Chapter 4 - THE PHOTOGRAPHE
velyn Mercer lived in a limestone mansion Grant’s grandfather had purchased fifty years earlier.
She received Rachel in the library.
Not warmly.
“You have generated enough scandal for one month.”
Rachel almost smiled.
“I generated it?”
“You could have handled the situation privately.”
“Your son told a ballroom full of people Maddie wasn’t his.”
“And you announced his medical condition.”
Rachel placed the photograph of Adrian Vale on the desk.
Evelyn stopped talking.
It was tiny.
Barely perceptible.
But Rachel saw it.
Fear.
“You know him.”
Evelyn recovered quickly.
“I know many physicians.”
“His name is Adrian Vale.”
“I’m aware.”
“He founded Northbrook.”
“I’m aware of that too.”
“Grant says you knew him.”
Evelyn stood.
“This conversation is finished.”
Rachel did not move.
“Twenty-three children have been identified.”
Evelyn’s hand tightened around the back of her chair.
“All linked to one biological father.”
Silence.
“And the evidence points toward Dr. Vale.”
Evelyn walked to the window.
“Then contact your attorney.”
“I already have.”
“Good.”
“Why are you afraid of him?”
Evelyn turned.
“I am not afraid.”
Rachel watched her.
Then remembered something.
A box.
Years earlier, after Grant’s father died, Rachel had helped Evelyn sort old photographs.
There had been one from a medical fundraiser.
A young Evelyn beside a dark-haired doctor.
Rachel had teased her.
“You had glamorous friends.”
Evelyn had snatched the photograph away.
Rachel stood.
“Where are your old photo albums?”
Evelyn’s face hardened.
“Leave.”
Rachel did.
But not before noticing that Evelyn’s hands were trembling.
Grant found the photograph that night.
His father’s old study had been untouched since his death.
A locked cabinet contained family tax records, trust documents, and personal correspondence.
At the back was an envelope labeled 1988.
Grant opened it.
The first photograph showed Evelyn at twenty-seven.
Beside her stood Adrian Vale.
His hand rested against the small of her back.
The second showed them outside a medical clinic.
The third showed Vale touching Evelyn’s visibly pregnant stomach.
Grant sat down hard.
On the back, in Evelyn’s handwriting, were six words.
A.V. says everything will be fine.
Grant called Rachel.
May you like
She answered on the fourth ring.
“I found something.”
