Chapter 5: The Girl in the Photograph
Vanessa couldn't take her eyes off the photograph.
The girl looked about Emily's age, maybe a year or two older.
Same dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same small birthmark.
She looked familiar in a way Vanessa couldn't explain.
“Who is she?”” Vanessa whispered.
Claire stared at the screen.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa turned toward Marcus.
“You do.””
Marcus's silence answered her.
“You know her.””
“I've seen her.””
“Where?””
“Once.””
“Where?””
Marcus sat down.
“At a cemetery.””
Vanessa's face hardened.
“Whose cemetery?””
“Daniel's.””
Claire looked sharply at him.
“You saw her?””
Marcus nodded.
“Three years ago.””
“And you said nothing?””
“She told me not to.””
Vanessa stared.
“A child told you to keep a secret?””
“She wasn't a child when I saw her.””
“How old?””
“About fifteen.””
Vanessa looked at the photograph again.
Emily was eight.
The girl couldn't be Emily's twin.
Not if the ages were different.
Unless—
Vanessa suddenly looked at Claire.
“How old was the other baby when she was taken?””
“Newborn.””
“Then why does she look older than Emily?””
Claire went silent.
Marcus stood.
“Because she's not Emily's twin.””
Vanessa's heart sank.
“What?””
Marcus looked toward the photograph.
“She isn't the other baby.””
Claire whispered, “Marcus…”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“Then who is she?””
Claire looked terrified.
“She may be Daniel's daughter.””
Vanessa's mind raced.
“But Emily is Daniel's daughter.””
“Yes.””
“Then this girl…”
“Could be another child.””
Vanessa stared at Marcus.
“How many secrets are there?””
He didn't answer.
The front door suddenly rattled.
Someone was trying the handle.
Marcus moved toward it.
“Stay here.””
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“No.””
“Vanessa—”
“You've spent twelve years deciding what I can know.””
She released him.
“Not anymore.””
Marcus opened the door.
No one stood outside.
Only a small cardboard box sat on the porch.
Rain had soaked its edges.
Marcus picked it up.
A label was taped across the top.
*FOR VANESSA.*
He brought it inside.
Vanessa opened the box.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
A child's bracelet.
The plastic had yellowed with age.
Vanessa lifted it carefully.
The name written across it made her blood run cold.
*BABY GIRL REED.*
Underneath was the date.
March 3, 2015.
Emily's birthday.
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“You told me there was only one baby.””
Marcus nodded.
“There were two.””
“Then where is this child?””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“I don't know.””
Claire stepped closer.
“You do.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Claire.””
“You know.””
“I don't.””
“You met her.””
Vanessa's head snapped toward him.
“You met the missing twin?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“Six months ago.””
Vanessa's face went pale.
“You saw her six months ago?””
“She contacted me.””
“Why?””
“She wanted answers.””
“What did you tell her?””
Marcus couldn't speak.
Vanessa grabbed his shirt.
“What did you tell her?””
“I told her I wasn't her father.””
The words hung in the air.
Claire shook her head.
“You lied again.””
Marcus looked at her.
“I didn't know what else to do.””
Vanessa released him.
“You told her you weren't her father?””
“She isn't mine.””
“But she's your biological brother's daughter.””
Marcus froze.
Vanessa noticed.
“Wait.””
She slowly turned to Claire.
“You said Daniel was Emily's biological father.””
“Yes.””
“And this girl might also be Daniel's daughter.””
“Yes.””
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
“Then the missing twin isn't necessarily Daniel's daughter?””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“Who was the mother?””
Marcus's face changed.
Claire answered quietly.
“You.””
Vanessa stopped breathing.
“You're saying I had twins… and one of them isn't Daniel's?””
Claire nodded.
Vanessa backed away.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does if your father-in-law switched the records.””
Marcus whispered, “Vanessa…”
She turned on him.
“Tell me.””
He stared at the floor.
“The second baby wasn't Daniel's.””
“Whose was she?””
Marcus's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa laughed in disbelief.
“You don't know?””
“I was told she was mine.””
“That's not an answer.””
Marcus looked at her.
“She was born from an embryo that wasn't supposed to exist.””
Claire closed her eyes.
Vanessa felt sick.
“What?””
“Your father-in-law had been involved in an experimental fertility program,” Claire explained.
“There were embryos created years before you and Marcus were married.””
Vanessa stared at her.
“You're saying someone used my body to carry an embryo that wasn't genetically mine?””
“No.””
Claire's voice trembled.
“I'm saying you may not have been carrying Emily at all.””
Vanessa looked toward the stairs.
Her daughter was asleep upstairs.
Her whole life suddenly felt like a photograph with the wrong faces pasted over it.
Then Marcus's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A girl's voice whispered:
“Marcus?””
He went rigid.
Vanessa could hear the voice clearly.
“Who is this?”” Marcus asked.
The girl breathed shakily.
“It's me.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
Vanessa grabbed the phone.
“Who are you?””
Silence.
Then the girl whispered:
May you like
“I'm the daughter you were told never existed.””
The call ended.
