Owen frowned.
“It may take some time to determine what can be obtained.
There may be privilege issues.”
“I don’t care how embarrassing it is,” Nathaniel said.
“I need to know what happened.”
Simone suggested a documented, voluntary parentage testing process and a discussion with a child specialist before any introductions beyond what had occurred in the airport.
Nathaniel agreed immediately.At the door he paused.
“Did you really believe I knew?”
“For five years,” I said.
He shut his eyes.
“And you still raised them without turning them against me.”
“They don’t know you well enough to turn against you,” I said.
“What they need now is honesty, consistency, and adults who stop making them pay for old mistakes.”
PART 7: The Envelope in the Locked DrawerThree days later, Owen called with information that turned our private conflict into something larger.
Nathaniel’s father, Malcolm Whitcomb, had retired from active management but still controlled the family trust that held the firm’s largest properties.
