My Stepmother Threw Me Into the Freezing Garage to Give My Dead Mother's Bedroom to Her Daughter—But She Had No Idea What My Father Had Hidden

I couldn't stop looking at the photograph.

The boy standing beside my mother couldn't have been older than fifteen. He had dark brown hair, a narrow face, and the same small dimple that appeared on my left cheek whenever I smiled.

He looked like me.

Not a little.

Exactly like me.

“Dad,” I whispered.

“Who is Ethan?””

My father sat down heavily.

Vanessa watched him with a satisfied expression.

“Well?”” she asked.

“Are you going to tell her, or should I?””

Dad looked up.

“Don't.””

Vanessa laughed.

“After everything, you still want to control the story?””

“Shut up, Vanessa.””

I had never heard my father speak to anyone like that.

He took the photograph from my hands and studied it.

“Emily, Ethan was your mother's son.””

“Before you?””

He nodded.

“Laura was nineteen when she had him. His biological father disappeared before he was born. Your mother raised him for the first few years, but she was young, struggling financially, and dealing with a complicated family situation.””

I frowned.

“What happened to him?””

Dad looked down.

“Your mother arranged for him to live with another family temporarily. She believed it would give him a better chance while she finished school and established herself.””

“Temporarily?””

Dad nodded.

“She always intended to bring him home.””

“Then why didn't she?””

His eyes filled.

“Because the family who took him in refused to return him.””

The room became painfully quiet.

I looked at Vanessa.

“What's that got to do with you?””

She crossed her legs.

“Everything.””

Dad stood.

“Vanessa, don't.””

She ignored him.

“Before I married your father, I worked with a woman who knew Laura very well. Through her, I learned about Ethan. I also learned that Laura had spent years trying to locate him.””

Daniel stepped forward.

“That's not entirely accurate.””

Vanessa glared at him.

“Stay out of this.””

Daniel opened his briefcase.

“Laura found Ethan four years before she died. He was living with a family in Tennessee. She had been communicating with him privately.””

My eyes widened.

“She found him?””

“Yes,” Daniel replied.

“They exchanged letters and photographs. Your mother wanted to rebuild their relationship.””

“Did Dad know?””

Dad shook his head.

“No. She told me she was helping a young man through a charity program. I never knew he was her son.””

I turned toward him.

“Why wouldn't she tell you?””

“I don't know, sweetheart.””

Vanessa let out a short laugh.

“Because Laura knew you would never accept another child.””

Dad's face hardened.

“That's a lie.””

“Is it? You were terrified of losing Emily. Laura knew you would never want another child complicating your perfect little family.””

Daniel interrupted.

“That's enough. Laura's letters explain why she kept the matter private.””

He removed a small envelope from his briefcase.

The handwriting on the front was unmistakable.

For Ethan, when the time is right.

I reached for it.

Daniel gently handed it to me.

“Your mother left this with me. She asked that it be delivered if she couldn't reunite with him herself.””

I opened it.

The letter was several pages long.

The first sentence made my eyes burn.

My beautiful boy, I have never stopped loving you. Not for one day.

I kept reading.

She explained that she had searched for him for years, that she'd found him, and that she'd been trying to arrange a meeting.

She also mentioned me.

You have a little sister named Emily. She's sixteen now. I think you would love her. She has my stubbornness and Michael's kind heart.

I pressed my hand against my mouth.

Mom had imagined us meeting.

She'd imagined having both her children together.

Then I reached the final paragraph.

There is something I need you to know. Someone has discovered our correspondence. I don't know how much they know, but they are asking questions about your inheritance. Please don't trust anyone who approaches you claiming to represent me.

I looked up.

“Who discovered the letters?””

Daniel answered.

“We believe Vanessa.””

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Ridiculous.””

Daniel placed another document on the table.

“Three weeks after Laura's death, someone contacted Ethan and told him his mother had died without leaving him anything. They also claimed she never wanted him to contact the family.””

I felt sick.

“Who contacted him?””

Daniel looked at Vanessa.

She didn't blink.

Dad turned toward his wife.

“Did you contact Laura's son?””

“I don't remember.””

“You don't remember?””

“It was five years ago!””

Daniel placed a printed email in front of her.

“Would this help?””

Vanessa glanced at it.

Her face went pale.

The email was addressed to Ethan.

It contained a photograph of my mother and a short message.

Your mother is gone. She left everything to her new family. Don't contact them again.

The sender's name was hidden behind an old account.

But the email had been recovered from the original server.

And the account was registered to Vanessa.

Dad looked at her in disbelief.

“You deliberately kept Laura's son away from us?””

Vanessa stood.

“I was protecting this family.””

“From a boy?””

“From what he represented!””

Her voice cracked.

“He was a complication. Laura wanted to bring him into the company, into the trust, into everything. You have no idea how much money was at stake.””

I stared at her.

“You were afraid he'd take my inheritance?””

Vanessa turned toward me.

“Don't pretend you understand business.””

“I understand that you lied to my mother.””

“Your mother was going to destroy everything!””

Dad stepped between us.

“Get out.””

Vanessa laughed.

“You can't throw me out.””

“Watch me.””

“I'm your wife.””

“Not for much longer.””

She looked at Daniel.

“You think you've won?””

Daniel calmly closed his briefcase.

“This isn't about winning.””

Vanessa reached for her purse.

Then she stopped and looked directly at me.

“Emily, you should ask your father what happened the night your mother died.””

Dad went completely still.

I turned toward him.

“What does she mean?””

Vanessa smiled.

“Ask him why he wasn't at the hospital when Laura was calling for him.””

Dad's face crumpled.

“Vanessa, stop.””

“Ask him why Laura was alone.””

“STOP!””

His shout shook the room.

Vanessa grabbed her purse and walked toward the door.

Before leaving, she turned one last time.

“You think your mother left you a fortune, Emily? She left you a mess. And the boy in that photograph is going to make sure you never get what you think is yours.””

The door slammed.

Nobody spoke.

I looked at my father.

“Dad, what happened that night?””

He sat down and covered his face.

For several seconds, he couldn't answer.

Then he looked at me.

“I wasn't at the hospital because Vanessa told me your mother was already gone.””

My blood turned cold.

“What?””

Dad's voice broke.

“She called me that night. She said the hospital had contacted her and there was nothing anyone could do. She told me to stay home because I wouldn't want to remember Laura that way.””

I stared at him.

“Mom was still alive?””

Daniel nodded slowly.

“The hospital records show Laura asked for Michael shortly before she died.””

Dad began crying.

“I didn't know.””

I reached for his hand.

He squeezed mine.

Then Daniel pulled another document from his briefcase.

“There's something else. The hospital preserved a recording from Laura's final conversation with a nurse.””

He placed a small recorder on the table.

“Michael, I think you should hear it.””