Chapter 10 - What Victor Mercer Knew
Everett Shaw had been the Mercer family attorney since 1978.He lived in a narrow brick house in Oak Park surrounded by rose bushes and unopened mail. When Julian arrived with Lila, Everett was waiting on the porch as if he had known the day would come."You look like your father," he said."I am not sure that is a compliment.""It was never meant to be."Everett invited them inside. His study smelled of leather and dust. Every wall was lined with files, but the largest cabinet stood empty."Victor took the important records," Everett said."You handled my adoption.""I handled the paperwork.""That is not an answer."Everett lowered himself into a chair. "Your father came to me before you were born. He wanted a child. Your mother had suffered several miscarriages. He was desperate.""Desperation does not excuse kidnapping.""No.""Did Eleanor know?""She knew there was an adoption. She believed the agency had obtained consent.""And Mara?""Victor told me the mother was unstable."Mara, seated beside the window, let out a bitter breath."Was I unstable?" she asked."You were eighteen, ill, and frightened. In Victor's vocabulary, that qualified."Lila placed the bank draft copy on the desk. "Why was the payment made to the agency instead of the mother?""Because direct payment would have exposed the arrangement.""Arrangement or purchase?"Everett looked at Julian. "You want me to use the word.""I want you to tell the truth.""Your father paid Arthur Bell to obtain a child. Arthur used your mother's medical condition and the custody of her daughter to force her signature. I knew enough to understand that the consent was compromised."Mara's eyes filled. "You knew.""I knew something was wrong. I told myself the boy would be safe. I told myself the law would have stopped Victor if the arrangement were criminal.""You told yourself money was a substitute for courage," Lila said.Everett accepted the accusation."What happened to the original birth certificate?" Julian asked."Victor had it amended.""Who signed the order?""A judge named Halpern.""Was it legal?""The court file said you were born to Eleanor Mercer.""That was false.""Yes."Mara rose suddenly. "Where is the file?"Everett looked at the empty cabinet. "Victor removed it before he died.""When did he learn I had found out?" Julian asked."He never did. Eleanor found the letter in his desk. She asked me to help her contact Mara.""Why didn't she?""Victor threatened to have you declared incompetent and put under a conservatorship. You were twenty-three, newly married, and preparing to join the foundation. He said he would ruin Mara and Naomi if Eleanor spoke."Julian sat down.The truth did not arrive as a single blow. It came in layers, each one heavier than the last."Did my mother try to contact Mara?""Several times. Victor intercepted the letters."Mara pressed her hand to her mouth."One letter reached her," Everett continued. "I believe Celia found it."Julian looked up. "Celia?""She was already engaged to you. She came to my office after Eleanor's death. She asked about the adoption.""Why would she know?""She had been searching through Eleanor's papers. She said she wanted to understand the family she was marrying into.""And you told her.""I told her too much."Lila leaned forward. "Did she threaten you?""Not then. She offered to help me retire. She said the family needed a younger attorney. I accepted.""You sold her the information.""I gave it to her.""For money?"Everett's eyes dropped. "For silence."Julian stood and walked to the bookshelves. "Everyone was afraid of Victor.""Fear becomes tradition when enough people inherit it."Everett opened a drawer and removed a small envelope. "There is one thing I kept."Inside was a carbon copy of a letter Eleanor had written to Mara.I am sorry. I held him while you were told he was gone. I believed I was saving him from a life without security. I did not understand that your consent had been stolen. I know I cannot become innocent by regretting it. If there is any way to help you and your daughter, please let me try.Mara touched the page with one trembling finger."Did she send it?""I don't know.""Why did you keep it?""Because I was a coward, not a monster. Cowards keep souvenirs of the things they failed to do."Julian looked at him. "You will testify."Everett closed his eyes."If I do, the bar will investigate me.""They should.""Yes."The word surprised Julian."I will testify," Everett said. "I cannot undo what I did, but I can stop helping the lie."On the drive back, Mara held Eleanor's letter in her lap."She was sorry," Julian said."Sorry does not return twenty-seven years.""No.""But it tells me I was not invisible to everyone."At Haverford, Diane waited on the front steps."Celia has called an emergency board meeting," she said. "She says Julian is mentally unfit to manage the foundation.""On what grounds?""Emotional instability. Conflict of interest. She has a doctor willing to sign a statement."Julian looked toward the house. "Is the doctor real?""Real enough to lose his license."Diane handed him a folder. "I found this in Father's office."Inside was a draft of a trust amendment dated six months before Julian's wedding. It stated that if Julian's biological identity were ever challenged, control of the family foundation would transfer temporarily to his spouse.The signature at the bottom was Victor's."He planned for this," Julian said."Or Celia found the draft and altered it."Lila examined the ink. "The paper is old. The signature may be genuine."Mara stared at the document."Your father built a trap for a son he believed he owned," she said.Julian folded the pages. "Then we stop walking into it."Behind them, the house doors opened.Celia stood inside."Naomi is here," she said."Why?"Celia smiled faintly. "She has come to learn what her mother did before she was born."Mara hurried inside.From the drawing room came a woman's furious voice.Naomi was shouting at someone.Not Celia.At Mara.
