Chapter 12: The Child Who Was Never Mine
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Patricia's words kept repeating in my head.
Your sister.
Olivia had been involved from the beginning.
She had accepted money.
She had signed hospital documents.
She had helped Margaret access the maternity ward.
And now there was evidence that she had been part of the attempt to locate a baby who had supposedly been switched.
I looked at Daniel.
He was pale.
“Call her,” he said.
I shook my head.
“Not yet.””
“Nia, we need answers.””
“We need evidence.””
Patricia closed her notebook.
“I have something else.””
She reached into her handbag and removed a small cassette tape.
“I recorded part of the conversation that night.””
Thomas stared at it.
“You kept this?””
Patricia nodded.
“I didn't trust anyone.””
Daniel looked at the tape.
“What's on it?””
“I never listened to the entire recording. I was too afraid.””
Thomas immediately offered to have it transferred to a digital file.
We followed him back to his office.
Twenty minutes later, the recording began.
At first, there was only static.
Then a woman's voice.
Margaret.
“Which child did you bring?””
A man's voice answered.
Dr. Mercer.
“The firstborn.””
“Are you certain?””
“Yes.””
A pause.
Then Margaret said:
“That's not the one.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
Another voice entered the recording.
Olivia.
“Margaret, what are you doing? You said you were only moving one baby.””
Margaret answered sharply.
“Keep your voice down.””
“I didn't agree to this.””
“You agreed to help.””
“I agreed to protect Nia!””
A cold laugh followed.
“Then you should have thought about that before accepting the money.””
Olivia began crying.
“What happens to the other baby?””
Margaret's voice became quieter.
“He goes where he was supposed to go.””
“Where?””
“Somewhere Daniel will never find him.””
The recording continued.
Then Dr. Mercer spoke.
“There is a problem. The second infant has already been discharged.””
Margaret swore.
“What?””
“The mother took him home.””
“Which mother?””
“Nia Carter.””
A long silence.
Then Margaret said something that made me grip the desk.
“Then we have the wrong child.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Patricia.
“What happened after that?””
She shook her head.
“I was sent home. The next morning, I was told not to return.””
Daniel looked at Thomas.
“Can you identify the second infant?””
Thomas opened the original records.
“Not yet.””
I turned toward Patricia.
“Did you see Olivia take a baby?””
She shook her head.
“No. But I saw her leave the hospital with a document folder.””
“What was inside?””
“I don't know.””
Thomas paused the recording.
Then he replayed the final thirty seconds.
A faint sound appeared beneath the voices.
A telephone ringing.
Margaret answered.
The other person's voice was barely audible.
Thomas increased the volume.
A man's voice emerged.
“It's done. The boy is safe.””
Margaret replied:
“Good. Keep him there until the papers are finalized.””
I leaned forward.
“Who was that?””
Thomas listened again.
Then he looked at me.
“I recognize the voice.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Whose?””
Thomas swallowed.
“Richard Carter.””
I called Olivia that evening.
She answered immediately.
“Nia?””
I didn't bother with a greeting.
“Were you involved in the baby switch?””
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“Where did you hear that?””
I closed my eyes.
“So it's true.””
“Nia, I can explain.””
“Explain what? That you helped someone take my child? That you accepted money? That you watched me raise a baby who might not have been mine?””
She began crying.
“Please.””
“Which child did I bring home?””
Olivia was silent.
“Olivia!””
“I don't know.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You don't know?””
“I swear. Margaret told me the firstborn would be transferred. Then she said something had gone wrong.””
“What went wrong?””
“Dr. Mercer brought the wrong baby back.””
“Whose baby?””
“I don't know!””
I pressed my hand against my forehead.
“Then what happened to Ethan?””
Olivia's breathing became uneven.
“Margaret told me he had been taken to a private family.””
“Which family?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you see him?””
“No.””
“Did you ever see him again?””
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“Yes.””
My heart stopped.
“When?””
“About a month later.””
I gripped the phone.
“Where?””
“At Margaret's house.””
“What was he doing there?””
“She was showing him to someone.””
“Who?””
Olivia began sobbing.
“A woman.””
“What woman?””
“I didn't know her name.””
“Describe her.””
“She had red hair. She was wearing a wedding ring. She kept calling the baby her miracle.””
I closed my eyes.
“Did she take him?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Olivia whispered something.
I couldn't hear it.
“Say that again.””
“New Hampshire.””
My stomach tightened.
“Where in New Hampshire?””
“I don't know.””
I ended the call.
Daniel was standing beside me.
He had heard everything.
“New Hampshire,” he repeated.
I nodded.
“We need to find that woman.””
Thomas had already begun searching the original hospital records.
He opened a database of temporary guardianship authorizations.
“There are several names here.””
I leaned over.
“Which one?””
He pointed to a woman named *Rachel Bennett*.
My heart skipped.
“Bennett?””
Thomas nodded.
“Her temporary guardian application was filed three days after the birth.””
Daniel frowned.
“Is she related to Olivia?””
“No. But she was listed as a family friend.””
I stared at the screen.
Rachel Bennett.
New Hampshire.
Red hair.
A wedding ring.
A woman who had called a baby her miracle.
Thomas opened another document.
It was a private adoption inquiry.
The child was identified as Ethan Carter.
The receiving family was listed as Rachel and Michael Bennett.
I felt my knees weaken.
“Can we contact them?””
Thomas shook his head.
“The adoption record was sealed.””
Daniel slammed his hand against the desk.
“Then unseal it.””
“That's not something I can do.””
I turned toward Thomas.
“Can you find their address?””
He nodded slowly.
“I can try.””
The following morning, I received a call from an unknown number.
A woman's voice answered.
“Is this Nia Carter?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Rachel Bennett.””
I stopped breathing.
“Who gave you my number?””
“Your sister.””
I gripped the phone.
“What do you want?””
“I think we need to talk.””
“About Ethan?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
My eyes filled.
“Is he alive?””
Rachel's voice trembled.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
For five years, I had imagined every possible version of what might have happened to my missing child.
In some versions, he was happy.
In others, he was frightened.
In the worst ones, I couldn't bear to imagine.
Now someone was telling me he was alive.
“Where is he?””
“Safe.””
“Can I see him?””
Rachel hesitated.
“Not yet.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“Because there are things you don't understand.””
I felt anger rising.
“I understand that someone took my baby.””
“That's not what happened.””
I froze.
“What?””
Rachel began crying.
“I didn't steal him, Nia. I was told he had been abandoned by his mother. I was told his biological family didn't want him.””
I closed my eyes.
“Margaret told you that?””
“Yes.””
“Did you believe her?””
“I had no reason not to.””
I swallowed.
“Then why are you calling me?””
Rachel was silent for several seconds.
Then she said:
“Because Ethan has been asking about his birth mother.””
My heart broke.
“What does he know?””
“He knows he was adopted. He knows we love him. But recently, he found an old photograph.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What photograph?””
“His hospital photograph. The one with his birth bracelet.””
I couldn't breathe.
Rachel continued.
“He noticed the name on it wasn't his.””
I whispered, “What did it say?””
“Ethan Carter.””
Tears ran down my cheeks.
Rachel took a breath.
“And last week, he asked me whether his real mother had another child.””
I closed my eyes.
“He does.””
“Does he have a brother?””
“Yes.””
Rachel began crying.
“He told me he dreamed about a little boy who looked exactly like him.””
I covered my mouth.
“That's Noah.””
There was a long silence.
Then Rachel said:
“I want to arrange a meeting.””
I almost collapsed.
“When?””
“Tomorrow.””
I nodded even though she couldn't see me.
“Yes.””
Then she added:
“But there's one condition.””
I wiped my cheeks.
“What?””
“Ethan doesn't know the truth about how he was taken. And I need you to promise me that you won't tell him everything at once.””
I looked toward the hallway.
Noah was laughing at something on television.
Ethan was beside him, building a tower out of blocks.
I thought about the little boy in New Hampshire.
The one who had spent five years wondering where he came from.
The one who had a brother waiting for him.
“I promise,” I whispered.
Rachel exhaled.
“There's something else you should know.””
“What?””
“Ethan's adoptive father isn't Michael.””
I frowned.
“Who is he?””
“Richard Carter.””
My blood turned to ice.
I looked at Daniel.
He had heard the name.
His face drained of color.
Rachel continued.
“Michael Bennett was my husband. He died four years ago. After his death, Richard Carter became Ethan's legal guardian.””
I gripped the phone.
“Why?””
“Because he paid for the adoption.””
I closed my eyes.
“Rachel, where is my son?””
She whispered the address.
Then she said something that made Daniel stagger backward.
“Mr. Carter is planning to move him out of the country tomorrow morning.””
The call ended.
May you like
And for the first time in five years, I knew exactly where my missing child was.
But I had less than twenty-four hours to reach him.
