Chapter 8: The Daughter Who Was Never Mentioned
“You had a sister?””
Amara stared at Cole.
He nodded, unable to meet her eyes.
“My mother told me I had a twin sister who died shortly after birth.””
The room seemed to grow smaller.
Amara looked down at the photograph again.
Ask about twins.
Her father's handwriting was unmistakable.
“Why have I never heard about her?”” she asked.
Cole rubbed his face.
“Because my mother never talked about her. She said it was too painful.””
“What was her name?””
“I don't know.””
“You don't know your own sister's name?””
“I was a baby, Amara.””
She stared at him.
“And you never asked?””
“I did. When I was a teenager. My mother told me to stop digging up the past.””
Amara looked toward Darla.
Her mother was crying so hard that Denise had guided her into a chair.
“Mom,” Amara said quietly.
“Did you know Cole had a twin sister?””
Darla shook her head.
“I never knew he had a sister.””
“Then why are you afraid?””
“Because I know what your father was investigating before he died.””
Raymond moved closer.
“Darla, tell her.””
Darla gripped the arms of the chair.
“I can't.””
Amara felt her patience finally snap.
“You don't get to keep doing this! You don't get to give me one piece of the truth and then hide the rest!””
Darla flinched.
Amara took a shaky breath.
“I'm carrying a child. I have a husband who betrayed me. My father is dead, and I just learned that the man who raised me might not be my biological father. Now I'm hearing about a twin sister nobody will name.””
Her voice broke.
“Tell me what happened.””
Darla looked at Cole.
Then at Raymond.
Finally, she whispered, “Your father suspected that the twins were connected to Marcus.””
Cole's expression changed.
“What does that mean?””
Darla shook her head.
“I don't know all the details.””
Raymond interrupted.
“You know more than you're admitting.””
Darla looked at him with open hostility.
“You promised your friend you'd protect his daughter.””
“And I intend to.””
“Then stop tearing this family apart!””
Raymond's voice rose.
“This family was torn apart by secrets long before Amara opened that pantry door.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Amara's phone rang.
The unknown number appeared again.
Marcus Bennett.
She answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice came through, low and strained.
“Amara?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Marcus Bennett. I know this is a terrible way for you to learn about me.””
Amara gripped the phone.
“Did you know my mother was pregnant with me?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know my father raised me?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you come looking for me?””
Marcus exhaled shakily.
“Your mother told me you were better off without me. When I tried to contact your father, he asked me to stay away until he could explain everything to you himself.””
“My father is dead.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you calling me now?””
“Because Cole contacted me. He asked me for a DNA sample, and I agreed because I thought it might finally answer questions that have haunted me for decades.””
Amara looked at Cole.
He was staring at the phone.
“Did you know Cole was your son?””
“No,” Marcus said.
“I knew I had a son, but I was told he died with his twin sister.””
Amara's fingers went numb.
“What?””
“My former partner told me both babies died shortly after birth. I was devastated. I never knew Cole survived.””
Cole stumbled backward.
“That isn't possible.””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“I wish it weren't true.””
Amara looked between Cole and Darla.
“Who told you the babies died?””
Marcus answered without hesitation.
“Your husband's mother. Evelyn Harris.””
Cole shook his head violently.
“My mother wouldn't lie about that.””
“I'm sorry,” Marcus said.
“But she did.””
Cole sank onto the edge of the sofa.
For the first time, Amara saw him as something other than the man who had betrayed her. He was a son discovering that his own childhood might have been built on a lie.
It didn't erase what he had done.
But it explained the terror that had crossed his face when the DNA results arrived.
“Where is your twin sister?”” Amara asked.
Marcus went silent.
“Marcus?””
“I don't know.””
“Does the report say anything?””
“The report I received showed an unexpected genetic relationship. I requested a review because I suspected there might be another child involved. The laboratory hasn't completed that review.””
Amara looked at the screen.
The message about the unexpected first-degree relationship was still visible.
“Could the report mean Cole's twin sister is alive?””
“It's possible. But I won't pretend to know that without confirmation.””
Amara closed her eyes.
“Why did my father write 'ask about twins'?””
Marcus's voice softened.
“Because he knew something about the night Cole and his sister were born.””
Darla suddenly stood.
“Hang up the phone.””
Amara turned toward her.
“No.””
“Amara, please. You don't know what he's capable of.””
Marcus heard her.
“Darla, you have no right to warn her about me.””
Darla's face twisted.
“You abandoned your children!””
“I was told they were dead!””
“You should have fought harder!””
“And you should have told the truth!””
Their voices collided through the phone.
Amara pulled it away from her ear.
“STOP!””
The room went silent.
She pressed the phone back to her ear.
“Marcus, I need you to answer one question. Did you have a relationship with my mother while she was married to my father?””
“No,” Marcus replied.
“Our relationship ended before she married him.””
Amara looked at Darla.
“Is that true?””
Darla nodded through her tears.
“Then why did you keep seeing him?”” Amara asked.
“I didn't.””
“Raymond said my father discovered something about your relationship.””
“He discovered that Marcus had a child with Evelyn. He thought that child might be connected to you somehow.””
Cole lifted his head.
“Connected how?””
Darla's face crumpled.
“Your father believed there might have been a mistake in the hospital records.””
Raymond went rigid.
“What?””
Darla looked at him.
“Your father hired someone to investigate the hospital where the twins were born. He found discrepancies in the birth records.””
Marcus's voice came through the phone.
“Darla, what are you saying?””
She looked at Amara.
“Your father suspected that one of Marcus's twins might have been switched with another baby.””
Amara stared at her.
“A switched baby?””
“I don't know if it happened. I only know what your father told me.””
Cole stood abruptly.
“Then my twin sister could have been raised by another family?””
“Possibly,” Raymond said.
“But that is only a theory until the records are found and the identities are verified.””
Amara looked at the photograph.
Her father had written Ask about twins because he wanted her to discover something he had never managed to prove.
“Where are the hospital records?”” she asked.
Darla shook her head.
“Your father kept copies of everything. After he died, I stored his documents in a safe-deposit box.””
“Where?””
“At the bank.””
“Do you still have access?””
Darla nodded.
Amara's phone buzzed again.
A new message from Marcus appeared.
*I FOUND SOMETHING IN MY OWN FILES. A SECOND BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUED FOR ONE OF THE TWINS. THE NAME ON IT IS NOT THE NAME I WAS GIVEN.*
Amara's pulse quickened.
“There's another birth certificate,” she said aloud.
Raymond stepped toward her.
“Can you see the name?””
She opened the attached photograph.
The document was old and slightly blurred, but the printed name was visible.
*GABRIELLE BENNETT.*
Cole stared at it.
“I've never heard that name.””
Marcus spoke quietly through the phone.
“Neither have I. But the certificate lists the same birth date as mine and Evelyn's twins.””
Amara's fingers trembled.
A second document appeared.
This one contained a hospital stamp and a handwritten note.
She zoomed in.
The note read:
*TRANSFER AUTHORIZED BY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER.*
Amara slowly raised her eyes toward Darla.
Her mother stopped crying.
For the first time all afternoon, she looked truly terrified.
“Mom,” Amara whispered.
“What transfer?””
Darla shook her head.
“That's not what it looks like.””
“Then tell me what it looks like!””
Darla backed away from her.
Raymond stared at the document, his expression darkening.
“Darla,” he said slowly, “you told me you never went back to that hospital.””
Darla's lips trembled.
“I didn't.””
But Amara had already seen the signature at the bottom of the page.
May you like
It belonged to Darla.
And beside it was a date that matched the day Cole and his twin sister were born.
