Chapter 3: The Sister Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I picked up the photograph with shaking fingers.
Sophie looked older.
Her dark hair was shorter, her face thinner, and there were shadows beneath her eyes.
But it was unmistakably her.
My little sister.
The girl who used to steal my hoodies.
The girl who called me whenever she was frightened.
The girl whose funeral I had attended seven years earlier.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Explain this.””
She didn't move.
“Marcus—”
“Where is my sister?””
“She's safe.””
“Where?””
Eleanor pressed her lips together.
I stepped closer.
“You let me bury an empty coffin?””
Her eyes flickered.
“I did what I had to do.””
I felt the words hit harder than any physical blow.
For seven years, I had visited Sophie's grave.
Seven years of birthdays spent wondering what she would have looked like.
Seven Christmases with an empty chair.
Seven years of blaming myself because our last conversation had ended in an argument.
And my wife had known.
She had known Sophie was alive.
Daniel placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Marcus, sit down.””
I shook him off.
“No. I want answers.””
Officer Bennett approached Eleanor.
“Ma'am, we need you to come downstairs and answer some questions.””
She ignored him.
“Marcus, you need to calm down.””
I stared at her.
“Did you know Sophie was pregnant?””
Eleanor nodded.
“How long?””
“Several months.””
“Several months?””
“She contacted me.””
I looked at her in disbelief.
“My sister contacted you, and you didn't tell me?””
“She specifically asked me not to.””
“Why?””
Eleanor glanced toward the babies.
“Because she was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Eleanor didn't answer.
Nia shifted on the bed.
“Sir?””
I turned.
She looked terrified, but this time she didn't lower her eyes.
“Mrs. Eleanor told me something yesterday.””
“What?””
“She said your sister had to disappear because of what happened before.””
My throat tightened.
“What happened before?””
Nia shook her head.
“She didn't tell me everything. But she said the babies were going to change everything.””
Daniel opened his briefcase again.
“There is another issue.””
I looked at him.
He removed a second document.
It was a hospital consent form.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
I stared at it.
“I never signed this.””
Daniel nodded.
“I know. That's why I brought it.””
The document authorized a procedure involving genetic material and embryo transfer.
The patient listed was Sophie Bennett.
The intended parents were Marcus and Eleanor Bennett.
I felt sick.
“Someone used my identity.””
Daniel nodded.
“And there is a financial record connected to it.””
He placed another sheet beside the consent form.
A transfer of $250,000.
From an account I recognized immediately.
My father's inheritance trust.
The money had been transferred six months earlier to a private fertility clinic.
I looked at Eleanor.
“You took money from my father's trust?””
“It was for the children.””
“You stole a quarter of a million dollars?””
“I invested in our family!””
“You used my sister, my identity, and my inheritance without telling me!””
Eleanor raised her voice.
“You think I wanted things to happen this way?””
I stared at her.
“What way did you want them to happen?””
She took a step toward me.
“I wanted a family. I wanted to give you the children you always wanted.””
“By making my sister disappear?””
Her face changed.
Then she said something that made Daniel immediately close his briefcase.
“Sophie agreed to everything.””
I shook my head.
“Then why did she disappear?””
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“Because she couldn't be trusted.””
“What does that mean?””
“She changed her mind.””
“About what?””
“About the agreement.””
I felt a chill move through me.
“What agreement?””
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears, but I couldn't tell whether they were genuine.
“She wanted to keep one of the babies.””
I stared at her.
There it was.
The first explanation that made a terrible kind of sense.
Sophie had carried the twins.
Eleanor had arranged the pregnancy.
Something had gone wrong.
And now my wife had brought the children into our house as though they were possessions being delivered.
But one detail still bothered me.
“Why were both babies registered under my name?””
Eleanor looked away.
“Because you were the intended father.””
“I never agreed to that.””
“You would have.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You don't get to decide what I would have agreed to.””
Officer Harris approached.
“Mr. Bennett, we need to speak with you separately.””
I nodded.
As she guided me toward the hallway, Daniel stayed behind with Officer Bennett.
I stopped at the doorway.
“Eleanor, where is Sophie?””
My wife didn't answer.
“Where is my sister?””
She finally looked at me.
“She's not coming back.””
My blood ran cold.
“What did you do?””
“Nothing.””
“Then why won't you tell me where she is?””
Eleanor's eyes moved toward Daniel.
For a split second, something passed between them.
Something familiar.
Something that told me this wasn't the first time they had discussed Sophie.
I turned toward my lawyer.
“Daniel?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“Marcus, there are things I haven't told you.””
I stared at him.
“What things?””
He lowered his voice.
“Your sister contacted me three weeks ago.””
The words landed like a punch.
“What?””
“She came to my office. She was frightened. She asked me to help her protect the babies.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Daniel looked down.
“Because she made me promise not to.””
I stepped closer.
“You knew she was alive?””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing?””
“I thought I was protecting her.””
“From whom?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Then he reached into his briefcase and removed a small black flash drive.
“Sophie gave me this,” he whispered.
“She told me to hand it to you only if Eleanor brought the babies into your house.””
I stared at the flash drive.
“What's on it?””
Daniel looked toward the bedroom.
“Everything.””
Before I could take it, Eleanor suddenly screamed.
“DON'T LET HIM GIVE THAT TO MARCUS!””
Officer Bennett turned sharply.
Eleanor lunged toward Daniel's briefcase.
Officer Harris grabbed her arm.
“Ma'am! Step back!””
But Eleanor wasn't looking at the officers.
She was staring at the flash drive.
“You don't understand!”” she cried.
“If he watches that recording, he'll destroy all of us!””
I took the flash drive from Daniel.
“What recording?””
Eleanor began crying.
Then Nia appeared in the bedroom doorway, holding one of the babies.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Sir, there's something you need to know.””
I turned toward her.
She looked directly at Eleanor.
“Mrs. Eleanor didn't bring the twins here because she wanted to hide them from you.””
My heart began pounding.
“Then why?””
Nia swallowed.
“Because yesterday, someone called the house and told her that the babies' real father was coming to collect them.””
I stared at her.
“Their real father?””
Nia nodded.
Then she whispered the words that made every person in the hallway go silent.
“Mrs. Eleanor said she had to make sure you believed they were yours before he arrived.””
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*Marcus, it's Sophie. Don't trust Eleanor. Don't trust Daniel. And whatever you do, don't let either of those babies leave your house.*
A second message appeared.
*Because only one of them is your child.*
I looked at the two newborns.
Then at the flash drive in my hand.
And finally, at my lawyer.
Daniel had gone completely pale.
Because he knew something I didn't.
May you like
And when I asked him whose child the other baby was, he whispered:
“Marcus… the other father is already inside your house.””
