Chapter 8: The Woman on the Hospital Record
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
The Christmas lights outside my father's window blinked in soft colors. The heating system hummed. Somewhere in the kitchen, a clock ticked steadily.
But all I could see were the words on Daniel's phone.
*Biological mother.*
I reached for the device.
Daniel handed it to me without protest.
“Where did you get this?”” I asked.
“Vanessa sent it about ten minutes ago.””
“Did she explain what it means?””
“She said your father should have told you years ago.””
I looked at Robert.
He stood beside the doorway, his face rigid.
“Dad?””
He didn't answer.
I felt something inside me collapse.
“Is this real?””
Robert stepped forward.
“Let me see it.””
I turned the phone toward him.
He studied the photograph for several seconds, then shook his head.
“This isn't an original document.””
“What does that mean?”” I demanded.
“It means someone photographed a piece of paper. I can't tell whether it's authentic from this image.””
Daniel looked frustrated.
“Vanessa said it came from the hospital records.””
“Vanessa also spent tonight wearing my dead wife's necklace,” Robert replied.
“Forgive me if I don't accept her claims without evidence.””
I barely heard them.
I was staring at the date printed at the top of the document.
The day I was born.
I had celebrated that date every year with my father. He always made pancakes in the morning, even when I was old enough to cook for myself. My mother used to sing to me over the telephone when she was alive, and after her death, Dad continued the tradition.
Every birthday cake.
Every photograph.
Every story about my first steps.
Had he known?
I looked at him.
“Tell me what happened when I was born.””
Robert's eyes filled with tears.
“You are my daughter.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
“I raised you. I loved you. I stayed awake beside your bed when you were sick.
I held you when your mother died. I taught you to ride a bicycle, helped you through school, and walked you down the aisle when you married Daniel.””
His voice broke.
“None of that was a lie.””
I pressed my lips together.
“Then why won't you answer the question?””
He looked toward the mantel.
“Because I need to know whether this document is genuine before I tell you something I cannot take back.””
Daniel lowered his phone.
“Vanessa said you'd say that.””
My father turned on him.
“And what else did Vanessa say?””
Daniel hesitated.
“She said the necklace wasn't the only thing your wife took to her grave.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
“I don't know.””
“Daniel, stop protecting her!””
“I'm not protecting her, Ava. I'm telling you exactly what she said.””
My father walked toward the mantel and picked up my mother's photograph.
For several seconds, he looked at it without speaking.
Then he turned to Evelyn.
“You knew about this.””
She sat rigidly on the sofa.
“I knew Vanessa had been asking questions. I didn't know she had a document.””
“Did you know she was connected to Ava's birth?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I suspected.””
I took a step toward her.
“Suspected what?””
She looked at me, and her face crumpled.
“That Vanessa might have been involved in something your mother arranged before you were born.””
I felt sick.
“Something she arranged?””
“Your mother was frightened,” Evelyn said.
“She believed people were trying to control her life. She came to me for help.””
My father stared at her.
“You never told me that.””
“Because she made me promise not to.””
“Why?””
Evelyn's hands shook.
“Because she didn't trust the people around her.””
“Which people?”” I demanded.
She looked at Daniel.
Then at my father.
Finally, she looked at me.
“I don't know whether I can explain it without making everything worse.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You've already made everything worse.””
She lowered her head.
Daniel's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
Another message from Vanessa.
This time, it contained no photograph.
Only a sentence.
Tell Ava to ask Robert what he signed before she was born.
I read it over Daniel's shoulder.
My father went perfectly still.
“What did you sign?”” I whispered.
He slowly placed my mother's photograph back on the mantel.
“Your mother was seriously ill during the final weeks of her pregnancy. There were medical decisions we had to make. Forms.
Consent documents. Things every family faces in a hospital.””
“Was one of them an adoption agreement?””
“No.””
His answer came too quickly.
I stared at him.
“Dad.””
He closed his eyes.
“I signed a document agreeing to protect your mother's privacy.””
“What privacy?””
“I can't remember the exact wording.””
“Then why are you so afraid of it?””
He opened his eyes.
“Because I was asked to sign it by someone I trusted.””
“Who?””
He looked at Evelyn.
She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Don't look at me. I wasn't the one who brought the papers.””
“Then who did?”” I demanded.
Evelyn pressed a hand to her mouth.
Daniel stepped closer to me.
“Ava, maybe we should slow down.””
I turned toward him.
“You have no right to tell me to slow down. You brought another woman into your mother's house, watched her take my place, and let your mother humiliate me. Now you're standing in my father's living room while I discover that my entire childhood may have been built on a secret.””
He lowered his eyes.
“I know.””
“No, you don't.””
My father reached for my hand.
I let him take it, but I couldn't stop looking at the hospital record.
“Can we verify this?”” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“But not from a photograph.””
“Then we contact the hospital.””
“Tomorrow morning.””
“Tonight.””
“Ava, it's nearly midnight on Christmas Eve. The records department will be closed.””
I pulled my hand away.
“Then we find another way.””
Evelyn stood abruptly.
“I know someone who may be able to help.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She swallowed.
“There was a nurse who worked with your mother. She retired years ago, but I kept her number.””
My father stared at her.
“You kept a nurse's number for twenty years?””
“I kept it because I was afraid this day might come.””
I stepped toward her.
“Give it to me.””
She hesitated.
“Please understand something. If Vanessa is telling the truth, there may be people who never wanted you to discover it.””
“Give me the number.””
Evelyn opened her handbag and removed a small address book.
She found a page, tore it out, and handed it to me.
A name and telephone number were written in blue ink.
*Margaret Ellis.*
Beneath the number, Evelyn had written a date.
The date my mother died.
I looked up.
“Why did you write that date?””
Evelyn's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because that was the last day Margaret ever spoke to me.””
I dialed the number.
The call rang four times.
Then a woman's sleepy voice answered.
“Hello?””
“Mrs. Ellis? My name is Ava Bennett.
My mother was Claire Bennett. She died twenty years ago.””
Silence.
Then a sharp intake of breath.
“Oh, my God.””
I gripped the phone.
“You knew my mother?””
“Yes.””
“Did you work at the hospital when I was born?””
Another silence.
When Margaret finally spoke, her voice was trembling.
“I've been waiting for someone from your family to call me.””
My father moved closer.
I put the phone on speaker.
“Mrs. Ellis,” I said, “I need to know whether Vanessa Reed was my biological mother.””
Margaret began to cry.
May you like
Then she whispered five words that made my father sink into a chair.
“Vanessa wasn't the only one.””
