Chapter 6: The Recording Nobody Was Supposed to Hear
Rachel promised to send the recording that evening.
Dad spent the next hour pacing between the kitchen and the living room.
Vanessa sat at the dining table, refusing to look at anyone.
I remained beside the island, staring at the photograph of my mother.
Every few minutes, I turned it over.
*If either girl ever asks why, tell her I chose the life I could save.*
I wondered whether my mother had known I would eventually find out.
I wondered whether she had imagined me standing in this kitchen, discovering that my entire childhood had been built around a secret.
At six thirty, the doorbell rang.
Dad looked toward the entrance.
"Are you expecting someone?"" I asked.
He shook his head.
When he opened the door, a man in a dark jacket stood on the porch.
He was holding a thick envelope.
"Marcus Bennett?""
"Yes.""
"My name is Daniel Price. I'm Rachel Collins's attorney.""
Dad looked at the envelope.
"What's this?""
"Documents relating to the St. Mary's investigation. Ms. Collins asked me to deliver them personally.""
Dad stepped aside.
"Come in.""
Daniel entered the kitchen and placed the envelope on the island.
He glanced at Vanessa.
Then he looked at me.
"You're Maya?""
I nodded.
"Your mother left something for you.""
He removed a smaller envelope from his briefcase.
My name was written across the front.
In handwriting I recognized immediately.
Mom.
I reached for it.
My fingers trembled.
"Where did you get this?""
"Rachel received it from the estate of her late husband. He had kept it among his private medical records.""
Dad stared at the envelope.
"Why would he have a letter addressed to my daughter?""
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he opened the larger envelope and removed several documents.
"Before you read that, I need to explain what the recording contains.""
Dad pulled out a chair.
"Go ahead.""
Daniel placed a small digital recorder on the counter.
"Dr. Thomas Collins recorded a conversation with your wife on October 14. He never intended anyone to hear it.""
Rachel's voice came through Dad's phone.
"That recording was discovered by his daughter after his death. We had it authenticated.""
Vanessa suddenly pushed her chair backward.
"I won't listen to this.""
Dad looked at her.
"Then leave.""
She remained standing.
Daniel pressed play.
A faint clicking sound came through the speaker.
Then a man's voice.
"Elizabeth, you need to understand that we cannot keep both babies in the same situation.""
My mother's voice followed.
"Then find another way.""
"The hospital administration has already decided.""
"They're children, Thomas. They're not paperwork.""
"The records are already compromised.""
"Then correct them.""
There was a long pause.
The man sighed.
"Your husband will never forgive you.""
My mother's voice became softer.
"Marcus doesn't need to know everything tonight.""
Dad closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
Thomas Collins spoke again.
"Which baby are you asking me to protect?""
My mother answered.
"The one whose life depends on it.""
"You're asking me to falsify the transfer records.""
"I'm asking you to give her a chance.""
"And the other child?""
A long silence followed.
Then my mother said something that made me cover my mouth.
"She'll have a family. She'll be loved. That's more than I can promise her if she stays here.""
Dad looked at me.
I could barely breathe.
The recording continued.
Thomas asked, "And if the mothers discover what happened?""
My mother replied, "Then I'll tell them myself.""
"You're prepared to take responsibility?""
"Yes.""
"Even if Marcus hates you?""
My mother began crying.
"Especially then.""
The recording stopped.
For several seconds, the only sound was the digital recorder's faint static.
Dad stared at the device.
"She knew.""
Daniel nodded.
"She knew the babies had been separated.""
"She knew she might never see the other child again.""
"Yes.""
Dad pressed his hands against his face.
I looked down at the envelope addressed to me.
"Can I open this?""
Daniel nodded.
I carefully tore the seal.
Inside was a handwritten letter and a small folded sheet of paper.
The letter began:
My dearest Maya,
If you're reading this, then the truth has finally found its way to you.
I swallowed.
I need you to understand that the decision I made was not because I loved you less. It was because I was terrified of losing two children when I could only protect one.
My vision blurred.
There is something I never told your father. Something I asked Thomas Collins to keep secret until both girls were old enough to understand.
I stopped.
Dad leaned closer.
"What is it?""
I continued reading.
The baby who went home with Rachel was not the only child in danger.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
You were sick too, Maya. The doctors discovered a condition in your blood that they believed would become serious before your first birthday. They were wrong about the diagnosis, but at the time, nobody knew that.
I looked up.
Dad was staring at me.
"Keep reading.""
Your father was offered a choice. He was told that if he knew the full situation, he would have to make a decision about which treatment the hospital could provide first.
My stomach twisted.
I refused to let him choose between his daughters.
Dad whispered, "My daughters.""
I continued.
Thomas helped me arrange the transfer because he believed both children could survive if we bought enough time. He promised that the truth would be revealed when the girls were adults.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
But there was one person who knew what we had done and refused to accept it. She told me she would never allow the girls to meet because she believed one of them deserved the family more than the other.
I looked toward Vanessa.
Her face had gone white.
"Who?"" I whispered.
The final sentence was written in darker ink.
If Vanessa is still in your father's life when you discover this, ask her why she visited Rachel Collins's house six years ago.
I raised my eyes.
Vanessa stood motionless beside the dining table.
Dad turned toward her.
"You went to Rachel's house?""
She said nothing.
Rachel's voice came through the phone.
"Yes. She did.""
Dad looked at the screen.
"When?""
"Six years ago. The same year Lily and I first tried to contact Evelyn.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"That visit was a mistake.""
"What did you do there?"" I asked.
She looked at me.
"I wanted to talk.""
"About what?""
"About the girls.""
Rachel interrupted.
"That's not what you told me.""
Vanessa's face tightened.
Rachel continued.
"You told me that Maya had been adopted, that Marcus had never known the truth, and that if Lily tried to contact him, you would make sure she regretted it.""
Dad slowly turned toward his wife.
"You threatened a twenty-year-old girl?""
Vanessa began crying.
"I was protecting this family!""
"No," I said quietly.
"You were protecting your place in it.""
She looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something close to hatred in her expression.
Then she spoke.
"Do you want to know why I went to Rachel's house?""
Nobody answered.
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
"Because Lily had already contacted me.""
Dad frowned.
"What?""
Vanessa looked directly at me.
"She didn't just want to meet her sister, Maya.""
My heart pounded.
"Then what did she want?""
Vanessa reached into her purse and removed a folded photograph.
She placed it on the island.
It showed Lily standing beside an older woman outside a hospital.
On the back, someone had written a message.
*I know what you did to my mother. Now I'm coming for you.*
Vanessa looked at Dad.
"Your daughter Lily has been searching for the person who caused her mother's death.""
I stared at the photograph.
Then I noticed the hospital entrance behind them.
It was St. Mary's.
And the woman standing beside Lily wasn't Rachel.
It was my mother.
May you like
My supposedly dead mother.
*The photograph had been taken only six years ago.*
