The Unknown

How could you?

Mike's pov

I held Julie's birth certificate in my now shaking hands as I read aloud, "Mother's maiden name: Amy Lee Steggs. Father: Michael David Horton." I don't understand. Julie's file listed her father as unknown. This can't be true I thought, but there it was clear as day typed on an official document. My name under father and my date of birth right next to it.

Maybe this is just an amended birth certificate that adoptive parents can get. Yeah, maybe Neil just had it amended to say my name after I became Julie's legal guardian. I was trying to convince myself I wasn't seeing what was right in front of me but somehow I knew it was true. Maybe a part of me always knew. Julie often said I was harder on her than the other girls and I always expected more from her.

Julie's mother was listed as Amy Marks in her file here at the NJC but I knew her as Amy Steggs. Amy was a nursing student when we met. I was a med student on rotation at the same hospital. I fell hard and fast for Amy. Admittedly, we were young, invincible, and impetuous, and not always diligent about using protection. She had a way of putting me in my place and knocking me down a few pegs that both infatuated and infuriated me. Come to think of it, she knew exactly how to push all my buttons, just like her daughter, our daughter. She saw through my cocky facade and embraced my genuinely awkward shyness and insecurity. I felt safe with her, even though I was at my most vulnerable whenever she was near. That's why I was completely devastated when I found out she was married. Turns out her last name was actually hyphenated Steggs-Breagle, her husband being Tim Breagle.

She broke my heart. The first woman I ever truly loved was an adulterer and I was the guy she was cheating on her husband with. I immediately ended the affair. It didn't matter how much I loved her, it was wrong. After I broke it off, Amy had her rotation reassigned to a hospital in another state. I never saw or spoke to her again. I spent the better part of that year trying to forget about her and move on.

Amy probably gave birth at the hospital she was working at so it wouldn't have been difficult for her to get my name added to the birth certificate without my knowledge. She could have easily had a coworker assist in forging my signature on a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity form.

I have so many questions running through my mind right now and I have a strong suspicion Dr. Neil Curtis can provide the answers. I decide to head over to the Foundation to confront him.

I rush right past his wife, throw open his office door, and storm in guns blazin'.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, NEIL?" I slam Julie's birth certificate down on his desk. "EXPLAIN THIS!" Seeing how calm Neil is in the wake of my outburst incenses me.

"Calm down, Michael, and take a seat so we can have a civilized conversation." 

Ever since Neil became my mentor, whenever he speaks to me so sternly and with such authority, I feel compelled to obey. No! Not this time. He's going to listen to me.

"NO, NEIL, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. I WANT ANSWERS AND I WANT THEM NOW!"

"Alright, Michael. You want answers? What do you want to know?"

"Is it true?"

"Yes, I had the lab at the hospital run a paternity test."

"HOW COULD YOU..."

Neil interrupts me, yelling to match my tone, "HOW COULD I WHAT, MICHAEL? HOW COULD I ARRANGE FOR YOU TO RAISE YOUR OWN DAUGHTER? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW?"

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME JULIE'S MY DAUGHTER? HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?"

"Listen to yourself, Michael." Neil's much calmer now and his tone has softened. "Hasn't she been your daughter since that day eleven years ago when she first toddled into your life? Haven't you been her father ever since you laid eyes on her? Are you telling me you would have loved her more if you knew she was your biological daughter?"

"No, of course not." I'm trying to remember why I'm supposed to be so upset right now. Hearing Neil ask if I would have loved her more is truly ridiculous. I've always loved her and her sisters with all my heart.

"Would you have treated her differently if you knew?" Neil asked.

"No, of course not, Neil. Don't be absurd! But if it wouldn't have made a difference, why didn't you tell me from the beginning? Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Answer me this, Michael. You wouldn't have treated Julie differently knowing you were her biological father but would you have treated Stacey, Lisa and Carrie differently knowing you weren't?"

I hesitate before answering, truly comprehending what Neil's getting at.

"Not intentionally, no."

"Of course not intentionally, Michael, but I couldn't take the chance that subconsciously you would treat Stacey, Lisa and Carrie differently. They needed a home and a father too. Did they deserve any less of one because they didn't share your DNA?"

Neil's successfully defusing my anger. Damn him, I know he's right.

"I'm sorry if you feel I wronged you, Michael, I really am. That was never my intention. I did what I felt was best for those four girls and I didn't know Julie was your biological daughter until one week before she arrived here."

"Tell me how you found out. Please, you owe me that much. I promise it won't change anything, I just feel I have a right to know," I said somewhat sadly.

"I agree. Can we sit down now and converse like gentlemen?"

I smile and nod, knowing Neil is just giving me a hard time due to my earlier angry outburst.

"You know Julie's parents and Stacey's parents were killed in a car accident the day after Thanksgiving but Julie's mother actually survived the crash and died two days later in the hospital. After the surgery to control her internal hemorrhaging she acquired an infection and eventually went into septic shock. I was helping out at Westlake hospital when they brought Amy in. She knew how serious her condition was since the infection wasn't responding to any of the antibiotics and she wanted to make a deathbed confession before her mental status declined. I was the one who convinced her to accept your decision to end the affair once you found out she was married. I guess she figured she could trust me to do the right thing."

Neil pauses, reflecting on that life altering day.

He momentarily closes his eyes and takes a slow deep breath before continuing, "Amy and her husband split up after he found out about the affair. She never told him about the pregnancy because she knew you were the father. They hadn't been sleeping together for a few months before she met you. She didn't want to burden you with a child because she knew you would never forgive her for hurting you and she didn't want to put a major roadblock in your career path. She knew you would do the noble thing and drop everything to help with the baby."

Neil pauses as he refills his tea cup. Motioning to me, I politely decline his offer with a curt head shake.

"Shortly after Julie was born, she met Jack Marks and fell in love. They soon were married and Jack assumed the role of Julie's father. Amy never told Jack you were the father. She allowed him to assume her first husband was. She told Jack he signed away his parental rights, wanting nothing more to do with either her or the baby. Amy gave Julie Jack's last name since he would be raising her. That's why she came to the Center as Julie Elizabeth Marks and her file listed Amy Marks as her mother."

Now it's my turn to take a deep breath as I struggle to wrap my head around everything Neil's just said.

"After the accident, Julie and Stacey were left with no living relatives except Amy. She begged me to help find a home for them, fearing she would die soon, leaving them orphaned. When I told her about the Center, she asked me to promise they would be accepted here. She really wanted you to be involved in their lives."

I see the sadness in Neil's eyes as he recounts the events leading up to what must have been an incredibly agonizing decision for him to make. I know he was conflicted and it couldn't have been easy for him. I have no doubt he never meant to hurt me.

"I did what I thought was best for everyone involved," Neil laments.

"That's why Julie's file lists Father: Unknown."

TO BE CONTINUED IN: THE REVELATION (the sequel)