Chapter 11: The Girl Living Under Another Name
The address led us to a quiet residential neighborhood about forty minutes from the warehouse.
It was nearly two in the morning when we arrived.
I sat in the car, staring at the house.
A small porch light was on.
There were flowerpots beside the front door and a child's bicycle leaning against the garage.
Someone lived there.
Someone who might be my daughter's sister.
Daniel checked the address again.
“This is it.””
Rachel looked at me.
“Are you ready?””
I wasn't.
But I got out.
A woman in her late fifties answered the door.
She wore a gray cardigan and looked startled to see three strangers standing on her porch.
“Yes?””
“My name is Marcus Carter. I'm looking for Lily Reed.””
Her expression changed.
“Who sent you?””
I showed her the photograph of Elena.
The woman's hand flew to her mouth.
“Where did you get that?””
“It's my wife.””
She looked behind me.
Then she stepped outside and quietly closed the door.
“My name is Margaret Reed,” she said.
“Are you related to Thomas Reed?””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
“Because I believe he's hiding something about my family.””
Margaret looked at the photograph again.
Then she whispered:
“Lily isn't here.””
“Where is she?””
“She left three years ago.””
“Why?””
Margaret looked toward the street.
“Because she found out she was adopted.””
I felt my knees weaken.
“Is she alive?””
“Yes.””
“Can I speak to her?””
Margaret hesitated.
“She doesn't want contact with the Carter family.””
I swallowed.
“Why?””
“Because Thomas told her that her biological father abandoned her.””
I stared at the woman.
“Who told her that?””
“Thomas.””
I looked at Daniel.
He shook his head.
“That's a lie.””
Margaret opened the door slightly.
“Come inside.””
The living room was filled with photographs.
A young woman appeared in most of them.
Dark hair.
Hazel eyes.
A small dimple in her left cheek.
I recognized something immediately.
Elena had the same dimple.
“Is that Lily?”” I asked.
Margaret nodded.
“She was six in that picture.””
I studied the photographs.
The girl grew older in each frame.
At sixteen, she wore a graduation gown.
At eighteen, she stood beside a car.
The most recent photograph showed her sitting on a park bench with a little boy.
“Does she have a child?””
Margaret smiled sadly.
“Her son is four.””
My chest tightened.
Nia had a nephew.
A sister.
An entire family we hadn't known existed.
“Where is she now?””
Margaret hesitated.
“She's in Chicago. She works at a children's rehabilitation center.””
“Can you give me her number?””
“I can't do that without her permission.””
I nodded.
“I understand.””
I pulled out Elena's letter and showed her the handwriting.
Margaret began crying.
“I knew Elena.””
I stared at her.
“You knew my wife?””
“She came to see Lily twice when she was little.””
My breath caught.
“Why didn't you tell her?””
“Thomas wouldn't allow it.””
“What?””
Margaret looked toward the staircase.
“He said Elena had signed away her rights. He threatened to take Lily back if I let her see the child again.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Thomas had no authority to do that.””
Margaret shook her head.
“He had the papers. He had the court order.””
I looked at the photographs again.
“Did Lily know Elena was her mother?””
Margaret nodded.
“She found out when she was fifteen.””
I closed my eyes.
Fifteen.
For years, my daughter's sister had been growing up believing her parents had abandoned her.
“Why did she leave?””
Margaret wiped her face.
“Because Thomas told her that her mother had died and her biological father wanted nothing to do with her. Then she discovered an old photograph of Elena with a baby.””
“Did she confront him?””
“Yes. He told her the photograph was meaningless.””
Margaret went to a drawer and returned with a small envelope.
“She left this with me.””
I opened it.
Inside was a letter addressed to an unknown person.
To the family I was never allowed to meet,
I don't know whether you are alive or whether you ever wanted me. But I know I wasn't supposed to exist in the story they told me.
My mother came to see me once when I was little. I remember her perfume. I remember her crying in the car after she left.
I want to know why she didn't take me home.
At the bottom was a phone number.
And a name.
Lily Carter.
Not Reed.
Carter.
I looked at Margaret.
“Can I call her?””
Margaret nodded.
“But please don't tell her I gave you the number.””
I stepped outside.
My hands were shaking as I dialed.
It rang four times.
Then a woman's voice answered.
“Hello?””
I couldn't speak.
“Hello?””
“My name is Marcus.””
Silence.
“Marcus who?””
“Carter.””
Another silence.
Then she said, “Why are you calling me?””
I closed my eyes.
“Because I believe I'm your father.””
Her breathing changed.
“That's impossible.””
“I have photographs. Medical records. A letter from Elena.””
“Don't.””
“Lily, please.””
“You don't get to call me that.””
Her voice cracked.
“You don't get to disappear for twenty years and suddenly decide you're my father.””
I swallowed.
“I know.””
“You don't know anything.””
“I know your mother loved you.””
She laughed bitterly.
“Then why didn't she take me?””
I had no answer that could undo what she'd suffered.
“I don't know all the details yet. But I'm trying to find out.””
“Who gave you this number?””
I hesitated.
“Margaret.””
Lily went quiet.
Then she said:
“Did Thomas send you?””
“No.””
“Is he with you?””
“No.””
Her voice dropped.
“Then listen carefully. Thomas isn't the only person who lied.””
I gripped the phone.
“What do you mean?””
“I found a document in his office before I left. It was a medical consent form with my name on it.””
“What kind of medical consent?””
“A blood test.””
I frowned.
“Why would he need that?””
“Because he was trying to prove something.””
“What?””
Lily took a shaky breath.
“That I wasn't Elena's daughter.””
My stomach tightened.
“But you are.””
“I thought so. Then I found the second page.””
“What did it say?””
She was crying now.
“It said my genetic father wasn't the man in the hospital records.””
I stared at the dark street.
“Who was listed?””
Lily whispered a name.
“Daniel Carter.””
I turned toward my brother.
He was standing in the doorway.
He had heard enough to understand.
I looked back at the phone.
“Lily, Daniel is here with me.””
She gasped.
“Daniel?””
“Yes.””
Then she said something that made the entire situation even more terrifying.
“That's impossible. Daniel isn't my biological father.””
I froze.
“What?””
“I have the DNA report. Thomas showed it to me.””
“Then who is?””
Lily began sobbing.
“Your father.””
My father.
The man who had supposedly died eleven years earlier.
I looked at Daniel.
He slowly shook his head.
“No,” he whispered.
But Lily wasn't finished.
“He wasn't my grandfather, Marcus.””
May you like
She took a breath.
“He was my biological father.””
