Chapter 9 - The Family Margaret Was Afraid Of
Richard had changed his will.
That was the real reason Margaret was panicking.
Not me.
Not the baby.
Daniel.
“I added him back,” Richard said.
We were sitting around my kitchen table.
“Back?”
“He was in my original estate plan when he turned eighteen.”
Daniel stared at him.
“I never knew that.”
“Margaret knew.”
Richard’s mouth tightened.
“She threatened divorce. I removed you.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Sounds about right.”
Richard lowered his eyes.
“I was a coward.”
Nobody argued.
He continued.
“Three months ago, I changed it again. Equal shares for all three of my children.”
Lauren looked stunned.
“All three?”
“Yes.”
“And Mom found out?”
“Last week.”
Everything clicked.
Her hostility.
Her fear.
Her sudden obsession with Daniel.
The family dinner hadn’t created the crisis.
It had exposed one already happening.
Richard looked at me.
“She also found a copy of Ethan’s clinic email.”
I stared.
“What email?”
“The one where he mentioned using Daniel.”
Daniel sat up.
“How?”
“Ethan printed it years ago. Apparently he kept records at my office.”
I almost laughed.
Our family secrets had paperwork.
“Did Margaret know Daniel was the donor before Sunday dinner?”
Richard nodded.
My stomach turned.
“So when she said the baby wasn’t really family…”
“She was baiting you,” Daniel said.
I looked at him.
“What?”
“She knew.”
Richard’s face tightened.
“I think she wanted you to reveal it.”
“Why?”
“Because if the donor arrangement became public, she could use the scandal against Daniel in the competency case.”
I stared at him.
“What does my pregnancy have to do with your competency?”
“She’s arguing that I’m vulnerable to manipulation.”
Daniel understood first.
“She’ll say I changed the trust because I found out I had a biological grandchild through him.”
Richard nodded.
“And that Daniel inserted himself back into the family for money.”
My skin crawled.
Margaret had shoved me.
But even that might not have been uncontrolled anger.
She might have wanted a scene.
A witness-filled scene.
A pregnant daughter-in-law shouting that her husband wasn’t the father.
“You think she planned Sunday?”
Richard looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Lauren whispered, “Mom wouldn’t shove a pregnant woman as part of some plan.”
Daniel looked at her.
“She framed a teenager for theft.”
Lauren flinched.
I put my hand over my stomach.
The baby kicked.
A hard little thump.
For the first time, I didn’t think about donor numbers.
Or DNA.
Or Margaret.
I thought about my daughter.
She was innocent.
She had become the center of a war she didn’t create.
I stood.
“I’m done.”
Richard frowned.
“With what?”
“All of you using this baby to settle old scores.”
Daniel looked down.
Richard said, “Emily—”
“No. Ethan used her to bring Daniel back into the family. Margaret wants to use her to attack Daniel. You changed your trust and didn’t tell anyone until it blew up. Everybody keeps calling this child a Hollis, a grandchild, proof, an heir.”
I pointed at my stomach.
“She is a baby.”
Nobody spoke.
“She is my daughter. And until every one of you understands that, you stay away from her.”
Daniel nodded first.
“Fair.”
Richard nodded too.
Lauren wiped her eyes.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Something made me answer.
“Mrs. Hollis?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Carver with the Brookline Police Department.”
My heart stopped.
“Is something wrong?”
“We need to speak with you regarding an allegation made by Margaret Hollis.”
I stared at Richard.
“What allegation?”
May you like
The detective paused.
“She says you assaulted her Sunday evening.”
