Chapter 5: The Hospital Records
I didn't remember ending the call.
I only remembered standing in the kitchen with my phone against my ear long after Ethan had stopped speaking.
Karen wasn't my stepmother.
She was my biological mother.
The woman who had watched me grow up, punished me, stolen my money, and treated me like an unwanted guest in my own house was the woman who had given birth to me.
And Dad had apparently known nothing.
I walked into the living room.
Karen was sitting on the couch, staring at a blank television screen.
"Is it true?""
She didn't move.
"Karen.""
Her eyes lifted.
"What did he tell you?""
I swallowed.
"That you're my mother.""
Her face crumpled.
For a moment, she looked like she might deny it.
Instead, she whispered, "I never wanted you to find out this way.""
I stepped backward.
"You're my mother?""
"Yes.""
"Then why did you let me call you Karen?""
She looked down.
"Because it was easier.""
"Easier for whom?""
She began crying.
I felt my hands shaking.
"Did Dad know?""
"No.""
"Did he adopt me?""
Karen shook her head.
"Your biological father raised you with Daniel for the first few months.""
I frowned.
"That makes no sense.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Daniel isn't your biological father either.""
The room seemed to tilt.
I grabbed the back of a chair.
"Then who is?""
"His name was Michael Brooks.""
I stared at her.
"Brooks?""
"Yes.""
"Then why does Dad have the same last name?""
Karen wiped her cheeks.
"Because Daniel is Michael's younger brother.""
I couldn't speak.
The man who had raised me wasn't my biological father.
He was my uncle.
The woman I thought was my stepmother was my biological mother.
And somewhere in Atlanta was a twenty-four-year-old man who was apparently my half-brother.
I sank into the chair.
"Why?""
Karen looked at me.
"Your father, Michael, died when you were a baby.""
"How?""
"An accident.""
"What kind of accident?""
She hesitated.
"A car accident.""
I stared at her.
"And Daniel?""
"After Michael died, Daniel helped raise you. He was already involved in your life. Eventually, we got married.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
Karen's voice became defensive.
"Because you were happy. You loved Daniel. You didn't need another father.""
"That's not your decision!""
"I was trying to give you a normal childhood.""
I laughed in disbelief.
"You gave me a childhood where I thought my mother was a stranger who hated me.""
Karen looked away.
I stood.
"And what about Ethan?""
She pressed her lips together.
"He was born before you.""
"Same father?""
"No.""
"Then who's his father?""
"I don't know where he is.""
"That's not what I asked.""
Karen stood too.
"His father wasn't someone I could build a life with.""
I stared at her.
"Did you abandon him?""
Her expression changed.
"I didn't abandon him.""
"Then why does he say you did?""
"He was difficult. He had problems. I did what I could.""
I shook my head.
"You always have an excuse.""
She walked toward me.
"Hannah, you need to understand something. When you were born, I was in a terrible position. Michael had just died, Ethan was already struggling, and I had no money. Daniel offered to help me.""
"And you decided to pretend you weren't my mother?""
"I thought it was best.""
"For seventeen years?""
She didn't answer.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Ethan.
*I know she told you. Can we meet? There's something I need to show you.*
I looked at Karen.
"Where did you keep the hospital records?""
Her face went pale.
"Why?""
"Because Ethan said I should check them.""
"He's manipulating you.""
"Then the records will prove it.""
She shook her head.
"You shouldn't listen to him.""
"Why are you so afraid of a hospital file?""
Karen grabbed my wrist.
"Because there are things in those records that could destroy this family.""
I pulled away.
"You already destroyed it.""
The front door opened.
Dad walked in.
He looked exhausted.
Behind him stood a tall young man wearing a dark jacket and carrying a brown envelope.
His hair was slightly longer than Dad's, and his eyes were a familiar shade of blue.
He looked at me.
"Hannah?""
I nodded.
"Ethan?""
He smiled sadly.
"Yeah.""
Dad closed the door.
"I found him at the address Madison gave me.""
Karen stood up.
"You brought him here?""
Dad's expression was icy.
"He's my nephew. He has every right to be here.""
Ethan placed the envelope on the coffee table.
"I brought copies of the records.""
Karen immediately shook her head.
"Those aren't yours to show.""
Ethan ignored her.
"Hannah, I tried to contact you before. I didn't want to scare you. But when I found out Mom had used your information, I knew I had to tell you.""
He opened the envelope.
Inside were hospital discharge papers, an old birth certificate, and several photocopied documents.
I picked up the first page.
My name was printed at the top.
Hannah Marie Brooks.
The date matched my birthday.
But beneath the section labeled Mother, the name wasn't Karen.
It was listed as an unnamed female patient.
I looked at Ethan.
"Why?""
He pointed to the next document.
"Look at the admission date.""
I did.
Then I noticed the hospital location.
Atlanta.
The same city as the cosmetic surgery clinic.
Ethan explained that he'd requested the records after discovering discrepancies in his own birth documents.
"Mom told me my father signed away his rights," he said.
"But when I investigated, I found out there was another child.""
"Me?""
He nodded.
"And something else.""
He handed me a second page.
It was a medical consent form from seventeen years earlier.
The signature at the bottom was unmistakably Karen's.
Dad leaned over my shoulder.
"What is this?""
Ethan looked at him.
"An emergency consent form.""
I read the description.
It mentioned a blood transfusion, an infant patient, and an unidentified donor.
Then I noticed a handwritten note in the margin.
*Biological relationship: maternal grandmother.*
I looked up.
"Grandmother?""
Ethan nodded.
"That's why I contacted you. I think somebody changed the original medical records.""
Karen suddenly lunged for the papers.
Dad caught her arm.
"Don't.""
She began shouting.
"You don't know what you're doing!""
Ethan stepped backward.
"Yes, I do.""
He pulled another document from the envelope.
"This is the original authorization. It shows that someone transferred a medical responsibility from one patient to another.""
Dad frowned.
"What responsibility?""
Ethan looked directly at Karen.
"The surgery request wasn't originally intended for Madison.""
My blood ran cold.
"Then who was it for?""
Ethan took a breath.
"Your grandmother.""
Dad stared at him.
Karen stopped struggling.
May you like
And then Ethan revealed the detail that changed everything.
"Grandma is still alive. She's in a private care facility outside Atlanta. And according to the records, Mom has been using Hannah's identity to access her medical benefits for years.""
