Chapter 8: The Mother Nobody Mentioned
Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
Lily screamed.
"Mom!""
I grabbed her immediately.
"I'm here.""
Michael moved closer.
"Don't move.""
Somewhere in the building, a door slammed.
Harris shouted, "Officers, secure the exits!""
Flashlights snapped on.
One beam swept across the shelves.
Another caught the office.
The chair was empty.
The envelope was gone.
Harris swore.
"Someone was here.""
An officer rushed toward the loading bay.
"We've got movement!""
Footsteps thundered through the warehouse.
Then silence.
I held Lily against me.
Her heart was pounding.
"Mommy, I want to go home.""
I kissed her hair.
"We will.""
Sophie stood beside Michael, trembling.
He put his jacket around her shoulders.
"You're safe.""
She looked up at him.
"Are you really my dad?""
Michael couldn't answer.
She asked again.
"Are you?""
He crouched.
"I think I am.""
She studied his face.
"You have my eyes.""
Michael's eyes filled.
"Yes.""
Sophie touched the scar above his eyebrow.
"I have a picture of you.""
He froze.
"Where?""
She opened her backpack.
From a side pocket, she pulled out a small photograph.
It showed Michael holding a baby.
On the back was a date.
Eleven years ago.
Michael stared at it.
"I've never seen this.""
Sophie whispered, "Daniel gave it to me.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
"He said I should keep it until I was old enough to understand.""
"What else did he tell you?""
Sophie hesitated.
"He said my mother was dangerous.""
Michael stiffened.
"Who is your mother?""
Sophie shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Harris approached.
"Mrs. Carter, we need to get both girls somewhere secure.""
I nodded.
But before we left, I looked at the papers scattered across the office.
One document caught my attention.
It was a hospital record.
My name was printed at the top.
I picked it up.
*Patient: Emily Carter.*
*Date: May 14, 2015.*
I stared at the date.
The day Lily was born.
Except something was wrong.
The hospital listed two infants.
Not one.
I read it again.
"Michael.""
He came beside me.
"What?""
I handed him the paper.
His face went pale.
"There were twins.""
The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Harris looked over my shoulder.
"Mrs. Carter...""
I pointed to the record.
"Two female infants.""
One was listed as Lily Carter.
The other had no name.
My knees weakened.
"Why didn't I know?""
Michael took the page.
"Because someone removed the second record.""
"Who?""
Harris turned another page.
There was a handwritten note.
*Infant transferred at father's request.*
Father.
I looked at Michael.
He shook his head.
"I never requested that.""
"Then who did?""
We found the answer on the next page.
A signature.
*Daniel Carter.*
My vision blurred.
Daniel hadn't just hidden Sophie.
He had taken one of my children.
I covered my mouth.
"Lily had a twin.""
Sophie looked confused.
"Was it me?""
I stared at her.
No.
The dates didn't match.
Sophie had been born three months earlier.
She wasn't Lily's twin.
Then who was?
Lily suddenly spoke.
"Mommy.""
I turned.
"Yes?""
She pointed at the photograph we'd found earlier.
"There.""
"What?""
"The baby.""
She reached for it.
"That's the baby from Dad's office.""
I looked closer.
In the photograph, Daniel stood beside a newborn wrapped in a pink blanket.
A handwritten note was attached to the bottom.
*Our daughter.*
But the baby wasn't Lily.
I knew Lily's face.
Even as a newborn.
This child had darker hair.
A tiny birthmark near her left ear.
I looked at the hospital record again.
The unnamed infant had the exact same birthmark.
My breath caught.
"She's alive.""
Michael stared at me.
"Emily...""
"Daniel's other daughter isn't Sophie.""
Harris looked at the document.
"Then who is she?""
I turned the page.
At the bottom was an adoption record.
The adoptive parents' names had been blacked out.
But the child's new name remained visible.
*Claire Bennett.*
Then I saw the date of the adoption.
May 15, 2015.
One day after Lily's birth.
I whispered, "Daniel gave away my baby.""
Michael shook his head.
"Why?""
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?""
A woman's voice came through.
Young.
Shaking.
"Mrs. Carter?""
"Who is this?""
"My name is Claire.""
My heart stopped.
"Claire Bennett?""
Silence.
Then:
"Daniel Carter is my biological father.""
I couldn't breathe.
She continued.
"And your daughter.""
I closed my eyes.
"Where are you?""
Claire began crying.
"I've been looking for you for years.""
"Why?""
"Because Daniel found me last month.""
My blood turned cold.
"What did he want?""
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"He wanted the original birth certificate.""
"Why?""
"Because it proves something worse than fraud.""
"What?""
"Your father didn't just hide the company from Daniel.""
A pause.
"He hid the company from you, too.""
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Michael asked, "What did she say?""
Before I could answer, another message appeared.
A photograph.
May you like
It showed Claire standing outside my father's old house.
And behind her stood Daniel.
