Chapter 8
Emily had visited Samuel six times.
Linda told her they were going for ice cream.
Instead, she took her to a private care facility outside the city.
“Grandma said he was Uncle Sam.”
Daniel looked devastated.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
Emily shrugged innocently.
“Grandma said it was a surprise.”
I knelt beside her.
“What happened during the visits?”
“We talked.”
“About what?”
“School. Drawing. You.”
My heart tightened.
“Me?”
Emily nodded.
“He always asked if you were happy.”
Daniel and I exchanged looks.
“Did he ever say why?”
“No.”
Then Emily remembered something else.
“He cried the last time.”
“What did he say?”
She thought carefully.
“He said Grandma stole another baby.”
My skin went cold.
Detective Morales arranged for us to speak with Samuel.
He was thinner than Daniel.
Older-looking than his age.
But the family resemblance was unmistakable.
He stared at me from the hospital bed.
“Sophie.”
I froze.
“You know me?”
His eyes filled.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Are you Noah’s biological father?”
Samuel looked confused.
“Noah?”
“My son.”
Samuel’s expression collapsed.
“They did it again.”
I gripped the chair.
“What did they do?”
He started shaking.
“They took samples.”
“From you?”
“For years.”
He looked at Detective Morales.
“They said the medication made me unable to consent, so my mother signed.”
Linda.
The detective asked gently, “Did you know Sophie before today?”
Samuel nodded.
“I saw her photograph.”
“Where?”
“In Mother’s files.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“What files?”
“Women.”
I felt sick.
“Explain.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“Mother kept profiles. Women she thought were healthy enough. Smart enough. Good families.”
Rebecca whispered, “For the trust.”
Samuel nodded.
“For heirs.”
Daniel looked like he might be sick.
Samuel continued.
“She tried with other women before Sophie.”
Detective Morales leaned forward.
“How many children?”
“I don’t know.”
The room became silent.
Samuel looked at me.
“Your first daughter was supposed to be mine too.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“The baby you delivered eight years ago.”
Daniel grabbed the railing.
Samuel continued.
“Mother wanted a Carter granddaughter first. Then a grandson later.”
I could barely breathe.
“What happened to my daughter?”
Samuel started crying.
“Marcus took her.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Please.”
“He said Mother couldn’t control everything.”
Detective Morales asked, “Did Marcus sell the child?”
Samuel shook his head violently.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He gave her to someone who wanted a baby.”
“Who?”
Samuel looked terrified.
“Peter.”
Daniel froze.
“My father?”
Samuel nodded.
Daniel stepped backward.
“That’s impossible. Dad was married to Mom.”
“No.”
Samuel’s voice shook.
“Another Peter.”
He looked at me.
“Your brother.”
I stared at him.
“My brother’s name is Michael.”
Samuel frowned.
Then Rebecca whispered, “Sophie…”
I turned.
She held Linda’s blue folder.
“There’s a Peter Reynolds listed here as Anna Reynolds’s brother.”
Anna Reynolds.
Emily’s biological mother.
My stomach dropped.
Two babies.
Two families.
One exchange.
Detective Morales understood first.
“Emily may have been taken from Anna Reynolds…”
I finished the thought.
“And my biological daughter may have been given to Anna’s family.”
Samuel nodded weakly.
“Marcus called it balance.”
My hands began shaking.
“Where is Anna Reynolds?”
Detective Morales searched.
Her face changed.
“She lives forty minutes away.”
“Children?”
The detective looked at me.
“One daughter.”
“How old?”
“Eight.”
My breath disappeared.
“What’s her name?”
Detective Morales turned the screen toward me.
A school photograph appeared.
A little girl with my eyes.
My smile.
May you like
My face.
Her name was Chloe Reynolds.
