Chapter 8: The Secret Behind the Two Birth Certificates
I stood in the clinic hallway, holding my phone against my ear long after the call had ended.
Leon approached.
"What did Margaret say?""
I looked at Michael.
Then at Calvin.
Then back at Leon.
"She said Michael isn't my biological son.""
Michael stared at me.
"What?""
Leon shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense. The bracelets match the original hospital records.""
"She said there were two switches.""
Calvin stepped forward.
"Then who is my biological mother?""
Nobody answered.
Michael picked up the photograph Margaret had sent.
"Who is this woman?""
"My sister," I replied.
He looked at the photograph again.
"Why would she say I have a brother?""
I took a shaky breath.
"Because there may be another child.""
Michael stared at us.
Then he walked toward the exit.
"I can't do this.""
Leon followed him.
"Michael, please.""
"No! You show up and tell me you're my father, then some woman calls and says I'm not even the person you think I am?""
His voice echoed through the hallway.
"I have parents. I have a life. I don't need strangers rewriting my history.""
Leon lowered his head.
"I understand.""
Michael turned toward him.
"Do you? Because I don't think you understand what it feels like to discover your entire childhood might be built on lies.""
Leon looked directly at him.
"I spent twenty-seven years believing my son was dead.""
Michael fell silent.
Leon continued.
"I missed his first birthday. His first day of school. Every Christmas.
Every moment. I wasn't there when he broke his arm or learned to ride a bicycle. I wasn't there when he needed his father.""
His voice cracked.
"I don't expect you to call me Dad. I only want the chance to know whether you're my son.""
Michael looked away.
Then he quietly picked up the hospital bracelet.
"I need time.""
Leon nodded.
"Take all the time you need.""
We left the clinic without Michael.
But before we reached the parking lot, Eleanor received a message from Daniel.
He had obtained the original hospital admission ledger from St. Mary's.
The ledger contained the names of three mothers admitted on the same night.
My name.
Evelyn Carter's name.
And Margaret's.
I stopped walking.
"Margaret was also at the hospital?""
Leon looked at the document.
"That isn't possible. She wasn't pregnant.""
I remembered Margaret's strange behavior during that period.
She had been distant.
She had disappeared for several weeks.
And when she returned, she refused to discuss where she had been.
I had always assumed she was dealing with a relationship problem.
Now I wondered whether she had been carrying a secret that could destroy three families.
We returned to my house.
Eleanor spread the hospital records across the dining table.
There were three birth certificates.
Three identification numbers.
Three different handwritten authorizations.
But one document was missing.
The original delivery-room register.
"Where is it?"" I asked.
Daniel answered through the speakerphone.
"It was removed from the hospital archive twenty-seven years ago.""
"By whom?""
There was a pause.
"Dr. Whitmore.""
I gripped the table.
"Then the only person who knew the complete truth is Margaret.""
Daniel agreed.
"Yes. And we need to find her before Victor does.""
I closed my eyes.
"She's my sister. I'll find her.""
Leon shook his head.
"We'll find her together.""
Calvin had been quiet throughout the discussion.
Now he finally spoke.
"There's something I haven't told you.""
I turned.
"What?""
He reached into his pocket and removed a small USB drive.
"Daphne gave me this six months ago. She told me it contained old company records.""
Leon immediately took it.
"Have you opened it?""
"Yes. But most of the files were encrypted.""
Eleanor connected it to her laptop.
A folder appeared.
Inside were several scanned documents.
The first contained a list of payments made to Dr. Whitmore.
The second was a hospital transfer authorization.
The third was a photograph.
It showed Margaret standing beside a newborn baby.
Her face was much younger.
She was holding the baby close to her chest.
On the back, a handwritten note read:
The third child must never return.
I felt sick.
"Why would there be a third child?""
Leon examined the image.
Then he noticed a small hospital bracelet.
He enlarged the photograph.
The bracelet read:
DANIEL BENNETT.
I began crying.
My baby's name.
The name Arthur had spoken on the cassette.
Daniel.
"Where is he?"" I whispered.
Eleanor opened the final file.
It contained an adoption record.
A boy named Daniel Bennett had been placed with a family in another state.
But the adoption had been canceled.
The record stated that the infant had been transferred to a private guardian.
The guardian's name was Victor Hale.
I stared at the screen.
"Victor raised my son?""
Leon shook his head.
"No. He controlled where he went.""
Calvin looked horrified.
"Why would Victor want a baby?""
Eleanor scrolled farther.
A new document appeared.
It contained a list of people connected to the private placement.
One name was familiar.
Daphne Bennett.
I felt cold.
"She knew.""
Leon nodded slowly.
"She has known about the hospital switch from the beginning.""
I looked at Calvin.
"Did she ever tell you anything about your birth?""
He hesitated.
"She said she had been adopted, too.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"She told me her mother abandoned her when she was a baby. She said she had spent years searching for her biological family.""
Leon studied him.
"Did she tell you her birth date?""
Calvin nodded.
"Yes. It was the same night you were born.""
The room fell silent.
I looked at the photograph of Margaret.
Then at the adoption records.
Three mothers.
Three babies.
Three altered identities.
And Daphne, who had entered our family pretending to be an ordinary woman with an unfortunate childhood.
I slowly sat down.
"Who was Daphne's mother?""
Eleanor opened the last scanned page.
There was a name.
Margaret Bennett.
My sister.
I covered my mouth.
"No.""
Calvin stared at the screen.
"Mother?""
I could barely speak.
"Daphne is Margaret's daughter?""
Leon nodded.
"That appears to be what the records say.""
I felt my heart break.
My sister's daughter had married my son.
But that wasn't the worst part.
A second document appeared.
It was a birth record for Daphne.
The biological father field had been left blank.
Someone had written a name in the margin.
Victor Hale.
I looked at Leon.
"Is Victor her father?""
"Possibly.""
Calvin stood abruptly.
"You're saying my wife could be my cousin?""
Leon shook his head.
"We don't have enough verified evidence to establish that.""
Then Calvin pointed at another document.
"What's this?""
It was a hospital note dated three days after the births.
The handwriting was different from the others.
Infant B removed from ward. Guardian present. No further contact authorized.
At the bottom was a signature.
Margaret Bennett.
I stared at my sister's name.
"She signed the transfer.""
Leon nodded.
"Which means she knows where the child went.""
My phone rang.
This time, I recognized the number.
Margaret.
I answered immediately.
"Margaret!""
Her voice was weak.
"Gloria, listen. I need you to forgive me.""
"Where are you?""
"Under the old train station. There's a storage room beneath the western platform.""
"Stay there. We're coming.""
"No! You must listen first.""
I heard her coughing.
Then she whispered:
"Victor isn't looking for the house anymore. He doesn't care about the trust.""
"Then what does he want?""
Margaret began crying.
"He's looking for Daniel.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"Why?""
"Because Daniel is the only person who can prove what happened that night.""
There was a long silence.
Then she said:
"Gloria, the boy you gave birth to is alive. And he's been working for Victor all these years.""
The call ended.
I looked at Calvin.
Then at Leon.
The final piece of Arthur's secret had just fallen into place.
May you like
My biological son might be working for the man who destroyed our family.
And we were running out of time to find him.
