Chapter 4 - The Second Child
Daniel thought he had finally reached the bottom of the secret.
He hadn't.
Emily sat across from him at the kitchen table while Noah slept in the next room.
A single lamp illuminated her face.
“There was another baby,” she whispered.
“What does that mean?”
“Twins.”
Daniel stared.
“Twins?”
Emily nodded.
“Your son has a twin sister.”
The room went silent.
Daniel's mouth opened.
No words came.
“Where is she?”
Emily folded her hands tightly.
“I don't know.”
“What?”
“She was taken from the hospital.”
Daniel stood so quickly the chair scraped the floor.
“Taken?”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
“I don't know.”
“You were there.”
“I was unconscious.”
“What happened?”
Emily began explaining.
When she went into labor, doctors discovered complications.
The babies were premature.
Noah was stable enough to remain nearby.
The little girl was taken to another unit.
Emily's condition worsened.
When she woke, the nurses told her the girl had been transferred.
But no transfer records existed.
The hospital had no complete documentation.
Someone had altered the records.
Daniel stared at her.
“Why didn't you report it?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“No one believed me.”
“Why?”
“Because a nurse later claimed the baby had died.”
Daniel's stomach turned.
“You said she was taken.”
“She was.”
“How do you know?”
Emily reached into a cabinet.
She pulled out another envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Two babies.
One marked Baby A.
One marked Baby B.
Noah was Baby A.
The girl was Baby B.
Daniel held the photograph with both hands.
The infant had a small crescent-shaped birthmark near her right ear.
“What happened after?”
Emily pulled out a medical record.
The girl's blood type was listed.
Then another document.
A private insurance claim.
Four years ago.
Paid under a false name.
The beneficiary was listed as “Mia Carter.”
Daniel looked up.
“Who is Mia?”
“We don't know.”
“Then what do you know?”
Emily hesitated.
“I found one clue.”
She showed him an old security photograph.
It showed a nurse carrying an infant out of the maternity wing.
The image was blurred.
But the nurse wore a distinctive ring.
Daniel recognized it.
“That's my mother's ring.”
Emily nodded.
“My mother.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“She was at the hospital.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“She was visiting me.”
The realization made him dizzy.
His mother had known.
She had seen the babies.
She had been there when one disappeared.
Daniel called her immediately.
She answered after several rings.
“Daniel?”
“Mom, where were you four years ago when Emily gave birth?”
Silence.
His mother began to cry.
“I was afraid you'd ask.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Tell me.”
“I didn't know what was happening.”
“Did you see the baby?”
“Yes.”
“The girl?”
“Yes.”
“Is she alive?”
His mother said nothing.
“Mom.”
“I believe she is.”
Daniel gripped the phone.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Who took her?”
“I saw Richard.”
Emily covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at the floor.
“What did he do?”
“He met someone in the parking garage.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let it happen?”
His mother broke down.
“Because Richard threatened me.”
“With what?”
“He told me if I interfered, he would destroy your father's company and make sure you were blamed for the collapse.”
Daniel felt numb.
“My mother helped him.”
“I was terrified.”
“And Emily?”
“She didn't know.”
Daniel ended the call.
Emily was crying.
“My mother was manipulated too,” she whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
“We're going to find her.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
Then Noah appeared in the doorway.
“Daddy?”
Daniel froze.
It was the first time Noah had called him that.
Emily looked at Daniel.
He knelt.
“Hey, buddy.”
Noah walked toward him.
“Mommy said I can call you Daddy if I want.”
Daniel swallowed hard.
“You can call me whatever you want.”
Noah smiled.
“Daddy.”
Daniel hugged him.
For the first time, his life made sense.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
You are looking for the wrong child.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
Your daughter has been living within twenty miles of you for four years.
He showed Emily.
She went pale.
“Twenty miles?”
Then a third message.
Look at the St. Agnes adoption registry.
Daniel called an investigator.
There was no public registry.
But the investigator discovered something buried in county records.
Four years earlier, a baby girl with an unknown mother had been placed into foster care.
The child was later adopted.
Her name became Ava Morrison.
Daniel felt his knees weaken.
“Ava.”
The investigator found a current address.
Twenty-four miles away.
A private school.
Daniel drove there with Emily.
They waited outside.
Then the bell rang.
Children poured through the doors.
And a little girl walked out holding a purple backpack.
Daniel saw the crescent birthmark near her ear.
His breath caught.
Emily grabbed his arm.
“That’s her.”
They didn't approach immediately.
The girl turned.
Her eyes met theirs.
Daniel's heart broke open.
She looked exactly like Noah.
Not identical.
But unmistakably related.
A teacher approached.
“Can I help you?”
Daniel swallowed.
“We're looking for Ava Morrison.”
The teacher's expression changed.
“Who are you?”
Emily stepped forward.
“I think we're her family.”
The teacher looked alarmed.
Then an older woman emerged from the school.
She stared at Emily.
Then Daniel.
Then the girl.
She whispered:
“You finally found her.”
Daniel turned.
“Who are you?”
May you like
The woman looked at Emily.
“I'm the woman who was supposed to keep her hidden.”
