Chapter 10 - The Secret Nathan Buried For Thirty Years
After Doreen walked away, nobody spoke.
Not me.
Not Nathan.
Not even Detective Wells.
Because everyone understood the meaning behind her final words.
“Ask your husband what happened the last time someone tried to leave me.”
Doreen wasn’t threatening me.
She was reminding Nathan.
She was telling him that she still owned his fear.
That she still controlled the parts of his life he never escaped.
I turned toward him.
“What happened?”
Nathan looked at the floor.
“Leah…”
“No.”
My voice was firm.
“I am done protecting you from the truth.”
He closed his eyes.
For a long moment, I thought he would refuse.
Then he whispered,
“My father didn’t leave.”
I froze.
“What?”
Nathan swallowed.
“I spent thirty years believing he abandoned us.”
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
“But he didn’t.”
“Then where was he?”
Nathan looked at Detective Wells.
“I found out yesterday.”
My heart started beating faster.
“Where?”
Nathan pulled out his phone.
He opened an email.
A name appeared on the screen.
Thomas Carver.
His father.
Alive.
My mouth opened.
“But you said you didn’t know where he was.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then how?”
Nathan looked broken.
“He contacted me.”
I stared at him.
“When?”
“Two days ago.”
Two days.
The same time Doreen started the plan against me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nathan looked ashamed.
“Because my mother found out.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did she do?”
Nathan’s face changed.
“She threatened him.”
Thomas Carver had spent decades living under a different name.
Not because he wanted to disappear.
Because Doreen made sure he had no choice.
According to Nathan, his father tried to leave the marriage after years of emotional control.
He wanted custody.
He wanted to protect his children.
But Doreen moved first.
She accused him of instability.
She convinced people he was dangerous.
She controlled the story before he could tell his.
Exactly what she was trying to do to me.
“What did your father say?”
Nathan looked at the phone.
“He said my mother has been doing this for years.”
Detective Wells stepped closer.
“Does he have evidence?”
Nathan nodded.
“He kept everything.”
My heart stopped.
“Everything?”
“Emails.”
“Documents.”
“Messages.”
“Proof that she created false accusations.”
For the first time, I felt something besides fear.
Hope.
But then Nathan said something that changed everything.
“He also said my mother knows about his evidence.”
Detective Wells looked serious.
“How?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Because someone tried to break into his house last night.”
That evening, the hospital security team contacted Detective Wells.
A man had been seen near the maternity records office.
The man wasn’t staff.
He wasn’t family.
But security footage showed one important detail.
He had a keycard.
A keycard connected to Doreen’s old hospital privileges.
My skin crawled.
She still had access.
Still had influence.
Still believed she could control everything.
Then my phone rang.
Thomas Carver.
Nathan answered first.
His face changed.
“Dad?”
A pause.
Then panic.
“What happened?”
He looked at me.
“Stay where you are.”
My heart dropped.
“What?”
May you like
Nathan turned pale.
“He said someone found him.”
