Chapter 11 - THE TRUTH ABOUT VICTOR HALE
The investigation uncovered something unexpected.
Victor Hale wasn't my biological father.
A DNA test confirmed it.
I stared at the results.
Then looked at Eleanor.
“Who was?”
She began crying.
“A man named Daniel Mercer.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Eleanor explained that Daniel had been a young attorney working against Victor's financial operation.
They had fallen in love.
When Victor discovered the relationship, he threatened them both.
Daniel disappeared shortly afterward.
Eleanor believed he'd been killed.
But investigators found records suggesting he had survived.
He'd changed his name.
Moved overseas.
And spent years living quietly.
I didn't know what to feel.
Relief.
Anger.
Confusion.
Another father.
Another secret.
Dante sat beside me.
“You don't have to decide anything today.”
I looked at him.
“Do you think he'll want to meet me?”
Dante squeezed my hand.
“If he's worthy of knowing you, he'll understand that the choice is yours.”
I smiled through tears.
“You're getting very good at this.”
“At what?”
“Not telling me what to do.”
He laughed.
“It's been difficult.”
I leaned against him.
“I know.”
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And for the first time, I realized that the truth didn't have to destroy the family I'd known.
It could simply make room for more people who loved me.
