Chapter 5: The Woman in the Photograph
The photograph was only four inches wide, but it was large enough to destroy everything Adrian thought he knew about himself.
He kept staring at it.
The woman beside the little boy in the picture stood with one hand on his shoulder. She was Black, maybe in her early thirties, wearing a pale cardigan and a hospital badge clipped near her collar. Her face was turned slightly away from the camera.
But there was something familiar about her.
Something in the shape of her eyes.
Adrian zoomed in with trembling fingers.
“Gloria,” he said.
“Who is she?””
Gloria looked at the screen.
Then she sat down.
Not gracefully.
Not carefully.
She dropped into the nearest chair as if her legs had suddenly stopped working.
“I hoped you would never see that photograph,” she whispered.
Adrian stared at her.
“That’s not an answer.””
Gloria folded her hands together.
“The woman in that picture is named Renee.””
“Renee what?””
Gloria hesitated.
“Renee Carter.””
I felt a strange pressure in my chest.
“Was she your daughter’s friend?””
Gloria shook her head.
“No.””
“Then who was she?””
Gloria looked directly at Adrian.
“She was the nurse who signed the release papers when you left the hospital.””
Adrian went completely still.
“You’re saying she let me leave?””
“I’m saying she was there.””
“With Loretta?””
Gloria nodded.
Adrian looked down at the photograph again.
“But that’s impossible. Mom told me I was born in a different hospital.””
“She lied.””
His jaw tightened.
“Where was I born?””
Gloria answered immediately.
“St. Vincent Medical Center.””
Adrian stepped backward.
“My birth certificate says Mercy.””
“I know.””
His face drained of color.
I reached for his hand.
He grabbed mine tightly.
“So my birth certificate is fake?””
“Not fake,” Gloria said.
“Altered.””
The word seemed to echo.
Altered.
One small word.
One enormous crime.
Adrian sat down.
“How?””
Gloria looked toward the entrance, as though expecting Loretta to return.
“Your original records were changed before you were discharged.””
“By who?””
Gloria didn’t answer.
“By who?”” Adrian repeated.
“Someone with access.””
“A doctor?””
“A nurse.””
“Renee?””
Gloria nodded.
I looked back at the photograph.
The hospital bracelet around the child’s wrist suddenly seemed impossible to ignore.
The numbers matched the date Adrian had always celebrated as his birthday.
But now even that felt uncertain.
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
“Why would a nurse change my records?””
Gloria leaned forward.
“Because she was paid.””
The room went silent.
I felt Adrian’s fingers tighten around mine.
“Paid by Loretta?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“I don’t know.””
“Why?””
Gloria’s expression hardened.
“Because Loretta never trusted people enough to leave a clean trail.””
Adrian stood.
“So she bought my identity?””
“No.””
Gloria looked at him carefully.
“She bought time.””
He stared at her.
“For what?””
Before Gloria could answer, the restaurant door opened.
Everyone turned.
A tall Black man in a dark jacket stepped inside.
He looked around at the flowers, the abandoned plates, the guests frozen near their tables.
Then his eyes found Adrian.
“You’re Adrian Reed?””
Adrian stiffened.
“Yes.””
The man walked closer.
“My name is Daniel Carter.””
Gloria rose immediately.
“Daniel?””
The man looked at her.
“You know me.””
Gloria’s face changed.
“Renee’s brother.””
Daniel nodded.
Adrian stepped toward him.
“What happened to Renee?””
Daniel swallowed.
“She’s alive.””
Adrian’s face went blank.
“What?””
Daniel glanced at Gloria.
“She didn’t die.””
Gloria closed her eyes.
“I know.””
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
Gloria opened her eyes again.
“I found out three days ago.””
Adrian looked between them.
“You both knew she was alive?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I found out this week.””
Adrian’s voice became sharper.
“Then why is everyone speaking in half-sentences?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“Because every time somebody gets close to the truth, Loretta makes the evidence disappear.””
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“What evidence?””
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in my sister’s storage locker.””
He handed it to Adrian.
Adrian unfolded it.
I watched his eyes move across the page.
His breathing changed.
“What is it?””
He looked at me.
“It’s a payment receipt.””
Daniel nodded.
“Twenty-six years ago, Loretta paid Renee twenty thousand dollars.””
“For what?”” Adrian asked.
Daniel pointed at the bottom of the page.
“For signing the hospital release.””
Adrian looked again.
His face went pale.
“She sold me.””
Daniel shook his head.
“She didn’t sell you.””
“Then what did she do?””
“She helped Loretta take you.””
The words crushed the air from Adrian’s lungs.
“Take me where?””
Daniel looked toward the restaurant windows.
“Out of the hospital.””
Adrian’s voice became almost inaudible.
“And my mother?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your mother was unconscious.””
The wedding guests stared.
Nobody moved.
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“What?””
“Evelyn had complications after you were born. She was sedated. Loretta told the staff she was authorized to take you because there was a family emergency.””
“But Renee signed the papers.””
“Yes.””
“Why would she do that?””
Daniel looked down.
“Because Loretta threatened her.””
“With what?””
Daniel’s face tightened.
“With you.””
Adrian frowned.
“With me?””
“No.””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“With Renee’s son.””
I felt a chill run down my arms.
“Renee had a son?””
Daniel nodded.
“His name was Jordan.””
He paused.
“Jordan was eight years old.””
Adrian stared.
“What happened to him?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
I felt Adrian’s hand slip from mine.
“What happened to him?”” Adrian demanded.
Daniel finally said:
“He disappeared.””
The room went silent.
Adrian looked at Gloria.
“Is that why she took me?””
Gloria shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why?””
Gloria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because Loretta wanted something from Evelyn.””
“What?””
“A signature.””
Adrian looked confused.
“What kind of signature?””
Gloria breathed in slowly.
“Control of the family estate.””
I stared at her.
“She used a baby?””
“She used Evelyn’s fear.””
Gloria walked closer.
“Your mother owned part of a property trust. Marcus knew about it. Loretta wanted control. When Evelyn resisted, Loretta threatened to have you taken away.””
Adrian’s face tightened.
“She already took me.””
“Yes.””
“And Marcus?””
“He tried to stop her.””
“Then what happened to him?””
Gloria looked down.
“He vanished.””
Adrian’s voice shook.
“Vanished?””
“His car was found near the river.””
I stepped closer.
“Was his body ever found?””
Gloria shook her head.
“No.””
A terrible silence followed.
Adrian stared at the floor.
“So Marcus might still be alive?””
“I don’t know.””
Daniel suddenly looked at Gloria.
“You know that’s not all.””
Gloria’s face changed.
Adrian noticed.
“What does he mean?””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Ask her about the second hospital.””
Gloria looked at him sharply.
“Daniel.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“You promised Evelyn you would tell him everything.””
Adrian looked at Gloria.
“What second hospital?””
Gloria closed her eyes.
“When you were taken from St. Vincent, Loretta didn’t take you home.””
“Where did she take me?””
Gloria whispered the name.
“Northbridge Children’s Hospital.””
Adrian frowned.
“I’ve never heard of it.””
“That’s because it closed twenty years ago.””
“Why was I there?””
Gloria took a breath.
“Because there was another child.””
My blood ran cold.
“Another child?””
Gloria nodded.
“Same age.””
Adrian stared at her.
“What are you saying?””
“The records at Northbridge show that two baby boys were admitted the same night.””
Adrian stopped breathing.
“One of them was you.””
“And the other?””
Gloria looked toward the photograph.
“Jordan.””
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“There were two babies.””
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“Mine and Renee’s?””
Daniel nodded.
“Loretta wanted one of them to disappear.””
“Which one?””
Daniel looked at him.
“That’s the part nobody has been able to prove.””
I felt Adrian’s fingers go cold.
“What do you mean?””
Daniel reached into his pocket again.
This time, he pulled out a tiny cassette tape.
“Renee recorded something before she disappeared.””
Adrian stared at it.
“What does it say?””
Daniel looked at Gloria.
Gloria slowly shook her head.
“She said she could only trust one person with the recording.””
“Who?””
Daniel placed the cassette in Adrian’s hand.
“She said that person was your mother.””
Adrian stared at him.
“But Evelyn is dead.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
He pointed toward the cassette.
“That recording was made after Evelyn supposedly died.””
Adrian’s face went rigid.
I looked at Gloria.
She was crying now.
And before Adrian could ask another question, Daniel’s phone began ringing.
He looked at the screen.
His entire body stiffened.
“What?””
I watched him answer.
He said nothing.
Then his face lost all color.
“Where?””
A pause.
“No. Don’t touch anything.””
He hung up.
Adrian stepped forward.
“What happened?””
Daniel looked at him.
“They found Renee.””
My heart jumped.
“Where?””
Daniel swallowed.
“At the old Northbridge hospital.””
Then he looked at the wedding guests.
“She left one message.””
“What message?”” Adrian asked.
Daniel’s eyes filled with fear.
“She said Loretta wasn’t the person we should be looking for.””
He paused.
“Then she gave them a name.””
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“Whose name?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“Yours.””
And from somewhere inside the restaurant, Adrian’s phone buzzed.
May you like
A new message had arrived.
*Come alone. Your mother is waiting.*
