Chapter 11 - THE TWIN
The word echoed through the chamber.
Twins.
I looked at Lily.
She looked confused.
“Daddy?”
I couldn't answer.
My mother was crying.
“Your wife gave birth to two children.”
I stared at her.
“Where is the other child?”
“We thought she was dead.”
“Thought?”
“She disappeared from the hospital.”
I looked at Vanessa.
She had gone completely still.
“You know.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You know where my daughter is.”
“I don't.”
Michael suddenly whispered:
“Vanessa…”
She turned.
“Shut up.”
I looked at him.
“What do you know?”
He didn't answer.
The detective stepped toward him.
“Tell us.”
Michael swallowed.
“Margaret took the baby.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“She said the child was valuable.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Vanessa suddenly screamed:
“Enough!”
She tried to run.
Security officers entered the chamber.
She stopped.
The detective placed handcuffs on her.
“You're under arrest.”
She looked at me.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No.”
She smiled strangely.
“The second child is already inside the family.”
My blood froze.
“What does that mean?”
She refused to answer.
Michael looked at the floor.
I grabbed his shoulder.
“Tell me.”
He whispered:
“She was raised under another name.”
“What name?”
He looked at Lily.
Then at me.
“Emily.”
I felt dizzy.
Emily.
The name from the old photograph.
The name the mysterious man had called Lily.
But there was another possibility.
The detective searched the records.
The birth records showed two girls.
Lily Carter.
Emily Carter.
Same mother.
Same date.
One record had been altered.
The second child had been registered under another surname.
My wife had known.
She had tried to protect both children.
Then she died.
I sat down.
My daughter was still holding my hand.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Do I have a sister?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
She smiled weakly.
“Where is she?”
“I'll find her.”
The detective received a message.
He read it.
Then looked at me.
“We have a location.”
“Where?”
“A private boarding school.”
My heart pounded.
We drove immediately.
The school was three hours away.
When we arrived, a woman was waiting.
She looked at me.
Then at Lily.
Her face changed.
“I know you.”
“Who are you?”
She pointed toward the building.
“She is inside.”
We rushed through the doors.
A teenage girl stood in the hallway.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small birthmark beneath her left eye.
The same mark as Lily.
She stared at us.
“Who are you?”
I couldn't speak.
Lily stepped forward.
“I'm Lily.”
The girl looked at her.
Then she whispered:
“Emily?”
Lily nodded.
The girl covered her mouth.
“I thought you were dead.”
My heart shattered.
I walked toward her.
“I'm your father.”
She stepped backward.
“No.”
“I've been looking for you.”
“You don't know me.”
“I know.”
She began crying.
Lily approached.
“We're sisters.”
Emily stared at her.
Then slowly smiled.
The two girls hugged.
I turned away because I couldn't hold back my tears.
My mother stood beside me.
She whispered:
“Your wife wanted them together.”
I nodded.
Then Emily said something that made everyone freeze.
“Mommy told me not to trust Grandma.”
My mother went pale.
“Why?”
Emily looked directly at her.
“Because Grandma knew where the baby was.”
My mother began crying.
I stared.
“Mom?”
She whispered:
“I didn't know.”
“You knew.”
“I knew there was another child.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
She looked toward the door.
“Richard.”
My grandfather.
I suddenly realized something.
Richard wasn't the mastermind.
He was hiding from someone too.
The detective received another message.
He looked at me.
“Richard Carter escaped.”
“How?”
“Someone inside the police station helped him.”
I closed my eyes.
Then Emily whispered:
“Daddy…”
“What?”
“There's something else.”
She reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a letter.
“It came from Grandma.”
My mother stared at it.
“That's my handwriting.”
Emily nodded.
“But I didn't send it.”
I opened the letter.
It contained one sentence.
If you find both girls, do not let them return to the Carter house.
Underneath was a signature.
My father's.
But he had supposedly written it before he died.
The detective looked at the date.
His face changed.
“Mr. Carter…”
May you like
“What?”
“This letter was written yesterday.”
