Chapter 6: The Uncle Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
My father tried to leave.
He didn't argue. He didn't threaten anyone. He simply turned toward his SUV and started walking as though he could escape the truth by putting enough distance between himself and the photograph.
I followed him.
“Dad!””
He kept moving.
“Daniel, stop!”” Sarah shouted behind me.
He reached the driver's door, but I caught his arm.
“Who is Michael?””
Dad jerked free.
“Get away from me.””
“You told me he died before I was born!””
“He did.””
“Then explain the tattoo!””
His eyes flickered toward the phone in Rebecca's hand.
For one second, I saw the answer in his face.
He knew the man in that photograph.
And he was terrified of him.
“Ethan,” Dad said quietly, “you need to go home with me. We can talk about this privately.””
“No.””
“Please.””
It was the first time I'd heard him beg.
I almost gave in.
Then I remembered the letters tied with blue ribbon, the forged death notice, the photograph of three babies, and the words written beneath my father's signature.
If the girl ever remembers what happened in that house, all three children must be kept apart.
I stepped away.
“You don't get to take me somewhere private so you can decide which parts of my life I'm allowed to know.””
Dad's face tightened.
“You think you're old enough to understand everything? You're not.””
“Then explain it like I'm your son.””
He looked at me for a long moment.
Finally, he whispered, “Michael wasn't supposed to be involved.””
“Wasn't supposed to be involved in what?””
Before he could answer, Rebecca came running toward us.
“Daniel, look at this!””
She held up her phone.
A second photograph had arrived.
This one showed a hospital room with an empty bed, a chair overturned beside it, and a small white envelope resting on the pillow.
The message beneath it read:
*The girl has asked about the third child. You have one chance to tell the truth.*
Noah read it over her shoulder.
“Who's sending these messages?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“The number is blocked.””
“Can we trace it?””
“Not from this phone.””
Sarah stared at the photograph.
“Why would anyone send us pictures of Lily?””
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“Because they're trying to tell us she's in danger.””
I looked at the image again.
Something about the hospital room felt familiar, although I'd never seen it before. The pale green walls. The narrow window. The old-fashioned clock above the door.
Then a memory surfaced.
I was five or six, sitting in the back seat of Dad's car. He'd taken me somewhere I wasn't supposed to talk about. I remembered a long corridor and a woman in white asking me to identify someone in a photograph.
I'd said I didn't know her.
Dad had squeezed my shoulder and told me I'd done well.
I hadn't thought about that day in years.
“Dad,” I said slowly.
“Did you ever take me to a hospital when I was little?””
He stared at me.
“What?””
“A hospital. When I was five or six. You told me not to tell Vanessa.””
His face went completely blank.
Then he whispered, “You remember that?””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Remember what?””
He looked at Sarah.
“Ethan wasn't supposed to remember.””
Sarah grabbed his sleeve.
“What did you do to my son?””
Dad pulled away.
“I didn't hurt him!””
“Then what happened?””
He shook his head, breathing hard.
“I took him to see someone. That's all.””
“Who?”” I demanded.
Dad closed his eyes.
“Michael.””
The name seemed to drain the air from the parking lot.
Noah stepped closer.
“You took Ethan to see a man you claimed was dead?””
“He wasn't supposed to be there,” Dad said.
“He contacted me. He said he had information about Rebecca and the baby. I thought if I met him, I could finally put everything to rest.””
“And you took a five-year-old child with you?”” Sarah asked.
“I had no one to watch him!””
“You could have left him with me!””
Dad stared at her.
“You weren't supposed to be near him.””
Sarah slapped him.
The sound cracked through the parking lot.
Dad didn't move.
“You stole my children,” she whispered.
“You told me they were dead. And even after you knew I was alive, you kept them from me.””
He touched his cheek.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
He looked toward the school.
“Of what Michael would do if he found out the children were together.””
Noah's expression hardened.
“What did he want?””
Dad hesitated.
Then he said, “He wanted the third child.””
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“Why?””
“Because Michael believed Lily was his daughter.””
“She was his daughter,” Rebecca whispered.
“But why would that make him want to separate the children?””
Dad looked at her.
“Because he said Lily wasn't the only child he had fathered.””
For a moment, Rebecca seemed unable to understand the words.
Then she shook her head.
“No. That's impossible.””
Dad's voice was barely audible.
“Michael told me there was another baby. A fourth child.””
I stared at him.
“Four?””
He nodded.
“Your mother gave birth to twins. Rebecca had Lily. And Michael claimed there was another child born that same night.””
Noah pulled out his phone and opened the photograph of the hospital records.
“There were three live births listed.””
Dad nodded.
“Because the fourth child was never officially recorded.””
“Why not?”” I asked.
“Because Michael said the baby belonged to someone else. Someone who couldn't afford to have the child discovered.””
Rebecca's face had gone white.
“Who?””
Dad looked at her.
“He never told me.””
“That's convenient,” Noah said.
“It's the truth!””
“Then why did you sign the documents?””
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
“Because Michael threatened to expose something about our family. Something that would have destroyed all of us.””
I stared at him.
“What could be worse than this?””
He didn't answer.
His phone rang again.
This time, he didn't decline the call.
He answered and put it on speaker.
A man's voice came through, calm and unmistakably familiar.
“Daniel.””
Dad's face crumpled.
“Michael?””
Noah grabbed my arm.
The voice laughed softly.
“You sound surprised. I told you I'd come back.””
Dad swallowed.
“You said you'd leave the children alone.””
“I did. For sixteen years.””
“Please. They've done nothing wrong.””
“Neither did I, according to your version of events.””
Rebecca stepped toward the phone.
“Michael, it's Rebecca. Where is my daughter?””
The line went silent.
Then the man spoke.
“Rebecca. You shouldn't have come back to Charlotte.””
“Where is Lily?””
“She's safe.””
“Prove it.””
A pause.
Then a quiet chuckle.
“You always were difficult.””
Rebecca's face twisted with rage.
“You stole my child!””
“No. I protected her from a woman who couldn't protect herself.””
Sarah lunged for the phone.
“You don't get to talk about protecting children!””
Michael's voice sharpened.
“Sarah. Still playing the grieving mother?””
She froze.
He continued.
“You should be grateful Daniel did what I asked. If he'd told you the truth, none of us would be standing here.””
“What truth?”” I demanded.
The line went silent again.
Then Michael said my name.
“Ethan.””
Every hair on my arms stood up.
“You've grown into a fine young man.””
“How do you know what I look like?””
“Because I've been watching your family for years.””
Dad whispered, “Michael, stop.””
But my uncle ignored him.
“Do you remember the hospital room when you were five?””
My throat tightened.
“I remember pieces.””
“Good. Then perhaps you'll remember the little girl who was sitting in the chair beside your bed.””
The memory came back in a flash.
Dark curls.
A stuffed rabbit.
A small hand gripping mine.
And a child's voice whispering, Don't let them take me away.
I stumbled backward.
“Lily.””
Michael sighed.
“So you do remember.””
“What happened to her?””
“You were told to forget.””
“I was five!””
“And you were a very obedient child.””
Dad made a choking sound.
“Michael, don't.””
My uncle's voice became colder.
“Daniel, you have until midnight. Bring me the original Case 1303 file, and I'll leave the children alone.””
Noah leaned toward the phone.
“What do you want with the file?””
“What everyone wants, Noah. The truth.””
“You could tell us.””
Michael laughed.
“Not while Daniel is standing beside you.””
Dad stared at the ground.
Michael continued.
“Ask your father who signed the fourth child's birth certificate. Ask him why he took Ethan to that hospital. And ask him what happened to the woman who tried to expose us.””
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Rebecca slowly turned toward my father.
“What woman?””
Dad's lips trembled.
Sarah gripped the edge of the SUV to steady herself.
Noah looked down at the file photograph on his phone.
I could hear my own heartbeat.
Finally, Dad whispered, “Her name was Claire Hayes.””
Noah went rigid.
“Martin Hayes's daughter?””
Dad nodded.
“She worked in the hospital records department. She discovered the original files and threatened to report what we'd done.””
“What happened to her?”” Noah demanded.
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.””
Rebecca stared at him.
“You don't know, or you don't want to tell us?””
He looked up.
“I saw her the night she disappeared.””
Noah grabbed his father's collar.
“Where?””
Dad's voice broke.
“At the hospital.””
He looked directly at me.
“And Ethan was there, too.””
I felt the world tilt beneath my feet.
“What did I see?””
Dad began to cry.
“You saw the fourth child.””
Before anyone could ask another question, Noah's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of a young woman standing in front of a brick building.
She had dark curls, brown eyes, and a tiny red birthmark above her left eyebrow.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message.
*My name is Claire Hayes. If you're reading this, one of the children has finally remembered me.*
Noah looked up at me.
Then he whispered, “Ethan, I think the fourth child wasn't a baby.””
He turned the phone toward me.
The photograph was dated sixteen years earlier.
And beneath it was a second image.
A recent hospital badge.
The name printed on it was unmistakable.
*CLAIRE HAYES — PATIENT ADVOCATE.*
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She was alive.
And she had been waiting for us.
