Chapter 10: The Woman Who Signed Away My Daughter
For several seconds, I couldn't take my eyes off the document.
Evelyn Mercer.
Her signature appeared beneath the hospital transfer authorization, dated eleven years earlier.
The same woman who had spent the morning helping me uncover the truth.
The same woman who had told Tessa that Daniel loved her.
The same woman who had brought us the photograph of Isabella.
I slowly lifted my eyes.
“Evelyn?””
She stood beside the fireplace, her face drained of color.
Nobody spoke.
Margaret Collins carefully removed her glasses.
“I'm afraid the signature is authentic.””
I felt something tighten in my chest.
“Tell me it isn't what it looks like.””
Evelyn's lips trembled.
“Dana, please let me explain.””
I shook my head.
“You told me Marjorie stole my daughter.””
“She did.””
“Then why did you sign the transfer?””
Evelyn looked toward Isabella.
The girl was sitting beside Tessa, gripping her sister's hand.
“I didn't know what I was signing.””
I laughed bitterly.
“That's what everyone says.””
Evelyn flinched.
Margaret placed the document on the table.
“This authorization transferred Baby B into temporary protective custody. The receiving guardian was Marjorie Bennett. Evelyn signed as the second witness.””
“Why?””
Evelyn finally looked at me.
“Because Daniel asked me to.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
“Three days before he died, Daniel called me. He said someone was trying to take the twins. He told me he had arranged a temporary transfer to keep Isabella safe.””
I stared at her.
“Safe from whom?””
Evelyn swallowed.
“From Marjorie.””
I glanced toward the door through which the police had taken Grant.
“Then why did Isabella end up living with Marjorie?””
Evelyn began crying.
“Because the plan changed.””
She sat down heavily.
“Daniel told me that if anything happened to him, I should take both girls away from the family. But the night of the accident, Marjorie came to the hospital. She said Daniel had been killed and that the company was in danger.””
I frowned.
“What did that have to do with Isabella?””
“She told me that if Isabella stayed with the Mercers, Grant would use her as leverage against Tessa. She said she could protect the baby until everything settled.””
“And you believed her?””
Evelyn lowered her head.
“I was twenty-seven. I had just lost my brother. I was terrified.””
I looked at the document again.
“You signed away my child.””
“I thought I was saving her.””
“You didn't even tell me she existed!””
Evelyn began sobbing.
“I know.””
I stepped away.
For nine years, I had imagined the person responsible for separating me from Isabella.
I had blamed Marjorie.
I had blamed Grant.
I had never considered that someone who claimed to love Daniel might have helped them.
Tessa stood up.
“Did you know I had a sister?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“No, sweetheart. I didn't know you had been kept apart.””
“But you signed the paper.””
Evelyn covered her face.
“Yes.””
Tessa looked down.
“Then you helped Grandma take her.””
Evelyn had no answer.
Isabella slowly released Tessa's hand.
“Did you know my real mother was alive?””
Evelyn nodded.
“I knew.””
Isabella's face crumpled.
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
Evelyn reached toward her.
Isabella stepped backward.
“Don't.””
That single word seemed to destroy Evelyn more than any accusation could.
Caleb moved beside the girls.
“Everyone keeps saying they were protecting us,” he said.
“But nobody actually protected us.””
Mason nodded.
“You all made decisions about our lives without asking us.””
I looked at the children.
They were right.
Every adult in the room had made choices.
And the children had paid for them.
Margaret quietly gathered the documents.
“There's another issue.””
I turned toward her.
“What now?””
“The transfer authorization contains a second page.””
She removed it from the folder.
“This page was not included in the copy Evelyn gave us.””
Evelyn looked up sharply.
“I've never seen that.””
Margaret placed the page on the table.
It contained a handwritten condition.
The temporary guardian agrees to return the child to her biological mother upon verification of Daniel Mercer's death.
Below it was Marjorie's signature.
I stared at it.
“So Marjorie promised to return Isabella?””
“Yes,” Margaret answered.
“And she never did.””
“No.””
Evelyn slowly shook her head.
“I didn't know about this page.””
I looked at her.
“Why should I believe anything you say?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“You shouldn't. Not yet.””
For the first time, she wasn't asking me to trust her.
She was admitting she had lost the right to it.
A police officer returned to the library.
“Mrs. Bennett, we need to ask you a few questions about the children and the trust.””
I nodded.
“Of course.””
He glanced at Isabella.
“Is she currently safe here?””
I looked at my daughter.
Then at Tessa.
“Yes,” I said.
“But she needs to be somewhere she feels wanted.””
The officer nodded.
“We'll arrange for a child welfare representative to speak with her.””
Isabella looked frightened.
“Are they going to take me away?””
I knelt beside her.
“No one is taking you anywhere without making sure you're safe.””
She looked at Tessa.
“Can I stay with my sister?””
Tessa immediately reached for her hand.
“Of course.””
I swallowed.
“We'll make sure you stay together.””
Later that evening, the police took copies of every document.
Grant remained in custody.
Marjorie was questioned separately.
Evelyn stayed behind.
She stood near the entrance, holding her handbag.
“Dana?””
I didn't turn.
“I know you don't want to hear this.””
“Then don't say it.””
She nodded.
But before she left, she placed a small envelope on the console table.
“Daniel gave me this two days before the accident. I never opened it because he told me it was for you.””
I looked at the envelope.
My name was written across it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Daniel's.
Evelyn walked away.
I stood alone in the foyer for a long time.
Then I opened the envelope.
Inside was a short letter.
Dana,
If you're reading this, I probably failed to keep my promise.
I need you to know that I discovered something about our children. Something much bigger than the company.
The twins are not the only ones connected to this family.
I stopped breathing.
I continued.
There is another child. A child born before the girls. A child whose existence could change everything.
My fingers trembled.
I have kept this secret because I don't know whom to trust.
At the bottom, Daniel had written one final sentence.
Ask your mother what happened to the baby she gave birth to before we met.
I stared at the letter.
My mother had died six years earlier.
She had never mentioned another child.
I read the sentence again.
Then I looked at the date.
Daniel had written it eleven years ago.
Three weeks before Tessa and Isabella were born.
And suddenly, the entire story became something far more frightening.
May you like
Because Daniel hadn't simply been protecting three children.
He might have been protecting a fourth.
