The Man Who Called Himself Father
Chapter 13 - The Man Who Called Himself Father
Thomas Reed wore a cheap suit to court.
He smiled when he saw Claire.
She hated him immediately.
Not because of how he looked.
Because Eli stopped breathing normally when Thomas entered the hallway.
Claire noticed.
So did Alvarez.
Thomas claimed he had raised Eli.
He produced school records under the name Elias Reed.
Medical forms.
Photographs.
He had enough paperwork to create confusion.
Not enough to change DNA.
But enough to delay permanent custody.
Outside the courtroom, Thomas approached Eli.
“Hey, kid.”
Eli moved behind Claire.
Thomas smiled.
“You forget me?”
“No.”
“You ran away.”
Eli said nothing.
Claire stepped forward.
“You don't speak to him without his attorney.”
Thomas laughed.
“You've been his mother for five minutes.”
Claire's hand curled.
Then Eli spoke.
“She was my mother before I knew her.”
Thomas's smile vanished.
For the first time, Claire saw fear in him.
Later, Eli told Alvarez everything.
Thomas had moved in with June when Eli was six.
He drank.
He disappeared for days.
When June became sick, Thomas took her money.
After she died, he moved Eli between motels.
Then one night he left.
He never came back.
Eli survived by finding shelters that did not ask too many questions.
Claire sat outside the interview room and cried.
Owen sat beside her.
“Are they going to take him?”
“No.”
“You don't know.”
Claire looked at her younger son.
He was right.
“I won't let them.”
Owen nodded.
“Good.”
Then he reached into his backpack.
“I found something.”
He handed Claire an old Polaroid.
She stared.
“Where did you get this?”
“Eli had it in his jacket.”
The photograph showed June standing beside a younger Thomas.
Between them was Noah.
On the back, someone had written an address.
Claire gave it to Alvarez.
The detective's team searched the property the next morning.
In the basement, they found boxes belonging to June.
Inside one box was Noah's original birth certificate.
Claire thought the nightmare was ending.
Then Alvarez found a second document.
A handwritten agreement.
Signed by Evelyn Bennett.
Witnessed by Daniel.
Claire read one line.
Her knees weakened.
May you like
I voluntarily relinquish all claim to the child known as Noah Bennett.
Someone had forged Claire's signature.
