Chapter 5: The Other Family
I stared at Peter Lawson.
“Her grandson?””
He nodded.
“Mrs. Patricia Williams claimed that a child born on October 14, 2020, had been improperly identified and discharged.””
Vanessa gripped the back of a chair.
“That's not possible.””
Peter opened his folder.
“She provided documentation supporting her complaint.””
“What documentation?””
“A private DNA test, photographs, and a copy of an original hospital bracelet.””
I looked at Daniel.
His face had gone pale.
“Did you know about this?””
“No,” he answered.
“Then why is your name connected to all these reports?””
He shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Peter continued.
“Mrs. Williams also identified another family who allegedly received a child with an incorrect birth record.””
My mouth went dry.
“Who?””
He looked at his papers.
“The Morgans.””
Daniel suddenly grabbed the edge of the counter.
“Rachel Morgan?””
Peter nodded.
“That's correct.””
Daniel's face changed completely.
“Rachel's daughter?””
Peter didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned to Vanessa.
“Do you know a woman named Rachel Morgan?””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
I looked at her.
“Why would you know Rachel?””
She looked down.
“Because she contacted me.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
I almost laughed.
“Of course she did.””
Vanessa continued.
“She said her daughter had been taken from her. She believed someone at the hospital had changed the records.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought she was trying to blackmail us!””
“Blackmail us with what?””
“She said the baby we were raising belonged to her!””
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
“Vanessa, are you telling me Noah might be Rachel's child?””
She covered her mouth.
“I don't know.””
Daniel turned away.
For the first time since I'd opened the closet, he looked genuinely frightened.
“Rachel always told me Lily was born in 2020,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
“What?””
“She told me Lily was born in October 2020.””
Peter slowly closed his folder.
“Then I think you should both understand something. The hospital's investigation involved two newborn boys and one newborn girl.””
Three babies.
Three families.
My mind struggled to catch up.
“Where is the girl now?”” I asked.
Peter glanced toward Daniel.
“According to the records, she was discharged to Rachel Morgan.””
Daniel looked stunned.
“But Lily…”
“Was registered under that name.””
He pulled out his phone and began searching through old photographs.
“Wait.””
He opened a picture.
It showed Lily standing in front of a birthday cake.
A small girl with dark curls and a distinctive birthmark beneath her left ear.
I stared.
I had seen that birthmark before.
On Noah.
A small crescent-shaped mark just below his left ear.
My stomach twisted.
“Show me another picture.””
Daniel scrolled.
There it was again.
The same mark.
The same shape.
The same location.
I looked at Vanessa.
She began crying.
“Marcus, I swear I didn't know.””
But I couldn't listen anymore.
If Noah was actually Daniel's daughter Lily, then who had Vanessa given birth to?
And where was that child?
We left the hospital with copies of the documents and a promise that the archived investigation would be reviewed.
In the parking garage, Daniel received a call.
He answered immediately.
“Rachel?””
His face changed.
“What do you mean?””
He paced beside the car.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
Then he shouted, “Don't leave the house!””
He hung up.
“What happened?”” I asked.
“Rachel found something.””
“What?””
“She received a letter from the hospital last week. They told her to bring Lily for a new identity verification.””
I stared at him.
“Did she?””
“She went yesterday.””
“And?””
Daniel swallowed.
“She says the child she raised isn't biologically hers.””
I leaned against the car.
Three families.
Three children.
And apparently, none of the birth records could be trusted.
Daniel opened his phone again.
“She's sending me a picture of the letter.””
A moment later, his screen lit up.
He turned it toward me.
The letter contained a request for additional DNA testing.
At the bottom was the name of the hospital administrator who had authorized the original identification correction.
*Evelyn Williams.*
My mother.
I felt my hands begin to shake.
Then Daniel received another message.
This one contained a photograph.
A woman standing outside a small house.
Beside her was a teenage boy.
The message read:
Rachel says this woman came to her house last night. She told her that the children were never switched by accident.
I zoomed in on the photograph.
I recognized the woman immediately.
She was my aunt Patricia.
But the boy beside her was someone I had never seen before.
Daniel read the next message aloud.
“Rachel says Patricia told her the hospital incident was arranged before any of the babies were born.””
I looked at him.
“Arranged by whom?””
His phone vibrated again.
A final message appeared.
She said Evelyn knows where the third child is.
I stared at those words.
Then I noticed the boy's face.
Something about him looked familiar.
His eyes.
His jawline.
The shape of his nose.
I zoomed in again.
May you like
And suddenly, I understood why Patricia had refused to let the hospital close its investigation.
The boy in the photograph looked almost exactly like my father.
