Chapter 10: One of Us Was Never Supposed to Survive
Daniel's computer chimed again.
The email remained open on the screen.
*FROM: ELEANOR HAYES*
*SUBJECT: ONE OF YOU IS NOT ALIVE.*
For several seconds, none of us spoke.
Matthew was the first to move.
"Open it.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Don't.""
Matthew grabbed the back of his chair.
"After everything you've done, you don't get to tell us what to do.""
I clicked the email.
There was one attachment.
A scanned hospital document dated twenty-nine years earlier.
The heading read:
*NEWBORN EMERGENCY TRANSFER REPORT.*
Two babies had been delivered at 3:42 a.m.
Baby A: Marcus Hayes.
Baby B: Matthew Hayes.
Both had been recorded as critically premature.
But the next page contained something that made my stomach tighten.
Baby B had been transferred to another hospital.
Baby A had been declared deceased.
The signatures at the bottom belonged to a doctor named Samuel Whitmore and a nurse named Claire Morgan.
Matthew stared at the document.
"Why does it say you're dead?""
I shook my head.
"I don't know.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"There's more.""
He opened a second attachment.
It was a photograph of a hospital corridor.
A young woman stood beside two bassinets.
I recognized her immediately.
Claire.
But she looked much younger.
Beside her stood a man wearing a doctor's coat.
Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
Daniel pointed to the timestamp.
"According to the hospital records, Dr. Whitmore died twelve years ago.""
I frowned.
"Then why is his signature on documents from six years ago?""
Daniel's face tightened.
"Because someone has been using his identity.""
Matthew stood.
"Who?""
Daniel didn't answer.
I looked at him.
"Who?""
He swallowed.
"Olivia.""
The office suddenly felt too small.
I remembered the hospital bracelet.
The altered DNA report.
The false birth certificate.
The woman at the lake house.
Everything seemed connected to one person.
But I still couldn't understand why Olivia had gone to such lengths.
"Where is the real Eleanor?"" I asked.
Daniel opened another file.
It contained a list of hospital admissions, private transfers, and payments.
One name appeared repeatedly.
*ELEANOR MORGAN.*
I stared at it.
"That's not my mother's name.""
"No," Daniel replied.
"It's the identity Claire used after the accident.""
Matthew leaned over the desk.
"Then who was the woman at the lake house?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Olivia.""
My stomach dropped.
"Olivia has been pretending to be my mother?""
"Not exactly. She has been using your mother's identity in legal and medical matters.""
I remembered the woman holding me at the lake house.
The lavender perfume.
The silver ring.
The familiar voice.
I had hugged a woman I believed was my mother.
But if Daniel was telling the truth, she had been Olivia.
I felt physically sick.
Matthew grabbed the desk.
"Where is our real mother?""
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
"There's a possibility she is still alive.""
"Where?""
"At a private rehabilitation facility outside the city.""
I immediately reached for my phone.
Before I could call anyone, it rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
"Marcus, don't go to that facility.""
I froze.
"Who is this?""
"My name is Elena Morgan.""
I looked at Matthew.
He leaned closer.
"Are you our mother?""
The woman began crying.
"Yes.""
I closed my eyes.
For the first time in my life, I heard the voice of the woman who had given birth to me.
"Where are you?""
"Not safe.""
"Tell me where you are.""
"I can't. Olivia has people watching me.""
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring at the phone.
"How did you get this number?"" I asked.
"Your father gave it to me before they arrested him.""
"Why didn't he tell us?""
"Because he was trying to protect you.""
I almost laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that.""
She paused.
Then she said something that changed the direction of everything.
"Marcus, listen carefully. Matthew isn't the only person Olivia has been impersonating.""
I frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"She has been using your identity too.""
I looked down at the hospital report.
"What?""
"Six years ago, when I disappeared, Olivia began signing documents as you. She used your name to authorize financial transfers and medical procedures.""
I looked at Daniel.
He slowly nodded.
"That's why the DNA report was altered," I whispered.
"Yes," Elena said.
"And there's something else. One of the twins was declared dead because the hospital needed a legal explanation for the disappearance.""
Matthew looked at me.
"Which one?""
Elena began sobbing.
"I don't know.""
A sharp noise came through the phone.
Then a man's voice shouted in the background.
"She's on the phone!""
Elena gasped.
"Marcus, get the original birth register. The real one. It's hidden—"
The call ended.
I immediately called back.
Disconnected.
Matthew grabbed his jacket.
"We're going to the hospital.""
Daniel stood.
"You can't. The police are looking for you.""
I looked at him.
"Then you'd better tell them where to find the evidence.""
I took the flash drive and the original documents.
Before leaving, I turned toward Daniel.
"You're coming with us.""
He looked frightened.
"Why?""
"Because you helped create this nightmare. You're going to help end it.""
As we reached the door, Daniel's computer chimed again.
Another email.
This one contained a photograph.
It showed the lake house.
A woman stood on the porch.
She was holding a baby.
Underneath was a message:
*YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO STOP SEARCHING. OTHERWISE, ETHAN WILL DISAPPEAR FOREVER.*
Matthew stared at the screen.
Then he whispered:
"That's Claire.""
I looked closer.
The woman holding Ethan was not Olivia.
It was the real Claire Morgan.
May you like
And behind her stood a man I had believed was dead for twelve years.
Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
