PART 5 — THE CHILD WHO WASN'T HERS
Claire didn't move.
For several seconds, she looked as if she hadn't understood the words.
Then she whispered:
“No.”
Samuel placed a document on the desk.
“Your DNA confirms that you and Eleanor are sisters.”
Claire stared at him.
“Then how can I not be Anna's daughter?”
“Because sisters don't always share the same mother.”
I looked at Claire.
My entire body felt numb.
“Who was her mother?”
Samuel looked toward Lily.
Lily lowered her head.
“I know.”
Claire's voice broke.
“You knew?”
“I discovered it years ago.”
“Who am I?”
Lily took a deep breath.
“Your biological mother was a woman named Rebecca Bennett.”
I froze.
The name.
Rebecca.
The name Margaret had once mentioned.
The name from the old letter.
“You said Rebecca wasn't my mother,” I whispered.
Lily looked at me.
“She wasn't yours.”
“But she was Claire's?”
“Yes.”
Claire began crying.
“Why was I raised believing I was Anna's daughter?”
“Because Anna raised you.”
Samuel explained:
“Rebecca died shortly after giving birth. Anna took Claire because she had promised Rebecca she would protect her.”
Claire wiped her tears.
“And Robert?”
“He knew.”
“Then why did he want Eleanor?”
“Because Eleanor was the beneficiary of the trust.”
I looked at Samuel.
“And Claire?”
“She was useful because Robert believed she knew where the trust documents were hidden.”
Claire shook her head.
“I was a child.”
“He didn't care.”
I suddenly remembered something.
“The photograph.”
Everyone looked at me.
“There were three children.”
“Yes,” Samuel said.
“Why were they all wearing hospital bracelets?”
“Because all three were involved in the same emergency.”
“What emergency?”
Samuel opened another file.
“Anna had planned to leave the hospital with Eleanor and Claire.”
“Then what happened?”
“Robert arrived.”
Lily continued:
“Anna panicked.”
“She couldn't take both children,” Samuel said.
“So she asked Margaret to hide Eleanor.”
I stared at Lily.
“And Claire?”
“Anna believed Claire would be safer with Rebecca's relatives.”
“But Rebecca was dead.”
“Exactly.”
Claire looked confused.
“Then who raised me?”
Samuel's face became grim.
“Robert arranged it.”
Silence.
“He wanted to keep you close because he believed you could lead him to Eleanor.”
Claire's breathing became shallow.
“So my entire childhood…”
“Was built on a lie.”
I looked at Samuel.
“What about Lily?”
He stared at her.
“Lily was the witness.”
“To what?”
“The exchange.”
I felt a chill.
“What exchange?”
Samuel opened the final file.
Inside was a photograph of three adults outside the hospital.
Anna.
Margaret.
And Thomas Reed.
Behind them was Robert.
I recognized him immediately.
The man from across the street.
My biological father.
Lily pointed to Thomas.
“He took me.”
“What?”
“He told everyone I had died.”
“Why?”
“Because I saw what happened.”
“What happened?”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“Robert threatened Anna.”
“With what?”
“With you.”
She looked at me.
“He told Anna that if she didn't surrender Eleanor's identity, he would hurt all three children.”
My hands began trembling.
“So Anna disappeared to protect us.”
“Yes.”
“Where did she go?”
Lily looked at Samuel.
He nodded.
Then Lily said:
“She went to another country.”
“Which one?”
“Canada.”
My heart raced.
“Is she still there?”
Samuel didn't answer.
I looked at him.
“Is my mother alive?”
“Yes.”
The word barely escaped his mouth.
I closed my eyes.
After forty-five years, the woman I had believed had abandoned me was alive.
And she had been searching for me.
“Why didn't she come back?”
Samuel looked at me sadly.
“She tried.”
“How many times?”
“Three.”
“When?”
“1987. 1991. And 2003.”
I stared at him.
“She came in 2003?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't she find me?”
“Because Robert found her first.”
My stomach turned.
“What did he do?”
“He threatened her.”
“With what?”
Samuel looked at Claire.
“With you.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“He had found out where you were.”
“Where?”
Samuel hesitated.
Then he said:
“In the same city.”
My heart stopped.
“He was watching me?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Your entire adult life.”
I suddenly understood every unexplained phone call.
Every strange car.
Every time Margaret had told me not to talk to strangers.
Every time she had panicked when I mentioned searching for my biological family.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
No response.
Then a woman's voice.
Weak.
Shaking.
“Eleanor?”
My entire body froze.
“Who is this?”
The voice began to cry.
“I'm sorry.”
I knew.
Somehow, I knew.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
I couldn't speak.
Anna whispered:
“I've been trying to find you for forty-five years.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert knows.”
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“Where is he?”
“He's closer than you think.”
I looked toward the window.
Outside, across the street, a dark car was parked.
Anna whispered:
“Don't trust Margaret.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Because she did protect you.”
A pause.
“But she also made a choice.”
“What choice?”
Anna's voice became almost inaudible.
“She chose which child to save.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Lily looked at me.
“What did she say?”
I slowly lifted my eyes.
“She said Margaret chose which child to save.”
Claire's face went pale.
“Eleanor…”
“What?”
“Then who did she leave behind?”
Before anyone could answer, the office door exploded inward.
Glass shattered.
Samuel pushed us to the floor.
A gunshot echoed through the room.
Then another.
When I looked up, Samuel was bleeding.
And standing in the doorway…
was Robert Bennett.
* * *
