Chapter 13: The Bloodline Behind the Lies
"Richard Cole?""
The name came out of my mouth like a curse.
Rebecca nodded on the screen.
"Emily discovered that Richard had been involved with Vanessa before Vanessa married you. He was the biological father of one of the babies born that night.""
I stared at the photograph of the two newborn girls.
"Which baby?""
"Emily never told me. She was afraid the wrong person would get hold of the information.""
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
"Rebecca, are you certain Richard was the father?""
"I saw the original medical file. There was a paternity test, but the result was removed from the hospital record.""
Detective Foster, who had been listening quietly, stepped forward.
"Do you still have that test?""
Rebecca shook her head.
"No. But I have something else.""
She held up a small envelope.
"Emily gave me this the week before she died. She said it could identify the person who had arranged the switch.""
"What's inside?"" I asked.
"A copy of a private medical bill. It was paid by Richard Cole.""
She opened it.
The bill listed a genetic testing company and a date three weeks after the births.
Daniel examined the document.
"That's not a standard hospital test. This was a private paternity investigation.""
Rebecca nodded.
"Richard wanted to know which child was his.""
I felt sick.
"He knew there were two girls?""
"He suspected it.""
"And Vanessa?""
"She knew about the test. She was terrified that Richard would discover the truth.""
Detective Foster took a photograph of the bill.
"Do you know where the original results are?""
Rebecca hesitated.
"Emily said they were hidden somewhere only Marcus would think to look.""
I closed my eyes.
The house.
The floorboards.
The music box.
The basement room.
We had searched every obvious hiding place, but Emily had been careful. She had left clues in places connected to memories, not valuables.
Then I remembered the old family photograph hanging in the hallway.
It had been taken the day Maya came home from the hospital.
Emily was holding the baby.
I was standing beside her.
Behind us, on the mantel, sat a small wooden clock.
The same clock Emily's grandmother had given her.
"Daniel," I said.
"The clock.""
He looked at me.
"What about it?""
"Emily used to say it was the only thing in the house that had never told the wrong time.""
Daniel frowned.
"You're saying she hid something inside it?""
"I'm saying we need to check.""
Detective Foster arranged for officers to accompany us to the house.
Vanessa's access had been formally restricted, and the property was now part of the investigation.
The old clock still stood on the mantel.
I lifted it carefully.
The back panel was loose.
Inside was a folded sheet of paper and a tiny flash drive.
I handed both to Detective Foster.
The paper contained a handwritten note.
Marcus, if you are reading this, the children are in danger again. I could not tell you everything because I did not know who was listening.
Richard is the father of the child Vanessa claims is hers. But that child was never the one he wanted.
The child he wanted was the one whose identity could expose the entire arrangement.
Below that, Emily had written two words:
*THE SECOND GIRL.*
Daniel inserted the flash drive into his secured laptop.
A folder appeared.
Inside were scanned documents, hospital photographs, and one video file.
Detective Foster asked us to wait while she made a forensic copy.
Then she opened the video.
Emily appeared on the screen.
She looked exhausted, but her eyes were clear.
"If you're watching this, Marcus, then I failed to protect the children from the people who wanted to use them.""
She paused.
"I need you to understand something. There were two girls and one boy. The hospital records were altered to make it appear that one child had died and another had been abandoned.""
Emily held up a photograph.
"Lucy gave birth to twins. Noah and Hannah. Vanessa gave birth to a girl. That child was not the one Richard wanted.""
She lowered the photograph.
"Richard had discovered that the inheritance agreement contained a condition. The children named in the original family trust would receive control of the estate when they reached adulthood. He wanted to manipulate their identities before anyone could verify their parentage.""
I looked at Daniel.
The inheritance.
The house.
The forged signatures.
It had all been about control.
Emily continued.
"Vanessa helped Richard move the babies. But when she realized he intended to use the children as leverage, she tried to change the arrangement again.""
Her voice trembled.
"She wanted a child she could claim as her own. She wanted the inheritance. And she wanted me silent.""
The video ended.
But the final frame showed something I hadn't noticed before.
A hospital wristband.
The number was visible.
*H-317.*
Detective Foster enlarged it.
"That's an infant identification number.""
Daniel checked the scanned documents.
Then he found the corresponding entry.
The number belonged to the girl transferred to Rebecca Harrison.
Hannah.
But another document carried the same number crossed out and replaced with a different identity.
Maya Reed.
I stared at the screen.
"How can the same number belong to both girls?""
Detective Foster looked grim.
"Because someone used the same identification number twice.""
A sound came from the hallway.
A floorboard creaked.
The officers immediately drew their weapons.
"Police! Show yourself!""
A man stepped into the doorway.
Richard Cole.
His hands were raised.
But he was smiling.
"You've found Emily's little collection," he said.
Detective Foster aimed her weapon.
"Richard Cole, you're under arrest.""
He looked at me.
"Before you let her take me away, Marcus, you should ask her why she never told you who Maya's father really was.""
I stepped forward.
"I know who you are.""
Richard laughed.
"No. You know what Emily wanted you to believe.""
Then he looked directly at Detective Foster.
"Ask her to run the DNA test on herself.""
Detective Foster's expression changed.
May you like
And Richard smiled wider.
"Because the person who switched those babies is standing right in front of you.""
