Chapter 10: The Woman in the Records
The name stared back at me.
*Evelyn Walker.*
My fingers tightened around the hospital bracelet.
Walker.
My last name.
A last name that belonged to me.
A last name that had never belonged to anyone else in my family.
At least, that was what I believed.
“Daniel,” Vanessa whispered.
I looked up.
“What?””
She looked at the bracelet.
“You never told me about her.””
“Because I don’t know who she is.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“That’s not true.””
I turned toward him.
“What did you say?””
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“You may not remember her.””
The room went silent.
I laughed once.
A bitter, confused sound.
“Remember a woman I was supposedly married to?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
“That’s impossible.””
He reached into the folder and pulled out another document.
“I found this in the same file.””
I took it.
At the top was a hospital record.
My eyes moved across the page.
Patient name.
*Evelyn Walker.*
Relationship status.
*Married.*
Spouse.
*Daniel Walker.*
My knees almost gave out.
“No.””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Daniel…”
“No.””
I pushed the paper away.
“This is fake.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I thought so too.””
“Then why are you showing me?””
“Because I verified the hospital database.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“The record exists.””
My mind raced.
A memory.
A small fragment.
A hospital hallway.
A woman crying.
A baby’s heartbeat on a monitor.
Then darkness.
I grabbed my head.
“What is happening?””
Vanessa moved toward me.
“Daniel.””
I stepped back.
“No.””
The pain wasn’t physical.
It was worse.
It felt like my own memories were fighting against me.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Daniel, listen.””
I looked at him.
“Ethan wasn’t lying.””
Those words hit harder than anything.
“You’re saying Noah isn’t my son?””
“No.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I’m saying something was hidden from you.””
I looked upstairs.
At the room where Noah slept.
The child I had held every night.
The child whose first steps I had seen.
The child who called me with his tiny sounds before he could even speak.
I didn’t care what a piece of paper said.
But I needed the truth.
“Where is Evelyn?””
Nobody answered.
That scared me.
“Marcus.””
He looked away.
“She disappeared ten months ago.””
The same month Noah was born.
I felt sick.
Vanessa sat down.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.””
I turned.
“You knew she existed.””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
She closed her eyes.
“Since before we married.””
The betrayal felt like another wound opening.
“You married me knowing this?””
“I loved you.””
“That doesn’t answer my question.””
She cried.
“I was afraid.””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
I pointed toward the hallway.
“My son almost drowned today because everyone was afraid.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Maria appeared at the doorway.
She looked worried.
“Sir.””
I turned.
“What happened?””
She held out her phone.
“There is a message.””
I took it.
Unknown number.
Another photo.
This time it wasn’t Noah.
It was an old picture.
A hospital room.
A woman holding a newborn baby.
The image was blurry.
But the face was clear enough.
Evelyn.
And beside her…
Me.
I stared at the screen.
Because I knew that face.
I knew that person.
But I had no memory of that moment.
Then a message appeared beneath the photo.
May you like
*You forgot her. We made sure you forgot.*
My blood turned cold.
