Chapter 10: The Third Child
The hospital administrator locked the office door.
The police officer immediately reached for his radio.
"Where is he now?""
Patricia Collins looked at the security monitor on her computer.
"Main reception. He's speaking to the receptionist.""
"Does he have a weapon?""
"I don't know.""
I looked at Margaret.
She had become completely still.
Not frightened.
Not surprised.
She looked like someone who had just seen a ghost she had spent eleven years trying to bury.
"Margaret," I whispered.
"You said David was coming for the child who survived. What does that mean?""
She shook her head.
"I can't explain it here.""
"You're going to explain it now.""
James stood beside the window.
"Maybe we should listen to her.""
I turned toward him.
"He's your biological father.""
James looked at me.
"Maybe. But he's also a man who apparently spent thirty years manipulating everyone around him. I'm not going to let him decide what happens next.""
For the first time, I felt something resembling pride.
My son had inherited my stubbornness.
The officer spoke into his radio.
"All units, possible dangerous individual at main reception. Do not approach without backup.""
Patricia looked at the screen again.
"He's moving.""
The image showed an elderly man walking through the lobby.
His hair was gray.
His shoulders were slightly bent.
But I recognized him immediately.
David Morgan.
He wore the same dark blue coat he had worn at Margaret's funeral.
The same coat I had watched him wear while he stood beside her grave and told me I wasn't alone.
I remembered his hand on my shoulder.
His voice telling me to be strong.
My stomach turned.
"Let me speak to him," I said.
The officer shook his head.
"Absolutely not.""
"He's been controlling my family for eleven years.""
"And I'm not allowing him to turn this hospital into another crime scene.""
David stopped in front of the security desk.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
He smiled.
He knew we were watching.
A moment later, the computer screen went black.
Patricia gasped.
"Someone has disabled the security system.""
The officer drew his weapon.
"Everybody stay behind me.""
A loud announcement came through the hospital speakers.
"Attention. All visitors are requested to remain in their current locations.""
Then the lights flickered.
Margaret grabbed my hand.
"Chris, we have to get James out of here.""
James frowned.
"Why me?""
She looked at him.
"Because you're the one David never managed to control.""
Before I could ask what she meant, the office door opened.
A hospital security guard stood outside.
"Mrs. Collins, there's a problem.""
The officer raised his weapon.
"Step back!""
The guard lifted both hands.
"I'm not involved. There's someone in the records room.""
Patricia went pale.
"Who?""
The guard swallowed.
"A woman.""
Margaret suddenly stood.
"Elizabeth?""
The guard shook his head.
"No. She says her name is Sarah Williams.""
I looked at Margaret.
"Who is Sarah Williams?""
Margaret's lips parted.
Then she whispered:
"My third child.""
Nobody spoke.
The guard stepped aside.
A young woman entered the office.
She looked about thirty.
Dark hair. Green eyes. A small scar near her left eyebrow.
She carried a brown leather handbag.
Her eyes moved across the room until they found Margaret.
"Hello, Mother.""
Margaret made a sound somewhere between a sob and a gasp.
Sarah approached her.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other.
Then Margaret reached out.
Sarah stepped back.
"Don't.""
Margaret lowered her hand.
"I'm sorry.""
Sarah laughed bitterly.
"That's what everyone says.""
I looked at her.
"Who are you?""
She turned toward me.
"I'm Sarah Morgan.""
She removed a folded document from her handbag.
"My birth certificate says my father was David Morgan. My mother was listed as unknown.""
She placed the document on the desk.
"But six months ago, a woman named Elizabeth Morgan contacted me. She told me I had been switched at birth.""
James stared at her.
"Elizabeth was your aunt?""
Sarah nodded.
"She raised me.""
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Elizabeth took you.""
Sarah looked at her.
"She saved me.""
The words struck harder than any accusation.
Margaret sat down.
Sarah continued.
"Elizabeth told me that three babies were born at Saint Mary's. One girl and two boys. She said one boy was taken by the Albrights, another was given to a family named Morgan, and I was raised under a false identity.""
I looked at the three birth certificates.
"Which one were you?""
Sarah opened her handbag and removed a hospital bracelet.
The name was faded, but the identification number was still visible.
It matched the third birth certificate.
I looked at Margaret.
"Then who is James?""
Sarah turned toward him.
"He's the boy who was supposed to be raised by David.""
James shook his head.
"No. I was raised by Eleanor Albright.""
"Exactly.""
Sarah looked at Margaret.
"Elizabeth told me that Eleanor was given the wrong baby.""
Margaret began crying.
"She thought she was protecting him.""
"From whom?""
Margaret looked at David's name on the document.
"From his father.""
James took a step forward.
"You're saying I'm David's son?""
Sarah nodded.
"And Zachary?""
Margaret wiped her cheeks.
"Zachary was the third child. He wasn't biologically mine.""
Silence.
I looked at the hospital records again.
Three children.
One family.
Three different lives.
Then Sarah revealed the final piece.
"My biological father wasn't David Morgan.""
She turned toward James.
"He's the man who raised you.""
James stared at her.
"What?""
Sarah removed another document.
A DNA report.
The name at the top was Richard Albright.
The result showed a 99.99 percent probability of paternity.
James took a step backward.
"Richard was dead before I was born.""
Sarah nodded.
"That's what everyone believed.""
Margaret covered her face.
"Richard was alive when you were born. David arranged his disappearance after the hospital scandal.""
I felt my head spinning.
The supposed heart attack.
The financial fraud.
The forged adoption records.
It had all been connected.
The officer approached the documents.
"Where is Richard Albright now?""
Sarah looked toward the door.
"With David.""
A sudden crash came from the corridor.
Then a gunshot.
The officer shouted for everyone to get down.
The office door swung open.
David stood in the doorway.
He held a handgun.
Behind him was Zachary.
Hannah was nowhere to be seen.
David looked at Margaret.
His expression softened.
"My darling," he said.
"You've made a terrible mess.""
Margaret stood.
"Stay away from my children.""
David smiled.
"Which ones?""
May you like
Then he pointed the gun at James.
"Because one of them has something that belongs to me.""
