Chapter 10: My Father's Signature
I read the signature three times.
Daniel Hayes.
My father's name.
The same man who had cried when he first saw me. The same man who had spent twenty-four years searching for his missing family. The same man who had promised never to abandon us again.
His signature sat beneath an authorization ordering the removal of three newborn babies from a naval medical facility.
I slowly raised my eyes.
“Did you sign this?””
Daniel didn't answer.
“Dad, did you authorize our removal?””
He looked at me, his eyes shining.
“Yes.””
The word landed like a slap.
Lucy moved closer to me.
Ethan stood beside the desk, holding the photograph of the three newborns.
I stepped away from Daniel.
“You told me you didn't know there were three of us.””
“I didn't know.””
“Then why is your signature here?””
Daniel took a shaky breath.
“Because someone used my authority.””
I laughed bitterly.
“That's convenient.””
“Nia, please listen.””
“No. You listen. My entire life has been built on lies. Denise lied.
Cole lied. Whitaker lied. My grandmother lied. Now you're telling me your signature is on the document that separated us?””
Daniel lowered his head.
“I know how it looks.””
“It looks like you sold your children.””
Lucy gasped.
Daniel flinched.
“I would never do that.””
“Then explain the document!””
The admiral stepped between us.
“Let him speak.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew about this?””
William shook his head.
“No. I've never seen this report.””
Daniel took the document from my hand.
“This was issued during an emergency evacuation aboard the Meridian. On June seventeenth, I received an order to authorize the temporary transfer of three newborns from a compromised medical facility.””
“Who gave you the order?””
“Commander Richard Cole.””
Ethan laughed without humor.
“Of course.””
Daniel continued.
“He told me there was a threat to the babies. He said someone intended to use them as leverage against Evelyn because of the evidence she had collected.””
“Did you know Evelyn was their mother?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know they were your children?””
“Yes.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Then why didn't you stop it?””
Daniel's voice broke.
“Because I believed the transfer was necessary to protect them.””
“Where did you think we were going?””
“A secure naval hospital. I was told the children would be kept together until the threat was eliminated.””
Lucy stepped forward.
“But we weren't kept together.””
“No.””
“Why didn't you check?””
Daniel looked at her.
“Because I was ordered back to sea less than twelve hours later. When I returned, I was told the transfer had been completed and that Evelyn had disappeared.””
Ethan shook his head.
“You expect us to believe that?””
“No,” Daniel replied.
“I expect you to examine the evidence.””
He turned toward the admiral.
“William, check the authorization number.””
The admiral took the document.
He examined the lower corner, then opened his briefcase and removed a secure tablet.
After several minutes, his expression changed.
“This isn't an original.””
“What?”” I asked.
“It's a reconstructed personnel report. The signature is genuine, but the authorization number was added afterward.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Can you trace the alteration?””
The admiral nodded.
“Possibly.””
He studied the report again.
“The original order was issued by the command office. The reconstructed version was created six months later.””
“By whom?”” Ethan asked.
The admiral enlarged the digital record.
A name appeared.
*COMMANDER RICHARD COLE.*
Daniel exhaled.
“He forged the authorization details.””
I wasn't relieved.
“Your signature is still there.””
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“I signed the emergency transfer. I believed I was protecting my children.””
“And you never checked what happened afterward.””
His eyes filled.
“No. I didn't.””
For the first time, he didn't offer an excuse.
He simply accepted the truth.
“I should have fought harder. I should have questioned every report. I should never have allowed anyone to tell me my family was gone without proof.””
I looked at Lucy and Ethan.
Neither of them spoke.
The admiral's phone vibrated.
He answered, listened, and turned toward us.
“Richard Cole is requesting legal representation. He has made a statement.””
“What statement?”” I asked.
“He claims the original ledger is in the possession of someone named Evelyn Hayes.””
Daniel immediately reached for his phone.
“Then we find her.””
The admiral raised a hand.
“There's more. Cole says the ledger contains a recording proving that Daniel personally agreed to the children's separation.””
I looked at my father.
He closed his eyes.
“That's impossible.””
“Did you ever sign anything else?”” I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“Not knowingly.””
Ethan walked toward the door.
“I'm going to find Whitaker.””
The admiral stopped him.
“You can't approach him without authorization.””
“He raised me. He owes me answers.””
“He's currently being questioned.””
Ethan turned.
“He spent twenty-four years telling me my mother died giving birth to me. I think I've earned the right to ask him why.””
I understood his anger.
I had spent twenty-four years believing Denise had chosen me.
Ethan had spent twenty-four years believing a lie that had been carefully designed to make him grateful to the wrong man.
The admiral eventually arranged for Ethan to speak with Whitaker under supervision.
Before we left the shipping office, I noticed something on the desk.
A small envelope addressed to me.
The handwriting was Denise's.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of a younger Denise standing beside Evelyn outside St. Mary's Hospital.
They were smiling.
Their arms were around each other.
On the back were the words:
*SISTERS BEFORE MOTHERS.*
I stared at the photograph.
“Why would Denise have this?””
Daniel looked at it.
Then his face went completely white.
“Nia,” he whispered.
“What?””
“Denise wasn't just your adoptive mother.””
I turned toward him.
“What do you mean?””
He pointed to Evelyn's face.
“Denise was her younger sister.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Two sisters.
One had given birth to three children.
The other had raised one of them while concealing the existence of the other two.
I felt sick.
Then the admiral's phone rang again.
He listened for several seconds before saying:
“Understood. We'll come immediately.””
He ended the call.
“Evelyn has been found.””
Daniel nearly collapsed with relief.
“Where?””
The admiral looked at us.
“She has turned herself in.””
“Why?””
“Because she wants to confess to something.””
May you like
He paused.
“She says she was the one who ordered the original transfer of her children.””
