Chapter 3: The Name on the Back
Leah couldn't speak.
The envelope suddenly felt heavier than paper.
Daniel stood beneath the grocery-store awning, staring at it.
Ava sat on the curb, quietly watching both adults.
“Who wrote it?”” Leah finally asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“You just said you've seen it before.””
“I said I've seen the envelope.””
“Where?””
Daniel looked toward the store.
“Inside my house.””
Leah's pulse quickened.
“When?””
“The night Monica died.””
The city noise seemed to fade again.
Leah slowly looked at Ava.
Then back at Daniel.
“Why would an envelope from eight years ago have Ava's name written on it?””
“It doesn't have her name.””
Leah turned it around.
“It says, ‘If she finds you.’”
Daniel nodded.
“That was the message.””
“What message?””
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.
“Monica knew something was wrong.””
Leah's voice sharpened.
“What was wrong?””
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.””
He looked at Ava.
“She wasn't supposed to have survived.””
Leah's stomach dropped.
“Who?””
Daniel's eyes remained on the little girl.
“The baby.””
Ava's face didn't change.
Leah crouched beside her.
“Ava, did your mother ever tell you why you were separated from your father?””
Ava nodded.
“She said somebody took me.””
Daniel flinched.
“Who?””
Ava looked at him.
“I don't know.””
“What else did she say?””
Ava thought.
“She said I had a brother.””
Daniel's expression changed.
Leah noticed immediately.
“You have a brother?””
Ava nodded.
“My mom said he was born first.””
Daniel whispered, “That's not possible.””
Leah turned.
“Why?””
Daniel looked toward the grocery-store window.
“Because Monica was only pregnant once.””
Ava frowned.
“She said there were two babies.””
Daniel went completely still.
Leah stood.
“Two?””
Ava nodded.
“A boy and a girl.””
Daniel's lips parted.
“No.””
Leah stepped closer.
“What?””
He looked at Ava as though seeing her for the first time.
“Monica told me there was one.””
Leah's voice became quiet.
“Daniel, what are you not telling me?””
He didn't answer.
Ava suddenly stood.
She walked toward the store window.
Then she pointed at a framed photograph hanging behind the register.
Leah followed her gaze.
It was an old photograph of Monica and Daniel.
Monica was smiling.
Daniel had one arm around her.
And between them was a small black-haired boy.
Leah frowned.
“Who's that?””
Daniel looked at the photograph.
His face changed.
“That isn't my son.””
Ava whispered, “That's him.””
Leah stared.
“Who?””
“My brother.””
Daniel stepped toward the window.
“That picture was taken before Monica and I married.””
Leah looked confused.
“Then who is the child?””
“I don't know.””
Ava turned around.
“You do.””
Daniel crouched several feet away from her.
His voice shook.
“Ava, listen to me. I don't know you. I don't know your mother. I don't know that child.””
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
“But you know the picture.””
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“Yes.””
“Then why did Mom keep it?””
Daniel stood.
“I don't know.””
Ava reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small folded scrap of paper.
Leah saw her hand shaking.
“What is that?”” she asked.
Ava unfolded it.
There was only one sentence.
*Ask Daddy why he buried the truth.*
Leah looked at Daniel.
He stared at the paper.
“Where did you get that?””
Ava pointed toward the sidewalk.
“My mom gave it to me.””
“When?””
“Before she died.””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“Renee died recently?””
Ava nodded.
“Three weeks ago.””
Leah's eyes widened.
“And you've been living alone?””
Ava shrugged.
“I stayed where she told me.””
“Where?””
Ava pointed across the street.
At an old apartment building.
Daniel looked at it.
Then suddenly crossed the street.
“Daniel!”” Leah called.
He didn't stop.
Leah grabbed Ava's hand and followed.
They climbed two flights of cracked concrete stairs.
Ava stopped in front of apartment 2B.
She pulled a key from her pocket.
Daniel stared at the door.
“Whose apartment is this?””
“My mom's.””
Ava unlocked it.
The door opened with a soft click.
The apartment smelled faintly of dust, lavender soap, and something old that had been sealed away.
Daniel stepped inside.
He froze.
Photographs covered one wall.
Renee.
A baby.
A little boy.
And Monica.
Leah moved closer.
“Daniel…”
He wasn't listening.
His eyes had locked onto a photograph in the center of the wall.
It showed Monica standing beside Renee.
Both women were smiling.
Between them were two newborn babies.
A boy.
And a girl.
Twins.
Daniel's hand rose to his mouth.
“No…”
Leah stared at the photograph.
“You knew Renee.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I never met her.””
“Then why is Monica standing beside her?””
“I don't know.””
Ava walked past them.
She entered the bedroom.
Leah followed.
On the bed was an old wooden box.
Ava lifted the lid.
Inside were hospital bracelets, photographs, folded letters, and a yellowed birth certificate.
Daniel reached for it.
Ava pulled it away.
“My mom said you couldn't see this unless I was there.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
Ava handed the document to Leah.
Leah unfolded it.
Her breath caught.
The birth certificate listed two children.
One boy.
One girl.
Both born on the same date.
Both at the same hospital.
And under *Father*, there was one name.
Daniel Carter.
Leah looked up.
Daniel was staring at the document.
His face had gone white.
Then Ava reached deeper into the box and pulled out one final photograph.
She turned it over.
On the back, someone had written a name.
Not Daniel.
Not Renee.
A name Leah recognized immediately.
Daniel saw it too.
His entire body stiffened.
“No,” he whispered.
Leah looked at him.
“Who is that?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Ava did.
May you like
“That’s the person who took my brother.””
And then someone knocked three times on the apartment door.
