Chapter 8: The Wrong Twin
Nobody spoke.
Maya slowly shook her head.
“No.””
Aaliyah stared at the report.
“This says we're not sisters.””
Renee looked like she was going to collapse.
“That can't be right.””
Marcus read the result again.
“Who ordered this test?””
Renee whispered, “I did.””
“Why?””
“Because I wasn't sure.””
Aaliyah looked at her mother.
“Sure about what?””
Renee closed her eyes.
“I was told there were twins.””
“You were told?””
“I never saw the second baby.””
Maya stepped forward.
“You never saw me?””
“I saw you for a few seconds.””
“Then why didn't you know?””
“Because you were taken away.””
Marcus looked at Derek.
“You knew?””
Derek shook his head.
“I knew there were two babies. I never knew what happened to the second.””
Maya looked at him.
“Then why did you say one baby died?””
“Because that's what your grandfather told me.””
Marcus stared.
“My grandfather.””
Derek nodded.
“He said the second baby died before we left the hospital.””
Maya's eyes filled.
“My mother adopted me years later.””
Marcus looked at Renee.
“Then Maya can't be your daughter.””
Renee shook her head.
“She has my blood type.””
“That doesn't prove anything.””
“I know.””
“Then why did you bring her here?””
“Because I found her birth records.””
Renee pulled another document from the trunk.
She handed it to Marcus.
The paper showed the date of birth.
The hospital.
And the mother's name.
Marcus read it.
Then his eyes widened.
“Her mother's name isn't Renee.””
“No.””
“Then who is this?””
Renee looked at Elaine.
Elaine answered.
“My sister.””
Marcus stared.
“Your sister?””
Elaine nodded.
“Her name was Claire.””
Renee whispered, “Claire died six years ago.””
Maya looked confused.
“My mother was Claire?””
“Yes.””
“Then why does everyone keep saying I was Renee's daughter?””
Renee looked at Marcus.
“Because Claire gave birth to you on the same night I gave birth to Aaliyah.””
Marcus understood.
“Two women.””
“Two babies.””
“Same hospital.””
Renee nodded.
“And your father switched them.””
Maya's face went blank.
“He switched us?””
“Yes.””
Aaliyah looked at Maya.
“So you're not my sister.””
“No.””
Aaliyah's eyes filled.
“But you were raised believing you were someone else's daughter.””
Maya nodded.
“And you were raised believing Marcus wasn't your father.””
Marcus felt a chill.
The entire room suddenly made sense.
Two women.
Two newborn girls.
One powerful man.
And a secret worth destroying lives for.
“Why?”” Marcus asked.
Elaine answered.
“Because your father believed Claire's child belonged to Derek.””
Derek shook his head.
“But she didn't.””
“No,” Elaine said.
“She was Marcus's.””
Marcus looked at Maya.
His heart stopped.
“Then if Maya is biologically mine…”
Renee interrupted.
“She isn't.””
Everyone turned.
Renee's voice was shaking.
“The DNA test proved Marcus is Aaliyah's father.””
Marcus stared.
“And Maya?””
Renee looked at her.
“She is Claire's daughter.””
Maya's face crumpled.
“Then who is my father?””
Silence.
Derek looked away.
Marcus noticed.
“Derek?””
Derek didn't answer.
Marcus stepped toward him.
“Are you Maya's father?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Derek looked at Renee.
“I don't know.””
Maya screamed.
“You don't know?””
Derek flinched.
“I was told the baby was mine.””
“But it wasn't?””
“No.””
“Then why did you let me spend my life believing I had a father who didn't want me?””
Derek's eyes filled.
“I never knew where you were.””
Maya wiped her face.
“You could have looked.””
“I did.””
“When?””
“For years.””
“And you found nothing?””
“No.””
Maya laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.””
Derek stepped toward her.
“I searched hospitals. Adoption agencies. Records.””
“Then why did you stop?””
“Because I was told you were dead.””
Maya looked at Marcus.
“And now you find out I'm alive on the same day you discover Aaliyah is your daughter.””
Marcus's heart broke.
“I didn't know.””
“I know.””
Her voice softened.
“That doesn't make it hurt less.””
Marcus looked at Renee.
“Who switched the babies?””
Renee lowered her head.
“Your father.””
“Did he physically take them?””
“No.””
“Then who did?””
Renee looked toward Elaine.
“Your father's nurse.””
Marcus's face hardened.
“Name.””
“Barbara.””
The name hit Elaine like a punch.
“No.””
Marcus turned.
“You know her?””
Elaine nodded.
“She worked for your father for thirty years.””
“Where is she?””
“She died last year.””
Marcus exhaled sharply.
Another dead end.
But then Maya spoke.
“My mother kept a box.””
Marcus turned.
“What box?””
“She told me never to open it unless someone came looking for me.””
“Do you have it?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Maya reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small brass key.
“My mother gave me this before she died.””
Marcus stared at it.
A tiny number was engraved on the metal.
*214.*
Derek stepped closer.
“I know that number.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Where?””
Derek's face had gone pale.
“Your father's old storage facility.””
Marcus stared.
“My father had a storage unit?””
“Yes.””
“How do you know?””
“Because he used it to keep documents.””
“What documents?””
Derek swallowed.
“Birth records.””
Marcus took the key.
They left the house together.
The storage facility was nearly empty by midnight.
Unit 214 stood at the end of a dark concrete corridor.
Marcus inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
The door rolled upward.
Dust filled the air.
Inside were boxes stacked to the ceiling.
Marcus turned on his flashlight.
Aaliyah stood beside him.
Maya and Derek were behind them.
Renee remained outside.
Marcus found a box marked *Hale Family — Confidential*.
He opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Bank statements.
Medical records.
Adoption documents.
And one sealed envelope.
Marcus picked it up.
His father's handwriting was unmistakable.
He opened it.
The letter contained only one paragraph.
*Marcus, if you ever find this, understand that I did what I had to do. You were never supposed to know that Aaliyah survived.*
Marcus stopped.
Aaliyah's hand flew to her mouth.
He kept reading.
*The child you believe is your daughter is not the child I took from the hospital. The real daughter was sent somewhere else.*
Maya whispered, “What?””
Marcus turned the page.
There was another line.
*And the girl you call Aaliyah is not Renee's biological child.*
The flashlight slipped from Marcus's hand.
Aaliyah stared at him.
“No…”
Marcus looked at Maya.
Then at Renee.
Then back at the letter.
The room suddenly felt freezing.
Because the DNA report had said Marcus was Aaliyah's father.
But the letter said something else entirely.
Someone had switched more than one baby.
And the person who had done it had deliberately made sure Marcus would never know.
Then Derek noticed a second envelope hidden underneath the documents.
He picked it up.
His face changed.
“Marcus.””
“What?””
Derek held it out.
“This one has my name on it.””
Marcus took it.
The envelope was sealed.
May you like
But across the front, in his father's handwriting, were six words:
*Derek, you were never Aaliyah's father.*
