Chapter 5 - The Blood Test That Changed Everything
The next morning, they went to Dr. Reynolds.
Nora sat on the examination table while Grant waited beside her.
Caleb remained in the hallway.
No one had slept.
The question hanging over them was too large.
Why had Andrew Whitmore named Nora and Grant's unborn daughter as the final beneficiary?
Dr. Reynolds reviewed the medical file.
“I don't know anything about the trust,” she said.
Grant nodded.
“We need a DNA test.”
Nora's eyes widened.
“For the baby?”
“Not because I doubt she's mine.”
He looked at Caleb.
“We need to know whether there's a connection between our families.”
Nora understood.
“Do you think my mother knew?”
“I don't know.”
They ran the test.
The results arrived two days later.
Grant opened the envelope.
Then froze.
“What?”
Nora reached for it.
He handed it to her.
She read the report.
Then looked up.
“That's impossible.”
Caleb stood.
“What?”
Nora's hands shook.
“The baby has a rare genetic marker.”
Grant stared.
“So?”
Dr. Reynolds spoke carefully.
“It doesn't establish a parentage issue by itself.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“The marker appears in both the Whitmore family records and the Bennett family records.”
Caleb looked confused.
Dr. Reynolds continued.
“It suggests your families share a common ancestor.”
Nora stared at Grant.
“How?”
Grant shook his head.
“My family has lived in Boston for generations.”
“So has mine.”
“There has to be something.”
There was.
It came from Nora's mother.
Elaine Bennett arrived that afternoon.
She looked exhausted.
She was sixty-seven and had spent years pretending age was something other people experienced.
Today she looked frightened.
“Nora,” she whispered.
“You lied to me.”
Elaine closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Grant stood.
“About what?”
“My father.”
Nora stared.
“Dad had money?”
Elaine nodded.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Why did you tell me he died with nothing?”
“Because he wanted you hidden.”
“From who?”
Elaine looked at Grant.
“From the Whitmores.”
Grant frowned.
“What did my family do?”
Elaine's voice shook.
“Your grandfather and mine were partners.”
“In Whitmore Urban?”
“In the original company.”
Grant's chest tightened.
“My family started the company.”
“No.”
Elaine shook her head.
“Two families started it.”
“The Bennett family.”
“Yes.”
Nora stared.
“All these years…”
Elaine nodded.
“Your grandfather believed the company should remain in both families.”
“So what happened?”
“Your father and Andrew's father fought.”
“Over money?”
“Over control.”
“And Martin?”
“He sided with Andrew.”
“Why?”
Elaine looked away.
“Because Martin was in love with me.”
Silence.
Grant's eyebrows rose.
“What?”
Elaine shook her head.
“Long ago.”
Nora stared.
“My mother was involved with Martin?”
“Yes.”
“Did my father know?”
“Yes.”
“And the trust?”
Elaine swallowed.
“Your grandfather created the trust as a peace agreement.”
Grant understood slowly.
The trust belonged to both bloodlines.
The Whitmores.
The Bennetts.
And the future descendants.
Nora's daughter was not chosen because she happened to be Grant's child.
She was chosen because she carried both family lines.
She was the living bridge between two families that had spent decades trying to destroy each other.
Elaine continued.
“But there was another condition.”
“What?”
“If a child from both families was born, the trust would be released in full.”
Grant stared.
“That means…”
“Yes.”
Nora's daughter would unlock almost one hundred million dollars.
Grant sat heavily.
“Martin knew.”
“Yes.”
“Your mother knew.”
“Yes.”
“And my father.”
“Yes.”
Nora began crying.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
Elaine crossed the room.
“Because I was afraid.”
“That excuse again.”
Elaine stopped.
“I know.”
“You all say you're afraid.”
Nora wiped her face.
“And then you let the person you're supposedly protecting live inside the lie.”
Elaine started crying.
“I thought hiding you would keep you alive.”
Nora stared.
“I don't want to hear that anymore.”
Grant quietly placed his hand on Nora's shoulder.
Elaine looked at him.
“You cheated on her.”
Grant nodded.
“I did.”
“You almost lost her.”
“I know.”
Elaine whispered,
“Then don't make the same mistake we all did.”
Grant looked at Nora.
“I won't.”
That evening, Martin called.
Grant answered.
“You've been digging.”
“Yes.”
“You know now.”
“Yes.”
“Then you also know that if the baby is born, everything changes.”
Grant's jaw tightened.
“You threatened my wife.”
“I warned her.”
“You hired people to follow her.”
“I needed leverage.”
“She is pregnant.”
“So?”
Grant felt something inside him snap.
“You're dying, aren't you?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
“Then what are you trying to win?”
“Not money.”
“Then what?”
“Control.”
Grant laughed bitterly.
“At least you're honest.”
Martin's voice softened.
“You have no idea what your father took from me.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
The call ended.
Grant looked at Caleb.
“Where is he?”
Caleb already knew.
“Marblehead.”
They drove there that night.
Martin's mansion stood above the water.
He was waiting.
Old.
Thin.
Still dangerous.
He looked at Grant.
Then Caleb.
For the first time in decades, he saw the two brothers standing together.
His face collapsed.
“You found him.”
Grant said nothing.
Martin looked at Caleb.
“I thought you were dead.”
Caleb replied,
“You wanted me to be.”
Martin's jaw trembled.
“I wanted to protect the company.”
“You wanted control.”
Martin looked at Nora.
“No.”
Then at Grant.
“Your father made a choice.”
“What choice?”
“He chose your mother.”
Grant frowned.
Martin laughed bitterly.
“And she chose someone else.”
The words made no sense.
Grant stepped closer.
“Tell me everything.”
Martin looked toward the ocean.
“I didn't destroy your family.”
May you like
He turned.
“Your father did.”
