Chapter 12: The Second Daughter
I read the message again.
Then a third time.
Your mother gave birth to twins.
I looked at Grace.
She was still sitting on the pew, her hands folded tightly in her lap.
“Grace?””
She looked up.
“What?””
I showed her Eleanor's message.
Her face went pale.
“Twins?””
I nodded.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, “There was another baby?””
I called Eleanor.
She answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
“The chapel. Grace is with me.””
“Get out of there.””
“Eleanor, what do you mean our mother had twins?””
“I'll explain when you're somewhere safe.””
“No. Explain now.””
Eleanor exhaled.
“Your mother gave birth to two girls. Grace was the first. You were the second.””
I gripped the phone.
“I know I was born after Grace.””
“Not by years, Nia. By eleven minutes.””
I stared at the floor.
Grace slowly stood.
“Then how did they separate us?””
Eleanor's voice became quieter.
“Thomas took Grace from the hospital. But according to the original records, someone else attempted to take Nia.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“Your father stopped it.””
I remembered the hospital photograph.
The handwritten records.
The nurse's statement.
“Who tried to take me?””
Eleanor paused.
“Your mother.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“Your mother was being threatened. She believed both children were in danger. She agreed to let someone take you temporarily while she and Richard arranged a safe place.””
“Who?””
“Daniel Brooks.””
I stared at the phone.
Daniel.
Again.
“He took me?””
“He was a young attorney working with your father. Richard trusted him at the time.””
Grace stepped closer.
“Where did he take her?””
Eleanor answered.
“To a private residence owned by a family friend. You stayed there for several weeks before your father brought you home.””
I couldn't breathe properly.
“So my father knew Grace had been taken, but he kept me?””
“He was trying to protect you.””
“And my mother?””
Eleanor's voice softened.
“She was devastated. She believed she had lost both daughters.””
I pressed my hand against the chapel wall.
My mother had lived with the knowledge that one child had been kidnapped and the other had been sent away.
And I had grown up believing I was the center of her world.
I wasn't angry with her.
I was heartbroken for her.
Grace reached for my hand.
“We were babies.””
I nodded.
“We didn't do anything wrong.””
For the first time, we stood together without feeling like strangers.
Then Grace looked at me.
“Does this mean there might be a third person involved?””
I frowned.
“What?””
She took out her phone.
“I found something in Diane's study last week. A folder with our birth records.””
She showed me a photograph.
Two hospital bracelets.
One read:
*Carter, Grace.*
The other read:
*Carter, Nia.*
Beneath them was a third bracelet.
*Carter, Baby C.*
I stared at it.
“Baby C?””
Grace nodded.
“There were three bracelets.””
I felt the room spin.
“Triplets?””
“I don't know.””
I looked at Eleanor's message again.
It said twins.
But the photograph showed three hospital bracelets.
I called Samuel.
He answered immediately.
“Nia?””
“Samuel, I need you to tell me how many babies my mother gave birth to.””
A pause.
“Two.””
“Are you certain?””
“Yes. I have the original delivery record.””
“Then why are there three hospital bracelets?””
Samuel went silent.
“Where did you see that?””
“Grace found them in Diane's study.””
His breathing changed.
“Nia, listen to me carefully. There were only two babies born alive.””
“What happened to the third bracelet?””
“I don't know.””
I looked at Grace.
She was staring at the photograph.
Then she whispered something.
“There's a name on the back.””
I turned the phone toward her.
She enlarged the image.
Beneath the third bracelet was a handwritten label.
*Carter, Baby C — transferred.*
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Samuel spoke again.
“Where are you?””
“The chapel.””
“Leave immediately. I need to show you something.””
“Samuel, what is it?””
He hesitated.
Then he said:
“The third bracelet belongs to a baby who was never entered into the official birth records.””
I closed my eyes.
“Who was the baby?””
“I don't know. But your father paid for a separate medical procedure that same night.””
“What procedure?””
“A private emergency transfer.””
“Where?””
Samuel lowered his voice.
“To a hospital in New York.””
I looked at Grace.
We had spent our entire lives believing there were two of us.
Now someone was suggesting that there had been another child.
I turned toward the chapel doors.
“We're coming.””
An hour later, we arrived at Samuel's apartment.
He lived in a modest building near the river. The hallway smelled of old carpet and cigarette smoke.
He opened the door before we knocked.
“I've been waiting.””
His apartment was filled with filing cabinets, old computers, and boxes of photographs.
He led us into a small office.
On the desk sat a large envelope.
“I found this in Richard's private records,” he said.
I opened it.
Inside was a hospital transfer document.
The patient was listed as:
*Infant Carter C.*
The date matched my birth.
The destination hospital was in New York.
The authorization signature belonged to my father.
I looked up.
“Who was this child?””
Samuel shook his head.
“Your father never wrote a name.””
“Was it a boy or a girl?””
“Female.””
Grace covered her mouth.
Another sister.
I looked at the document again.
“Why would my father send a newborn away?””
Samuel pulled out another paper.
“This was attached.””
It was a handwritten note from my father.
If anything happens to me, make sure the third child remains protected. She must never be brought into the family business.
I stared at the words.
“Protected from whom?””
Samuel looked at me.
“Thomas.””
My uncle had known.
He had taken Grace.
Someone had attempted to take me.
And my father had sent a third baby somewhere far away.
“Why would Thomas want all three children?”” Grace asked.
Samuel opened another file.
“Because your father's original estate plan divided the company equally among his three daughters.””
I looked up.
“What?””
He showed us an older copy of the trust.
The document named three beneficiaries.
Grace Carter.
Nia Carter.
And a third daughter whose name had been concealed.
The shares were divided equally.
One-third each.
I slowly sat down.
Marcus wasn't merely trying to get control of two women's inheritances.
He had been searching for three.
Grace looked at me.
“Who is she?””
Samuel opened a folder containing recent hospital records.
He pointed to a name.
*Catherine Wells.*
I stared at it.
“Is that her name?””
“It's the identity used in the transfer records. We haven't confirmed whether she kept it.””
Grace leaned over the document.
“Where is she now?””
Samuel turned to another page.
A recent address.
A photograph.
A woman with dark hair, wearing a hospital identification badge.
I recognized her immediately.
Not because I had met her.
Because I had seen her before.
At the wedding.
She had been one of the medical staff assigned to the venue's first-aid room.
I remembered her face.
She had approached me after I canceled the ceremony and asked whether I was feeling well.
I had thanked her and walked away.
I looked at Samuel.
“She's in Boston?””
He nodded.
“According to these records, she works at a private medical center.””
Grace stared at the photograph.
“She's our sister.””
I felt tears fill my eyes.
Three daughters.
Three lives.
Three women separated by secrets, lies, and people who had treated children like pieces on a chessboard.
Then Samuel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?””
His expression changed.
“What do you mean?””
He listened.
Then he looked at me.
“It's the medical center.””
My heart began racing.
“What happened?””
Samuel ended the call slowly.
“Catherine Wells was admitted to the emergency department twenty minutes ago.””
“Is she hurt?””
He shook his head.
“No. But someone came to see her.””
“Who?””
Samuel looked directly at me.
“Thomas Carter.””
Grace grabbed my arm.
“Why would he go to her?””
Samuel's voice dropped.
“Because he knows you've found her.””
I stood.
“We have to get to that hospital.””
Samuel reached for his keys.
But before we could leave, my phone rang.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Are you Nia Carter?””
“Yes. Who is this?””
“My name is Catherine.””
My breath caught.
She continued.
“I think you're looking for me.””
I gripped the phone.
“Yes. We're your sisters.””
A long silence followed.
Then Catherine whispered something that made my heart stop.
“I know who you are. I've been looking for you, too.””
I closed my eyes.
“Where are you?””
“Hospital room 317.””
“Are you safe?””
She began crying.
“No.””
I looked at Samuel.
Then Catherine spoke again.
“There's something you need to know before you come here.””
“What?””
Her voice broke.
“Thomas isn't the person who separated us.””
I froze.
“Who was?””
Catherine took a shaky breath.
Then she said:
“Your mother.””
I couldn't move.
Catherine continued in a whisper.
“And I have the letter she wrote explaining why she gave me away.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Three daughters.
One mother.
And a secret that had survived nearly three decades.
I looked at Grace.
She was crying silently.
Then Catherine added one final sentence.
“Please hurry. The man who came to see me says he's your father.””
I went cold.
“My father is dead.””
May you like
Catherine whispered:
“Not according to him.””
