Chapter 3: The Grandmother's Secret
Darius had not spoken to his aunt Renee in almost three years.
The last time he had seen her, she stood in his mother's kitchen, shouting about money while Gloria told everyone to mind their own business.
Now Renee was at the center of a newborn kidnapping investigation.
And his mother had been caught on camera helping her.
“Call her,” Darius demanded.
Officer Reynolds shook his head.
“We're already attempting to locate her. If you have her number, provide it to us.””
Darius fumbled with his phone.
His hands were shaking so badly that he entered the wrong passcode twice.
Brielle stood beside the bed, holding the wrong baby while a nurse prepared to transfer him to a secure observation room.
She couldn't stop looking at his face.
The baby had a small dimple in his left cheek.
For a brief, irrational moment, she wondered whether he had been born with it.
Whether her daughter might have a dimple, too.
Whether she would ever get the chance to discover it.
“Brielle,” Darius whispered, “I'm going to find her.””
She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
“You'd better.””
He dialed Renee's number.
It rang four times before going to voicemail.
“Hey, it's Renee. Leave a message.””
Darius ended the call and tried again.
Nothing.
He turned toward his mother.
“Where would she go?””
Gloria sat stiffly in a chair, her hands folded in her lap.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying!””
“Darius, I have told you everything I know.””
“You haven't told us anything!””
He slammed his phone onto the bedside table.
Maya flinched.
Darius immediately knelt in front of her.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm not angry with you.””
Maya's lower lip trembled.
“Is my sister going to die?””
The question destroyed whatever composure remained in the room.
Brielle covered her face and began to sob.
Darius pulled Maya into his arms.
“No, baby. We're going to find her. I promise.””
“But Grandma said nobody would find her.””
He closed his eyes.
“I know.””
Maya clutched his shirt.
“Grandma made me promise not to tell Mommy.””
Darius drew back.
“What?””
Maya glanced toward Gloria.
“She said if I told anyone about the woman, Mommy would get sick again. She said it would be my fault if something bad happened.””
Gloria shot to her feet.
“I was trying to protect this family!””
Officer Reynolds stepped between them.
“Sit down, ma'am.””
“You don't understand!”” Gloria cried.
“Everything I did was for my son!””
“Then tell us where the baby is,” Darius said.
Gloria's face twisted.
“I don't know where Renee took her.””
Brielle lowered her hands.
“You admit it?””
Gloria froze.
The words had escaped before she could stop them.
Officer Reynolds took a step closer.
“Mrs. Johnson, are you admitting that you helped Renee remove a newborn from this hospital?””
Gloria sank back into the chair.
“I didn't steal anyone.””
“Then explain the footage.””
She pressed her lips together.
“Explain the receipt,” Patricia added.
Gloria's eyes darted toward the door.
For the first time, she looked less like a proud grandmother and more like someone trapped in a room with no exits.
Darius crouched in front of her.
“Mom, listen to me. I need you to forget about the family name. Forget about what people will say. Forget about me.””
Gloria stared at him.
“Just tell us where my daughter is.””
A tear slid down her cheek.
“I never wanted anyone to get hurt.””
Brielle stepped forward.
“You took my child from me. You let me hold another woman's baby while my own daughter disappeared. What exactly did you think would happen?””
Gloria began to cry harder.
“I thought Renee would take her somewhere safe.””
“Safe?”” Brielle shouted.
“You don't even know where she is!””
Patricia intervened before the argument escalated further.
“Mrs. Johnson, we need specifics. Why was Renee involved? Why did you want the babies switched?””
Gloria stared at the floor.
Then she whispered, “Because the boy was supposed to belong to this family.””
Darius's expression changed.
“What does that mean?””
Gloria wiped her face with a tissue.
“Renee told me she knew a woman who had given birth to a boy. The woman didn't want him. She was struggling financially, and Renee said she was willing to let the baby go.””
“Let him go?”” Brielle repeated.
“You mean sell him?””
“No! Not sell him.”” Gloria's voice cracked.
“Renee said there was an arrangement. She said the mother had agreed.””
“Then why switch the babies?”” Darius demanded.
Gloria shook her head.
“Renee said you and Brielle would never accept another person's child. She thought if you believed the baby was yours, you'd love him. And once the paperwork was settled, nobody would question it.””
Brielle stared at her in horror.
“You planned to deceive us for the rest of our lives?””
“I thought you'd be happy with a son.””
Darius recoiled as if she had struck him.
“You thought I'd be happy?””
“You've always wanted a boy!””
“I wanted a healthy child. I wanted Brielle to be safe. I wanted to raise my children!””
Gloria's voice rose.
“And what happens when you get older? Who carries your name? Who inherits the house? Who keeps the family together?””
“Maya is my family!”” Darius shouted.
“Brielle is my family! And the little girl you took is my daughter!””
The last word echoed through the room.
Gloria covered her mouth.
For a moment, the only sound was Brielle's quiet sobbing.
Then Patricia's phone rang.
She answered immediately.
“Yes?””
She listened.
Her eyes widened.
“Are you certain?””
Another pause.
“Send the location to Officer Reynolds immediately.””
She ended the call and turned to the family.
“Security found another camera angle. It shows Renee leaving the hospital with the newborn, but she wasn't alone.””
Darius stepped closer.
“Who was with her?””
Patricia swallowed.
“A man in a black SUV. He was waiting at the service entrance.””
Officer Reynolds spoke into his radio, requesting the vehicle description.
Patricia continued.
“The camera captured part of the license plate. Police have matched it to a vehicle registered to a man named Marcus Bell.””
Gloria made a strangled sound.
Darius looked at her.
“Who is Marcus Bell?””
His mother didn't answer.
“Mom!””
Gloria stared at the floor.
“He was supposed to help Renee.””
“Help her do what?””
“Take the baby out of state.””
Brielle grabbed the bedrail so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“Out of state?””
Gloria nodded miserably.
“Renee said she knew a family who wanted a newborn girl. She told me they couldn't have children of their own.””
“Did they know she was being taken from her mother?”” Officer Reynolds asked.
Gloria began shaking her head.
“I don't know.””
“You helped arrange this without knowing who was receiving the child?””
“I thought Renee had everything under control!””
Darius looked at the woman who had raised him.
He remembered her packing his lunches, sitting beside his bed when he had the flu, and working double shifts to pay his college tuition after his father died.
He had believed those memories meant he knew her.
Now he wasn't sure he had ever truly seen her.
Officer Reynolds's radio crackled again.
A patrol unit had located Marcus Bell's SUV near the interstate.
The vehicle was empty.
Inside, officers found a gray coat, a second phone, and a hospital wristband that appeared to belong to a newborn girl.
But the girl was gone.
Then another officer called with a new lead.
A gas station attendant had seen a woman carrying a baby into a nearby motel less than twenty minutes earlier.
The woman had paid cash.
And the attendant had recognized her from a photograph police had circulated.
It was Renee.
Darius grabbed his jacket.
“I'm going with you.””
Officer Reynolds held up a hand.
“We'll take you to the location, but you must follow our instructions. We don't know whether Renee is alone or whether the child is in immediate danger.””
Brielle tried to stand.
“I am coming, too.””
Patricia stepped beside her.
“Mrs. Johnson, please let us arrange medical transport. You need to be examined before you leave.””
“I don't care about being examined!””
“You'll be more help to your daughter if you're safe enough to reach her.””
Brielle looked at Maya.
Her little girl stood beside the bed, crying silently.
Brielle knelt and took her face between her hands.
“You did nothing wrong, sweetheart. You hear me? Nothing.””
Maya nodded.
“Are you mad at me because I told?””
Brielle pulled her into a fierce embrace.
“Never. You may have saved your sister's life.””
Maya clung to her mother.
“Can I see her when we find her?””
“Yes,” Brielle whispered.
“You can hold her hand. You can tell her you're her big sister. You can tell her all about the blue socks you picked.””
For the first time since the nightmare began, Maya smiled faintly.
Then Officer Reynolds's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and turned toward Darius with a grim expression.
“Mr. Johnson, the motel room is empty. Renee checked out eleven minutes ago.””
Darius felt the floor tilt beneath him.
“Did they find anything?””
The officer hesitated.
“Your aunt left a note.””
He handed Darius a photograph of the handwritten message.
There were only two sentences.
*The girl is not the only child your mother arranged to give away.*
*Ask Gloria what happened to your first daughter.*
Darius read it once.
Then again.
His mother went completely white.
Brielle stared at Gloria.
“Your first daughter?”” she whispered.
Darius slowly raised his eyes toward his mother.
“Mom,” he said, his voice barely audible, “what is Renee talking about?””
May you like
Gloria opened her mouth.
And then she fainted.
