Chapter 9: The Name on the Birth Certificate
I pulled into the first empty parking lot I could find and stared at the phone in my hand.
“Claire, what do you mean?””
Her breathing was uneven.
“Rachel told me she had found two altered birth records. One belonged to Lily. The other belonged to a baby born at St. Mary's Hospital.””
My mouth went dry.
“Emma.””
“I don't know. Rachel never told me the baby's name. She said the records were connected, but she couldn't prove how.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“Because she thought someone was watching her. She was afraid that if she told you everything, they'd use you to get to the child.””
I looked toward the dark road.
“Claire, I need you to tell me everything you know about Richard.””
She took a shaky breath.
“He worked with a private placement agency that was supposed to help families adopt children. But some of the children had been declared dead before they were transferred. Their identities were changed, and money was paid to keep the records from being questioned.””
I felt sick.
“Are you saying Emma could have been one of those children?””
“I'm saying Rachel believed there was a connection. I don't know whether it involved Emma, Lily, or someone else.””
I pressed my forehead against the steering wheel.
My daughter was missing, my wife had lied to me, my brother had concealed financial crimes, and now a woman I had never met was telling me that my daughter's birth records might have been altered.
“Where is the original file?”” I asked.
“I don't know. Rachel said it was hidden in a place where a child would feel safe.””
I thought of Emma's bedroom again.
The music box was empty now, but Rachel had hidden the blue notebook inside it. Perhaps the notebook was only the beginning.
“Did Rachel ever mention a red folder?””
Claire paused.
“Yes. She said she had copies of the original records in a red folder. She planned to give them to the police after she met Daniel.””
My chest tightened.
“Daniel told me he met Richard at the hotel that night.””
“Then he may know where the folder went.””
I ended the call and dialed Daniel.
He answered immediately.
“Michael? Where are you?””
“I'm near the Lakeshore property. Have the police found Emma?””
“Not yet. They're checking the buildings.””
“Listen to me. Did Rachel have a red folder the night she died?””
Silence.
“Daniel.””
“Yes,” he said finally.
“She was carrying one when I met her at the hotel.””
“What happened to it?””
“I don't know. Richard took it after she left.””
“Did you see what was inside?””
“No.””
“Did you ask?””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“He told me it was company paperwork. I was terrified, Michael. I thought if I kept quiet, I could protect you and Emma.””
“You protected yourself.””
“I know.””
I shut my eyes.
“Daniel, if you know anything else, tell me now. My daughter is in danger.””
He was quiet for several seconds.
Then he said, “There was a second car at the hotel that night.””
“What?””
“A gray sedan. It belonged to a woman Richard called Claire. I didn't know her last name. She argued with Rachel in the parking lot.””
My pulse quickened.
“Did you hear what they said?””
“Only part of it. Claire kept saying, ‘You promised me she'd be safe.’ Rachel said, ‘I know, but we have to tell Michael before it's too late.’”
I stared at the dashboard.
“What happened after that?””
“Richard told me to leave. I did. When I got home, he called and said Rachel had been in an accident.””
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to.””
I ended the call.
The police would need all of this. But I couldn't wait for an investigation to unfold while Emma was alone with Richard.
I drove to the Lakeshore property.
The old buildings stood in a row behind a rusted fence. Police lights flashed in the distance, but no officers were near the main entrance.
I parked several hundred yards away and called the lead officer whose number the dispatcher had given me.
“I'm Emma's father,” I said.
“I've received a message demanding a notebook in exchange for my daughter. I believe she's inside one of the storage buildings.””
“Sir, do not approach the property. Officers are setting up a perimeter.””
“Understood.””
I stayed in the car.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Emma.
Daddy, I'm okay. Don't come inside. Richard says he will tell me the truth about Mommy.
I stared at the screen.
A second message followed.
He says you already know who my real mother is.
My breath caught.
I called her immediately, but the phone went straight to voicemail.
I sent a message.
Emma, listen to me. I love you. Whatever Richard tells you, you can always trust me.
No reply came.
Across the road, a side door opened.
A figure emerged into the shadows.
Richard.
He was wearing a dark coat, and he carried a red folder under one arm.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The original adoption file.
He walked toward a black sedan parked beside the fence and opened the passenger door.
A small figure appeared behind him.
Emma.
I gripped the steering wheel, fighting every instinct telling me to run toward her.
Then Richard turned and looked directly at my car.
He raised one hand.
In it was a photograph.
Rachel, standing outside the hospital on the day Emma was born.
Richard held the photograph up to the streetlight, then pointed to the baby in Rachel's arms.
Even from a distance, I recognized the tiny silver bracelet around the baby's wrist.
The same bracelet from the photograph of the other child.
Richard's mouth moved.
I couldn't hear him, but I knew what he was saying.
Two girls.
Then he opened the rear door of the sedan and helped Emma inside.
My phone rang.
Richard's name appeared on the screen.
I answered.
“You wanted the truth, Michael,” he said calmly.
“Now you're going to get it.””
“Let Emma go.””
“I will. But first, you need to understand what Rachel did.””
“What did she do?””
“She changed the records herself.””
I felt the world tilt.
“No.””
“Your wife wasn't investigating a conspiracy because she wanted to destroy me. She was investigating because she had discovered that Rachel had helped conceal a child's identity.””
“That is a lie.””
“Then look inside the red folder.””
He held it up.
“Your daughter's birth certificate is in here. The original one.””
I couldn't speak.
Richard continued.
“Rachel wasn't Emma's biological mother, Michael.””
The words seemed to echo through the car.
“That's impossible.””
“Is it? Then explain why she spent years hiding a second birth certificate.””
I stared at Emma through the sedan's rear window.
She was looking at me, tears streaming down her face.
Richard opened the folder and removed a document.
He turned it toward the streetlight.
Even from where I sat, I could see the name printed beneath the heading *Biological Mother*.
*Claire Bennett.*
My phone slipped in my hand.
Claire's daughter had supposedly been taken from the hospital six years before Emma was born.
Rachel had helped her search for that child.
And now Richard was claiming that Claire was Emma's biological mother.
I looked at the little girl in the car.
Emma shook her head desperately, mouthing something I couldn't hear.
Then Richard leaned toward her and said something that made her cover her ears.
He turned back to me.
“There's one more thing you should know, Michael.””
His voice softened.
“Rachel didn't die trying to protect Emma from me.””
May you like
He held up the birth certificate.
“She died trying to protect Emma from the truth about you.””
