Chapter 8: The Birth Certificate Secret
The drive to the hospital records office was silent.
Too silent.
Daniel sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window.
I sat behind the wheel, gripping it so tightly my hands hurt.
Neither of us knew what to say.
After seven years of fighting.
After two years of believing the worst about each other.
We were finally sitting in the same car again.
But there was no comfort.
Only questions.
“You should have told me.””
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
I kept my eyes on the road.
“I know.””
“You should have fought harder.””
“I did.””
He looked at me.
I swallowed.
“I called you.””
“I never got those calls.””
“I sent letters.””
“I never got those either.””
The silence returned.
Then Daniel said:
“I believed you left.””
My chest tightened.
“I believed you didn’t care.””
He looked down.
“And I was wrong.””
I didn’t answer.
Because an apology after seven years could not erase seven years.
But it mattered.
A little.
When we arrived at the records office, Leo was waiting with my sister outside.
Daniel immediately walked over.
“Hey, buddy.””
Leo looked up.
“Are you mad?””
Daniel knelt.
“No.””
“Are you going away again?””
That question destroyed him.
Daniel looked at me.
Then back at Leo.
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“I’m not going anywhere.””
Leo hugged him.
And I looked away.
Because seeing them together was everything I wanted.
And everything I had lost.
Inside the records office, a tired-looking clerk pulled up Leo’s file.
“Name?””
“Leonard James Miller.””
The woman typed.
Then frowned.
“That’s strange.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“What?””
She clicked again.
“His original record has been accessed multiple times.””
“By who?””
She looked at the screen.
Then at us.
“Your mother.””
Daniel went completely still.
“How many times?””
The clerk hesitated.
“Seven.””
Seven years.
Seven changes.
One for every year of Leo’s life.
My stomach twisted.
“Can we see the original documents?””
The woman printed the file.
Daniel grabbed the pages.
Then stopped.
“What?””
I looked at him.
He handed me the paper.
At the top was Leo’s original birth certificate.
And under father’s name…
A blank space.
Daniel frowned.
“What does this mean?””
The clerk looked uncomfortable.
“It means no father was listed.””
“But that’s impossible.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked at me.
Then the clerk handed us another document.
“This was added three days later.””
Daniel read it.
His face changed.
Because the father’s name had been added.
Not Daniel’s.
Not Nathan’s.
Someone else’s.
Michael Carter.
My knees weakened.
“No.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Sarah?””
“I don’t understand.””
The clerk looked at the file.
“There’s more.””
She handed us another page.
A handwritten note.
Signed by a hospital employee.
*Mother requested confidentiality regarding biological father.*
Daniel stared at the words.
“Biological father.””
He looked at me.
“Sarah.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Were you with Michael?””
“No.””
“Then why is his name there?””
“I don’t know.””
And that was the truth.
For the first time in years, I had no explanation.
The clerk cleared her throat.
“There’s one more thing.””
“What?””
She pointed at the bottom of the page.
“This signature.””
Daniel looked.
Then he froze.
Because the person who signed the request wasn’t me.
It wasn’t Michael.
It wasn’t even Martha.
It was Elena.
Daniel whispered:
“Elena changed my son’s birth records.””
I felt cold.
But then Daniel noticed something else.
A date.
The date Elena signed the paperwork.
The date was two days before she met him.
Daniel slowly looked at me.
“She knew about Leo before she knew me.””
I couldn’t breathe.
The pieces were finally connecting.
Elena hadn’t entered Daniel’s life by accident.
She had known exactly who he was.
And exactly what she wanted.
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Daniel and I looked at each other.
I answered.
A man’s voice spoke.
“Sarah?””
I froze.
Because I recognized it.
A voice I hadn’t heard in seven years.
“Do you still remember what I told you the night Leo was born?””
My hand started shaking.
“Nathan?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
Daniel grabbed the phone.
“Where are you?””
Nathan ignored him.
His voice became urgent.
“Sarah, listen to me.””
“What?””
“Leo was never supposed to be Daniel’s secret.””
My heart stopped.
May you like
Nathan whispered:
“He was supposed to be mine.””
