Chapter 6: The Signature That Sent My Brother Away
Dad gripped his phone.
“Then whose signature is on it?””
Detective Harris paused.
“That's what we're trying to establish. The document was submitted under the name of a hospital administrator who died six years ago.””
Daniel immediately reached for a pen.
“Detective, this is Daniel Brooks. I'm the family's attorney. Can you tell us when the transfer occurred?””
“October nineteenth, eleven years ago. The baby was moved from the hospital's neonatal unit to a private medical facility outside Savannah.””
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“Which facility?””
“St. Catherine's Children's Center.””
She shook her head.
“That place closed years ago.””
Detective Harris continued.
“We have located archived records. Some were transferred to another institution. We're reviewing them now.””
Dad's voice tightened.
“Was the baby adopted?””
“I can't confirm that over the phone. But the records indicate that he was placed under temporary guardianship shortly after the transfer.””
My chest tightened.
“Detective,” I said, stepping closer, “was his name Daniel?””
There was a pause.
“Yes. Daniel Claire Carter.””
I pressed a hand over my mouth.
Dad looked at me.
“Can we find him?””
“We're working on it. But there's another matter. The transfer document lists a witness.””
“Who?””
The detective read the name.
“Vanessa Carter.””
Dad closed his eyes.
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“That's not possible.””
Detective Harris continued.
“We'd like her to come in for questioning.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
“I'm not going anywhere.””
Dad looked at her.
“You're going to answer every question.””
She turned toward him.
“Michael, please. You have to understand.””
“Understand what?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From my own children?””
She started crying again.
“I didn't want Claire to take everything.””
Rebecca's voice was cold.
“Claire wanted her children to stay together. You were the one who separated them.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“She was going to expose me.””
Dad looked at her.
“Expose you for what?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Madison suddenly spoke.
“For the money.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked terrified, but she continued.
“Mom told me everything last summer. She said Claire had discovered that someone was moving money out of her accounts.””
Dad frowned.
“What money?””
“The money from the trust.””
Daniel opened the financial documents.
“Madison, do you know where it went?””
She nodded.
“Mom said she used some of it to pay off the house.””
Dad looked shocked.
“What?””
Madison continued.
“And some went into an account under my name.””
I stared at her.
“You knew?””
She shook her head quickly.
“I didn't know where the money came from. Mom told me it was money Dad had set aside for me.””
Dad's expression hardened.
“Do you know which bank?””
Madison gave him the name.
Daniel wrote it down.
“I'll request the records through the appropriate legal channels.””
Vanessa suddenly lunged toward her daughter.
“You ungrateful little liar!””
Dad caught her before she could reach Madison.
“Don't touch her.””
Vanessa struggled.
“You're choosing them over me?””
Dad stared at her.
“I'm choosing the truth.””
For a moment, she looked genuinely shocked.
Then her face changed.
“You think you're innocent, Michael?””
He released her.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa pointed at him.
“You left Claire alone. You worked late every night. You barely noticed when she was sick.
I was the one taking her to appointments. I was the one helping with the baby!””
Rebecca stepped forward.
“You were helping yourself.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Claire trusted me once. She told me everything. She told me she was afraid Michael would never understand what was happening.””
Dad looked devastated.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I knew what would happen if you found out.””
“What would happen?””
“You would have believed her.””
The words hung in the air.
Rebecca slowly opened her handbag.
“There's something you haven't seen.””
She removed a small envelope with my name written on it.
“Claire gave this to me two days before she died. She told me to keep it until Emily turned eighteen.””
My throat tightened.
“Why didn't you give it to me sooner?””
Rebecca's eyes filled.
“Because Vanessa threatened to have me arrested if I came near you. She claimed you were better off without me. Every time I tried to contact your father, someone intercepted my letters.””
She handed me the envelope.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
Inside was a folded letter.
My mother's handwriting.
I sat down and began reading.
My darling Emily,
If you're reading this, then you are old enough to know that adults sometimes make terrible choices and then spend years pretending those choices were made for the right reasons.
I need you to know something.
You were never unwanted. Your brother was never unwanted. And neither of you was ever a burden.
If you cannot find your brother, ask Rebecca about the blue blanket.
I stopped.
The blue blanket.
I looked up.
“Rebecca, what blue blanket?””
She covered her mouth.
“Your mother knitted it herself. She used to make little blankets for both of you.””
“Where is it?””
Rebecca looked toward the photograph of Daniel.
“The hospital told me it was sent with him when he was transferred.””
Daniel immediately picked up the photograph.
“Could it have been kept with the adoption records?””
“Possibly,” Rebecca replied.
I continued reading.
There is one more thing I want you to understand.
Vanessa knows why I was afraid. She knows who came to the hospital before the surgery. And she knows that the person who signed the transfer papers was not the person who ordered the baby to be moved.
My fingers went numb.
I read the sentence again.
Then I looked at Dad.
“Someone else ordered it?””
He nodded slowly.
“That's what your mother believed.””
Rebecca took the letter from me.
Her eyes moved across the final lines.
Then she stopped.
“What is it?”” I asked.
She turned the page.
There was another sentence written at the bottom, almost hidden beneath the fold.
If Michael ever discovers the truth, tell him to look at the photograph from our wedding.
Dad went completely still.
“Our wedding photograph?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Claire believed the answer was there.””
Dad rushed into the living room.
We followed him.
Above the fireplace hung a large framed photograph from his first wedding.
Mom wore a simple ivory dress. Dad stood beside her, one arm around her waist.
They were both smiling.
Madison moved closer.
“What are we looking for?””
Dad lifted the frame from the wall.
On the back was a small envelope taped beneath the wooden backing.
He tore it open.
Inside was a photograph taken on their wedding day.
But it wasn't a wedding photograph.
It showed three people standing outside the church.
My mother.
My father.
And a third man.
A man wearing a hospital identification badge.
Rebecca stared at the image.
Then she whispered a name.
“Dr. Alan Whitmore.””
Dad frowned.
“Why would Claire have a photograph of him from our wedding?””
Rebecca turned the picture over.
A handwritten message appeared on the back.
Michael, if anything happens to me, remember that Alan was there before Vanessa ever entered our lives.
Dad looked confused.
“Before Vanessa?””
Rebecca nodded slowly.
Then she pointed to the man standing beside my parents.
“Michael, that isn't just Claire's surgeon.””
She looked toward me.
“That's the man who introduced Vanessa to your mother.””
Dad's face drained of color.
Rebecca continued.
“And he wasn't just a doctor.””
She turned the photograph over again.
Beneath the handwritten message was a final line.
Ask him who Daniel's biological father really is.
My father dropped the photograph.
Madison screamed.
May you like
And somewhere outside, a car engine started.
Vanessa was gone.
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