Chapter 8: The Secret My Sister Had Kept for Six Years
I read Vanessa's message three times.
Don't trust Rachel.
Ask her what she did at the hospital.
I looked up.
My sister was standing beside the bedroom door, her face completely drained of color.
"Rachel?""
She stared at the letter.
"Marcus, I can explain.""
I stepped away from her.
"What happened at the hospital?""
Rachel closed her eyes.
"Vanessa sent you that message?""
I nodded.
She sat on the edge of the bed.
For several seconds, she didn't speak.
Then she whispered, "I knew about the babies.""
The words hit harder than anything Daniel had said.
"What?""
"Not everything. But I knew there was something wrong.""
I stared at her.
"How long?""
"Six years.""
I couldn't believe it.
"You knew my daughter might have been switched, and you said nothing?""
Rachel began crying.
"Emily made me promise.""
"Promise what?""
"That I wouldn't tell you until she was certain Daniel couldn't hurt you or the children.""
I shook my head.
"Children? How many children are we talking about?""
Rachel opened her purse and removed an old photograph.
It showed three newborn babies in hospital bassinets.
Three.
I looked at the image.
"Where did you get this?""
"Emily gave it to me the night before she died.""
I took the photograph.
Three identification bracelets were visible.
One read Williams.
One read Reed.
The third had a handwritten name.
UNKNOWN BABY.
"What is this?""
Rachel wiped her cheeks.
"That night, there were three deliveries.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"Claire told me there were two.""
"Claire wasn't working in the nursery when the third baby arrived.""
Rachel took a shaky breath.
"Another woman delivered a premature baby girl. Her name was Olivia Grant. She was unmarried and had no family nearby.""
I stared at her.
"What happened to her baby?""
"Daniel said the child died.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Did she?""
Rachel shook her head.
"No.""
I sat down.
"Rachel, tell me everything.""
She explained that she'd arrived at St. Mary's shortly after Emily delivered. Daniel had asked her to help carry some personal belongings from the waiting room.
Instead, he'd taken her into a restricted hallway.
There, she'd seen him speaking with a hospital administrator.
A nurse was holding two babies.
One was wrapped in a pink blanket.
The other wore a yellow identification band.
Daniel told her that one of the children was going to be placed with a family who had already agreed to pay for a private adoption.
Rachel had refused to get involved.
But Daniel had threatened her.
"He told me if I spoke, he'd tell everyone I had helped him.""
"Did you?""
Rachel looked down.
"I signed one document.""
My stomach turned.
"What document?""
"A statement saying I had witnessed Emily voluntarily accepting a different baby after delivery.""
I stood up.
"YOU HELPED HIM?""
Rachel flinched.
"I was twenty-six. I was scared. Daniel told me the paperwork was temporary. He said Emily knew everything.""
"Emily didn't know everything!""
"I know!""
Rachel covered her face.
"I found out the truth the following morning. Emily was crying. She told me Daniel had switched the babies without her permission.""
I walked to the window.
My own family had watched this happen.
My brother had manipulated the hospital.
My sister had signed documents.
And I had spent six years believing my daughter was safe.
"Why didn't you tell me after Emily died?""
Rachel took something from her purse.
An old voicemail recording saved on a small memory card.
"Because Emily left this for me.""
She placed it in my hand.
"Listen.""
I played it.
Emily's voice filled the room.
"Rachel, if you're hearing this, something has happened to me. I need you to protect Marcus and the girls.""
There was a pause.
Then a quiet sob.
"Daniel says he can make the children disappear. He says nobody will believe me because the hospital records have already been changed.""
I closed my eyes.
Emily continued.
"Please tell Marcus that the little girl he's holding isn't the only child he needs to protect. There are three babies, Rachel. Three.""
The recording ended.
I lowered the phone.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Rachel began crying harder.
"Because Daniel showed me a document saying you had agreed to the arrangement. He said if I exposed him, you'd be arrested for participating in an illegal adoption.""
I stared at her.
"And you believed him?""
"I was afraid.""
I looked toward the hallway.
Lily was playing quietly with her stuffed rabbit.
She had no idea that three adults who should have protected her had allowed this nightmare to happen.
I walked downstairs.
Rachel followed.
"I know you hate me.""
I turned.
"I don't know what I feel.""
She nodded.
"That's fair.""
Then she handed me another envelope.
"Emily told me to give you this if you ever found the music box.""
Inside was a photograph of a woman holding a little girl.
The woman was unfamiliar.
The child was about two years old.
On the back was written:
*OLIVIA GRANT — MOTHER OF THE THIRD BABY.*
Beneath it was an address.
I immediately searched the name on my phone.
A local news article appeared.
Woman Dies in Suspicious House Fire; Missing Daughter Still Unaccounted For.
The article was dated four years earlier.
The woman was Olivia Grant.
The child was listed as missing.
I stared at the screen.
"Rachel, did Daniel have anything to do with this?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know.""
My phone rang.
It was Claire.
I answered.
"Claire?""
"Marcus, listen carefully. I've been reviewing the original hospital records.""
"What did you find?""
"The third baby wasn't listed as deceased.""
I gripped the phone.
"Then where did she go?""
"Someone changed her name before discharge.""
"To what?""
Claire paused.
Then she said, "Sophie.""
I looked at the photograph in my hand.
The little girl Daniel had been hiding might not have been Emily's biological daughter after all.
Claire continued.
"Marcus, there's a reason Daniel wants everyone to believe there were only two babies.""
"What reason?""
"Because the third baby was connected to a much larger financial arrangement.""
"What arrangement?""
Claire lowered her voice.
"Someone paid Daniel to make sure that child never appeared in the official records.""
I stared at Rachel.
Then I heard a small voice behind me.
"Daddy?""
Lily stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She was holding a folded piece of paper.
"What's that, sweetheart?""
She walked toward me.
"I found this in Mommy Vanessa's suitcase.""
I opened it.
It was a printed boarding pass.
Passenger: Vanessa Williams.
Destination: Denver.
Departure: Tomorrow morning.
But there were two additional passengers listed beneath her name.
*Sophie Cole.*
*Lily Williams.*
My daughter looked up at me.
"Does this mean Mommy is taking me on a trip?""
I knelt and hugged her.
"No, baby.""
Then I looked at the boarding passes again.
Vanessa wasn't running away.
May you like
She was planning to take both girls.
And the flight was less than twenty-four hours away.
