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