Chapter 4: The Birth Certificate
Ava stared at the name on the birth certificate until the letters blurred.
Denise Brooks.
Her mother.
The woman who had packed her lunches, held her through nightmares, braided her hair before school, and cried at every graduation.
The woman who had told her for eighteen years that her father was dead.
Now Lily stood in front of her claiming they shared the same mother.
Ava looked from one woman to the other.
“Then what are you saying?””
Lily swallowed.
“I’m saying we were both born to Denise.””
Ava shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It didn't make sense to me either.””
Lily held out another document.
“This is why I came.””
Ava didn't take it.
“What is it?””
“Our original hospital record.””
Denise suddenly stepped forward.
“Lily, please.””
Lily turned toward her.
“You had eighteen years to tell her.””
“I was protecting her.””
“You always say that.””
“I was protecting both of you.””
Ava's voice cut through them.
“Stop saying that word.””
Everyone became silent.
“Protecting,” Ava repeated.
“That's what people say when they don't want to admit they made a choice.””
Denise lowered her eyes.
Ava finally took the paper.
The hospital name was unfamiliar.
The date was familiar.
Her birthday.
She scanned the page.
Then stopped.
“There are two babies.””
Lily nodded.
“Twins.””
Ava looked up.
“Twins?””
“Yes.””
Her fingers trembled.
“You're my twin?””
Lily gave a sad smile.
“Fraternal twins.””
Ava looked at Denise.
“Why didn't I know?””
Denise's shoulders shook.
“Because you were separated before you were even discharged.””
“Why?””
Denise looked toward Ava's father.
He stepped forward slowly.
“Because your grandfather wanted one of you.””
Ava stared at him.
“Wanted?””
“He believed the family business needed an heir.””
Lily's face hardened.
“He took me.””
Ava looked at her.
“You?””
Lily nodded.
“Grandfather raised me.””
Ava's heart sank.
“What about Mom?””
Lily laughed bitterly.
“She visited me once.””
Denise covered her face.
“I wasn't allowed to see you.””
“You could have fought.””
“I did.””
“Not hard enough.””
The words landed like a slap.
Denise didn't defend herself.
Ava looked down at the certificate again.
Two babies.
Two names.
Two separate records.
Her own name had been changed.
Lily's had not.
“Why was my name changed?””
Her father answered.
“Because your grandfather wanted to erase the connection.””
“Between me and Lily?””
“Between you and him.””
Ava looked confused.
“What did I have to do with his company?””
Her father hesitated.
Then Thomas spoke.
“Your grandfather believed you had inherited something.””
“Money?””
“No.””
Thomas reached into his briefcase.
“Control.””
He placed a thick folder on the hood of the Toyota.
Ava opened it.
Inside were company documents, shareholder agreements, old correspondence, and a notarized trust.
She skimmed the pages.
Then she saw her name.
*Ava Brooks — 51% beneficiary.*
Her breath caught.
“What is this?””
Her father looked at her.
“Your grandfather's controlling interest.””
Ava stared at him.
“I don't understand.””
“He transferred the shares into your name before he died.””
Robert stepped closer.
“But why would he do that?””
Her father answered.
“Because he knew I would expose him.””
Ava looked up.
“So he gave everything to me?””
“On paper.””
Thomas nodded.
“The shares were placed in a trust that you couldn't access until your twenty-fifth birthday.””
Ava's eyes widened.
“I'm twenty-five today.””
Nobody spoke.
The balloons moved softly in the wind.
The birthday cake remained untouched.
And suddenly, Robert's expensive birthday surprise seemed very small compared with the documents sitting on the hood of her car.
Ava whispered, “So that's why he contacted me.””
“Not exactly,” Thomas said.
Ava looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
Thomas pulled out another document.
“This trust was supposed to transfer automatically this morning.””
Ava's stomach tightened.
“But?””
“The transfer was blocked.””
“By whom?””
Thomas looked toward Denise.
Ava's mother slowly shook her head.
“Not me.””
Thomas turned the document around.
At the bottom was a signature.
Ava recognized it immediately.
Her own.
Her face went cold.
“I never signed this.””
Thomas nodded.
“I know.””
Maya stepped forward.
“Then someone forged her signature.””
Thomas looked at her.
“Yes.””
Ava stared at the document.
“Who?””
Thomas didn't answer.
Her father walked toward the street.
“I think I know.””
Ava followed him with her eyes.
“Dad?””
He stopped.
He looked back at her.
“The person who forged your signature isn't trying to steal your money.””
Ava's voice was barely audible.
“Then what do they want?””
Her father looked at Lily.
“They want the company.””
Lily's expression changed.
“That's impossible.””
“No,” he said.
“It isn't.””
He pointed toward the black sedan.
“There are people inside that company who have been waiting eighteen years for you to turn twenty-five.””
Ava looked at the documents again.
Then her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
*Happy birthday, Ava. You finally belong to us.*
A second message appeared before she could breathe.
*Ask your mother what happened the night Lily disappeared.*
Ava slowly raised her eyes.
Denise was already crying.
May you like
And for the first time, Ava wondered whether her mother had been protecting her…
or hiding the person who had destroyed their family.
