Chapter 6: The Baby That Never Existed
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Daniel had said.
“She's not pregnant?”” I repeated.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Richard grabbed the newspaper.
“What are you talking about?””
Daniel pulled a chair closer and sat down.
“Brianna has been pretending to be pregnant for months.””
I stared at him.
“Why would she do that?””
“To marry Ethan and secure a place in the Carter family trust.””
Richard's expression darkened.
“Ethan knew?””
Daniel nodded.
“He helped her.””
I remembered Ethan's silence at the engagement party.
The way he had looked frightened when Brianna displayed the hospital photograph.
The way he had begged her not to reveal something.
It all began to make sense.
But I needed to hear the details.
Daniel reached into his jacket and removed a thick stack of documents.
“Three months ago, I started investigating Thomas. I discovered that Brianna had been visiting a private fertility clinic, even though she had never undergone fertility treatment.””
Richard frowned.
“Why?””
“Because she was buying medical records.””
Daniel placed a document on the shelf.
It showed the name of a woman.
Sophie Bennett.
A former patient at a private clinic.
“She had a miscarriage last year,” Daniel explained.
“Brianna paid someone to obtain her medical records and used them to create a fake pregnancy history.””
My stomach turned.
“That's disgusting.””
“There's more,” Daniel said.
He showed us a series of bank transfers.
Money had been sent from an account belonging to Thomas Carter to a company registered under Brianna's name.
Richard examined the figures.
“Four hundred thousand dollars?””
Daniel nodded.
“Paid in installments.””
“For what?””
“To keep Ethan quiet.””
I looked at the documents.
“Why would Thomas pay her?””
Daniel glanced at me.
“Because Brianna was supposed to marry Ethan. Once they married, Thomas planned to use the fake pregnancy to gain access to the Carter family inheritance.””
Richard's face tightened.
“The trust cannot be transferred through a marriage.””
“Not directly,” Daniel replied.
“But the family company has a separate succession clause. A legitimate child born into the Carter bloodline could influence the voting rights.””
I stared at him.
“So Brianna was pretending to carry a Carter heir?””
“Exactly.””
Richard sank into a chair.
“Thomas has been planning this for years.””
Daniel nodded.
“And Ethan was helping him.””
I thought about the man who had once brought me flowers after my first surgery.
The man who had promised that my disability didn't change how he saw me.
I had mistaken his kindness for loyalty.
“Why did Ethan tell Thomas where I would be on the night of my accident?””
Daniel looked down.
“Because Thomas discovered that you were alive.””
My throat tightened.
“When?””
“Several months ago.””
I shook my head.
“That's impossible. Richard only found out three weeks ago.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“Thomas had been monitoring the medical records connected to your accident. He knew your identity before Richard did.””
“Then why didn't he come after me immediately?””
“Because he needed to know whether you remembered anything.””
I frowned.
“Remember what?””
Daniel's eyes moved toward the wheelchair.
“Your accident.””
I stared at him.
He continued carefully.
“Your brakes were tampered with.””
The room went silent.
Richard stood.
“What?””
Daniel nodded.
“Someone loosened the brake assembly on your wheelchair before you left the rehabilitation center.””
My blood turned cold.
I remembered that evening.
The wet pavement.
The sudden downhill slope.
The moment my wheelchair accelerated beyond my control.
I had believed the accident happened because I failed to engage the brakes properly.
I had blamed myself for months.
“You're saying someone caused it?””
Daniel nodded.
“I examined the maintenance report. The rear brake cable had been cut.””
I looked at Richard.
He appeared ready to explode.
“Who did it?””
Daniel removed another photograph.
It showed a man standing beside my wheelchair outside the rehabilitation center.
He wore a maintenance uniform.
I recognized him.
He had helped me load my wheelchair into the transport vehicle that evening.
“His name is Marcus Reed,” Daniel said.
“He was paid by a company connected to Thomas.””
Richard grabbed his phone.
“Get security to find him.””
Daniel raised a hand.
“Don't. He's already disappeared.””
Richard slammed the phone onto the shelf.
“Then what exactly do you have?””
Daniel opened a small folder.
“His payment records. Messages. And a recording.””
He handed Richard a flash drive.
Richard inserted it into his laptop.
A video appeared.
The image was grainy, taken from a security camera outside the rehabilitation center.
A man approached my wheelchair.
He crouched beside the rear wheel.
He looked around.
Then he pulled a small tool from his pocket and began working on the brake assembly.
My stomach twisted.
The video continued.
A second man entered the frame.
Ethan.
He stood beside the wheelchair, speaking to the maintenance worker.
The worker nodded.
Ethan handed him an envelope.
Richard paused the video.
His face was expressionless.
But his hands were shaking.
I couldn't speak.
Ethan hadn't merely known about the danger.
He had been there.
He had paid someone to make sure I couldn't stop.
Daniel looked at me.
“I'm sorry.””
I shook my head.
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?””
“I couldn't find you.””
“What?””
“Thomas moved your medical records between hospitals. Your adoptive parents had changed your surname. Every time I got close, someone redirected me.””
I looked at him.
“Then how did you find me?””
Daniel reached into his pocket.
He removed a small silver locket.
My breath caught.
The locket was shaped like a crescent moon.
I had seen it in the photograph of my mother.
Daniel opened it.
Inside were two tiny pictures.
One of Elizabeth.
The other showed two newborn babies.
“You had this?”” I whispered.
He nodded.
“Mother gave it to me before she died. She told the nurse to make sure I kept it.””
I reached for the locket.
The metal was cold against my fingertips.
For the first time in my life, I held something that had belonged to my mother.
Daniel watched me.
“She wanted us to find each other.””
I looked up.
“Why did you say she died?””
His expression darkened.
“Because that's what Thomas told me.””
I frowned.
“You said the recording mentioned someone else ordered her death.””
Daniel nodded.
“That's the part I've been trying to understand.””
He took a deep breath.
“Thomas didn't kill Elizabeth. He was helping someone else cover up what happened.””
Richard stepped closer.
“Who?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“You.””
The room became completely silent.
Richard's face changed.
“What did you say?””
Daniel placed another photograph on the shelf.
It showed Richard standing outside the hospital on the night Elizabeth died.
He was holding a brown envelope.
Beside him stood a doctor.
Dr. Samuel Hayes.
Margaret gasped.
“No.””
Richard stared at the photograph.
“I was there because Elizabeth asked me to come.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Then explain why the doctor received a payment from your personal account the following morning.””
Richard's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
I looked between them.
“Richard?””
He slowly sat down.
“I didn't know what was in that envelope.””
Daniel's voice became colder.
“You expect us to believe that?””
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“Your mother called me that night. She told me she had evidence against Thomas. I went to the hospital to help her.””
“Then why did you pay the doctor?””
Richard looked at Margaret.
She began crying.
“Because the doctor told him Elizabeth had already died.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. The doctor told him she was still alive.””
Richard closed his eyes.
For the first time since I had met him, he looked like a broken man.
“I thought I was saving her.””
I gripped the locket.
“Saving her from what?””
Richard looked at me.
“From a decision I made twenty-four years ago.””
Before I could ask another question, his phone rang.
A message appeared.
It was from his security director.
*URGENT. BRIANNA HAS BEEN FOUND AT THE CARTER ESTATE. SHE HAS REQUESTED AN EMERGENCY FAMILY MEETING.*
A second message followed.
*SHE CLAIMS TO HAVE PROOF THAT YOU AND DANIEL ARE NOT ELIZABETH'S BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN.*
Daniel stood immediately.
“She's bluffing.””
Richard shook his head.
“No. She has something.””
I looked at the photograph of my mother.
Then at the two bracelets.
For twenty-four years, someone had stolen my identity, my family, and the truth.
I wasn't going to let them do it again.
“Take me to the estate,” I said.
Daniel reached for the wheelchair handles.
Richard picked up the documents.
And just before we left, Margaret caught my wrist.
“Wait.””
She looked at me with frightened eyes.
“There's something your mother told me that I never had the courage to reveal.””
I turned.
“What?””
Margaret swallowed.
Then she whispered:
“Elizabeth didn't give birth to you and Daniel at St. Mary's.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Margaret looked toward Richard.
“She was already holding you when she arrived.””
Richard slowly turned around.
And Daniel's face went completely white.
Margaret continued.
“Because the two babies born in Room 307 were not Elizabeth's first children.””
She reached into her handbag and removed a second photograph.
It showed Elizabeth standing beside a woman I had never seen before.
Between them were three children.
One girl.
Two boys.
On the back, Elizabeth had written:
*MY THREE LITTLE MIRACLES.*
May you like
There were three children.
But only two had ever been recorded in the Carter family trust.
