By the time I returned to my hospital room, my body was reminding me that I had undergone major surgery.<\/p>\n
Every movement hurt.<\/p>\n
Not sharply enough to make me cry out.<\/p>\n
But enough to make me aware of the incision beneath my hospital gown.<\/p>\n
I was tired.<\/p>\n
My shoulders ached.<\/p>\n
My mouth felt dry.<\/p>\n
And I wanted to close my eyes for several hours.<\/p>\n
But my mind wouldn't settle.<\/p>\n
I kept thinking about the letters.<\/p>\n
I kept thinking about Vance's expression.<\/p>\n
And I kept hearing him tell me that he had been trying to protect me.<\/p>\n
I didn't know what he meant by protection anymore.<\/p>\n
The nurse helped me settle into bed.<\/p>\n
She adjusted the blanket.<\/p>\n
Then she checked on my condition.<\/p>\n
I answered her questions.<\/p>\n
I listened to the instructions about recovery.<\/p>\n
And I promised I would rest.<\/p>\n
I meant it.<\/p>\n
At least, I wanted to mean it.<\/p>\n
But after the nurse left, I turned toward Warren.<\/p>\n
He was standing near the window.<\/p>\n
The rain had stopped.<\/p>\n
Seattle looked gray and quiet beyond the glass.<\/p>\n
I watched him for a moment.<\/p>\n
He seemed lost in thought.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he was thinking about Vance.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he was thinking about Catherine.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he was trying to understand how one evening had changed both our lives.<\/p>\n
I didn't ask.<\/p>\n
Instead, I looked at the chair beside my bed.<\/p>\n
"Sit down."<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
He looked surprised to be given instructions.<\/p>\n
Then he pulled the chair closer.<\/p>\n
"How are you feeling?"<\/p>\n
I considered lying.<\/p>\n
I had spent years telling Vance I was fine when I wasn't.<\/p>\n
Sometimes because I didn't want an argument.<\/p>\n
Sometimes because I knew he was busy.<\/p>\n
Sometimes because I had convinced myself that being easy to live with was part of being a good wife.<\/p>\n
But I was tired of saying things I didn't mean.<\/p>\n
"Awful."<\/p>\n
Warren nodded.<\/p>\n
"That makes sense."<\/p>\n
I let out a small laugh.<\/p>\n
It hurt my abdomen.<\/p>\n
I stopped immediately.<\/p>\n
Warren looked alarmed.<\/p>\n
"I'm all right."<\/p>\n
I took a careful breath.<\/p>\n
"Just sore."<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
Then I looked at him seriously.<\/p>\n
"I want to understand the letters."<\/p>\n
He didn't hesitate.<\/p>\n
"All right."<\/p>\n
He explained that his attorney would come to the hospital.<\/p>\n
Her name was Ms. Okafor.<\/p>\n
She had been helping him examine the legal records connected to my family.<\/p>\n
There were matters she could explain more accurately than he could.<\/p>\n
I listened.<\/p>\n
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me.<\/p>\n
"Why would a law firm send me something important without trying to speak to me directly?"<\/p>\n
Warren looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
"We tried to contact you through certified correspondence."<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"But we received no response."<\/p>\n
I looked down at the blanket.<\/p>\n
I thought about Vance accepting the letters.<\/p>\n
I thought about him opening the first envelope.<\/p>\n
I remembered asking what it was.<\/p>\n
His answer had been so casual.<\/p>\n
Nothing important.<\/p>\n
I had believed him.<\/p>\n
That memory made me feel angry.<\/p>\n
Not just at him.<\/p>\n
At myself.<\/p>\n
I knew the anger toward myself wasn't reasonable.<\/p>\n
But it was there.<\/p>\n
Warren seemed to notice.<\/p>\n
He didn't tell me what to feel.<\/p>\n
He only waited.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
"Did you think I didn't want to meet you?"<\/p>\n
He took a breath.<\/p>\n
"I considered that possibility."<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
"What did you think?"<\/p>\n
He looked down at his hands.<\/p>\n
"That you had every right to make that decision."<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
"If you had received the letters and decided not to answer, I would have been hurt."<\/p>\n
He paused.<\/p>\n
"But I wouldn't have forced myself into your life."<\/p>\n
I looked at him for a long moment.<\/p>\n
I had spent thirty-two years without knowing him.<\/p>\n
And he had apparently been prepared to accept that I might never want to meet.<\/p>\n
That made the hidden letters feel even worse.<\/p>\n
Vance hadn't simply kept information from me.<\/p>\n
He had taken away a choice that belonged to both of us.<\/p>\n
I looked down at the blanket.<\/p>\n
"Did you think I hated you?"<\/p>\n
Warren's expression tightened.<\/p>\n
"I didn't know what you had been told."<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
"Aunt Ruth said my father left before I was born."<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
I watched his face.<\/p>\n
I wanted to know what he was feeling.<\/p>\n
But I also knew I wasn't ready for the full story.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
I needed to understand the immediate danger first.<\/p>\n
My son was still in intensive care.<\/p>\n
My husband had hidden correspondence.<\/p>\n
And Warren had mentioned legal matters involving my name.<\/p>\n
I wanted facts I could hold onto.<\/p>\n
A short time later, Ms. Okafor arrived.<\/p>\n
She was carrying a substantial folder.<\/p>\n
The sort of folder that looked heavy even before it was opened.<\/p>\n
She introduced herself calmly.<\/p>\n
Her manner was professional.<\/p>\n
Not cold.<\/p>\n
Not overly familiar.<\/p>\n
She looked at me directly when she spoke.<\/p>\n
I appreciated that.<\/p>\n
Throughout the previous night, so many people had been speaking around me.<\/p>\n
Doctors.<\/p>\n
Paramedics.<\/p>\n
Nurses.<\/p>\n
Vance.<\/p>\n
Warren.<\/p>\n
Now someone was addressing me as the person whose decisions mattered.<\/p>\n
"Ms. Brooks Mercer, I'm sorry we're meeting under these circumstances."<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
"Please call me Natalie."<\/p>\n
She gave a small smile.<\/p>\n
"Of course."<\/p>\n
Warren moved his chair slightly to make room.<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor sat beside my bed.<\/p>\n
Then she placed the folder across her lap.<\/p>\n
I watched her hands.<\/p>\n
They were steady.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether she knew how frightening the contents might be.<\/p>\n
She began by explaining the purpose of the letters.<\/p>\n
The first had been personal.<\/p>\n
Warren had wanted to introduce himself and explain the connection he believed existed between us.<\/p>\n
He had wanted an opportunity to meet.<\/p>\n
Nothing more was required of me.<\/p>\n
I could have answered.<\/p>\n
I could have asked questions.<\/p>\n
I could have refused.<\/p>\n
The decision would have been mine.<\/p>\n
I felt tears gathering.<\/p>\n
Thirty-two years.<\/p>\n
I had believed my father had walked away.<\/p>\n
And somewhere in Seattle, he had finally tried to contact me.<\/p>\n
But I never knew.<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor continued.<\/p>\n
The second letter involved a trust Warren had established for me.<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
"A trust?"<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
"An arrangement intended to hold assets for your benefit."<\/p>\n
I glanced toward Warren.<\/p>\n
He looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Not embarrassed.<\/p>\n
More like someone who knew money was the least important part of the conversation but couldn't avoid discussing it.<\/p>\n
I turned back to Ms. Okafor.<\/p>\n
"Why would he do that before meeting me?"<\/p>\n
She answered carefully.<\/p>\n
Warren had wanted to provide for me regardless of whether I chose to have a personal relationship with him.<\/p>\n
The trust was meant to protect my interests.<\/p>\n
It wasn't supposed to be a condition of meeting him.<\/p>\n
I listened.<\/p>\n
The explanation made sense.<\/p>\n
But I didn't know how to feel about it.<\/p>\n
I had never imagined receiving anything from my biological father.<\/p>\n
I hadn't even believed he wanted me.<\/p>\n
Now I was being told he had created a financial arrangement in my name.<\/p>\n
I looked at Warren.<\/p>\n
"You didn't have to do that."<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Then why?"<\/p>\n
His expression softened.<\/p>\n
"Because I wanted to."<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
I couldn't handle that answer yet.<\/p>\n
It was too simple.<\/p>\n
Too unlike the complicated explanations I was accustomed to hearing from Vance.<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor waited until I turned back.<\/p>\n
Then her expression became more serious.<\/p>\n
"There is another matter."<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach tighten.<\/p>\n
I knew that tone.<\/p>\n
It was the tone doctors had used before explaining why I needed emergency surgery.<\/p>\n
Careful.<\/p>\n
Measured.<\/p>\n
Preparing someone for information they might not want to hear.<\/p>\n
I looked at the folder.<\/p>\n
"What matter?"<\/p>\n
She opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside were several documents.<\/p>\n
Some had printed headings.<\/p>\n
Others appeared to be copies of official forms.<\/p>\n
I couldn't read them all from where I lay.<\/p>\n
But I saw my name.<\/p>\n
Natalie Brooks Mercer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
My name appeared on paper I had never seen.<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor explained that someone had recently submitted a legal petition seeking authority over certain financial interests that could belong to me.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
"Authority?"<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
"Control over assets connected to your future inheritance interests."<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
I didn't understand why anyone would need to request that.<\/p>\n
The trust was supposed to be for me.<\/p>\n
Why would someone else be asking for control?<\/p>\n
"Who filed it?"<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor looked toward Warren.<\/p>\n
Then back at me.<\/p>\n
She turned one of the documents around.<\/p>\n
I leaned forward carefully.<\/p>\n
My abdomen protested.<\/p>\n
I stopped moving.<\/p>\n
The paper was close enough to read.<\/p>\n
At the top was formal legal language.<\/p>\n
I looked farther down.<\/p>\n
Then I saw the applicant's name.<\/p>\n
Vance Mercer.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I didn't speak.<\/p>\n
I thought I must have misunderstood.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he had been listed because he was my husband.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the document simply identified our marriage.<\/p>\n
Perhaps there was some ordinary legal explanation.<\/p>\n
I looked at Ms. Okafor.<\/p>\n
"Why is Vance's name there?"<\/p>\n
She answered gently.<\/p>\n
"He is identified as the person requesting authority."<\/p>\n
I stared at the paper.<\/p>\n
"Over my money?"<\/p>\n
"Over interests that may be yours, yes."<\/p>\n
I looked toward Warren.<\/p>\n
His face was tense.<\/p>\n
He didn't speak.<\/p>\n
I turned back to the attorney.<\/p>\n
"Did I agree to this?"<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
Then she moved another document toward me.<\/p>\n
"That's part of what concerns us."<\/p>\n
I looked down.<\/p>\n
There was a signature.<\/p>\n
My signature.<\/p>\n
Or something that looked remarkably like it.<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
I knew my handwriting.<\/p>\n
I knew the way I formed the first letter of my name.<\/p>\n
The curve.<\/p>\n
The little turn at the end.<\/p>\n
The way I connected the remaining letters when I signed quickly.<\/p>\n
The signature on the document copied those details.<\/p>\n
Almost perfectly.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
For a moment, my mind tried to supply an explanation.<\/p>\n
Had I signed something without reading it?<\/p>\n
Had Vance given me paperwork among the ordinary household documents?<\/p>\n
Had I forgotten?<\/p>\n
Then I noticed the date.<\/p>\n
That morning.<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
The document had supposedly been signed while I was recovering from the emergency that nearly cost my son his life.<\/p>\n
I looked at Ms. Okafor.<\/p>\n
"This says I signed it today."<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
I looked again.<\/p>\n
There was a recorded signing time.<\/p>\n
My eyes moved across the numbers.<\/p>\n
I couldn't understand them at first.<\/p>\n
Then the meaning settled.<\/p>\n
The time fell within the hours surrounding my surgery.<\/p>\n
I remembered the operating room.<\/p>\n
The lights.<\/p>\n
The oxygen mask.<\/p>\n
The moment everything faded.<\/p>\n
I had been under anesthesia.<\/p>\n
I hadn't been walking around Seattle signing legal papers.<\/p>\n
I hadn't been discussing trusts with Vance.<\/p>\n
I hadn't even known whether my baby was alive.<\/p>\n
I looked at the attorney.<\/p>\n
"That isn't possible."<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
"We agree there is a serious discrepancy."<\/p>\n
I felt my hands begin to shake.<\/p>\n
I looked at the signature again.<\/p>\n
It was so close to mine.<\/p>\n
Too close.<\/p>\n
Someone had taken the trouble to reproduce it.<\/p>\n
Someone had studied the way I wrote my name.<\/p>\n
I thought about Vance.<\/p>\n
The documents he handled.<\/p>\n
The checks I had signed.<\/p>\n
The forms he had placed in front of me over the years.<\/p>\n
He knew my handwriting.<\/p>\n
He had seen it hundreds of times.<\/p>\n
I stared at the paper.<\/p>\n
Then I looked at Warren.<\/p>\n
My voice sounded strange.<\/p>\n
"Someone signed my name while I was unconscious."<\/p>\n
Warren's expression tightened.<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor remained calm.<\/p>\n
She explained that the documents were being examined and that the timeline was especially important.<\/p>\n
But I barely heard her.<\/p>\n
I kept looking at the signature.<\/p>\n
The curve of the N.<\/p>\n
The final line.<\/p>\n
The careful imitation of something that belonged to me.<\/p>\n
I thought about the ivory envelope.<\/p>\n
I thought about Vance opening the earlier letter.<\/p>\n
I thought about him arriving at the neonatal unit in a pressed suit, telling me he had been trying to find us.<\/p>\n
And I finally understood why the letters had mattered.<\/p>\n
They weren't simply pieces of paper he didn't want me to read.<\/p>\n
They were connected to something he had tried to control.<\/p>\n
Something involving my identity.<\/p>\n
My family.<\/p>\n
And money I hadn't even known existed.<\/p>\n
I looked down at the document.<\/p>\n
Then I spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
"I never authorized this."<\/p>\n
Ms. Okafor nodded.<\/p>\n
"We'll make sure your position is clearly documented."<\/p>\n
I looked at Warren.<\/p>\n
He had been searching for his daughter.<\/p>\n
I had been trying to keep my son alive.<\/p>\n
And Vance had somehow found time to pursue control over assets connected to my name.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I stopped wondering whether my husband had misunderstood the emergency.<\/p>\n
I understood that there were questions far more serious than why he had stayed at the birthday party.<\/p>\n
And I wanted every one of them answered.<\/p>\n
By the time I returned to my hospital room, my body was reminding me that I had undergone major surgery. Every movement hurt. Not sharply enough to make me cry … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17588,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions\/17588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}