child's parentage.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“No. I said I had documents concerning Manon's parentage.”
Silence.
Laurent stepped forward.
“Then why did you identify yourself as Noah's father?”
Jonathan looked horrified.
“I didn't. I said I was his grandfather.”
Ramirez's face flushed.
“There must have been a misunderstanding during intake.”
Manon closed her eyes.
Relief washed over her so intensely that her knees weakened.
Noah was her son.
Nothing had changed.
But another question remained.
“Why are you here?” she asked Jonathan.
He looked toward the floor.
“Because I heard Anna was alive.”
Manon stared.
“You knew her?”
His eyes filled.
“She was my wife.”
Manon's breath caught.
Jonathan continued.
“We had two children. You and Elias.”
“Then where were you?”
His face crumpled.
“I was told you were dead.”
Manon felt a familiar pain rise inside her.
Another lie.
Another stolen relationship.
Another family destroyed by people who believed they had the right to decide who belonged together.
Jonathan reached into his jacket.
He removed a faded envelope.
“I've carried this for twenty-three years.”
He handed it to her.
Inside was a photograph.
Anna.
Jonathan.
Manon.
Elias.
All four standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Manon was holding a stuffed rabbit.
Elias was laughing.
Jonathan's voice broke.
“I never stopped looking.”
Manon stared at the photograph.
For the first time, she saw what her family had looked like before everything was taken.
She wanted to believe him.
She wanted to run into his arms.
But trust had become complicated.
“Why didn't you find us?”
Jonathan lowered his eyes.
“I tried. I hired investigators. I contacted agencies. I wrote letters.”
He swallowed.
“Every lead ended with the same answer.”
“What answer?”
“That the children had died in the hospital fire.”
Manon felt tears rise.
Jonathan continued.
“I believed it because the documents looked official. There were death certificates. Hospital records. A court order.”
Laurent stepped closer.
“Who signed the court order?”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Judge Walter Price.”
Manon remembered the ledger.
The same judge who authorized her removal.
The same man who had helped destroy her family.
She looked toward Laurent.
“He's on the list.”
Laurent nodded.
“Yes.”
Manon took the folded paper from her purse.
Twenty-seven names.
Twenty-seven dates.
She studied them again.
Most dates referred to tragedies.
But one detail had never been explained.
Her own name.
MANON — TODAY, 2:30 P.M.
She looked at Jonathan.
“Do you know who wrote this?”
He examined the paper.
His expression changed.
“Yes.”
Manon's heart pounded.
“Who?”
He pointed to the handwriting.
“Anna.”
Manon froze.
“My mother?”
Jonathan nodded.
“She used to write dates like this in her case files.”
Laurent frowned.
“Then why would she write today's date twenty-three years ago?”
Jonathan shook his head.
“She wouldn't.”
Manon stared at the page.
The old policeman had said the list was identical to one discovered twenty-three years earlier.
But perhaps it wasn't identical.
Perhaps someone had altered it.
She turned the paper over.
Held it toward the light.
And noticed something.
The ink beside her name was darker.
Newer.
The date had been added recently.
Manon's heart hammered.
She looked toward Laurent.
“This wasn't written twenty-three years ago.”
He leaned closer.
She pointed.
“Someone changed my date.”
Laurent examined the paper.
Then nodded.
“You're right.”
Manon felt a chill.
“Then the person who wrote this knew exactly what would happen today.”
A voice spoke from behind them.
“Of course they did.”
Everyone turned.
Clara stood in the doorway.
Her clothes were dirty.
Her face was bruised.
But she was alive.
Manon stared at her.
“Clara?”
She nodded.
Then slowly raised her hands.
“I came to surrender.”
Laurent stepped forward.
“Where's Mayor Hale?”
Clara looked at Manon.
“He's at the old courthouse.”
“Why?”
Clara swallowed.
“Because that's where the original adoption records are stored.”
Manon's stomach tightened.
“What is he doing there?”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“Destroying the last evidence that could expose everyone involved.”
Laurent reached for his radio.
But Clara raised a hand.
“Wait.”
She looked at Manon.
“There's one more thing.”
Manon stared at her.
“What?”
Clara's voice trembled.
“The three men who came to your house last night weren't strangers.”
Manon's heart pounded.
“Who were they?”
Clara looked toward Elias.
“One was your brother.”
Then toward Jonathan.
“One was your father.”
Manon froze.
“And the third?”
May you like
Clara began crying.
“The third man was the person who started the hospital fire.”
