Chapter 11: The Woman Behind All Three Births
The police took Ethan into custody that night.
Rebecca was placed with a social worker while the officers contacted her adoptive parents.
Noah refused to let go of my hand.
He sat beside me in the back of the police vehicle, holding the plastic dinosaur he'd taken from his bedroom before leaving home.
I didn't ask him any more questions.
He had already been through enough.
When we reached the house, Maya came running down the stairs.
“Noah!””
She threw her arms around him.
He hugged her tightly.
For a moment, I simply watched them.
Two children who had grown up believing they were ordinary siblings.
Two children who had been dragged into secrets they never created.
My mother stood in the hallway.
She looked at Noah, then at me.
“Thank God.””
I nodded.
But my mind was still on what Noah had said.
His real mother was the woman who gave birth to Maya.
The woman named Laura.
The woman who had supposedly died years before.
I went into the kitchen and called Andrew.
He answered immediately.
“Marcus, I've been waiting for your call.””
“Ethan's in custody. Noah is home.””
“Good. The officers are taking statements from Rebecca. There's something else you need to know.””
I sat down.
“What?””
“They found a folder in the warehouse.””
“What was inside?””
“Copies of birth certificates, adoption documents, bank transfers, and photographs.””
I closed my eyes.
“More children?””
“Possibly. But the most important document is a medical report.””
“Whose?””
“Yours.””
I frowned.
“My medical report?””
“Yes. From a fertility clinic.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What fertility clinic?””
“Westbrook Reproductive Center. You and Vanessa apparently attended an appointment there several months before Maya was born.””
I shook my head.
“I've never been to a fertility clinic.””
Andrew paused.
“That's what I thought you'd say.””
I stared at the kitchen wall.
“What does the report show?””
“It indicates that a sample was submitted under your name. But the signature doesn't match your verified signature.””
I felt sick.
“Someone used my identity?””
“That's what it appears to show.””
I remembered the forged property document.
The altered birth certificate.
My brother's obsession with using my name.
“Was there a DNA result?””
“Yes.””
Andrew hesitated.
“Marcus, the report indicates that you were not biologically related to the child identified as Maya.””
I closed my eyes.
I already knew she wasn't biologically mine.
But hearing it from another person still hurt.
“Then who was?””
Andrew's voice lowered.
“According to the report, the biological father was Ethan.””
I stared at the table.
My brother.
The man who had arranged the entire deception.
The man who had watched me raise his biological daughter.
“Does Maya know?””
“Not yet. And I strongly recommend that we don't tell her until we understand the full circumstances.””
I rubbed my face.
“Andrew, what about Noah?””
“His records are more complicated. The documents suggest Vanessa may not have been his biological mother either.””
I looked toward the living room.
Noah was sitting beside Maya.
They were watching cartoons.
He had one arm around her.
I felt something twist inside my chest.
“How can that be?””
“I'm not certain. But the folder contains a second fertility report.””
“Whose name?””
“Daniel.””
I froze.
“The man from the recording?””
“Yes.””
Andrew continued.
“There's also a document connecting Daniel to a woman named Patricia.””
My blood ran cold.
Rebecca's mother.
“Patricia gave birth to Rebecca?””
“That's what the records suggest.””
I stood.
“Then why would Daniel be connected to Noah?””
Andrew was silent.
Then he said:
“Because Daniel may have been involved in a separate arrangement with Vanessa.””
I ended the call after agreeing to meet him the following morning.
Then I went into the living room.
Maya looked up.
“Dad?””
I sat beside her.
“Hey, sweetheart.””
“Is Noah okay?””
“Yes.””
“Is Uncle Ethan going to jail?””
I hesitated.
“That's for the police and the courts to decide.””
She nodded.
Then she looked down.
“Dad, can I ask you something?””
“Anything.””
“Am I still your daughter?””
My throat tightened.
I took her hands.
“Maya, listen to me. Nothing that happened before you were born changes who you are to me.””
“But if I'm Uncle Ethan's daughter…”
I gently interrupted.
“You are my daughter because I raised you, loved you, and chose you every single day. Biology doesn't erase twelve years of being your dad.””
She started crying.
I pulled her close.
“Do you understand?””
She nodded against my shoulder.
Then she whispered:
“Would you still love me if I wasn't really your daughter?””
I closed my eyes.
“Especially then.””
She hugged me tighter.
A few minutes later, Noah came over.
“Can I ask something too?””
I opened my arms.
“Of course.””
He climbed onto the sofa.
“Is Maya still my sister?””
I looked at both children.
“Yes.””
He seemed relieved.
Then he said, “Good. Because she's annoying, but she's my sister.””
Maya laughed through her tears.
For the first time in days, the house felt almost normal.
Then my phone rang.
Vanessa.
I stared at the screen.
I hadn't spoken to her since the night she'd left the house.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Her voice was barely audible.
“Marcus, I need you to come to the hospital.””
I stood.
“Why?””
“Something is wrong with the baby.””
My stomach tightened.
“Are you okay?””
“I'm having contractions. They're monitoring me.””
I looked toward the children.
“Which hospital?””
She told me.
Then she whispered:
“Marcus, there's something I need to confess before the baby is born.””
I closed my eyes.
“What now?””
“Daniel isn't the father.””
I froze.
“What?””
She began crying.
“I know what I told you. But Daniel isn't the father.””
I gripped the phone.
“Then who is?””
She hesitated.
Then she said:
“Ethan.””
I felt the room tilt.
My brother.
Again.
“Vanessa, how many times did you sleep with him?””
“Marcus, please.””
“Answer me.””
She began sobbing.
“Before you and I got married. After we got married. And recently.””
I closed my eyes.
The pregnancy.
The recording.
The forged documents.
Everything.
“Is the baby Ethan's?””
“Yes.””
I looked toward Maya and Noah.
My brother had fathered another child with my wife.
And he had expected me to raise it.
“Marcus,” Vanessa whispered, “there's something else.””
I waited.
“The baby isn't the only one I'm carrying.””
I stopped breathing.
“What do you mean?””
She cried harder.
“I'm having twins.””
I sat down.
“Twins?””
“Yes.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Are both of them Ethan's?””
“No.””
My blood ran cold.
“Then who is the father of the second baby?””
Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel.””
I couldn't speak.
She continued.
“Ethan knows about one baby. Daniel knows about the other. Neither of them knows the full truth.””
I stared at the phone.
“You've been carrying twins and telling two different men they were the fathers?””
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
Then she said something that made the entire situation even more disturbing.
“Marcus, Ethan didn't arrange the adoptions because he wanted money.””
I swallowed.
“Then why?””
“Because he was trying to keep something from coming out.””
“What?””
Her voice broke.
“The truth about the night Maya and Jacob were born.””
Before I could ask another question, a nurse came onto the line.
“Mr. Hale? This is St.
Mary's maternity unit. Your wife has requested that you come immediately.””
I looked at the children.
Then at the clock.
The baby was coming.
May you like
And I suddenly realized that whatever truth Vanessa was hiding might finally be revealed in a hospital delivery room.
The same place where my family had been destroyed twelve years earlier.
