Chapter 8: The Son My Father Replaced
My mother reached for the document.
I pulled it away.
"Don't touch it.""
She stopped.
I stared at the photograph.
The newborn had a crescent-shaped birthmark on his neck.
But there was something else.
A small surgical scar beneath his left ear.
I touched my own ear.
I had the same scar.
I'd always been told it came from an accident when I was a toddler.
My mother sat down heavily.
"Ryan, please.""
I held up the document.
"Who am I?""
She covered her mouth.
"You're my son.""
"That's not what I asked.""
She looked toward the computer.
Then she whispered, "Your father changed the records.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"Changed whose records?""
"Yours and Daniel's.""
The office seemed suddenly suffocating.
My mother continued.
"When you were born, there were complications. The doctors told us one of the twins needed surgery. Your father was convinced that the hospital had made a mistake with the identification bracelets.""
"Why?""
"He believed Daniel had inherited a rare genetic condition from his side of the family.""
I frowned.
"What condition?""
"He didn't have one. Your father wanted him to.""
I stared at her.
"You're saying he deliberately labeled his own child as sick?""
She nodded.
"Daniel was taken to a private medical facility. I was told he needed specialized care. You were brought home.""
I looked down at the document again.
"So I'm the real Ryan?""
My mother began crying.
"No.""
I looked up.
She took a shaking breath.
"You're Daniel.""
The words hit harder than anything my father had ever said.
I stepped backward.
"No.""
"Your father switched the names when you were babies. He believed the child with the birthmark would be easier to manipulate because of the medical tests he planned.""
I looked at the scar beneath my ear.
Then at the photograph.
"Then where is Ryan?""
My mother pointed toward the computer.
"Daniel.""
I stared at the screen.
The man I'd been calling my twin wasn't my twin.
He was the boy who had lived my life.
The boy who had been given my name.
The boy who had been raised in the house where I'd grown up.
My entire identity had been stolen before I could even speak.
I gripped the desk.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
My mother broke down.
"Because I was afraid of losing both my sons.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You already lost one.""
She nodded.
"I know.""
A metallic click sounded behind us.
The office door opened.
My father walked inside.
He held a small pistol.
Claire immediately stepped in front of me.
"Don't!""
He raised the weapon.
"Move, Claire.""
She shook her head.
"No.""
My father sighed.
"You've made this much more difficult than necessary.""
I stared at him.
"Which one of us is your son?""
He looked at me.
"Both of you.""
"Which one did you name Ryan?""
He smiled.
"The one I believed would be useful.""
My hands curled into fists.
"You stole my life.""
"Life is a matter of circumstances, Daniel.""
Hearing my real name from his mouth made my skin crawl.
He continued.
"One child was raised to become a respectable man. The other was raised to become an obedient one. I needed both.""
Claire stepped forward.
"Where is Emma?""
My father glanced at her.
"Safe.""
"Bring her here.""
"Not until you give me the key.""
Claire slowly reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small black USB drive.
My father immediately lowered the pistol slightly.
"Where did you get that?""
"From your desk.""
His face changed.
"You stole it?""
Claire nodded.
"Four months ago.""
He took one step forward.
"Give it to me.""
"No.""
I looked at the drive.
"What's on it?""
Claire turned toward me.
"Everything. The hospital records, the birth certificates, the adoption documents, and the videos of the children.""
My father raised the gun again.
"Put it down.""
Claire held the drive tightly.
"There's something else, Ryan.""
"What?""
She swallowed.
"Your father has been making recordings of the children for years. He wanted to prove that they were responding to the genetic treatments.""
My father snapped.
"Enough!""
He lunged for her.
I tackled him.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Claire screamed.
I wrestled the weapon away and shoved my father against the desk.
He hit the floor.
For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
"You're making a terrible mistake," he gasped.
I held the gun away from him.
"No. You made that mistake twenty years ago.""
Then the office door slammed.
The lights went out.
A red emergency lamp flickered on.
And the monitor came alive.
Daniel's face appeared.
"Brother," he said calmly.
I looked at the screen.
"Where's Emma?""
Daniel ignored me.
He stared directly into the camera.
"Father, you should have told him the rest.""
My father began struggling beneath me.
"Turn that off!""
Daniel smiled.
"Tell him who the third child is.""
My mother started crying.
I slowly turned toward her.
"What third child?""
She shook her head.
Daniel continued.
"The little girl in the wall wasn't the only child born from your stolen samples. There's another.""
The monitor changed.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a young woman, perhaps nineteen years old, standing outside a school.
She had my face.
My birthmark.
And Claire's eyes.
Underneath her picture was a name.
*ELLA BENNETT.*
Then Daniel spoke the words that made Claire collapse.
"She's your biological daughter, Ryan.""
I stared at the screen.
"Where is she?""
Daniel's smile vanished.
"She's been living with you for the past four years.""
I couldn't breathe.
Claire looked at me.
Then she whispered:
"Lily.""
But Daniel shook his head.
"No, brother.""
He leaned closer.
"Not Lily.""
The screen displayed another photograph.
It was Lily.
Except this time, she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a teenage girl with the same crescent birthmark.
And behind them stood my father.
May you like
Holding a birthday cake.
The date on the photograph was tomorrow.
