Chapter 6: The Woman Who Gave Birth to Them
“Answer it.””
Daniel stared at Rachel’s name.
“No.””
Noah looked at him.
“Answer the phone.””
“Not like this.””
I picked it up before he could stop me.
“Emma—”
I answered.
“Rachel?””
Silence.
Then a woman said, “Where is Daniel?””
It was the first time I had heard Rachel’s voice in years.
“Standing right here.””
Another pause.
“I need to speak with him privately.””
“No.””
Her tone sharpened.
“This doesn’t concern you.””
I almost laughed.
“My son just discovered he has a twin sister. I found records showing you gave that sister away. Lily says DNA proves you aren’t their biological mother. Tell me again how this doesn’t concern me.””
Silence.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
Silence.
That terrified me.
“You knew,” I said.
Daniel looked at the phone.
Rachel finally spoke.
“Put Daniel on.””
“No.””
“Emma.””
“Who is their mother?””
Daniel whispered, “Rachel, don’t.””
I turned toward him.
That was when I understood.
He knew more.
Maybe not everything.
But more.
Rachel exhaled slowly.
“Daniel should have told you years ago.””
“Told me what?””
“The twins weren’t conceived naturally.””
I gripped the phone.
Rachel continued.
“Daniel and I had fertility treatment.””
Daniel lowered himself into a chair.
“We had tried for years,” Rachel said.
“Nothing worked. Eventually we went through IVF.””
Noah stared at his father.
Daniel nodded once.
Rachel continued.
“The clinic transferred embryos. I carried the pregnancy.””
“But the embryos weren’t yours?””
“One was supposed to be.””
My skin prickled.
“One?””
“There was an error at the clinic.””
Daniel covered his face.
I remembered something my mother used to say whenever Noah visited her.
He has your eyes, Emma.
I had always laughed.
He wasn’t biologically mine.
There was no reason for him to have anything of mine.
“Explain the error,” I said.
Rachel went quiet.
“Rachel.””
“The clinic used the wrong eggs.””
My mouth went dry.
“Whose eggs?””
“I don’t know.””
Lily’s voice came through my phone on the kitchen counter.
“I think I do.””
Everyone turned toward it.
I had forgotten she was still connected.
Rachel heard her.
“Who is that?””
Lily answered.
“Your daughter.””
Rachel made a sound that was almost a gasp.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“Lily?””
“Hello, Rachel.””
No one moved.
I felt as if I were standing between two different versions of the same past.
One woman who had carried Lily.
One daughter who had spent years wondering why she had been unwanted.
Rachel’s voice became softer.
“You shouldn’t have contacted them.””
“Why?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
Lily laughed once.
“Apparently everyone was protecting me by lying.””
Rachel said nothing.
Lily continued.
“I found something else in my adoptive mother’s files.””
“What?”” I asked.
“A clinic reference number.””
Daniel stood.
“What clinic?””
“Westbridge Fertility Center.””
His expression changed instantly.
Rachel whispered, “Lily, stop.””
But Lily kept talking.
“I requested records through an attorney. Most were destroyed after the clinic closed, but some billing documents survived.””
“What did they show?”” Noah asked.
“A patient number connected to the egg retrieval.””
I felt a strange pressure in my chest.
“Whose patient number?””
“I didn’t have a name.””
Rachel said sharply, “Because there isn’t one.””
Lily ignored her.
“So I uploaded my DNA to two genealogy databases.””
Daniel stared at the phone.
“And?””
“I got a maternal family match.””
The room went silent.
“How close?”” I asked.
“Very close.””
Rachel whispered, “Don’t.””
That one word changed everything.
She wasn’t afraid Lily was wrong.
She was afraid Lily was right.
“Who did you match with?”” I asked.
“My biological maternal grandmother.””
I gripped the edge of the counter.
“Do you know her name?””
“Yes.””
“What is it?””
Lily hesitated.
For the first time since the call began, she sounded frightened.
“Before I tell you, Emma, I need to ask something.””
“What?””
“Did your mother ever receive fertility treatment?””
I stopped breathing.
Daniel slowly lifted his head.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“No.””
At least, I didn’t think so.
“Why are you asking me that?””
Lily said nothing for several seconds.
Then she spoke.
“The DNA match is a woman named Evelyn Hart.””
My knees nearly gave way.
Evelyn Hart.
My grandmother.
My mother’s mother.
“No,” I whispered.
Noah looked at me.
“Mom?””
I couldn’t answer.
My mother’s jewelry box.
The hidden photograph.
My last name on the bracelet.
The secret she had carried to her grave.
Suddenly none of those things felt accidental.
Rachel began speaking quickly.
“Emma, listen to me. Whatever you’re thinking—”
I ended the call.
My hands were trembling so badly that I nearly dropped the phone.
Noah stepped toward me.
“What does it mean?””
I looked at my son.
At the boy I had raised for eight years.
At the child everyone had always joked looked strangely like me.
And for the first time, I allowed myself to ask the impossible question.
May you like
If Lily’s maternal DNA led directly to my family—
whose eggs had the fertility clinic really used?
