Chapter 10: The Child My Father Never Mentioned
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the ringing in my ears.
My mother had another child.
A child my father knew about.
A child who had apparently been kept secret for twenty-three years.
I stared at Arthur.
"Tell me Nia is wrong.""
He didn't answer.
"Dad.""
He looked at the photograph in my hand.
Then he slowly removed his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief.
"Your mother was pregnant when she disappeared.""
The words seemed to hang in the air.
I shook my head.
"Pregnant?""
He nodded.
"She was about four months along.""
I gripped the edge of the bench.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know whether the baby survived.""
"That's not an answer!""
My voice echoed through the station corridor.
Richard stepped away, giving us some privacy.
My father looked exhausted.
"Your mother told me about the pregnancy two days before the accident. She wanted to wait until we were certain everything was all right before telling you.""
I swallowed.
"Was it my father's child?""
He looked directly at me.
"Yes.""
I stared at him.
"Then why did you let me believe she died alone?""
Arthur's eyes filled.
"Because I thought the baby had died too.""
He reached into his jacket and removed a small photograph.
It showed my mother sitting on our living room sofa, one hand resting on her stomach.
I remembered that sofa.
I remembered jumping on it when I was younger.
I remembered my mother telling me to stop before I broke something.
But I had never known there was another child on the way.
"How did you find out?"" I asked.
"After she disappeared, I received a letter.""
"From whom?""
"Margaret.""
He handed me a folded piece of paper.
The handwriting was hers.
Arthur,
If you are reading this, I have been forced to leave before I could explain everything. Our baby is alive. I managed to get the child somewhere safe.
Please don't search for us until you know who you can trust.
Tell Marcus that I love him. Tell him he has a sister or brother who will one day want to know him.
I read the final line twice.
I am not abandoning my family. I am trying to keep it alive.
My throat tightened.
"Where is the child?""
My father shook his head.
"I don't know.""
I stared at him.
"You received this letter and never tried to find them?""
"I searched for years.""
"Then what happened?""
He looked toward the station entrance.
"One evening, someone left a package at our house. Inside was a photograph of you walking home from school. On the back was a message telling me that if I continued searching, the child would disappear.""
I felt sick.
"Who sent it?""
"I never found out.""
My father lowered his voice.
"I was terrified of losing you too.""
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother was smiling.
Her hand rested over the baby.
For twenty-three years, I had believed I was an only child.
Now I was wondering whether I had spent my entire life missing someone.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Nia.
*Please come quickly. My mother has disappeared.*
I showed my father.
He immediately stood.
"Call Richard.""
Within twenty minutes, we were outside Evelyn's house.
The front door was unlocked.
A glass had shattered near the kitchen island. A dining chair lay on its side.
Nia stood in the hallway holding a framed photograph.
Her eyes were red.
"What happened?"" I asked.
"Someone broke in.""
"Where's your mother?""
"I don't know. I found the house like this.""
I looked around.
"Did you call the police?""
"Yes. They're on their way.""
She handed me the photograph.
It showed Daniel Carter standing beside my mother outside a hospital.
The date was twenty-three years earlier.
I turned it over.
There was a handwritten note.
The night the children changed places.
I frowned.
"What does this mean?""
Nia looked at my father.
Arthur went pale.
"Where did you find this?""
"In my father's desk. There was a hidden compartment behind the bottom drawer.""
She pointed toward the study.
We followed her inside.
The desk had been forced open.
Documents were scattered across the floor.
Richard arrived a few minutes later and began examining the papers.
"Someone knew exactly what they were looking for," he said.
I picked up a medical document.
It was an old hospital discharge record.
Two babies had been delivered on the same night.
One was listed under Margaret Bennett.
The other was listed under Evelyn Carter.
I looked at the dates.
They were identical.
Both children had been born within forty minutes of each other.
My father took the paper.
His hands trembled.
"That's impossible.""
I stared at him.
"Why?""
He looked at the names.
Then he whispered:
"Your mother told me she had given birth to a girl.""
I looked at the document again.
Margaret Bennett's child was listed as male.
Evelyn Carter's child was listed as female.
Nia stepped closer.
"What does that mean?""
Richard examined the records.
"One of these documents has been altered.""
I looked at the second page.
There was a handwritten correction.
The name of the mother had been crossed out and replaced.
Margaret Bennett.
The original name underneath was barely visible.
Evelyn Carter.
I looked at Nia.
She stared at the paper.
"No," she whispered.
I turned toward my father.
"Are you saying—"
He shook his head.
"I don't know.""
But his expression told me he feared the same possibility I did.
Nia backed away.
"That would mean...""
She couldn't finish.
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother.
Daniel.
A hospital.
Two babies.
And a message about children changing places.
Before anyone could speak, Richard's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then his face went completely blank.
"What?"" I asked.
He ended the call.
"The police found Evelyn's car.""
"Where?""
"Outside St. Mary's Hospital.""
I looked at Nia.
She covered her mouth.
Richard continued.
"There's something else.""
"What?""
"The hospital has located an archived maternity record connected to Margaret Bennett.""
My father grabbed his arm.
"Is it about the baby?""
Richard nodded.
"Yes.""
He looked at me.
"The child was registered as a girl.""
I frowned.
"Then why did the other document say male?""
Richard swallowed.
"Because the original birth record was changed after delivery.""
He paused.
"And the person who authorized the change was Daniel Carter.""
Nia sank into a chair.
I stared at the photograph.
Then I looked at my father.
"Where is my sister?""
May you like
Arthur's voice was barely audible.
"That's what we have to find out.""
