Chapter 3: The Secret in My School Records
Officer Bennett arrived within twelve minutes.
She examined the photograph while Officer Harris spoke to someone over the radio.
Mom sat beside me, holding my hand so tightly that my fingers hurt.
“Was this taken today?”” Officer Bennett asked.
I nodded.
“I was leaving school.””
“Did you notice anyone following you?””
I thought carefully.
“There was a black car near the crossing.””
“What kind of car?””
“I don't know. It had dark windows.””
Officer Harris wrote it down.
“Did you see the driver?””
“No.””
Mom started crying again.
Officer Bennett crouched in front of me.
“Emily, I need you to understand something. None of this is your fault. You did exactly the right thing by asking for help.””
I nodded.
But my mind kept returning to the photograph.
Someone had watched me walk home.
Someone knew where I went to school.
Someone knew I was the reason the police had come.
And that person was still out there.
The officers arranged for extra security at the assistance center. They also contacted my school and asked them to release my records to the investigator.
Mom didn't want me to go to school the next morning.
“I'll keep her home,” she told Officer Bennett.
The officer shook her head.
“We can arrange a safe transportation plan. Keeping Emily away from school may not be necessary.””
Mom looked uncertain.
Then her phone rang.
It was the school counselor, Mrs. Parker.
“Rachel, I'm sorry to call so late, but the police contacted us about Emily's records.””
Mom put the call on speaker.
“What about them?””
“There's something we need to discuss. It's about a document your husband submitted last month.””
Mom frowned.
“What document?””
“A request to change Emily's emergency contact information.””
My mother sat up.
“Why?””
“He listed someone named Laura Mitchell as the primary emergency contact.””
Mom's face drained of color.
“That's impossible.””
Mrs. Parker continued.
“There's also a second document. It requests that Emily be transferred to another school district immediately.””
I stared at Mom.
“Dad was moving me?””
Mom couldn't speak.
Officer Bennett leaned toward the phone.
“Mrs. Parker, did the school approve the request?””
“No. We couldn't process it because Rachel's signature was missing.””
Mom exhaled shakily.
“Thank God.””
But Mrs. Parker wasn't finished.
“There's another problem.””
Officer Bennett asked, “What is it?””
“The signature on the authorization form appears to belong to Rachel. But when we compared it with her previous documents, we noticed some differences.””
Mom shook her head.
“I never signed anything.””
The room became silent.
Officer Harris took out his notebook.
“Can you send us a copy?””
“Of course.””
After the call ended, Mom stared at the wall.
“Your father was planning to move you,” she whispered.
“Without telling me?””
She nodded.
“Why would he do that?””
Mom finally looked at me.
“Because he wanted to separate us.””
I remembered the strange conversations Dad had been having.
The paperwork.
Friday.
The way he had looked at me when I threatened to call someone.
I suddenly realized that he hadn't been angry simply because I interrupted him.
He had been angry because I had threatened the plan.
Officer Bennett asked Mom if she knew why her husband would want to change my school.
Mom shook her head.
Then she reached into her suitcase again.
This time, she pulled out a small black notebook.
“I found this in his desk last week,” she said.
Officer Harris took it carefully.
“What is it?””
“His notes. He told me it was work-related.””
The pages were filled with dates, account numbers, and handwritten reminders.
On one page, three lines had been underlined.
*Friday — finalize custody documents.*
*Saturday — transfer funds.*
*Monday — leave town.*
Mom covered her mouth.
Officer Bennett read the page again.
“Does he have relatives in another state?””
“He has a brother in Ohio,” Mom replied.
“Does his brother know about this?””
“I don't think so.””
I looked at the notebook.
There was something written at the bottom of the page.
A name.
Emily Carter.
Beside it was a date.
The date was next Friday.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Officer Harris turned the page.
A photocopy was tucked inside the notebook.
It was a birth certificate.
My birth certificate.
Except something was wrong.
The name printed beneath the heading for my mother wasn't Rachel Carter.
It was Laura Mitchell.
I stared at the paper.
“That's not Mom's name.””
Mom stood up so quickly that the blanket fell from her shoulders.
“Give me that.””
Officer Harris held the document away from her.
“Mrs. Carter, do you know what this is?””
Mom shook her head.
“No. That's not real.””
I looked from the certificate to my mother.
“Why does it say Laura is my mother?””
Mom's lips trembled.
Then she whispered something I would remember for the rest of my life.
“Because your father has been telling people that Laura is your biological mother.””
I felt the room tilt.
“But you're my mom.””
Mom dropped to her knees in front of me.
“I am your mother, Emily. I carried you. I gave birth to you. Nothing can change that.””
Officer Bennett took the document from Harris.
“This looks like an altered record. We'll need to verify it.””
Mom grabbed my shoulders.
“Listen to me. Your father knows the truth. And now I think I understand why he wanted to move you.””
I swallowed.
“Why?””
Mom looked at the photograph of Laura on her phone.
Then she looked at the notebook.
“Because Laura isn't just the woman who helped him steal our money.””
Her voice broke.
“She was the woman who tried to take you from me when you were born.””
A knock suddenly sounded at the door.
Officer Harris reached for his radio.
“Who is it?””
A man's voice answered from the hallway.
“I'm here to see my daughter.””
I recognized that voice immediately.
Dad.
Then he said something that made every officer in the room turn toward the door.
“Rachel, you can come out now. I know you've seen the birth certificate.””
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And behind him, a woman's voice added softly:
“It's time Emily learned the truth about her real family.””
