CHAPTER 15: FINCH'S FINDINGS
828 Words
The electronic notification arrived late one afternoon, a small, discreet pop-up on the secured laptop Noel kept locked in a private drawer. It was from Mr. Finch.
Noel immediately dismissed Victoria Hayes, citing an urgent, private legal matter. He locked his office door, drew the blinds, and initiated the download. The file arrived as a heavily encrypted dossier, requiring three separate passwords Noel had memorized.
The contents were clinical, cold, and utterly devastating.
The dossier began with a full profile on Ellen Smith, confirming her residence, financial transactions, and employment at The Driftwood Café. Finch’s report noted that her life was small, transparent, and built on cash transactions, making her virtually invisible to standard wealth tracking.
Next came the documents Noel was waiting for: the Birth Certificates.
He stared at the official seals, reading the names: Asian Smith and Esther Smith. Birth date: three years ago, a week after the date Henry claimed Ariel had suffered her mental breakdown. Father’s name: Andrew Smith (Betty’s deceased cousin, confirming Betty’s involvement). The mother was listed as Ellen Smith, age 28.
Noel felt a physical rush of vindication and profound sorrow. The legal lie was complete. Henry had buried a phantom, while the reality had been born in secret.
Finch had also managed to retrieve copies of the scrambled medical reports from the night of the accident. Finch’s commentary confirmed that the initial hospital triage notes referenced "twin fetal heartbeat and abdominal bruising," notes that had been surgically removed and suppressed from the final files by Dr. Chen and Henry.
The proof was absolute: Henry had orchestrated the entire sequence, from the threats in the hospital room to the final, false narrative.
📸 The Visual Evidence
Noel scrolled down to the investigative photographs Finch had compiled. These were not corporate documents; they were intimate snapshots of the life he had been denied.
Photos of Ariel (Ellen) behind the counter of the café, her hands dusted with flour, laughing genuinely with Betty. Her face was relaxed, lacking the strained elegance of the Anderson years. She looked happy.
The small, weather-beaten cottage near the shore. A chipped, painted sign reading "The Smiths."
And then, the girls.
Noel leaned closer to the screen, absorbing every detail of the photos of Asian and Esther. They were captured mid-play, tumbling through grass, bundled in mismatched, comfortable sweaters. Finch had zoomed in on their faces: the mischievous set of Asian's jaw, the thoughtful, quiet gaze of Esther. Both possessed the undeniable, startling amber eyes that were his own genetic stamp.
One photograph nearly broke him: a clear, slightly blurred image taken through a kitchen window. Ariel was kneeling between the girls, helping them blow out the candles on a small, homemade birthday cake. The background showed crepe paper streamers and tiny gifts. The date stamp confirmed it was their third birthday.
He had missed every single one. He had missed the first steps, the first words, the first birthday. He had been mourning a lie while they were celebrating life. The grief for the phantom twin was instantly replaced by a sharp, physical pain for the stolen years.
🛡️ A Father’s Resolve
Noel closed the laptop, the sudden darkness of the screen a cold shock. He didn't feel anger toward Ariel; he felt an overwhelming, painful respect. She hadn't been weak; she had been strategic. She had seen the danger and chosen the only path that guaranteed their survival. She had chosen her children over his wealth, his name, and ultimately, over him.
The emotional reckoning was complete. His motivation was now cemented:
Protect: He must immediately begin the process of winning Ariel's trust to ensure she will not run again.
Avenge: He must find the Operation Lighthouse master file and destroy Henry's power base entirely, freeing his family from the shadow of the Anderson legacy.
Noel knew he couldn't simply hire lawyers and sue for custody. That would drag Ariel and the girls into a public, brutal fight that Henry would exploit to ruin Ariel’s reputation and seize the children. He had to dismantle the empire first.
He had to return to the coast. Not as Noel Anderson, the CEO, but as the quiet, respectful stranger who wanted to earn the right to know his daughters.
He looked at the images of his twin daughters one last time, engraving their faces, their light, into his mind. They were his reason. They were his strength.
He secured the dossier, donned his suit jacket, and walked out of his office, the mask of the Iron CEO firmly in place. He had a board meeting to attend, but his mind was already 500 miles away, planning his first, tentative steps into the life of Ellen Smith and the children who called her 'Mama.'
Noel now has absolute proof and a solidified plan.
- Writer
