Dawson looked at me.
The boy wasn't simply in Chicago in an old photograph.
He was here.
Now.
And the people hiding him were moving freely through the same hospital where my mother was recovering.
That evening, I called our attorney, Priya Shah.
I explained the forged mortgage application, the financial transfers, and the photograph.
Priya listened carefully.
Then she said, "Claire, don't confront either of them alone. We need to deal with the possible fraud, but the question about this child is even more serious."
Dawson sat beside me, staring at his phone.
"What should we do?" he asked.
Priya paused.
"First, preserve the evidence. Second, contact the relevant authorities about your concerns. Third, we need to establish the child's identity without drawing conclusions from appearance alone."
I nodded.
She continued.
"Claire, you also need to secure your financial accounts."
I looked down at the forged signature.
Ryan hadn't just betrayed our marriage.
