Chapter 6
I called the number.
Disconnected.
Detective Morales traced it anyway.
Burner phone.
No account information.
No easy answers.
Daniel drove with the detective to Linda’s house while I remained with Noah and Emily.
Two hours later, he returned carrying the blue folder.
His face told me everything before he spoke.
“It’s real.”
I felt numb.
Inside were copies of my medical records from Emily’s birth.
One page showed I had delivered a healthy girl.
Seven pounds, two ounces.
Another record claimed the infant suffered respiratory failure twenty minutes later.
But there was no death certificate.
No burial record.
Nothing.
Then another form appeared.
INFANT TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.
Signed by Linda Carter.
Relationship to patient: Mother.
She wasn’t my mother.
She had no legal authority.
Daniel turned another page.
There was Emily’s adoption document.
Her birth mother was listed as Anna Reynolds.
Father unknown.
My hands shook.
“So Emily isn’t biologically mine.”
Daniel whispered, “We don’t know until DNA comes back.”
But the paperwork said enough.
“Where is my biological daughter?”
Detective Morales pointed to another page.
“Possibly transferred to a private family in Ohio.”
I stared at her.
“Possibly?”
“Records were altered.”
A nurse entered.
“The expedited DNA results are available.”
Nobody moved.
I held Emily’s hand.
She looked up at me.
“Whatever it says,” I whispered, “nothing changes how much I love you.”
She nodded, but tears filled her eyes.
The nurse handed the results to Detective Morales.
She read silently.
Then looked at us.
“Sophie and Emily share no biological parent-child relationship.”
Emily began crying.
I pulled her into my arms immediately.
“You are my daughter.”
“But I’m not your real daughter.”
“You are.”
I cupped her face.
“Listen to me. Nobody gets to erase eight years of being your mom.”
Daniel sat beside us.
“And nobody takes you away.”
The detective read the next result.
“Daniel is also not biologically related to Emily.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
I held my daughter tighter.
Then came Noah.
“Sophie is Noah’s biological mother.”
Relief hit me.
At least that was real.
“And Daniel?”
The detective looked at him.
“No biological relationship.”
Daniel stared at Noah’s bassinet.
His jaw trembled.
The final page contained something else.
Noah’s paternal DNA showed a partial match in a law-enforcement genealogy database.
Detective Morales frowned.
“This match appears connected to someone already involved in the case.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
“Marcus Hale.”
Daniel stood.
“The fake doctor?”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
The detective turned the report.
“Hale is not Noah’s biological father.”
I breathed again.
“But the father appears to be his first-degree relative.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Brother?”
“Possibly.”
I suddenly remembered Linda’s words.
Noah belonged with his real family.
Detective Morales looked toward Daniel.
“There’s another problem.”
“What?”
“Marcus Hale’s legal name used to be Marcus Carter.”
Daniel went completely still.
“That was my father’s brother.”
The room fell silent.
Daniel whispered, “Uncle Marcus died when I was a child.”
Detective Morales shook her head.
“No.”
May you like
“He changed his name.”
And suddenly the doctor trying to steal my son wasn’t a stranger at all.
