His Secret Son, Her Public Shame
hared with Ivan. He was in the kitchen, making co
as he turned to kiss me. I flinched, turn
se I knew he' d expect after a long
cage. Every word, every touch was a lie. "My meeting ran so late. We shoul
ession carefully blank.
was hard on you, what she did. I thought maybe we, and your parents, could h
ate the anniversary of the lie they' d built around
ea, Ivan," I said, my voice
ll let your parents know. They' ll be so
stling, leaving me alone in the sterile, beautiful apartment that now felt
, I knew it was a vault for his secrets. But I was a doctor. I knew about pressure points, about finding we
n. The lock
. I started there. In a locked drawer, I found a small, l
ating birthdays with cakes and candles. A perfect, happy family. In one photo, my parents were there, too. My mother was holding Leo,
The password was the same. His files were meticulously organized. I
first words. Scans of his birth certificate, listing
ging to my parents, Richard and Eleanor Donovan, to a shell corporation. The amounts were staggering.
ery expensive gift, every hollow promise of family, was paid for with the same money they used
lie; it was a transaction. I was the price
ry photo, every video, every bank statement. As the files tr
ind anything. They love me, Aliana. They always
a hidden camera in the office.
the family photo I had just
ther, don' t we? Li
your parents? They' re just paying their dues. You' ll always be
I leaned against the desk, the flash drive clutched in my hand,
ned into something else.
to break. I was going to burn