Chapter 6: The Woman Who Had My Face
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the photograph of the eighteen-year-old girl.
She had my eyes.
My smile.
Even the small dimple beside her left cheek.
For eighteen years, I had believed my first child was dead.
For eighteen years, someone had been raising her while I went through birthdays, Christmases, and Mother's Days believing I had only one daughter.
Now I was being told that she was alive.
And the man responsible might be the same man who had somehow fathered her.
I sat beside Lily's bed at Arthur's house, watching her sleep.
She had inherited Daniel's habit of sleeping with one hand tucked beneath her cheek.
I brushed her hair away from her forehead.
"Nothing is going to happen to you," I whispered.
My phone vibrated.
Margaret.
I stared at her name before answering.
"Why are you calling?""
"Because you deserve to hear the truth.""
"Then tell me everything.""
"I can't do it over the phone.""
"Where are you?""
"At the old Whitmore property.""
Arthur, who was sitting in the hallway, looked up sharply.
"Which property?"" I asked.
"The house where Daniel and Ethan were born.""
I closed my eyes.
"Why are you there?""
"Because I found something your husband left behind.""
"What?""
"A letter.""
"Read it.""
"I can't.""
"Why not?""
"Because it's addressed to you.""
I looked at Arthur.
He shook his head.
"Don't go," he whispered.
I ignored him.
"Send me the address.""
Margaret hesitated.
"Nia, there's something you need to understand. Ethan knows about the girl.""
I tightened my grip on the phone.
"Does he know where she is?""
"Yes.""
"Then why hasn't he contacted her?""
"Because he believes she belongs to him.""
My stomach turned.
"She's my daughter.""
"I know.""
"Then why did you let him near her?""
Margaret began crying.
"I never wanted any of this to happen.""
"That doesn't answer my question.""
"No. It doesn't.""
I heard a door slam on her end.
Then a man's voice.
"Mother?""
Margaret stopped breathing.
I recognized the voice.
Ethan.
"Nia," she whispered.
"Listen carefully. If he asks whether you have the key, tell him you lost it.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Arthur was already standing.
"We're leaving.""
"Not without answers.""
"He knows where we are.""
"Then we need to find Margaret.""
Arthur grabbed his coat.
"There's something you should know about Ethan.""
I turned toward him.
"What?""
"Daniel found him six months ago. He was living under another name. He had money, connections, and access to records from the hospital where you gave birth.""
"How did he know about me?""
Arthur looked uncomfortable.
"Because he had been looking for you too.""
I swallowed.
"Why?""
"Daniel believed Ethan wanted to reclaim everything he thought had been taken from him.""
"His family?""
"His inheritance. His identity. And possibly his daughter.""
I looked toward Lily's bedroom.
"He's not getting her.""
Arthur nodded.
"We need to find the original documents.""
"Where?""
"The Whitmore estate.""
We left Lily sleeping in the care of Arthur's longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Collins, who had arrived shortly before dawn.
I hated leaving my daughter.
But I needed to know why two families had apparently spent years making decisions about my children without my knowledge.
The old Whitmore property was nearly an hour away.
It stood behind iron gates at the end of a tree-lined road. The mansion was enormous, with weathered stone walls and tall windows that reflected the gray morning sky.
Margaret was waiting on the front steps.
Her face looked exhausted.
When she saw me, she immediately reached for my hands.
"Nia.""
I pulled away.
"Where's the letter?""
"Inside.""
Arthur looked around.
"Is Ethan here?""
Margaret shook her head.
"Not anymore.""
"What happened?""
"He came last night.""
She led us into the house.
The interior smelled of dust and old wood. Portraits of generations of Whitmores lined the walls.
At the end of the hallway was a small study.
Margaret opened a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
My name was written across the front.
Daniel's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
My throat tightened.
I opened it.
Nia,
I know you will hate me for what I'm about to tell you.
I should have told you years ago.
The first time I saw you, I recognized your name from the hospital records. I had been searching for Ethan, and your name appeared in a file connected to his disappearance.
I didn't know what had happened between you. I didn't know about the baby.
I only knew that you had been hurt.
I approached you because I wanted to understand what Ethan had done.
Then I fell in love with you.
And I became a coward.
I stopped reading.
The words blurred.
I had met Daniel at a charity auction.
He had spilled champagne on my dress, apologized awkwardly, and offered to buy me dinner.
We had laughed.
We had talked for hours.
He had told me he loved my stubbornness.
I had thought it was fate.
But he had known my name before we ever spoke.
I continued reading.
When I discovered the truth about your first daughter, I wanted to tell you. But I found out that Ethan had already begun searching for her.
I feared what he might do.
I made a promise to protect both of you.
If Margaret gave Lily the key, then she finally understands that the truth cannot stay hidden.
There is one final thing you must know.
The girl in the photograph is not living under the name Lily anymore.
She has a different name.
And the person raising her is someone you know.
I looked up.
"Who?""
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Your sister.""
My heart stopped.
"Vanessa?""
Margaret nodded.
"She took your daughter.""
I stepped backward.
"No.""
"She believed she was protecting her.""
"Vanessa has been in my life for years. She held Lily at the hospital. She came to our wedding. She stood beside me at Daniel's funeral.""
Margaret looked down.
"She knew everything.""
I couldn't breathe.
My sister had watched me grieve a baby she knew was alive.
She had watched me celebrate Lily's birthdays.
She had watched me become a mother while hiding the fact that I had another daughter.
"Why would she do that?""
Margaret reached for another document.
"Because your mother arranged it. Vanessa was the one who adopted the child.""
I stared at the papers.
The adoption record showed a name.
*Charlotte Vanessa Miller.*
My sister's full legal name.
Underneath it was the child's new identity.
*Emily Miller.*
I sank into the nearest chair.
Emily.
The eighteen-year-old girl in the photograph.
My first daughter.
My sister had raised my child as her own.
A noise came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Then a familiar voice.
"Nia?""
I turned.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
She was wearing the same navy coat she had worn at Daniel's funeral.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes moved from the letter to the adoption document.
Then she looked at Margaret.
"You told her.""
I stood slowly.
"How long?""
Vanessa's lips trembled.
"Nia...""
"How long have you known?""
She started crying.
"Eighteen years.""
I felt something inside me break.
"Eighteen years?""
Vanessa nodded.
I stepped toward her.
"You held me while I cried over a dead baby.""
She covered her mouth.
"You told me I would have another child.""
"I was trying to help you.""
"You watched me name my daughter. You watched me bring her home. You watched me become a mother while you were raising my first child.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"I didn't know how to tell you.""
I laughed through my tears.
"You had eighteen years.""
She reached toward me.
I stepped back.
"Don't touch me.""
Then Margaret whispered something from behind us.
"There's another reason Vanessa never told you.""
I turned.
"What?""
Margaret looked at my sister.
"Emily doesn't know she's adopted.""
Vanessa began shaking her head.
"Mother, please.""
Margaret continued.
"And she doesn't know that Ethan has been sending her money for the last five years.""
The room went silent.
I stared at Vanessa.
"What did you just say?""
My sister lowered her head.
Before she could answer, my phone rang.
The screen displayed a number I recognized from the photograph.
Ethan Whitmore.
I answered.
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
"Hello, Nia.""
I couldn't speak.
He continued.
"I believe it's time you met your first daughter.""
May you like
Then he added six words that made my blood run cold.
"She's already on her way here.""
