Chapter 6: Three Birth Certificates
The ambulance arrived twelve minutes later.
By then, my mother's birthday party had become a crime scene.
Police officers stood around the cellar. Two paramedics were examining Emily. Daniel was keeping Noah inside the house, away from the cameras and the crowd.
And my mother sat alone on the patio.
She hadn't spoken since Richard mentioned the third baby.
I approached her.
“Mom.””
She looked up.
Her eyes were swollen.
“Ethan, please.””
“No more lies.””
She nodded slowly.
I sat opposite her.
“Three babies?””
She looked down at her hands.
“Your father and Richard had a plan long before Emily became pregnant.””
“What plan?””
“Your grandfather had discovered that money was missing from the family trust. He suspected your father, but he couldn't prove it.””
I listened without interrupting.
“After your father died, Richard continued the fraud. He used his brother's identity for years. When Emily discovered the financial records, she threatened to expose him.””
“And the babies?””
Mom took a shaky breath.
“Emily was carrying twins. But the hospital had another patient that night. A woman named Sarah Miller.””
I frowned.
“Who was she?””
“A young woman who had been working at the hospital. She gave birth to a boy shortly before Emily.””
I stared at her.
“Why are you telling me this?””
Mom looked toward the house.
“Because Richard arranged for three birth certificates to be issued that night.””
My throat tightened.
“Three?””
She nodded.
“One for Noah. One for the baby Emily was told had died. And one for Sarah's son.””
I struggled to understand.
“Are you saying there were three boys?””
“Yes.””
“Were they all switched?””
Mom started crying again.
“I don't know which child went where.””
I stood up.
“What?””
“Richard controlled the paperwork. He had people in the hospital. He told me that if I cooperated, the children would be safe.””
I stared at her.
“You signed the documents.””
She nodded.
“I thought I was protecting my family.””
“You helped someone steal babies!””
Her shoulders collapsed.
“I know.””
A paramedic approached us.
“Mr. Hayes?””
I turned.
“Your wife is stable. She's dehydrated and has some untreated injuries. We'll need to take her to the hospital.””
I looked at Emily.
She was sitting on the back of the ambulance with a blanket around her shoulders.
Noah stood beside her.
I walked over.
“Emily?””
She looked up.
“Did you hear what my mother said?””
Emily nodded.
“Sarah.””
I froze.
“You know her?””
“She was my roommate in the maternity ward.””
“Who was the third baby?””
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know. But Sarah disappeared the morning after we gave birth.””
“Did she have a boy?””
“Yes.””
“Could she have been involved?””
Emily looked away.
“I used to think so. But before I was taken, Sarah came to see me.””
“What did she say?””
Emily's voice became barely audible.
“She told me that Richard had been changing the babies' identities. She said one of the boys had already been sent away.””
I felt a chill.
“Where?””
Emily shook her head.
“She didn't know. She only said there was a woman helping Richard inside the hospital.””
“Who?””
Emily looked directly at my mother.
“Margaret.””
I turned.
Mom was staring at us.
Her face was drained of color.
“That's not true,” she whispered.
Emily continued.
“Sarah said the woman had a silver necklace with a small heart pendant.””
My mother instinctively touched her necklace.
The pendant was shaped like a heart.
I stared at it.
“Mom?””
She grabbed the pendant.
“Richard gave me this.””
Emily nodded.
“He told Sarah to trust the woman wearing it.””
Mom began shaking her head.
“I didn't know what they were doing.””
I stepped closer.
“Then why did you keep the necklace?””
She pulled it over her head and placed it on the ambulance seat.
“Because I wanted to remember the day everything went wrong.””
A police officer approached.
“Mr. Hayes, we've recovered several documents from the cellar.””
I turned.
“What documents?””
He held up a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a stack of yellowed hospital forms.
One of them had Emily's name.
Another had Sarah Miller's.
The third had no mother's name at all.
Only a handwritten note.
*TRANSFERRED — PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT.*
Below it was a date.
The day Noah was born.
I leaned closer.
There was a signature at the bottom.
My mother's.
I looked at her.
“Did you sign this?””
She nodded.
“Richard said it was a temporary guardianship document.””
The officer examined the paper.
“Sir, there's something else.””
He turned it over.
On the back was a handwritten list of three names.
*NOAH HAYES.*
*JACOB HAYES.*
*LUCAS MILLER.*
I looked at Emily.
“Jacob?””
She began crying.
“That was the name I chose for our first son.””
The officer continued.
“There's a second page.””
He removed another sheet from the evidence bag.
This one contained three photographs.
The first showed the baby I knew as Noah.
The second showed the boy from the message.
The third showed another child.
A little boy with bright blue eyes.
Underneath the photographs were three columns.
One said Current Identity.
One said Original Identity.
The last said Location.
The first two columns were filled in.
The third was mostly blacked out.
But one location remained visible.
*ST. ANDREW'S ACADEMY.*
I looked at the officer.
“That's where the boy from the message is.””
He nodded.
“Possibly.””
Then Emily noticed something.
She leaned forward and pointed at the third photograph.
“Wait.””
I turned.
“What?””
She was staring at the blue-eyed child.
Her lips began trembling.
“That's Sarah's baby.””
The officer looked confused.
“Are you certain?””
Emily nodded.
“I held him. Sarah let me hold him before she disappeared.””
I examined the photograph.
The little boy had a small crescent-shaped birthmark near his left ear.
I suddenly remembered something.
When Noah was born, the nurse had told me he had a distinctive mark on his shoulder.
But the baby in the photograph had the mark near his ear.
Three boys.
Three identities.
Three families.
And someone had deliberately rearranged their lives.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from a number I recognized.
My father's old phone number.
The number had been disconnected eight years ago.
I opened the message.
There was no photograph.
Just a short sentence.
*YOU HAVE BEEN RAISING THE WRONG BOY, ETHAN.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
*AND YOUR REAL SON HAS BEEN LIVING WITH YOU ALL ALONG.*
I looked toward the ambulance.
Noah was sitting beside Emily, holding her hand.
I looked at my mother.
She was crying silently.
Then I looked at the three photographs.
The officer noticed my expression.
“Sir, are you okay?””
I couldn't answer.
Because beneath the message was one final attachment.
A scanned birth certificate.
It carried my name.
My signature.
My son's name.
And a handwritten correction in red ink.
*THE CHILD IDENTIFIED AS NOAH HAYES IS ACTUALLY JACOB HAYES.*
I slowly raised my eyes toward Emily.
She looked at me, then at the little boy beside her.
May you like
And whispered:
“Ethan… which baby did we bring home?””
