Chapter 12: The Doctor's Daughter
Claire didn't cry.
She stood in the center of Aunt Rebecca's living room, staring at Dr. Whitmore as though she were waiting for him to take back the words.
“Your daughter?”” she repeated.
The doctor nodded.
“My biological daughter.””
Claire let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
“You're telling me you've spent twenty years knowing I existed, and you never looked for me?””
“I did look for you.””
“Then why didn't you find me?””
He opened his mouth, but no answer came.
Claire stepped closer.
“You treated me like a medical file. You talked about my life as if it were a mistake in a hospital ledger. Did you ever wonder what happened to me?””
“Yes.””
“Did you wonder whether I was safe? Whether I had a family? Whether I knew my own name?””
His shoulders slumped.
“Every day.””
“Then why did you stay silent?””
Dr. Whitmore looked at Dad.
“Because I was afraid.””
Dad's expression was furious.
“Of what?””
“Of losing everything.””
“You helped alter a child's records!””
“I know.””
“You allowed a family to believe their daughter had died!””
“I know.””
“And you watched my wife suffer without telling me the truth!””
The doctor closed his eyes.
“I know, Daniel.””
Dad struck the table with his palm.
“Stop saying that as if it changes anything!””
I flinched.
He noticed immediately and lowered his voice.
“I'm sorry, Maya.””
I nodded, but my heart was pounding.
Claire had just learned that the man who delivered her might also be her biological father. Vanessa had discovered that her entire identity could have been constructed around a lie. And my own father had found a document bearing his forged signature.
Nothing made sense.
Rebecca moved beside Claire.
“Sit down, sweetheart. You look like you're going to fall.””
Claire sank onto the sofa.
Dr. Whitmore remained standing.
“My relationship with Margaret began years before the births,” he said.
“She was a patient at my clinic. We became involved, and when she became pregnant, she refused to tell anyone who the father was.””
Claire stared at him.
“You were the father.””
“Yes.””
“And my mother knew?””
“Laura knew about the relationship. She and Margaret were close friends.””
Dad shook his head.
“Laura never told me.””
“Because she had promised Margaret she wouldn't reveal the pregnancy.””
“Why would she make that promise?””
The doctor looked toward the window.
“Margaret was married to a man who was violent. She believed that if he discovered the baby wasn't his, he would hurt her.””
Claire covered her mouth.
“So she gave me away to protect herself?””
“She believed she was protecting you.””
“By letting someone else raise me?””
“Yes.””
Claire looked down at her hands.
“And then she died without telling me who I was.””
The doctor said nothing.
After a moment, Claire stood.
“I need some air.””
Malik immediately moved toward the door.
“I'll come with you.””
She shook her head.
“Please don't.””
Malik stopped.
Claire walked outside alone.
Through the window, I watched her sit on the front steps, her shoulders trembling beneath her coat.
I wanted to follow her.
But I was afraid she might ask me a question I couldn't answer.
Dad turned toward Dr. Whitmore.
“Tell me about the transfer authorization.””
The doctor rubbed his hands together.
“Margaret believed that the three children needed to be separated until the adults could agree on how to handle the situation.””
“Three children?”” Rebecca asked.
“Laura's daughter, Margaret's daughter, and my daughter.””
Dad stared at him.
“But Claire was Margaret's daughter and yours.””
“Yes.””
“And Vanessa?””
Dr. Whitmore hesitated.
“Vanessa was the child Margaret's husband believed was his. I cannot say with certainty whether he was her biological father.””
Vanessa went pale.
“You mean I might be yours too?””
The doctor looked at her.
“I don't know.””
She stumbled backward into a chair.
For the first time, she looked like a frightened child rather than the woman who had spent the afternoon accusing me of ruining her life.
“My mother told me my father died before I was born.””
“Margaret told me the same thing about you,” the doctor replied.
Vanessa stared at him.
“Then why did you never look for me?””
“Because I was told you had been adopted by a family that wanted no contact with your biological parents.””
“But I wasn't adopted. My mother raised me.””
The doctor lowered his eyes.
“I know that now.””
Vanessa began crying.
“I don't even know who I am.””
I watched her for several seconds.
Then I remembered what she'd done to me.
“You still knew who I was when you put that test in my backpack.””
Vanessa looked up.
“Yes.””
“You knew I was twelve. You knew Dad would be ashamed. You knew he might send me away.””
Her face crumpled.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Because I thought if he believed you were hiding something, he would stop looking into my past. I thought I could keep him from discovering the records.””
“You could have told him the truth.””
“I was afraid.””
“So you made me afraid instead.””
She lowered her head.
“I know.””
I shook my head.
“No. You know what you did. You don't know what it felt like.””
Dad moved beside me.
“Maya is right,” he said.
“Whatever happened to you as a child, it doesn't excuse what you did to her.””
Vanessa nodded.
“I understand.””
“Do you?”” Dad asked.
“Because tomorrow, I'm taking Maya to speak with a counselor, and I'm consulting a lawyer about the forged documents and the false accusation you made against her. You will not contact her without her permission.””
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“Daniel, please.””
“I am not punishing you for your past. I'm protecting my daughter from what you chose to do.””
She looked at me.
I turned away.
Outside, Claire had stood up.
Malik opened the door and let her back inside. Her eyes were red, but her voice was steady.
“I want a DNA test.””
Dr. Whitmore nodded.
“I understand.””
“No. I don't think you do.”” She faced him directly.
“I want a test with you. With Vanessa. With Daniel. And with Maya.””
Dad nodded.
“We'll arrange it through an independent laboratory.””
Claire looked at me.
“Would you agree?””
I hesitated.
I didn't want another stranger deciding what my family meant. I didn't want to be told that my memories belonged to people who had lied to me.
But I wanted the truth.
“Yes,” I said.
Claire exhaled shakily.
“Thank you.””
Malik picked up the transfer authorization from the table.
“There's one thing I still don't understand. Why does this document have Dad's forged signature?””
Dr. Whitmore took the paper.
“Margaret needed someone to authorize the transfer of the third child. She used Daniel's name because Laura had listed him as her emergency contact.””
Dad's face darkened.
“So Margaret forged my signature?””
“Yes.””
“And you helped her.””
The doctor nodded.
“I signed the medical authorization.””
Dad looked as though he wanted to strike him.
Instead, he stepped away.
“Get out of Rebecca's house.””
Dr. Whitmore gathered his briefcase.
“I understand.””
“No. You don't. But you're leaving.””
The doctor walked toward the door.
Before he stepped outside, he turned toward Claire.
“There is one more thing you should know.””
She stiffened.
“What?””
“Your mother didn't choose the name Claire.””
Claire's face went blank.
“What are you talking about?””
“Margaret named you Eleanor. The family who adopted you changed your name to Claire.””
Claire gripped the back of the sofa.
“Why?””
“Because Margaret asked them to.””
“Why would she do that?””
The doctor looked at Vanessa.
“Because she believed the name Eleanor belonged to a child who had died.””
Vanessa suddenly stood.
“That isn't true.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She was staring at the hospital records.
“My mother told me Eleanor was the name of the baby who died. She said the name Claire belonged to me.””
Claire's voice shook.
“Then why did she give me the name Claire?””
Vanessa's lips parted.
She looked at the photograph of the newborn, then at the altered birth certificate.
And finally, she whispered, “Because she knew which baby she had taken home.””
Dad frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa picked up the two birth certificates and laid them side by side.
“The dates aren't the same.””
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Of course they aren't. One was recorded after the other.””
“No.”” Vanessa pointed to the dates.
“Look at the times.””
Claire bent over the papers.
One baby had been recorded at 11:42 p.m.
The other at 12:17 a.m.
But the transfer authorization had been signed at 11:58 p.m.
Before the second baby had even been recorded.
Malik stared at the page.
“Someone arranged the transfer before both babies were born.””
Dad slowly looked toward the front door.
Dr. Whitmore had already disappeared into the darkness.
Claire picked up the hospital bracelet.
Then she noticed a tiny inscription on the underside.
Not a name.
Not a room number.
A date and three words.
Ask who arrived first.
Claire looked at Dad.
“Who was born first?””
Dad stared at the papers.
Then his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a number he didn't recognize.
He answered.
A woman's voice spoke softly.
“Mr. Carter? My name is Eleanor Hayes. I believe you have been looking for me.””
Dad went rigid.
Claire dropped the bracelet.
The voice continued.
“Please don't believe anything Dr. Whitmore told you. He knows exactly where I was sent, and he knows why I was never supposed to come home.””
A pause.
May you like
Then the woman said the words that made all of us freeze.
“And Vanessa isn't the only person who was given the wrong identity.””
