Chapter 6: The Promise That Buried a Family
“Aunt Evelyn?””
Adrian held the phone against his ear, listening to the silence.
“Aunt Evelyn, answer me!””
Nothing.
He lowered the phone and immediately dialed her back.
The call went straight to voicemail.
Thomas hurried toward him.
“What happened?””
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“She said Darius came to her house. She said she told him something about my father. Then I heard a crash.””
Daniel was already pulling his phone from his pocket.
“Give me her address.””
Adrian recited it.
Daniel typed quickly.
“I'll contact the local authorities and request a welfare check.””
Serena stepped forward.
“I know the house.””
Adrian turned on her.
“Of course you do.””
“I've been there before.””
“Why?””
Serena's face crumpled.
“Because my father sent me.””
Adrian stared at her.
For a moment, he could only hear the rustle of her wedding gown and the distant hum of the chapel's air-conditioning.
“You went to my aunt's house on behalf of your father?””
“Once. Before I knew what he was really doing.””
“When?””
“Four months ago.””
Adrian shook his head.
“You've been investigating my family for six months. You met Marcus. You found the hospital records.
You went to my aunt's house. And you still stood beside me this morning and promised to spend your life with me.””
“I love you.””
He looked at her with an exhaustion that frightened her more than anger.
“Stop using those words to excuse what you've done.””
Serena's mouth trembled.
She looked down at the ring on her finger.
“I never planned for it to become this.””
“What did you plan?””
She swallowed.
“My father told me to find out whether Margaret still had the original hospital bracelet.””
Margaret suddenly raised her head.
“What?””
Serena nodded through tears.
“He said it was the only physical evidence left that could connect the two babies.””
Thomas looked toward Margaret.
“Do you still have it?””
Margaret's hands began to shake.
“Yes.””
Adrian stared at her.
“You kept a hospital bracelet for thirty-five years?””
Margaret nodded.
“I kept everything from the day you were born. Your first blanket. Your footprints. The little cap they put on your head.””
She pressed a trembling hand against her chest.
“I kept them because I loved you.””
Adrian's eyes burned.
“Then why didn't you tell me I had a brother?””
Margaret looked at him helplessly.
“Because I didn't know if he was alive. And because James begged me to protect you.””
“Protect me from what?””
She sat down, gripping the edge of the pew.
“From losing the only family you knew.””
Thomas moved closer.
“Margaret, tell him about the promise.””
She shook her head.
“Not here.””
Adrian's voice rose.
“Here. Now. I want every truth you've hidden from me.””
Margaret looked around the chapel.
Hundreds of guests were watching. The officiant had quietly stepped away from the altar. Denise stood beside the front pew with one hand over her mouth.
Margaret looked back at her son.
“Your legal father, James, wasn't supposed to be involved in the adoption.””
Adrian went still.
“What adoption?””
Margaret wiped her cheeks.
“The adoption of the second baby.””
Thomas lowered his head.
Margaret continued.
“When the twins were born, the doctors told me both were alive. I held them briefly. I remember the warmth of their little bodies against my chest. I remember asking the nurse why one baby had a different identification bracelet.””
She closed her eyes.
“Before anyone answered, Richard Hayes entered the room. He said there had been a paperwork error and that the babies needed to be separated temporarily.””
Adrian listened without moving.
Margaret's voice trembled.
“I was exhausted. I had lost a lot of blood. I believed the doctors knew what they were doing.””
“And then?”” Adrian asked.
“Then they took one baby away.””
Thomas's eyes filled with tears.
“I waited outside the room for hours. When I finally asked to see him, Richard told me the child had died.””
“But he hadn't,” Adrian whispered.
Margaret shook her head.
“I don't know what happened to him that night. I never saw him again.””
“Then how did James become involved?””
Margaret looked toward the altar.
“James and I had been trying to have a child for years. He knew I was pregnant, but he didn't know about Thomas. When I came home with you, I told him you were his son.””
Adrian's face tightened.
“You lied to him, too?””
“I was told that if I refused to sign the discharge paperwork, I would lose you. Richard said the hospital would report me as unfit to care for you. He said he had evidence that could make it happen.””
“What evidence?””
Margaret shook her head.
“I never saw it. I was terrified. James thought I was suffering from the trauma of childbirth. He believed you were his biological child.””
Thomas looked at Adrian.
“I didn't know the truth until years later.””
“Then how did you find out?””
“Your aunt Evelyn contacted me after James died. She said she had found a letter among his belongings.””
Adrian's breath caught.
“What letter?””
Thomas's voice grew quieter.
“A letter from Richard Hayes. It said the second baby was alive and had been placed with another family under an arrangement that was never properly documented.””
Adrian felt as if someone had struck him.
“You knew I had a brother, and you didn't tell me?””
“I tried to find him.””
“For how long?””
“Years.””
“And when you couldn't find him?””
Thomas looked down.
“I kept looking.””
Adrian shook his head.
“You should have told me.””
“Yes,” Thomas said.
“I should have.””
There was no excuse in his voice. No attempt to make himself look better.
Only regret.
That somehow made Adrian angrier.
Daniel's phone vibrated.
He read the message, then looked up.
“The authorities have reached Evelyn's address. They're checking the property now.””
“Is she alive?”” Adrian asked.
“They haven't confirmed that yet.””
Adrian began pacing beside the altar.
His wedding had become a nightmare, and every new answer seemed to create three more questions.
Then Serena spoke.
“There is something I haven't told you about the hospital bracelet.””
Adrian stopped.
“What?””
“My father said the bracelet wasn't just proof of your birth. He said it had a number on it that could identify the person who authorized the transfer.””
Margaret looked startled.
“That's impossible. The bracelet only had the baby's identification number.””
Serena shook her head.
“That's what I thought, too. But when I found the original records, there was a second number written beside it. My father said it belonged to the person who signed the transfer authorization.””
Thomas turned toward her.
“Who was it?””
Serena looked at Margaret.
“I don't know. The name was covered in the copy I saw.””
Margaret's hands flew to her mouth.
“Oh, God.””
Adrian approached her.
“What is it?””
She stared at him.
“Your father kept the bracelet in a wooden box in his study. After he died, Evelyn gave it to me.””
“Where is it now?””
Margaret hesitated.
“It's at my house.””
“Then we need to get it.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not yet. If the bracelet is evidence, we should make sure it is handled properly.””
Adrian barely heard him.
He was staring at his mother.
“Why did you never show it to me?””
Margaret's voice broke.
“Because every time I opened that box, I remembered the baby I never got to bring home.””
Adrian's anger faltered.
For one moment, he saw not the woman who had lied to him, but the young mother who had been separated from one of her newborn children and forced to live with questions she couldn't answer.
He wanted to comfort her.
He wanted to forgive her.
He wanted to go back to the morning before Serena slapped her hand away, when his biggest worry had been whether the wedding flowers would arrive on time.
Instead, he stepped away.
“I need time.””
Margaret nodded.
“I understand.””
His phone rang again.
This time, it was the local authorities returning Daniel's call.
Daniel answered, listened, and turned pale.
“What happened?”” Adrian demanded.
Daniel ended the call.
“Evelyn is alive. She was found unconscious near the back door. She's being taken to the hospital.””
Adrian exhaled sharply.
“And Darius?””
“They haven't found him.””
Thomas gripped the pew.
“Was there evidence of a break-in?””
Daniel nodded.
“They believe someone entered the house after Evelyn called you.””
Serena's face went white.
“My father.””
Adrian turned toward her.
“You think Richard did this?””
“He knows what Evelyn has been hiding. If she told Darius the truth, my father would do anything to stop him from revealing it.””
Thomas stepped closer.
“Where is Richard now?””
Serena shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Call him.””
She hesitated.
Adrian held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.””
She passed it to him.
Adrian dialed the number listed under Dad.
The call connected after two rings.
A man's calm voice answered.
“Serena, I assume the wedding is over.””
Adrian's stomach tightened.
“This is Adrian Brooks.””
A pause.
Then the man laughed softly.
“Ah. The groom.””
“Where is my brother?””
“I have no idea what you're talking about.””
“My aunt was attacked after telling him something about the night we were born.””
Richard's voice became colder.
“Your aunt has always been a dramatic woman.””
“She's in the hospital.””
“Then perhaps you should be with her instead of interrogating me.””
Adrian gripped the phone.
“Tell me what happened to Darius.””
Richard sighed.
“You've been told too many stories by people who don't understand the consequences of opening old wounds.””
“I'm giving you one chance to tell me the truth.””
“And I'm giving you some advice, Adrian. Go home. End this embarrassing spectacle. Marry Serena if you still intend to, and stop digging into records that were sealed for a reason.””
Adrian felt a chill crawl up his spine.
“You think I'll marry her after today?””
“I think you'll do whatever it takes to protect the people you love.””
The call ended.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then a message appeared from the same unknown number that had contacted him earlier.
Your father didn't die without telling someone the truth.
Adrian's breath caught.
A second message followed.
James Brooks left a recording.
Then a final line appeared.
Your aunt knows where it is. Ask her what she hid inside the piano.
Adrian looked at Margaret.
She had gone completely still.
“Mom,” he whispered, “what piano?””
Margaret's eyes filled with fresh tears.
“The one in your father's house.””
Thomas stepped toward her.
“Margaret, what did James leave behind?””
She slowly shook her head.
“I thought it was destroyed.””
Adrian took a step closer.
“What was destroyed?””
Margaret looked at him with an expression of pure terror.
Then she whispered, “The recording that could prove who took your brother.””
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
*UNKNOWN CALLER.*
With trembling fingers, she answered.
A man's voice came through.
“Margaret, if Adrian has heard about the recording, you need to tell him what James said before he died.””
Margaret's lips parted.
“Who is this?””
The caller ignored her question.
“Because if you don't, Richard Hayes will make sure neither of your sons ever learns the truth.””
The line went dead.
Adrian stared at his mother.
Then he reached for the hospital form Daniel had placed on the altar.
Beneath the faded discharge authorization, he noticed a detail he hadn't seen before.
A handwritten note in the margin.
Three words.
*TRANSFER APPROVED BY:*
The name below them had been scratched out.
But beneath the ink, just barely visible in the bright chapel light, were the first letters of a name.
*MARG—*
Adrian slowly lifted his eyes toward his mother.
Margaret began shaking her head.
“No, Adrian.””
He held up the document.
“Did you authorize my brother's transfer?””
Margaret took a step backward.
May you like
Then she whispered the words that shattered the last fragile piece of his trust.
“I signed the paper.””
