Chapter 8: The Girl in the Second Wedding Dress
I didn't believe Elena at first.
Not because I thought she was lying, but because my mind had reached its limit.
My daughter had a biological mother who had been declared dead. Her biological aunt had been presumed dead. My father, a man buried four years ago, appeared to have orchestrated a scheme involving stolen identities and falsified hospital records.
And now there was another child.
A twin.
A girl who had apparently been inside the same wedding venue while I stood in a bridal room wondering whether my daughter was about to be taken away.
“Where is she?”” I asked.
Elena pointed toward the adjoining suite.
“Room twelve.””
I looked at Simone.
She had been standing silently beside the wardrobe, her wedding veil hanging from one hand.
“You knew?””
Simone shook her head.
“I knew Elena was coming. I didn't know about the other girl.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I expect you to understand that I've been lied to, too.””
“Yet you still arranged to send Ava through that door.””
She lowered her head.
“I thought I was protecting her.””
“You thought you were protecting yourself.””
She didn't argue.
I turned toward Elena.
“Why didn't you tell me about the twins when you first walked in?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She looked at Ava.
“Of losing both girls again.””
Before I could respond, a small voice came from the adjoining suite.
“Mom?””
Elena froze.
The voice was unmistakably a child's.
Ava lifted her head.
I felt her fingers tighten around mine.
A girl appeared in the doorway.
She was wearing a white flower-girl dress almost identical to Ava's. Her hair was arranged in curly ponytails, and she held a small basket filled with white petals.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
She had Ava's eyes.
Ava's nose.
Ava's little dimple.
But there was something different in the way she held herself. She stood perfectly still, watching the room with the caution of someone who had learned not to trust strangers.
Elena covered her mouth.
“Amara.””
The girl took one step forward.
“You said I could meet her.””
Elena nodded through her tears.
“I did, baby.””
Amara looked at Ava.
Ava looked back.
Neither child spoke.
Then Amara lifted her flower basket.
“I brought you flowers.””
Ava stared at the petals.
“Why?””
“Because Mommy said you liked them.””
Ava turned toward Elena.
“You told her about me?””
Elena knelt between the girls.
“I told her everything I could.””
Amara shook her head.
“Not everything.””
Elena closed her eyes.
“No. Not everything.””
I moved closer, keeping Ava beside me.
“Where have you been living?””
Amara looked at her mother.
Elena answered carefully.
“With people who helped keep her safe.””
“Who?””
“A family friend. Someone who knew Nia before everything happened.””
“Why wasn't she with you?””
Elena's face tightened.
“Because the people who were searching for Nia believed one of the twins had disappeared permanently. Keeping the girls apart made it harder for anyone to find both of them.””
I stared at her.
“You separated sisters to protect them?””
“I thought it was the only way.””
“And you decided that without telling me?””
She looked down.
“I didn't know whether you were involved.””
I felt anger surge through me.
“You knew me better than anyone.””
“I thought I did.””
The words struck harder than I expected.
For seven years, I had believed Elena was the one person who knew my heart.
Now she was telling me that even before she disappeared, she had begun to doubt me.
Amara stepped closer to Ava.
“Do you have a favorite color?””
Ava hesitated.
“Purple.””
Amara smiled faintly.
“Mine is purple, too.””
Ava looked at her basket.
“Do you like princesses?””
“Sometimes.””
“Do you have a daddy?””
Amara's smile disappeared.
Elena looked away.
I crouched in front of the girls.
“Amara, sweetheart, you can ask me anything you want.””
She studied my face.
“Are you Ava's daddy?””
“Yes.””
“Are you my daddy, too?””
The room went silent.
I looked at Elena.
She gave a small, painful nod.
The DNA report had already established the biological connection between Nia and Ava, but the new evidence made the truth unmistakable. Both girls were Nia's children, and both had been caught in the same web of lies.
I turned back to Amara.
“I don't know everything about how you were born or what happened afterward. But if you're asking whether I'll care about you, protect you, and make sure nobody hurts you, then yes. I will.””
Amara's eyes filled with tears.
“Even if I don't know you?””
I swallowed hard.
“Especially then.””
She stepped forward.
I opened my arms.
She hesitated, then rushed into them.
Ava watched us, her expression uncertain.
I immediately held out my other hand.
“There's room for both of you.””
Ava stepped into my embrace.
For the first time since I had opened the bridal-room door, neither child was crying.
Then the main hallway erupted with shouting.
A woman's voice called, “Nobody leaves! We need to check every room!””
Elena jumped to her feet.
“That's not security.””
I moved the girls behind me.
“How do you know?””
“Because I recognize the voice.””
She hurried toward the door and peered through the narrow opening.
Her face went white.
“It's Patricia.””
Simone stared at her.
“Your attorney?””
Elena nodded.
“She's the one who helped your father change the records.””
My mother sank into a chair.
“Oh, God.””
I turned toward her.
“You knew about this woman, too?””
Denise shook her head.
“I knew she worked for your father. I didn't know what she had done.””
Elena pulled the door shut.
“We have to leave before she finds Amara.””
I looked at the two girls.
“Where's the nearest safe exit?””
“The main hallway leads to the lobby,” Simone said.
“But Patricia will be watching it.””
“What about the side exit?””
Elena shook her head.
“That's where Andre went.””
I turned toward the open doorway.
“Who is Andre really?””
Before Elena could answer, Simone's phone rang.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
She answered on speaker.
A man's voice filled the room.
“Simone, I need you to listen carefully.””
I recognized the voice immediately.
Andre.
“Where are you?”” I demanded.
He ignored me.
“Patricia knows about the twins. She's coming for Amara.””
Elena stepped closer to the phone.
“You told me she couldn't get inside.””
“I was wrong.””
“Who gave her the access code?””
Silence.
Then Andre spoke again.
“Your father did.””
I stared at the phone.
“My father is dead.””
“His accounts aren't.””
A second voice came through the line.
A woman.
Calm. Professional. Cold.
“Mr. Mitchell, this is Patricia Cole. I believe we need to discuss your family's outstanding obligations.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What obligations?””
“Your father borrowed money from people who expected repayment. When he died, those obligations transferred to his estate.””
“And what does that have to do with my daughters?””
A pause.
Then Patricia answered.
“Your father used the children's identities as collateral.””
My mother screamed.
Simone dropped the phone.
The call disconnected.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then a loud knock struck the main door.
A woman's voice called from the hallway.
“Caleb, I know you're in there. Open the door.””
I pulled both girls close.
Elena reached for the handle.
I stopped her.
“No.””
She stared at me.
“If we stay here, Patricia will find them.””
“And if we open that door, we don't know who's waiting.””
I looked toward the vanity.
The DNA report.
The hospital bracelet.
The key Elena had brought.
Then I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
The silver tag attached to the key had a second number engraved beneath the first.
Not a storage locker number.
A bank account reference.
I turned the tag over.
On the back were three initials.
*C.M.*
My initials.
Caleb Mitchell.
I looked at my mother.
She was trembling.
“Mom,” I said, “what did Dad leave me?””
She began to cry.
Then she whispered, “Everything.””
The door handle turned.
May you like
And from the hallway, Patricia spoke again.
“Caleb, if you don't open this door, I'll have to tell everyone what happened to your first daughter.””
