Chapter 9: Only One Stayed
Nobody moved.
Margaret's footsteps crossed the floor below us.
Slow.
Unhurried.
She wasn't surprised.
That frightened me more than if she'd been screaming.
Robert stepped toward the stairs.
"Stay here.""
I grabbed his arm.
"No more secrets.""
He looked at me.
Then nodded.
We went down together.
Margaret stood in the living room.
Same clothes she'd worn the day before.
Her hair was pulled back.
Her suitcase sat beside the door.
She looked at Emily.
Then me.
Then Robert.
"You brought everyone.""
I held up the photograph.
"What does this mean?""
For the first time, Margaret's expression cracked.
Not much.
Just enough.
"Where did you find that?""
"The yellow room.""
"I told Lily not to touch anything in there.""
Emily stepped forward.
"Don't you dare blame my daughter.""
Margaret's eyes hardened.
"Children need boundaries.""
"Children need safety.""
"You think you're such a wonderful mother?""
"I know I don't frighten my child into silence.""
Margaret looked away.
I held up the photograph again.
"Who are the babies?""
She said nothing.
Robert took it from me.
He stared at the picture.
"I've never seen this.""
Margaret laughed quietly.
"Of course you haven't.""
"Who are they?""
She looked at him.
"One is Rebecca.""
My pulse quickened.
"And the other?""
Margaret walked toward the window.
"Her twin.""
The room went silent.
Robert whispered, "Twin?""
"You didn't know me then.""
"What happened to the other baby?""
Margaret closed her eyes.
"She went to another family.""
I stared at her.
"You gave away your child?""
"I was nineteen.""
Robert looked sick.
"You told me Rebecca was your only child before Daniel.""
"She was the only one I raised.""
"Who took the other baby?""
Margaret didn't answer.
Then I remembered Rebecca's words.
Helen had kept records.
Everything.
"Did Aunt Helen know?""
Margaret turned sharply.
That was enough.
"She knew.""
"Stay out of things you don't understand.""
"Then explain them.""
Margaret laughed bitterly.
"You all want a monster.""
Emily's voice was calm.
"No. We want the truth.""
"You wouldn't understand the truth.""
"Try us.""
Margaret looked at me.
For a second, I saw something almost human in her expression.
Pain.
Then it disappeared.
"My mother chose.""
"Chose what?""
"Which baby I could keep.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
Margaret sat down.
For the first time since I'd arrived, she looked tired.
"My parents said I couldn't raise two children alone. They arranged for one to go to relatives.""
Robert whispered, "You never told me.""
"I never told anyone.""
"Who was the other baby?""
Margaret looked toward the stairs.
"Elizabeth.""
The name meant nothing to me.
But Robert reacted.
He grabbed the back of a chair.
"No.""
I turned.
"Dad?""
He stared at Margaret.
"You told me Elizabeth was your cousin.""
Margaret said nothing.
My heart started pounding.
"What cousin?""
Robert looked at me.
"When you were little, a woman named Elizabeth visited twice.""
A memory flickered.
A woman kneeling in our hallway.
Crying.
Margaret shouting.
A door slamming.
"She came to see Rebecca," Robert said.
"No," Margaret whispered.
Robert stared at her.
"She came to see you.""
"No.""
"She came to see her daughter.""
Margaret stood.
"Stop.""
"Rebecca wasn't yours to keep, was she?""
Silence.
Then everything shifted.
Emily whispered, "What are you saying?""
Robert's face went pale.
"I'm saying maybe we've misunderstood the photograph.""
He pointed at the two babies.
"Margaret, which one did you raise?""
She stared at him.
"Answer me.""
"Rebecca.""
"And Elizabeth?""
"She went away.""
"But Elizabeth came back.""
Margaret's hands began trembling.
"She shouldn't have.""
"Why?""
"Because she wanted to destroy everything.""
I stepped between them.
"Someone explain this.""
Robert looked at me.
"I remember those visits now. Elizabeth kept calling Rebecca her baby.""
My mouth went dry.
Margaret snapped, "She was confused.""
"Was she?""
"Yes!""
"Then why did you threaten her?""
Margaret froze.
Robert continued.
"I heard you once. You told her if she came back, she'd never see Rebecca again.""
Margaret's face collapsed.
Emily covered her mouth.
I looked at the photograph again.
Two babies.
One stayed.
One went away.
But maybe those words didn't mean what we'd assumed.
"Rebecca wasn't your daughter," I whispered.
Margaret looked at me.
"She was mine.""
"Biologically?""
"She was mine.""
"That's not what I asked.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"She needed me.""
"Was she your biological daughter?""
Margaret's silence answered.
Robert sat down hard.
"Oh my God.""
I understood slowly.
Margaret and Elizabeth were sisters.
Possibly twins.
The babies in the photograph weren't Margaret's twins.
They were the sisters themselves.
And if Elizabeth had later returned claiming Rebecca—
"Rebecca was Elizabeth's daughter.""
Margaret whispered, "I raised her.""
"You took her.""
"No!""
Her scream shook the room.
"She gave her to me!""
"Then why hide it?""
"Because she changed her mind!""
The front door opened behind us.
We all turned.
A woman stood there.
Late forties.
Brown hair streaked with gray.
Tears already running down her face.
I recognized her immediately.
Not from memory.
From the photographs upstairs.
Rebecca.
My sister.
She looked at me first.
Then Robert.
Finally Margaret.
Margaret went completely still.
Rebecca stepped inside.
"I wondered how long it would take you to tell that version.""
Margaret whispered, "You shouldn't be here.""
Rebecca closed the door.
"No, Mom.""
Her voice shook.
"But she wasn't speaking to Margaret.
She was looking directly at the old photograph in my hand.
Then Rebecca said the words that changed the entire story.
"Elizabeth didn't give me away.""
May you like
She looked at Margaret.
"You stole me from her.""
