Chapter 6: The Missing Truth
I spent the next hour staring at the birth certificate.
My daughter’s name.
My name.
Emily’s name.
Everything looked normal.
Except one thing.
The date it was issued.
It wasn’t from the year Sophie was born.
It was from three years later.
Someone had requested a new copy.
Someone had changed something.
“Sophie,” I said gently.
She looked up from her drawing.
“Yes?””
“Do you remember when Mommy took you to the hospital when you were little?””
She nodded.
“Sometimes.””
“What happened?””
She shrugged.
“I was sick.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“What did the doctors say?””
Sophie looked confused.
“I don’t remember.””
That bothered me.
Because children forget many things.
But Emily never forgot anything about Sophie.
I called Rachel again.
“Where can I find the original records?””
“There’s one place.””
“Where?””
“The private clinic where Sophie was born.””
I grabbed my keys.
But before I could leave, Sophie stopped me.
“Daddy?””
I turned.
“What?””
She held the bracelet.
“Can I come?””
I hesitated.
“No, sweetheart.””
“Why?””
“Because I don’t know what we’ll find.””
She looked down.
“Is it about Mommy?””
I nodded.
She hugged the bracelet against her chest.
“Then I want to know.””
I wanted to say no.
I wanted to protect her from every painful truth.
But Emily had trusted her with something.
And maybe it was time I stopped treating Sophie like someone who needed protection from the truth.
Maybe she needed the truth to protect herself.
The clinic was almost abandoned.
The old receptionist barely looked up when I walked in.
“I need records from ten years ago.””
She frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“Why?””
“The clinic changed ownership.””
I placed Emily’s bracelet on the counter.
The woman froze.
“Where did you get that?””
I stared at her.
“You know this bracelet?””
Her face changed.
“You’re Daniel.””
My heart jumped.
“How do you know my name?””
She looked toward the hallway.
Then lowered her voice.
“Because Emily told me you would come one day.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What did she tell you?””
The woman reached under the desk.
She pulled out a sealed folder.
“This.””
I opened it.
Inside were medical records.
And one photograph.
A baby.
Sophie.
But the note attached to the photograph made my hands shake.
“Patient transferred under request of Vanessa Carter.””
I looked up.
“Why was Vanessa involved?””
The receptionist looked terrified.
“Because she wasn’t trying to take Emily’s bracelet.””
I swallowed.
“Then what was she trying to take?””
The woman leaned closer.
“Your daughter.””
My phone suddenly buzzed.
A message.
From Vanessa.
I opened it.
There was only a photograph.
My house.
Taken from outside.
And underneath it, four words.
“You should have listened.””
I looked at Sophie standing beside me.
Then back at the message.
Before I could react, another message arrived.
This one was worse.
A location.
And a name.
The name of the person Vanessa had just gone to meet.
May you like
Emily’s doctor.
The doctor who signed Sophie’s original birth records.
