I SAW MY EX-WIFE COUNTING COINS FOR TWO BOYS WHO LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE ME — PART 2

Martin took a breath.

Then he began reading Naomi’s letter.

“Preston, if you are reading this, I am probably already gone from your life. I need you to know that I never wanted to leave you without explaining the truth.”

My throat tightened.

Martin continued.

“I am pregnant with twins. They are yours. I tried to tell you, but your mother made sure you would never receive this letter.”

I closed my eyes.

For five years, I had believed Naomi abandoned me.

She hadn’t.

She had been trying to reach me.

Then Martin read the next paragraph.

“Victoria told me you had already decided to divorce me. She said you believed I was using the pregnancy to trap you. She also told me that if I contacted you again, she would make sure I never saw my children.”

My hands began shaking.

But the next sentence was worse.

“She also discovered something inside Calloway Holdings.”

I looked up.

“What?”

Martin continued.

“Money was being transferred from your father’s charitable foundation into private accounts controlled by people close to Victoria.”

I felt cold.

My mother had spent years telling me Naomi was obsessed with money.

Yet Naomi had been the one investigating missing money.

Martin kept reading.

“She found evidence that Victoria was using company funds to cover debts created by a failed investment. When I confronted her, she threatened me.”

I stood.

“My mother threatened my wife?”

Martin nodded.

“There is more.”

The letter explained that Naomi had been terrified because Victoria had told her that nobody would believe a schoolteacher against one of Chicago’s wealthiest families.

Then came the final paragraph.

“I am leaving because I am afraid of what will happen if I stay. I will raise our children myself rather than allow them to become part of a family that believes money gives them the right to control people.”

I couldn’t speak.

For five years, I had hated the woman who had protected my children.

I had believed my mother.

And my mother had deliberately destroyed my marriage.

I immediately drove to Naomi’s neighborhood.

When I reached the bakery, Frank recognized me.

“She won’t be here today.”

“Where is she?”

He hesitated.

Then he pointed toward the school across the street.

I found Naomi standing beside a small playground while Theo and Eli chased each other between the swings.

She saw me.

Her face went pale.

“Preston.”

“I know.”

She shook her head.

“No. You don’t.”

“I read your letter.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Then you know why I left.”

“I know my mother lied.”

Naomi looked away.

“You believed her.”

“I did.”

The honesty hurt.

“But I was wrong.”

Theo suddenly ran toward us.

He stopped when he saw me.

Then he looked at his mother.

“Mommy, is that the man from the bakery?”

Naomi swallowed.

“Yes.”

Eli walked over too.

He stared at me for several seconds.

Then he asked the question that nearly broke me.

“Are you our dad?”

I couldn’t answer immediately.

I crouched down so we were eye level.

“I think I am.”

Theo looked at Eli.

Eli looked back.

Then both boys looked at Naomi.

She nodded slowly.

“They’re your sons.”

My eyes burned.

Four years.

I had lost four years because I trusted the wrong person.

I reached toward them but stopped.

“I know I can’t make up for everything.”

Eli studied my face.

“You look like us.”

A laugh escaped me through the tears.

“I’ve been told that.”

Theo smiled.

“Do you like planets?”

I looked at the battered notebook he had carried at the bakery.

“I don’t know much about planets.”

He opened it.

“I’ll teach you.”

That sentence broke whatever was left of my defenses.

I smiled.

“I’d like that.”

But Naomi wasn’t smiling.

She looked toward the street.

“What is it?” I asked.

She lowered her voice.

“Your mother knows you found us.”

My stomach tightened.

“How?”

“She called me this morning.”

“What did she say?”

Naomi hesitated.

“She told me to stay away from you.”

“Did she threaten you?”

Naomi looked directly at me.

“She said if I told you everything, she would make sure you lost something far more valuable than money.”

Before I could respond, my phone rang.

Martin.

I answered.

“Preston, you need to come back to the office immediately.”

“What happened?”

“We traced the transfers from the foundation.”

“And?”

His voice dropped.

“The money didn’t go to Victoria’s debts.”

I looked at Naomi.

Martin continued.

“It went into an account connected to a company your mother created years ago.”

My blood turned cold.

“Who owns it?”

Martin was silent for two seconds.

Then he said:

“Your mother doesn’t own the company.”

“Who does?”

“The records show the beneficiary is Naomi.”

I stared at my ex-wife.

She looked just as shocked as I was.

Martin continued.

“And there’s one more problem.”

“What?”

“The account was created before your divorce.”

I couldn’t breathe.

Because suddenly the money my mother had stolen wasn’t simply evidence of fraud.

It appeared someone had been secretly protecting Naomi and the twins all along.

And the person behind that account had left one final instruction:

Do not let Preston’s mother find out who the real beneficiary is.