Chapter 2: The Missing Baby Record
The hospital receptionist sounded confused when I explained why I was calling.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Carter, but those records are from years ago,” she said.
“They’re archived.””
“I understand,” I replied.
“But I need information about a birth that happened on October 14th.””
There was a pause.
“Whose birth?””
I looked at the photograph sitting beside me.
“Noah Carter.””
Even saying his name felt different now.
Like I was discovering a child I had known my whole life all over again.
The hospital transferred me three times before a records supervisor finally agreed to meet with me.
Two days later, I sat inside a small office filled with old files and dusty folders.
A woman named Margaret Lewis placed a thick folder on the desk.
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting to find,” she said carefully.
“Neither am I.””
She opened the file.
“Daniel Carter was listed as the father.””
My fingers tightened.
“And Rachel?””
Margaret looked through the pages.
“Rachel Carter was admitted that evening.””
“Did she give birth to one baby?””
The woman stopped moving.
That pause told me everything.
“What?”” I whispered.
She slowly removed her glasses.
“There is something unusual about this record.””
My heart started pounding.
“What unusual?””
She turned the file toward me.
“Rachel Carter delivered twins.””
The room became completely silent.
I stared at the paper.
Twins.
A boy.
And a girl.
“No,” I whispered.
Margaret looked at me sadly.
“Yes.””
“But everyone said Noah was an only child.””
“I can only tell you what the records say.””
My hands began shaking.
“What happened to the girl?””
Margaret flipped through the pages.
“That’s the strange part.””
She pointed to a section near the bottom.
“The second child was listed as deceased.””
I looked at the page.
“Where is the death certificate?””
Margaret’s expression changed.
“There isn’t one.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“There should be documentation. A certificate. A medical report. Something.””
She slowly shook her head.
“But there’s nothing.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“So someone wrote that she died.””
“Yes.””
“But she didn’t?””
Margaret didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
I looked back at the photograph.
The little girl standing beside the newborn baby.
She wasn’t a stranger.
She was someone who had been erased.
“Can you tell me her name?”” I asked.
Margaret searched through the file again.
“There was a temporary identification number.””
She reached for another document.
Then she stopped.
“Wait.””
“What?””
She stared at the paper.
“This file was sealed.””
“Sealed by who?””
Margaret looked at me.
“Daniel Carter.””
My breath caught.
He hadn’t just hidden the truth.
He had buried it.
I left the hospital carrying copies of everything they were legally allowed to give me.
When I arrived home, Daniel was waiting in the living room.
He saw the folder in my hand.
And immediately knew.
“You went there,” he said.
I placed the documents on the table.
“You had a daughter.””
His face went pale.
“Emma…”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You told me Noah was your only child.””
Daniel sat down slowly.
“I was trying to protect him.””
“From what?””
He looked at the papers.
Then at me.
“There are things you don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
He opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
And the color disappeared from his face.
I watched as his hand began to tremble.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
Daniel didn’t respond.
He only whispered one name.
A name I had never heard before.
“Lily.””
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And in that moment, I realized the little girl from the photograph had never disappeared.
She had been waiting.
