Chapter 6: Two Babies, One Billion-Dollar Secret
The hospital identification band felt strangely heavy in my hand.
I read the name.
*Baby Callaway — Male — 11:46 P.M.*
The date matched my birth certificate.
But the hospital number was different.
I looked at Grace.
"Who was this baby?""
She sat down on the bottom step of the staircase.
Her face had gone pale.
"Your twin brother.""
I stared at her.
"I had a brother?""
Grace nodded.
"His name was supposed to be Samuel.""
"Supposed to be?""
"Richard arranged for both babies to be taken from the hospital. But something happened during the transfer.""
Alexander stepped forward.
"Only one baby was supposed to survive.""
I turned toward him.
"What?""
He looked uncomfortable.
"Richard wanted a child who could inherit the Callaway voting shares without challenging his authority. He believed one child would be easier to control than two.""
I felt anger rise in my chest.
"You're saying he planned to kill a newborn?""
Grace wiped her eyes.
"He planned to make one of you disappear permanently.""
"Which one?""
She looked down at the bracelet on my wrist.
"Samuel.""
I felt the room spin.
"Then who am I?""
Grace took my hand.
"You're Nathaniel. The child Victoria gave birth to. Samuel was the child Richard wanted to keep.""
I frowned.
"Then why does the photograph show me wearing the bracelet?""
"Because the babies were switched.""
I stared at her.
"By whom?""
Grace looked toward Alexander.
"By Eleanor.""
Alexander nodded.
"Grandmother discovered Richard's plan. She knew he intended to use the hospital records to make one child legally disappear and claim control over the other.""
I tried to understand.
"So Eleanor switched us?""
"Yes," Alexander said.
"She placed you in Grace's arms and arranged for Samuel to be taken into another family.""
I shook my head.
"Where is he now?""
Nobody answered.
That silence terrified me.
Grace finally spoke.
"That's what we've been trying to find out.""
I looked at her.
"How long have you known?""
"Since the night you were born.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because every time I tried, someone found us.""
She opened her handbag and removed a small envelope.
"I kept this because I knew one day you'd need it.""
Inside was a hospital photograph.
Two newborn boys lay side by side in separate bassinets.
One wore a silver bracelet.
The other wore a white identification band.
On the back, someone had written:
One of them must never inherit.
I felt sick.
"Who wrote this?""
Grace's voice dropped.
"Richard.""
Daniel stepped toward us.
"We need to get out of here. Now.""
Alexander glanced at his phone.
"Too late.""
A car engine roared outside.
Then came the sound of breaking glass.
Someone had smashed the front window.
Daniel pulled his weapon.
"Everybody stay behind me!""
A man's voice echoed through the entrance hall.
"Alexander! Bring the boy downstairs!""
Alexander cursed.
"Richard.""
Grace grabbed my sleeve.
"There's a tunnel beneath the kitchen. We used it when you were little.""
I looked at her.
"You knew about this place when I was growing up?""
She nodded.
"I used to bring you here on weekends. You thought we were visiting an old friend.""
I remembered a large house with a garden.
A woman who always gave me chocolate biscuits.
A grandfather clock that chimed thirteen times.
But I had never known it was the Callaway estate.
"Who was the old friend?"" I asked.
Grace's expression changed.
"Eleanor.""
A crash came from the entrance.
Daniel pushed us toward the kitchen.
"Move!""
We hurried down the hallway.
The kitchen was enormous, with dark wooden cabinets and a marble island covered in dust.
Grace pulled open a cupboard and reached behind a row of old plates.
A small metal lever clicked.
Part of the wall shifted.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
"Go," she said.
I turned toward her.
"You're coming.""
She nodded.
"Of course.""
Alexander entered behind us.
"Wait.""
He grabbed my shoulder.
"Before you leave, there's something you need to understand about the twins.""
I was losing patience.
"What now?""
Alexander pulled a folded document from his coat.
It was a copy of the original Callaway trust agreement.
"Your grandfather didn't leave his voting shares to one grandchild.""
He pointed to a paragraph.
"He left them to both children, jointly.""
I read the document.
If both brothers were alive, neither could transfer or sell the shares without the other's consent.
And together, they controlled fifty-one percent of Callaway Holdings.
I looked at Alexander.
"So if my brother is alive...""
"Richard loses control of the company.""
"And Victoria?""
"She loses her position as sole heir.""
Grace closed the hidden door behind us.
"That's why Richard wanted the second baby erased.""
We descended into the tunnel.
The air smelled of wet earth and old stone.
A faint light glowed at the far end.
Daniel followed us, covering the entrance.
Then his radio crackled.
"Reed, come in.""
He answered quietly.
"Go ahead.""
The voice belonged to another security officer.
"Richard is downstairs. He has the police commissioner with him.""
Daniel stopped walking.
"What?""
"They're claiming Nathaniel Brooks kidnapped Eleanor Callaway and stole confidential company documents.""
I looked at Grace.
"He's framing me.""
Daniel nodded.
"He's making you the criminal before you can expose him.""
Alexander checked his phone.
"That's not all.""
He showed us a news notification.
<text color="secondary" size="xs">BREAKING NEWS — 4:12 A.M.</text>
*CALLAWAY FAMILY ANNOUNCES DEATH OF MISSING HEIR AFTER SUSPECTED KIDNAPPING*
The photograph beneath the headline showed me.
My employee identification picture.
I read the article.
According to the statement, Nathaniel Brooks had attacked Eleanor Callaway, stolen historical company records, and fled with the assistance of an unidentified woman.
The police were searching for him.
I laughed once.
It wasn't funny.
"They've declared me dead?""
Alexander shook his head.
"No. They've declared you a fugitive.""
Grace held my face between her hands.
"Listen to me. Whatever happens, don't trust anyone who offers to protect you without asking for the truth.""
I nodded.
Then I heard a sound behind us.
A door opening.
Footsteps.
Someone had entered the tunnel.
Daniel turned.
"Who's there?""
A voice answered.
"Don't shoot.""
The figure stepped into the light.
It was Eleanor.
Her hospital blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. One side of her face was bruised, and she was breathing heavily.
I rushed toward her.
"How did you get here?""
She looked at Grace.
"I came to finish what I should have finished twenty-six years ago.""
Grace began crying.
Eleanor took my hand.
"There's something else about Samuel.""
I looked at her.
"Where is he?""
She swallowed.
"He's alive.""
My knees almost gave way.
"Where?""
Eleanor looked toward Alexander.
"He has been living under a different name.""
"What's his name?""
She closed her eyes.
"Daniel.""
I turned toward the man standing beside us.
Daniel Reed.
The security director who had helped me save Eleanor.
He stared at her.
"What?""
Eleanor nodded.
"Your birth mother was Victoria Callaway. Your biological father was Richard. But the child raised by the Callaway family wasn't Nathaniel.""
Daniel stepped backward.
"No.""
Grace reached toward him.
"Daniel, I didn't know where they took you. I spent years searching.""
He shook his head.
"You're telling me I'm not...""
His voice broke.
Eleanor held out the second hospital photograph.
It showed the two newborn babies.
The child wearing the silver bracelet was me.
The child wearing the white identification band was Daniel.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Then he looked at me.
For the first time since I'd met him, he seemed unable to speak.
I felt the same way.
My brother had been standing beside me all night.
He had helped me investigate my mother's disappearance, protected Eleanor, and risked his career to expose Richard.
And neither of us had known who the other was.
But before either of us could process it, Alexander's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?""
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
Victoria.
"Alexander, listen carefully. Father knows about the twins.""
Alexander's face tightened.
"What happened?""
Victoria's voice cracked.
"He has Samuel.""
Daniel grabbed the phone.
"Where is he?""
There was a long silence.
Then Victoria whispered:
"At the hospital where you were born.""
Daniel went pale.
"Why?""
Victoria's next words were almost inaudible.
"Because Richard has the original birth records.""
I stepped closer to the phone.
"What does he want?""
Victoria began crying.
"He's going to reveal which one of you was supposed to die.""
Then the call ended.
Eleanor looked at me.
"There's one more thing you need to know, Nathaniel.""
I turned toward her.
She took a trembling breath.
"Richard didn't just arrange the babies to be separated.""
Her eyes filled with terror.
May you like
"He arranged for one of them to be murdered.""
And from the look on her face, I knew she was afraid that the wrong baby had survived.
