Chapter 7: Three Heartbeats
For several seconds, Marcus couldn't understand the words.
Three.
Not two.
Three children.
His eyes moved from Arthur to Evelyn, then to Daniel.
Daniel looked just as stunned.
“My mother had triplets?””
Evelyn shook her head slowly.
“I didn't know.””
Marcus stared at her.
“How could you not know?””
“I was unconscious,” she whispered.
“I remember hearing the doctors say there was more than one baby. I remember someone telling me one had died.””
Her eyes moved to Arthur.
“Then I woke up, and your father was gone.””
Arthur looked down.
“I thought I was protecting you.””
Marcus's voice sharpened.
“You keep saying that like it explains anything.””
Arthur swallowed.
“I know.””
“Where is the third child?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Dad.””
Arthur's lips trembled.
“I don't know.””
Daniel stared at him.
“You don't know?””
“I never knew where they took the third baby.””
Marcus looked toward the Dean.
“You said the final page was missing.””
The Dean nodded.
“That's right.””
“Then how do you know there was a third child?””
The Dean pulled a folder from beneath his robe.
“Because the original admission log listed three births.””
He opened it.
Marcus saw three lines.
Three times.
Three weights.
Three identification numbers.
But the third name was blank.
Someone had drawn a thick black line through it.
Marcus pointed.
“Who did that?””
The Dean's answer came quietly.
“Calvin Brooks.””
Arthur shut his eyes.
Marcus looked at him.
“My grandfather erased my brother or sister?””
Arthur shook his head.
“We don't know if the third baby was a boy or a girl.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then how did Calvin know?””
Lorraine answered.
“Because he paid the nurse who handled the records.””
Marcus's stomach turned.
“Paid her to do what?””
“Change the paperwork.””
Evelyn suddenly stepped forward.
“I want to know where my child went.””
Her voice was stronger now.
Arthur looked at her.
“I tried to find out.””
“When?””
“After you left the hospital.””
“You told me I had abandoned you.””
Arthur's face crumpled.
“I lied.””
“You let me spend twenty-four years believing my own child was dead.””
“I know.””
“You let Marcus grow up without me.””
“I know.””
“And now you're telling us there was another baby?””
Arthur had no answer.
Marcus walked to the front of the hall.
The graduation ceremony had become something else entirely.
The burgundy-and-gold decorations still hung above the stage.
His classmates were still wearing gowns.
Families still sat in neat rows.
But nobody was smiling anymore.
Marcus looked at the diploma waiting on the podium.
He had imagined this day since he was a child.
His father sitting proudly in the front row.
His mother somewhere beside him.
A photograph.
A hug.
Instead, he had found an entire missing family.
The Dean approached.
“Marcus.””
Marcus turned.
“What?””
“I need to show you something.””
He opened the folder again.
At the bottom of the page was a handwritten notation.
*Transfer authorized: Infant C.*
Marcus's pulse jumped.
“Transfer to where?””
The Dean shook his head.
“That's the part that's missing.””
Daniel leaned over the document.
“Wait.””
He pointed at the handwriting.
“That isn't Calvin Brooks's signature.””
Everyone looked at him.
“How do you know?””
Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“My adoptive father kept some of Calvin's business documents. I saw his signature hundreds of times.””
He zoomed in on the notation.
“This isn't his.””
Marcus looked at Arthur.
“Then whose is it?””
Arthur stared at the page.
“I've seen that handwriting.””
“Whose?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Marcus grabbed his father's shoulder.
“Whose?””
Arthur looked at him.
“Your mother's.””
Evelyn recoiled.
“No.””
Arthur nodded.
“You signed the transfer.””
Evelyn's face went blank.
“I never signed anything.””
“You did.””
“I couldn't even hold a pen.””
“I know.””
“Then someone forged my signature.””
The Dean examined the page.
“There may be another possibility.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
The Dean turned the paper over.
There was a faint impression beneath the ink.
A second line of writing.
He held it toward the light.
Marcus leaned closer.
The words slowly became visible.
*Mother requests private adoption.*
Evelyn stumbled backward.
“I never requested that.””
Arthur's voice was barely audible.
“Neither did I.””
Marcus stared at the page.
“Then who did?””
A phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
The sound came from Arthur's pocket.
He pulled out an old phone.
The screen showed an unknown number.
Arthur stared at it.
“Don't answer,” Lorraine whispered.
Arthur answered.
“Hello?””
No one spoke.
Then a woman's voice came through the speaker.
“Arthur?””
His face changed.
Marcus moved closer.
“Who is it?””
Arthur covered the microphone.
“Go back to your seat.””
Marcus shook his head.
The voice returned.
“You promised me you would never tell them.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
Marcus heard every word.
“Who are you?”” he demanded.
Silence.
Then the woman said:
“I’m the person who raised your third child.””
Marcus froze.
Daniel stared at him.
Evelyn began crying.
Arthur dropped the phone.
The call remained connected.
May you like
And the woman's voice whispered through the fallen device:
“He's been looking for you too.””
